SeaKlear makes eco-friendly pool water clarifiers

Plenty of products on store shelves claim to be eco-friendly, but how do you know if they really are?

Responding on behalf of Bothell-based SeaKlear, which makes products for backyard pools and spas, Rick Lockett squirts a Windex look-alike meant for clarifying cloudy water into his mouth and swallows.

"I don't recommend it, because it tastes terrible," Lockett says.

Lockett, a vice president with parent company HaloSource, has done this sort of thing before while trying to persuade retailers throughout the country to carry SeaKlear's Natural Clarifier.

The purpose is to call attention to the fact that it contains no harmful chemicals — and to make the point that it's safe both from an environmental and human-health standpoint.

"Frankly, this part of the country was always interested," Lockett says of the Northwest. "But now, we're starting to see interest everywhere."

SeaKlear is part of a technology-oriented, venture-capital-backed firm called HaloSource that dates to 1981, when two chemists teamed up to extract chitin from crab shells left by Washington state canneries.

They used the chitin to create alternatives to petroleum-based products, starting with the clarifier. A liquid magnet of sorts, the clarifier combines dirt and oily scum into clumps large enough to be caught in a pool or spa's filter.

The chemists named their company Vanson, which joined forces with a venture called HaloSource in 2002 and adopted the latter's name.

HaloSource also makes StormKlear pollution-control solutions for stormwater and construction-site runoff, as well as HaloShield antimicrobial coatings to prevent odor-causing bacteria on dish cloths and towels.

The company employs 48 in Bothell, 24 at a production plant in Raymond, and 15 outside the U.S. to support its efforts to provide clean drinking water in developing countries such as China and India. About 10 salespeople are scattered throughout the U.S.

Priced from $10 to $50, SeaKlear products tackle other problems besides cloudy water, including the cryptosporidium parasite, algae and high phosphate levels. (They are not meant to be used in lieu of chlorine.)

SeaKlear's sales have grown at an average annual rate of between 25 percent and 30 percent in the past three years, Lockett says. About 2,500 retailers, mostly mom-and-pop shops, sell SeaKlear, double the number of three years ago. Despite a slowing national economy, SeaKlear sales are still up year-over-year.

"The benefit of having an eco-friendly product is much greater than it has been," Lockett says. "It's a huge topic of conversation."

Aqua Quip stores in the Seattle area were among the first to carry SeaKlear more than a decade ago. "I thought it was unique and it was surely worth trying. I loved the notion of an all-natural product," recalled Brian Quint, president of the 10-store chain based in Renton.

Shoppers also approved, making SeaKlear the chain's preferred brand of water clarifiers, Quint said. "In handling it, there's no concern if some of it gets on your hands," he said.

— Amy Martinez

Seattle beverage company Zevia says it recently got nationwide distribution for its carbonated drinks. They are sweetened with the herb stevia, a low-calorie alternative to sugar that is expected to become better known when Coca-Cola launches new products in the next year or so with the ingredient Truvia, a stevia sweetener that it developed with Cargill.

— MA

Murphy's Furniture Studio — newly renamed Murphy's Mix — is moving from its longtime home on Avalon Way Southwest to Pioneer Square. Murphy's will sell upholstered furniture, as well as home accessories, scarves, handbags and jewelry, when it opens in early June next to Elliott Bay Book Co. at 314 First Ave. S. — AM

Nau, a Portland sustainable-clothing company, announced earlier this month that it's going out of business, citing a "crisis in the capital markets," which prevented it from raising the money it needed to continue. Founded in 2005, Nau had a store at Bellevue Square and planned to open in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. — AM

Schoenfeld Interiors will open a second Seattle-area store at 115 S. Jackson St. in Pioneer Square, taking 10,000 square feet of space previously occupied by Jean Williams Antiques, which moved to Belltown at 3025 First Ave. Opening will be toward the end of the first week in June. Schoenfeld also has a store in Bellevue. — AM

Theo Chocolate in Fremont has raised $3 million for further growth. The maker of organic, fair-trade chocolate will use the money for "sales and marketing, and to improve equipment," said Joe Whinney, founder and CEO. Theo began selling chocolate in February 2006 with an initial investment of less than $3 million from friends and family. — MA

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Capers has closed its store in Fremont. Capers, which sells home furnishings, decorative accessories, toys, jewelry and entertaining accouterments, still has a store on California Avenue Southwest in West Seattle. It opened the Fremont location in late 2004. "We want to refocus on one location and go back to our roots," owner Lisa Myers said in a statement. — AM

Dry Fly Distilling, which opened in Spokane last year, has launched national distribution through www.binnys.com, which will ship Dry Fly gin and vodka to customers in 35 states. Dry Fly also sells spirits at stores in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. — MA

Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com