Africa with its rich arts and crafts have so much to offer to the world. We are excited to find online or in a nearby store a unique, one of a kind piece from a land far away. But we should pause to think as to how much of what we pay actually goes back to the artisans and their communities. Today we talk with Jenny Nuccio, Founder and CEO of Imani Collective – Global Social Enterprise Empowering Artisans, who wanted to not only promote the art from Kenya, but make sure that the artisans are paid two to three times the average wage and gain access for their art. She joins us from Mombasa, Kenya sharing her life’s mission to provide a fair and living wage to the folks who work alongside her. Learn more in the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
Natural gas used to heat our homes, cook our meals and sometimes even to move our cars comprises mainly of Methane – a know greenhouse gas. While we go on this journey to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and green house gasses, there needs to be a sustainable alternative to conventional natural gas. The anaerobic activities in landfills creates Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). RNG is a hundred percent match to conventional natural gas and can thus be piped and supplied using the existing natural gas distribution pipelines. We talk with Grant Gibson, co-founder and CDO of Synthica Energy – that does exactly that. Their anaerobic digestion facilities receive industrial food wastes, organic by-products, brewery washout and they use them to produce biogas for commercial power plants. Learn more about this exciting solution on this latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
https://synthica.com/
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We like to check in with some of our previous guests to see how their business has changed, what goals were achieved and the ones that were not. How they may have pivoted or continued the path they had chosen. It is a pleasure to have Shameek Ghosh, CEO of Trustrace -Tracing for Fashion. He joins us once again from Stockholm, Sweden. We talk about fashion traceability and regulations on this industry in Europe and North America. How they have changed and the impetus for these changes. Conversation about how a responsible and mindful brand can navigate the journey of traceability and abiding by the regulations smoothly. Trustrace offers a path and solution to these brands – from enterprise to mid-sized sustainable businesses. To learn more about their solution listen to the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
Cotton fiber and fabric is considered to be one of the most natural material. Given that, who would have thought that the process of manufacturing cotton fabric uses materials and techniques that cause environmental damage. Cotton needs to be cleaned and the “trash” removed for the cotton to become white and more absorbent to dyes. Alkaline and other harmful chemicals used to bleach in this process need to be washed out completely. The dyes in itself are harmful and their effluence further pollute our environment. Fibre 52 replaces these toxic chemicals with bio-products that do the job more sustainably and efficiently. Their patent – pending process reduces the processing time by up to 25%, up to 70% reduction in water consumption and up to 40% reduction in electricity without reducing the quality or dyeability of the cotton. Fibre 52 prepares cotton – knit, woven, non-wovens or raw fiber – for a perfect dye job without using harsh, toxic chemicals AND without stripping the unique properties that make everyday cotton resilient, naturally soft and breathable. It can be done using existing machinery and without additional capital investment. In this episode we chat with Graham Stewart, Executive Vice President of Fiber 52 who shares how their product helps the cotton mills consume less heat, energy, water and time. Learn more about this unique product on this episode of Mindful businesses.
This episode was previously aired on April 23, 2023.
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Oil spills in our world where engines are omnipresent are almost inevitable. Larger accidental spills on land and water have catastrophic effects on the environment, plant and animal life. Ironically some of the industrial spill clean-up solutions often used may not always be eco-friendly. SaveSorb is a totally natural, sustainable plant material. Using sphagnum peat moss in a proprietary method, it is dried, sieved, blended and pH balanced to create the most effective absorbent of hydrocarbons (oil based compounds) and chemicals available.
SaveSorb absorbs almost all hydrocarbons, chemicals and their vapors. It encapsulates them within its molecular structure and will not leach contaminants into the environment, even under pressure. SaveSorb is very safe to handle. In its natural state it partially absorbs the fumes, making it useful for cleaning up small spills containing flammable liquids.
SaveSorb is available as a loose product in bags and in a variety of manufactured products from Spill Kits, absorbent mats and socks. Listen to the world renown jockey turned entrepreneur, Ronnie Ebanks who seized the opportunity when he was introduced to this “miracle-product”.
As we open our kitchen faucets and fill a glass with drinking water, we probably don’t realize that around 2 billion people globally do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Clean and safe potable water is such a basic necessity but is still inaccessible to one-fourth of the population in the world. For them, bottled water is not a luxury but a necessity for a healthy and disease-free living. In the United States, municipalities are equipped with water treatment plants and the water is tested regularly, but old and often crumbling pipes tend to leech contaminants into the water. The tragic case of Flint, Michigan comes to mind. Our mindful guests Jess Page and Nicole Doucet, Co – founders of Open Water set out to offer a product to exactly this segment of the population. They explored a variety of options and came up with a rather elegant solution. Firstly, bottle the water close to their customers, reducing the carbon footprint of transportation. Secondly, using aluminum cans as against plastic bottles. Aluminum recycling rates far exceed the plastic recycling rates (around 65%) and do not lose their integrity – that means aluminum can be recycled infinitely. In fact, 50% of all aluminum used is post-consumer recycled. We asked our guests why aluminum is superior to even cartoned water, does water have a taste, and what was their journey and motivation to start this venture. To learn the answers these and other questions listen to the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
Friendship and support is what creates a community and a sense of belonging. That is exactly what our guest Priyasha Shah, Founder of Sakhya wanted to create amongst the women who love South Asian fashion and styles. She started the platform Sakhya where sellers could post their pre-loved saris, salwar kameez, lenghas to offer it to buyers who would love to own a piece of South Asian fashion. These outfits and saris woven with the memories, may it be a shopping trip with cousins in India or a special purchase for a wedding or Diwali – give the sellers a way to share that joy and warmth with the buyers in the Sakhya community. Sakhya’s mantra is “shop what you love, sell what you don’t – but always keep it in rotation” From guidance on how to photograph the item to pricing strategies – Priyasha and the Sakhya team has created a sustainable community around South Asian fashion. These fashion articles are exquisitely designed with embroidery, in vibrant colors and made with unique fabrics are given a new life and maybe …glam to the wearer. Sakhya is A South Asian Fashion Resale platform for truly sustainable and accessible South Asian clothing. A community where anyone can recreate their South Asian wardrobes with ease and trust. Learn more about this sustainable business on this episode of Mindful Businesses.
This episode was originally aired on February 18, 2020
Today we revisit an episode where we talk with co-founders Sujata and Taniya (Su and Ta) who decided to quit their well-paying jobs and put their hearts and souls into spreading love through traditional hand-woven sarees. They have a family of 1400 weavers. The process of weaving every saree is a celebration of centuries of tradition and the authenticity of Indian arts. Suta strives to preserve the art of generational craftsman, guaranteeing them a living wage and bringing their products to the urban markets. Learn about their journey in this episode.
The firsts in our lives have a special place in our life experience. May it be the first job, first business venture, first car and even your first podcast episode. Today we wanted to re-air on the 4 year anniversary, our first episode Palm Straw. It was a startup in 2019 which my mentor at that time Dora Lutz I suggest that I reach out to. This startup with such a simple sustainable idea and product did not make it through the pandemic, but nevertheless valuable sustainable lessons were learnt and shared in this early episode.
This episode was previously aired July 22, 2019
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The environmentally conscious you doesn’t want to use plastic straws, but paper straws dissolve in your drinks. Here is the answer for you: Palm Straws! In this episode we talk to Palm Straw co-founder Dave Mash about their bio-degradable plant-based straws.
As formula companies’ productions are limping back to normal, after the recall, a question some people ask is why can’t mother “just” switch to breastfeeding their infants. As most mothers know that it is not that easy to make that switch. Breastfeeding a baby can be hard – it needs support from the family, spouse, pediatrician and most importantly the medical community. Breast milk can be stored up to four days in the refrigerator giving the mothers some flexibility to return to work or even sometimes even share some of their milk with other mothers. This breast milk needs to be stored in a safe, convenient, and long-use product. Our guest in this episode, Nickey Ramsey, Founder & CEO of Junobie does just that, empowering women with a convenient pouch made of silicon. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Businesses.