Women Rock in Green and Natural Businesses
7 May 2012
There are a lot of successful big companies out in the business world, many run by women, but there are so many more successful small businesses and those that aspire to becoming a success. According to the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), women own 7.8 million of the 27.2 million small businesses in America. What is even more exciting is when these companies specialize in a niche market like green and natural. Many women create companies born out of a personal mission to improve family, health, lifestyle, environmental issues, etc. which seems to drive them 24/7 to create more than just a product, but a company they can be proud of.
Many originally had jobs outside of the home in other sectors when they decided they wanted to live their passion and others are moms with a great idea born out of necessity. Product categories such as pet, chocolate, vitamins, feminine hygiene, household, food, baby, and full service agencies that can promote them like ADinfinitum are more important than ever.
Sue Taggart, President and Founder of ADinfinitum, originally from England, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis many years ago and was told there was very little that could be done except to be on drugs for the remainder of her life. She was only in her 30’s at the time. Going the traditional medical route and using so many toxic drugs was not acceptable to her. She decided to see an herbalist who turned her life around and taught her to manage her symptoms with natural solutions and dietary changes. Soon after that she started her full service agency, which has been specializing in promoting green and natural brands for over 20 years. In July of 2011, Sue founded eco18.com to provide online consumers with green and healthy lifestyle information for everyday living.
Diva Cup, an eco friendly alternative to women’s menstrual products is a family business run by Corrine and Francine Chambers , who have not only built a successful business, but have an amazing community of loyal brand advocates. Green Depot, founded by Sarah Beatty in 2005, is the nation’s leading supplier of environmentally friendly building products, services and home solutions with many retail stores. Some companies like Shazi Visram’s Happy Baby Food and Marie Moody’s Stella and Chewy’s pet food have gone on to be multi-million dollar companies.
Biomimicry and teaching business the ‘secrets of life’
26 Apr 2012
Ray Anderson often asked a rhetorical question: does business exist to make a profit, or does business make a profit to exist? With this line of questioning, Ray called upon us to understand that while making a profit is the lifeblood of a company’s survival, it shouldn’t be the only reason for a company to exist.
With his talent for translating lofty vision into everyday reality, Ray would ask: what you would rather get out of bed to do each day: make carpet, or make history?
Making history by making carpet is a unifying sentiment for the people of Interface. How, exactly, are we making history? By proving the business model for sustainability, while taking on Ray’s challenge to eliminate our negative environmental footprint.
Ray believed there must be a better way for business to thrive on our planet, without the assumed ecological and social impacts that our current industrial take-make-waste system creates. With such ambitious goals, where do we look for inspiration in redesigning a system as pervasive and complex as business?
Garden Activists: Bringing green thumbs to urban blight
20 Apr 2012
From Washington Post
by Emily Wax
“Let’s throw some bombs,” a young woman calls out, waterproof floral purse swinging on her shoulder and Laura Ingalls braids flying behind her as a band of 25 followers cheer, “Cool!”
They rush toward a drab vacant lot in Shaw. Some climb up onto the back of a truck to get better aim at their target. But these bombers aren’t likely to appear on any terrorist list or even get arrested. They’re throwing “seed bombs,” golf-ball-size lumps of mud packed with wildflower seeds, clay and a little bit of compost and water, which they just learned to make at a free seed-bombing workshop for Washington’s guerrilla gardeners.
An interview with Green Drinks founder, Margaret Lydecker
30 Mar 2012
From Eco-Chick
Before Margaret Lydecker founded Green Drinks NYC in 2002, there wasn’t a place for Manhattan’s like-minded, eco-conscious professionals to get their networking on. Margaret changed that, and now many of us wouldn’t know what to do without her monthly events.
Whether you’re a dedicated monthly green drinker or not, you’ve in all likelihood heard of Green Drinks NYC, even if you don’t live or work in the Big Apple. Over the years, Margaret has aided in the launch of 200-plus chapters globally (there are now 800-plus chapters worldwide). She’s helped build the global Green Drinks brand, in the coolest way imaginable: by connecting green businesses and professionals at the local level.
I went to the most recent Green Drinks NYC, and observed Margaret calmly and graciously working the room. She’s the face of Green Drinks– never letting a name or a face slip her, which is highly impressive considering she has literally met thousands of individuals at her events over the past 10 years. But Margaret also runs the show, delegates to her staff and Green Drinks volunteers, and ensures every minor detail goes off without a hitch.
I wanted to get to know the woman behind Green Drinks NYC who has effectively connected so many people. Margaret revealed the challenges she’s faced, how her passion for sustainability began, her thoughts on greenwashers, and how she manages to keep it all together.
Read an interview with Margaret Lydecker at Eco-Chick
Liberty Phoenix Lord’s Secret and Solace
6 Mar 2012
This podcast is worthy of a rerun. Liberty Phoenix Lord took a deeply painful experience, the death of her baby due to toxic outgassing in his nursery, and started a green building store so no other parent would have to ever experience what she did. Ever. Liberty’s transparency and willingness to tell her story is deeply moving.
FYI: Liberty is the sister of River and Joaquin Phoenix, and this podcast is the first time she has spoken about her tragedy in public. Listen to her unbelievably moving story right here on Women Of Green.
About my guest: Liberty Phoenix Lord has been a resident of Gainesville, FL since 1989. She is married and has 3 beautiful children; and is on the Board of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC the heart of Florida chapter). Liberty owns and runs INDIGOGreen, a Green Building supply store. The mission of INDIGO is based on her commitment to the environment and the health of our planet.
Why Green Is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career
5 Mar 2012
From the United States Department of Labor
Ensuring women are prepared to succeed in a 21st century changing economy is critical to the financial stability of women, their families, and our country. Why Green Is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career is a comprehensive manual designed to assist women with job training and career development as they enter into innovative and nontraditional jobs. The guide also provides vulnerable women a pathway to higher paying jobs, and serves as a tool to help fight job segregation. It offers women resources and information they need to enter and succeed in jobs in the emerging green economy. The guide was created to help women at all stages of their careers — whether they are newly entering the workforce, transitioning to new careers, or returning to the workforce — identify and take advantage of opportunities in the clean energy economy. It will help training providers, educators, counselors, and other workforce development professionals promote the recruitment and retention of women in green career paths.
The guide is organized into the following chapters:
- Introduction to the Guide
- Why Is Green Good for Women
- Green Occupations: A Look at What’s Out There
- Educating Yourself for a Green Career
- Finding Your Green Job
- Green Entrepreneurship
- Women Succeeding in Green Jobs
- Overcoming Challenges on Your Career Path
- Planning Your Green Career
- Glossary of Terms
Check it out and then check back here. Was this guide helpful? Or more of the same?
Who are the Social Entrepreneurs?
1 Mar 2012
On the day Steve Jobs died last fall, Occupy Wall Street organized the first massive march down though the Canyon of Heroes in New York, in the opposite direction of the route the New York Giants would take four months later. Swollen by busloads of stoic union troops, the small and somewhat ragged OWS band melded with a much larger crowd and dominated lower Manhattan from Foley Square to Trinity Church, a patch of turf Washington and Hamilton would surely still recognize for its geographic and economic centrality to the nation, if not for the shadows of the modern buildings and mounted police officers in riot gear.That news of Apple‘s
Women and the Arab uprising: 8 change agents to follow
27 Feb 2012
Women have been at the forefront of the uprisings that started in Tunisia and soon cascaded west to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and across the Gulf. Over the past year, Arab women have relished the promise of a change — and found a new sense of equality long suppressed under sclerotic patriarchal regimes.
But many women activists fear that promise is now receding; and that women’s rights are being left on the political back-burner. In Egypt’s first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections — largely seen as the nation’s first free and fair vote — only nine of the newly elected 498 parliamentarians are women.
Popular Egyptian activist blogger Dalia Zaida says shortly before the elections, she conducted an informal poll of 1,400 voters across Cairo and found not a single person, male or female, who said he or she would vote for a female presidential candidate. Women across the region worry about this growing chasm between the reality of women’s unyielding participation on the streets and their stark absence from the formal political process.
Some secular female activists also fear that the rise of Islamist parties, whatever their professed moderation, will curtail their political space.
In Egypt, women have faced brutal treatment at the hands of the caretakers of the revolution — the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Activists describe its handling of protests as incompetent at best, and malevolent at its worst. Back in March, when the military forcibly expelled protestors from Tahrir Square — the epicenter of pro-democracy protests — 18 female activists were arrested, 17 of whom say they were forced to undergo “virginity tests,” (the military has claimed the tests were done to protect the army from possible allegations of rape).
Recently, hundreds of women from across the Middle East attended a conference in Egypt to discuss how technology and the Internet, namely social media, can be used to protect and advance women’s goals in the region. The Egyptian-American pundit Mona Eltahaway moderated the conference, taking the stage with both arms in casts. In November, she was sexually assaulted and beaten by soldiers near Tahrir Square. The plaster didn’t preclude her from articulating her message: “The most revolutionary thing a woman can do is share her experience as if it matters.”
As countries across the region struggle to dismantle inequitable systems and build civil society anew, these are just a few of the female “agents of change” who are sharing their experiences and have no intention of backing down.
UN panel says only Sustainable Development can create a ‘Resilient Planet’
8 Feb 2012
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, A panel of current and former heads of government, ministers and lawmakers Monday launched a plan for world leaders to propel an “ever-green” energy revolution that could wean the world off fossil fuels, when they meet in Brazil later this year.
The report of the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability links the United Nations’ goals of reducing poverty and inequality to promoting the use of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to power the economies of rich and poor nations alike.
The report, “Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing,” contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice quickly, moving it from a general concept to the core of mainstream economics.
Steffany’s Eco-bold Move Pays Off
20 Nov 2011
I was born and raised in a small ranch in Brazil, and since the early days, my mom always made sure that we ate all our veggies and finish our fresh acerola juice. She always let – and sometimes encouraged – my sisters and I go play in the rain and mud. We never got sick and grew up living this very healthy lifestyle. Until this day, my mom is a wealth of knowledge about what’s good for us (eat your flax seeds grounded, but only grind them before you eat, and keep them in the dark!) and she always finds the most unique things at the grocery store, before they become “fashion” like the chia seeds juice or kombucha.
Ecobold evolved from an idea that I had to help people learn how to shop for healthy items. While doing my research, I realized that there were many products out there beyond food that people would love to buy, but didn’t know that they exist or where to get them, so I decided to switch plans to an online marketplace that helps sellers all over the world market their amazing products to the people who want them. And Ecobold was born. We launched just a few months ago with 80 products and today we have almost 3,000 products available in many categories: from beauty, to food, to clothing and even electronics. Our goal is to help sellers market these products and help consumers find these small sellers who are popping up everywhere (but who don’t have a clue on how to do sales online or where to even start). Sellers on our site can be anyone from a mom who decided to make natural soaps in her spare time,to a small business owner selling non-toxic body lotions to their local spas. Since we are based in Silicon Valley, we are in a position to offer them the absolute best tools to show their baby to the world, increase sales, awareness and get repeat customers.
I was making pretty landfills for a living.
28 Sep 2011
Sometimes the challenges of the planet seem too big, too complex. What can I do? What is my role to play? My late friend, John Armer, used to say, “Our job is to leave the sandbox cleaner than when we found it.” I have always liked this simple yet poignant saying.
I am a textile designer by trade. For years, I designed products for mass markets — Walmart, Target, etc. I loved my job. Creating patterns and designs is total joy for me. In 2004, I got a call from a competitor who wanted me to come work for them.However, I couldn’t do it. It didn’t feel right. It felt like a step sideways. It was a blessing though, because it got me thinking. What is the next step? What does it look like?
It was around this same time that I walked into a mass market store and found a sea of check-out stands, all filled with customers, all with baskets filled with stuff. All I saw was a glacial-size flow of landfill. Cheap stuff to be enjoyed briefly and then discarded. It was in that moment that it hit me—I was making pretty landfills for a living!
Determined to have my life’s work be something I could be proud of, it was on that day that I started down the road that would ultimately lead to the creation of Harmony Art Organic Design — an independent, printed organic fabric company. I am happy to report that six and a half y
ears later, colorful printed organic cotton is no longer an anomaly but a growing market segment.
It is my sincere belief that for the “sandbox” to get collectively cleaner (or remain dirty and continue to inherit more debris) there is a magic shovel. No, I can’t solve poverty, climate change, financial exploitation, or war. What I can do (and what everyone on the planet can do) is to look at my own life. What contribution am I making with my life’s work? What about your contribution? I made the decision to walk away from a steady paycheck to create a new, healthier fabric option for people and businesses. I don’t expect you to quit your job and start your own company — that’s extreme. But I do think if we each took a good hard look at the results of our life’s work, and simply focused on creating the best possible product (or outcome) for the world, the change would be explosive and powerful.
California wants to lead on socially-conscious businesses
18 Aug 2011
We are at the cusp of major positive change in corporate governance and corporate responsibility in California.
Behind us is the old way, the only way corporations in California and most other states have operated: Start a business and try to maximize profits for shareholders. Under this model, any notion of broad corporate social responsibility is subordinated – and legally trumped – by a fiduciary duty to make as much money as possible.
If you don’t bring it, we won’t get it. A conversation with Rha Goddess – show 50
4 Aug 2011
One of the best parts of my work with Women Of Green is I get to hang out with some of the coolest, smartest, electrifying people on the planet. Rha Goddess is at the top of that list. She is a captivating performance artist, activist and social entrepreneur who uses her artistic and motivational talents to heal, transform, and inspire. If you are an entrepreneur (or want to be) whose mission has social change at the heart of your enterprise, listen to this interview. Rha’s shares her hard-earned business savvy with her deep passion to make a difference, and shows us how to “Stay True, Get Paid and Do Good”. That’s music to my ears.
Mother and daughter birth a big vision
18 Jul 2011
With the birth of my son fast approaching, I wanted to take a stand. I wanted to create a community where real people could come and learn about environmental hazards and the simple changes they could make for their families, the environment and their pocketbook. I enlisted the help of one of the most passionate people I know, my mom, and we set out to create change.
For us, it mattered that change was easy and simple. It mattered that change could come from a small action that anyone could do, regardless of time and money. We also were determined to take a stand against plastic bags. It’s easy to see why – toxic and foul litter in the four corners of the planet, killing marine life and choking our natural resources. It seemed the perfect fit. What if we could get every person in North America to stop using plastic bags?
This is It!: A conversation with Jean Houston – show 48
12 Jul 2011
“We have come to the stage where the real work of humanity begins,” says scholar, philosopher and visionary, Jean Houston. “We’re in the great ‘either/or’ of history. Either we really blow it the next 20, 30, 40 years, and stay on the same path of same ol’ same ol’, or we consciously decide to rise to the challenges, the greatest challenge in human history. Other people thought they were ‘it’. They’re wrong. This is the most critical time in history.” This is how my interview with Jean begins. Boy, am I in for a ride, I think to myself. “And critical to the turning are women,” she punctuates. I’m speechless.
There are no words to describe the power, intelligence and heart of this cultural icon. When you are in her presence, every cell in you becomes alive. It’s like they begin vibrating at a different frequency. Jean seems to know what you need to know and speaks to it, without you even saying a word. So, make yourself a nice cup of tea, turn off the cell phone, and listen to the words of this wise woman giving us a glimpse of where we’re headed next.
Vulnerability Management: Required course for leaders?
8 Jul 2011
Birute Regine, EdD is the author of “Iron Butterflies: Women Transforming Themselves and the World.” She previously co-authored the critically acclaimed “The Soul at Work: Embracing Complexity Science for Business Success” with her husband, noted science writer Roger Lewin. She earned her doctorate in human development at Harvard and has spent 25 years as a psychologist in private practice and now works as an executive / life coach, facilitator, speaker and author.
I was having dinner with a friend, a very successful consultant, whom I hadn’t seen for quite a while. As we munched on a Caesar salad, I talked about my research on successful women. “I asked myself, what did these women, from many walks of life, share in common?” I told my friend. “What I discovered really surprised me. And because it surprised me, I knew I could trust this finding. A secret to these women’s success, I realized, had to do with how they dealt with vulnerability, their own and others’. They were able to transform vulnerabilities into strengths.” My friend leaned back in his chair and said, “You better not use that word with leaders. No leader wants to talk about vulnerability! They won’t go there.”
