Natural toothpaste and personal care produced at company facilities in Sanford and Kennebunk, Maine since 1970
✅ American Manufacturing
Where Tom’s of Maine products are made
Sanford and Kennebunk, Maine
Tom’s of Maine operates facilities in Sanford and Kennebunk. The company says it made its Sanford facility zero waste, “with our Kennebunk facility coming next” — a description of two working Maine plants, not a nameplate address.
Started on one line
By 1975 the company had launched its natural toothpaste and shampoos out of a tiny, single-line factory in the former Kennebunk railroad depot, with ingredients from co-founder Kate Chappell’s herb garden out front.
Maine energy and Maine jobs
The company describes supporting community solar projects in Maine so its community can access renewable energy, and partnering with plastic reclamation projects to reduce packaging waste.
Tom’s of Maine describes company facilities in Sanford and Kennebunk, Maine, and its toothpaste line is closely identified with that Maine production. The company does not make a blanket “Made in USA” claim across its full catalogue, and as part of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006 it sells in the United States, Canada and Mexico with a product range — toothpaste, deodorant, bar soap, mouthwash, floss — broad enough that not every item is necessarily produced on the same line. We therefore list Tom’s of Maine under American Manufacturing rather than Made in USA. We have asked the company to confirm which product lines are made at its Maine facilities and will update this page with their answer.
The story
Tom and Kate Chappell could not find natural personal care products they wanted to use, so in the late 1960s they started making their own. The first Tom’s of Maine product was not toothpaste at all — it was Clearlake, a laundry detergent, with a homey hand-drawn label Kate designed herself.
In 1970, with the help of a $5,000 loan from a friend, Tom’s of Maine was born. Clearlake was among the first non-phosphate laundry detergents on the market at a time when phosphate runoff was a live environmental fight.
By 1975 the company had launched the natural toothpaste and shampoos it would become known for, all made at a tiny single-line factory in the former Kennebunk railroad depot, with Kate’s herb garden supplying ingredients out front. Twenty years later, in 1995, Tom’s developed the first natural toothpaste to receive the American Dental Association’s Seal of Approval — no small feat for a category the mainstream had dismissed.
The company became part of Colgate-Palmolive in 2006. Tom’s says its policies, culture and values were to remain unchanged as a condition of joining, and it still operates from Maine, still a Certified B Corporation.
Why they matter
Tom’s of Maine essentially created the American natural personal care category, and it did it as a manufacturer rather than a marketer — one line, one building, in a state that had been losing industry for decades.
Acquisition by a multinational is usually where the Maine part of a story like this ends. It did not here: the Sanford and Kennebunk facilities are still running, still employing people in southern Maine, and the company is still reporting on them publicly as its own operations.
That makes Tom’s a useful test case for the whole argument. A brand can be owned by a global consumer-goods company and still keep the actual manufacturing — and the jobs that go with it — in the town where it started. Ownership and production are separate questions, and it is the second one that decides whether a purchase supports American work.
Featured products
Browse Tom’s of Maine natural toothpaste, deodorant and personal care available now in the Buy American store.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Tom’s of Maine products made?
The company operates facilities in Sanford and Kennebunk, Maine, and describes both as its own plants — it reports having made Sanford zero waste with Kennebunk to follow.
When was Tom’s of Maine founded?
1970, by Tom and Kate Chappell, with a $5,000 loan from a friend. The first product was Clearlake, a non-phosphate laundry detergent.
Who owns Tom’s of Maine?
Colgate-Palmolive, which acquired the company in 2006. Tom’s states its policies, culture and values were to remain unchanged as part of that transition.
Is Tom’s of Maine a B Corp?
Yes. The company describes itself as a Certified B Corporation and as committed to being a force for good.