MOTA Glass logo, courtesy of MOTA Glass.
In recent years, the cannabis industry has opened its doors to thousands of glass retailers eager to take on the demand. But the fact is: the average consumer probably doesn’t think twice about heading to their local smoke shop, purchasing a shiny new bong, and breaking it in with the first puff.
In reality, it is much deeper than just glass we smoke out of, but a production industry that’s filled with a deep, unethically-rooted history. One company, MOTA Glass — founded by Susie Plascencia and Bobby Lady — is changing that. MOTA Glass, which launched in November 2020, is a Latinx and veteran-owned glass company that sells a variety of products from beaker bongs, to handheld bubblers and other accessories. It takes its name after the term “mota,” slang in Spanish for a “speck” or “marijuana,” according to the company.
Post from @mota_glass on Instagram.
What separates MOTA Glass from other companies is their product standards that fight against the production of mass import functional glass and the marginalization of the overworked and underpaid Latinx workforce. More specifically, the company sources their glass from glassblowers in America, and pays them fair wages.
The Entrepreneurs Behind “MOTA Glass”
Plascencia was born and raised in L.A., in which she grew up in a very traditional Mexican family setting.
“The idea of cannabis use at all; it might as well have been a hard drug,” she tells Emerald.
Plascencia’s father, who worked in the medical field, knew of the holistic benefits of cannabis, but due to the cultural stigma associated with the plant, it was not something to explore or even “be proud of.” Rather, it was something to stay away from.
Plascencia feels this same stigma concerning cannabis and its use today. Despite this, she explains, cannabis use and professionalism can still “exist in the same space.”
“I went to a university where I have a master’s degree [from the University of Southern California (USC)],” she says. “But I’m also a cannabis user.”
Plascencia is a journalist and entrepreneur. She has done advocacy work over the years and created an Instagram community with her team — Latinas in Cannabis— which takes an active role in destigmatizing cannabis use in the Latinx community by recognizing and connecting Latina leaders in education, business, cultivation, content creation, and entrepreneurship.
MOTA Glass’s co-founder, Bobby Lady, is of Honduran American descent. He is originally from New Orleans though he lived in various countries growing up including India and Panama. He completed his undergraduate studies then served as an officer in the Air Force. After a few years in the tech industry and a MBA from USC, Lady became a full-time entrepreneur and spent some time gaining experience in the glass industry.
“Throughout my life and in several professional experiences where I’ve been in positions of management and leadership, I’ve found a recurring theme,” he explains. “Generally, when it comes to Latinos doing a lot of the very hard work, they’re overlooked, and often under compensated.”
According to a study reported by the Economic Policy Institute, “the adjusted earnings gap between Hispanics and white men has remained relatively steady since 2000 for Hispanic men and women overall and for most of the largest subgroups by national origin.”
The report also mentions that in 2017, Hispanic men made 32.5% less than white men; a gap that has not lowered much since 2000.
Lady says much of the same unfair treatment that Latinx workers face in the hospitality and construction industries exists in the glass industry.
As for personal cannabis use, Lady says he did not have much exposure to cannabis when he was younger but came to appreciate the medicinal effects of cannabis use after his time in the military.
Transparency in Glass Production
MOTA Glass products are ethically sourced from glass blowers from the U.S.
Lady tells Emerald he believes in “enabling the livelihoods of glass blowers that have dedicated their lives and careers to growing within this space.”
Post from @mota_glass on Instagram.
Plascencia adds “when you buy American-made pieces, it’s going to support something […]; these are working conditions that we can see.”
Dishonesty surrounding production includes partially imported or completely imported products. Plascencia says “what’s particularly harmful in a lot of these cases is that a significant amount of the glass that’s being advertised and promoted as made in the U.S. is in fact imported.”
In fact, according to a report from Statista, the U.S was the leading glass importing country in 2018, valued at over $8 billion.
Plascencia explains that many large, reputable companies are not honest about their production process. As partners in a previous glass company, “we really had that decision that we had to make — walk away and turn a blind eye to what was going on, or walk away and take a chance and create the change that the functional glass industry so desperately needs, which is a trusted glass brand that values integrity, transparency, and the dignity that comes from earning an anonymous living,” she adds, “because earning an honest living is and should be protected and should be empowered.”
MOTA Glass and the Latinx Community
Post from @mota_glass on Instagram.
MOTA Glass is far more than a glass retailer; but a company that actively works to support and educate others on the struggles the Latinx community faces.
Lady tells Emerald, “glassblowers have been through a lot. They have been through a lot in working with brands that that devalue their work, and they have a hard time trusting.”
The MOTA Glass team supports fair wages for an industry that has not always respected glass blowers for their work.
Lady tells Emerald “one of our first obstacles is being able to convey to the glass blowers that we are not like the other companies that are out there.”
He also speaks on how COVID-19 negatively affected employees from the Latinx community who already experience hardships making a living. Lady and Plascencia made it a mission to gain the trust of their workers and assure them that they value them; not just provide them a paycheck.
As for a future outlook, the MOTA Glass team sees themselves as a global brand. Lady says, “I want people to be able to walk into stores and see our product and know what it stands for. And I think we’re well on our way.”
For more information, visit MOTA Glass to shop and support its efforts for fair wages and ethically sourced products.
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