Podcast: USA

107: FabScrap – Recycling and Reusing Textile Waste

May 17, 2022 aviyer2000 Fashion and Beauty, Impact, USA, Womenled 00:31:14 0 Comments

Majority of the conversation around fashion waste revolves around finished products that end up in the landfill. But around 12 % that is around 6.3 million tonnes per year is sent by brands to the landfill in the design and development stage. These would be sample booklets with swatches and unused fabric rolls and prior to Fabscrap they ended up in the landfill. We talk with Jessica Schreiber CEO and founder of FabScrap, a non-profit whose 80% of earned income comes from service fees and fabric sales. They receive service fees from brands to Fabscrap to pick up their textile waste, similar to when they pay for recycling or trash pickup. They do this with an army of volunteers, almost 100 unique ones per month and their staff in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Their staff take extra precautions to assure brands that their copyrighted materials are shredded and don’t reenter the market. Fabscrap also sells the fabrics to quilters, sewing enthusiasts, fashion students and assuring nothing that is picked up by Fabscrap goes to the landfill. With the long-term goal to influence habit and policy they create impact reports that they share back with their brands – how much and what fabric they picked and how was it sorted and if reused or not. Jessica believes that this makes the brands internalize the cost of their waste and may help them reevaluate and optimize their design and planning process. Learn more about this first of its kind initiative and organization on this episode of Mindful businesses.

#textilewaste
#mindfulbusinesses
#sustainablefashion
#fabricwaste
#fabscrap
#sustainablefashion

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Fashion and Beauty
107: FabScrap - Recycling and Reusing Textile Waste
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106: The Buy Nothing Project – Buy Nothing, Build Community

May 10, 2022 aviyer2000 Impact, USA, Womenled 00:39:42 0 Comments

Humans are inherently materialistic and seek happiness through objects, but what we get is enjoyment not happiness. Happiness tends to be more fulfilling and long term. Happiness often comes by connecting with your community, by sharing stories and creating trust. That is what The Buy Nothing Project does. We talk to the amazing Rebecca Rockerfeller, co-founder of The Buy Nothing Project, who started the movement with her friend Liesl Clark, as a way for community members to gift things that they don’t need any longer. But how are they different from donating, is the stories that they share with each other, that create bonds and communities. Spring is around the corner and if you are anything like me, I am overwhelmed with the clutter around me and making frequent trips to the donation sites. But maybe this Spring gift it through your neighborhood’s The Buy Nothing Project. Learn more from this amazing and truly authentic co-founder Rebecca Rockefeller on this episode of Mindful Businesses.

#Mindful Businesses
#TheBuyNothingProject
#sustainability
#eco-friendly
#communitybuilding
http://buynothingproject.org/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

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Impact
106: The Buy Nothing Project - Buy Nothing, Build Community
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101: Eden Green Technology – Everyone Deserves Nutritious, Fresh, and Safe Food.

April 5, 2022 aviyer2000 Agriculture & Farming, Food, USA 00:41:04 0 Comments

In the United States, 90% of the lettuce is produced and shipped from California to the rest of the country. When we combine the impact of this long journey on the environment, cost and 30% loss in farm produce – makes vertical farms close to consumption a viable alternative. In this episode, we learn from Eddy Badrina, CEO of Eden Green Technology about Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) where plants are grown hydroponically, in greenhouses, and by using all kinds of methodologies to control the growing environment. Eden Green Technology has successfully grown 100 different types of produce in a vertical farm using hydroponics – in a greenhouse. They rely on sunlight that comes through the greenhouse panes as against other vertical farms that need to be artificially lit with LED or other types of light fixtures. This fascinating technology seeks to revolutionize the grocery retail industry by growing what the stores need nearby, thus reducing costs, waste and at the same time delivering fresh produce to the consumer at a reasonable price. By designing sustainable and scalable vertical greenhouse technology, deployable almost anywhere in the world, their vertical farming technology is helping the world sustainably grow large amounts of food to create a healthier and happier existence for all.

https://www.edengreen.com/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/all-episodes/

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Agriculture & Farming
101: Eden Green Technology - Everyone Deserves Nutritious, Fresh, and Safe Food.
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100: Earnin – Your Money When You Want It

March 29, 2022 aviyer2000 Economic Empowerment, Impact, USA 00:28:46 0 Comments

Financial insecurity can be expensive, living paycheck to paycheck and with overdraft fees, penalties, higher interest and mortgage rates. Seven out ten households in America live paycheck to paycheck. Ram Palaniappan , founder of Earnin, noticed that one of his employees had to get payday loans to pay her expenses. Though she had worked her hours she got paid only after two weeks and her bills were due now. He decided to advance her salary as soon as she put in the hours. Soon the word got around, and other employees and non-employees reached out to Ram to avail of their earned wage. He realized the inequalities in our society further accentuates the mismatch between when an employee earns and when they get paid. He started Earnin to break down the barriers of an outdated financial system, to build new solutions that work for everyone. Using the time attendance systems already in place, they are able to provide Earned Wage Access – where their users can access the money as they earn it. This helps the users synchronize their income and expenses. They offer these services without any mandatory fees. They charge a nominal $2.99, only in case of instant transfers – which is much lower than the $15 that payday loans charge. I ask Ram – how can such a business model be profitable? To hear his answer, tune in to this weeks episode.

Mentions: Prof. Ananth Iyer, Purdue University
https://www.earnin.com/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
#fintech, #financialsecurity, #earnedwage, #mindfulbusinesses, #paydayloans,

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Economic Empowerment
100: Earnin - Your Money When You Want It
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99: Ancient Nutrition – Transforming Health With Superfoods

March 22, 2022 aviyer2000 Agriculture & Farming, USA 00:44:42 0 Comments

Today we talk with Jordan Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Ancient Nutrition, who encountered health challenges as a young boy turned towards food to solve his illness. He talks and educates us about what are superfoods and what would be a super plate. Super foods can be fruits, vegetables, plants, spices and even fungi. How is his company different? They practice regenerative farming and believe in the long run the nutritional values and the components in food that is grown using regenerative farming will be higher than even organic. They don’t sell the food that they grow, but convert them into potent supplements. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Businesses.

https://ancientnutrition.com/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

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Agriculture & Farming
99: Ancient Nutrition - Transforming Health With Superfoods
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98: Ecdysis/Blue Dasher Farms – Thousand Farms Initiative

March 15, 2022 aviyer2000 Agriculture & Farming, Thought Leaders, USA 00:35:51 0 Comments

Today we have on our show the passionate and even maybe maverick Jonathan Lundgren, director and founder of Blue Acre Farms and Ecdysis foundation. The word ecdysis means the process of shedding the old skin and that is what Blue Dasher farms wants to do by operating regenerative farm and scientific research hub designed to help foster a revolution in our food system. Blue Dasher Farm combines cutting edge science with hands on experience to remove barriers to the adoption of regenerative agriculture.
​They believe in a food system that promotes soil health, farm biodiversity, and nutrient dense food – all while benefiting the farmers who grow it. As a researcher who was honored by President Obama, in 2015 as one of the recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, Jonathan talks about his time at the USDA and how going against the grain is not easy. But he felt change was urgent and left his job at the USDA to start Ecdysis foundation and Blue Dasher Farms along with several of his research fellows. ​Blue Dasher Farm relies heavily on their ability to show that they can support. They want to take the wind out of the argument “that may work on a research farm, but it would not work on my place.” They are transparent and willing to compare their profitability to other more conventional operations. Although Blue Dasher is a for-profit enterprise, their mission is to help promote the regenerative agriculture movement and strive to be financially solvent while farming in a sustainable way.

https://www.bluedasher.farm/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Our sponsor:
https://www.silverspungoods.com/

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Agriculture & Farming
98: Ecdysis/Blue Dasher Farms - Thousand Farms Initiative
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96: Geoship – Regenerative Architecture

March 1, 2022 aviyer2000 Design and Innovation, Sustainable Materials, USA 00:41:15 0 Comments

“Out beyond ideas of right angles and hard lines, there’s a bioceramic dome. A place where nature, community, and healing come full circle. We’ll meet you there.” – Morgan Bierschenk, founder and CEO of Geoship, a homebuilding cooperative, owned by the people. Bioceramic domes combine the geometry/math of Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller with the material science of Rustum (Rusty) Roy – Geoship’s Founding Fathers. Bucky was a legendary American polymath and future architect. He invented Synergetic Mathematics and introduced the geodesic dome into mass awareness. Rusty was a legendary professor of material science with a focus on crystal chemistry. Morgan is knowledgeable and visionary in how regenerative architecture can be used to build living environments that reconnect human communities with the natural world. Geoship domes are built with all-ceramic composite panels, struts, and hubs. The lightweight ceramic parts are fused together on-site with ceramic mortar. The dome is repaired and resurfaced with the same highly crystalline ceramic material. Learn more by listening to our episode.
This episode is a re-air from April 13, 2021
https://geoship.is/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

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Design and Innovation
96: Geoship - Regenerative Architecture
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95: Center for Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (CUWP) – Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics

February 22, 2022 aviyer2000 Design and Innovation, Impact, Sustainable Materials, USA 00:43:43 0 Comments

We talk with Dr. George Huber, Richard Antoine Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin- Madison and the director of Center for Upcycling Waste Plastics (CUWP) about his research in recycling plastics. His technology offers a solution to filtrate the polymer from different plastics by applying solvents solvents. Though multi-layer plastics are more complicated his technology, solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP), is able to use thermodynamics and solvents to disintegrate them into their constituent resins. It’s a fascinating process – the key is to capture 99% of the polymer and make sure nothing is release into the atmosphere. With consumption of plastics showing no signs of abating, it is crucial to recycle efficiently to reduce the consumption of new plastics. CUWP consists of six universities, over ten industrial partners, one national laboratory, and one industry association. They also share with scientists, engineers, policy makers, business leaders, and the general public to help them make informed decisions about the costs and benefits of new technologies for plastic recycling. Learn all this and more from Dr. George Huber.

https://cuwp.org/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

Art by Xin Zou, University of Wisconsin-Madison for Hochan Chang, Min Soo Kim, George W Huber, James A Dumesic, Design of closed-loop recycling production of a Diels Alder polymer from a biomass-derived difuran as a functional additive for polyurethanes, Green Chemistry (2021) 23, 9479-9488.

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Design and Innovation
95: Center for Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (CUWP) - Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics
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94: The Glad Products Company – ​​Doing More to Waste Less

February 15, 2022 aviyer2000 Packaging, Sustainable Materials, USA 00:46:05 0 Comments

In this episode we talk with Eric Schwarz, General Manager of The Glad Products Company. He talks about Glad’s commitment to reducing our environmental footprint, and helping consumers with their own green goals. Their sustainability journey focuses on 4 key areas: Products, Production, Packaging and Programs.
Products with less plastic – Glad has developed breakthrough technology that enables their most popular product, the drawstring kitchen trash bags to use less plastic than leading competition without sacrificing strength. They have to reduce 50% of virgin materials in Glad Trash by 2030 and have reduced it by 13% as of CY2020. Production with less pollution – they are improving manufacturing processes to reduce environmental impact. They have achieved the goal of Zero Waste to Landfill manufacturing for North American plants and utilize 100% renewable electricity in our North American plants. Packaging with less waste – reduce its environmental impact with the goal of 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable. They have achieved in making their packing 99% recyclable and have a 48% reduction in virgin packaging as of CY2020. Programs with more purpose – Glad teamed up with Recyclops to improve curbside recycling access across the U.S. Learn more in this episode.

https://www.glad.com/sustainability/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

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Packaging
94: The Glad Products Company - ​​Doing More to Waste Less
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92: Zero Grocery – Plastic-Free Grocery Delivery

February 1, 2022 aviyer2000 Food, Packaging, USA, Womenled 00:48:47 0 Comments

Zuleyka Strasner, founder of Zero Grocery moved from East London to San Francisco to work for Facebook. She saw the need to for a plastic – free grocery. To learn about customers needs and habits she started by delivering first in plastic containers and then in plastic-free containers. She soon learned that most of the customers were willing to try new products curated by her delivered in a sustainable packaging. She raised half a million dollars from venture capitalists within 4 months of starting the business. Pandemic with its mixed blessing brought exponential growth to Zero. They initially had a monthly subscription of $25 for unlimited delivery but as of Jan 1st they have done away with the subscription and have a guaranteed 2 hour delivery. Zuleyka talks about her experience in raising funds and how women should approach from a position of power and not weakness. Listen to this fascinating journey in this episode.
#sustainablegrocery, zerowaste, #plasticfree, #USA, #mindfulbusinesses, #zerogrocery,
https://zerogrocery.com/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

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Food
92: Zero Grocery - Plastic-Free Grocery Delivery
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