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JOHN SHEGERIAN: Welcome to another edition of Green is Good. It’s a special edition here in San Francisco at the Green Festival. We’ve got a very special guest with us today, Kyle Parsons. He’s the founder and President of Indosole. Welcome to Green is Good, Kyle. KYLE PARSONS: Thanks, John. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Kyle, obviously, we have some of your great products here in front of us. Before we get talking about your brand and some of your great products, talk a little bit about your journey, your story and how you got to be into sustainability and then the founding of your company first. KYLE PARSONS: It started my sophomore year in college. I got a job at a recycling facility, basically a dump, and was recycling plastic products, having them bailed up and shipped off an island. That was my first introduction to recycling and the need for reusing products. That led me into some surf shop jobs, working in retail, selling sandals. Then, I grew into a sales rep job, selling sunglasses, snowboard gear and some other things. Got some retail experience. In 2004, I took my first trip to Bali, Indonesia, and I was just blown away by the beauty of the land, the people and how resourceful the people were, making really cool products out of trash. I found a unique pair of sandals that had tire on the soles of them, and I made a connection between a waste problem that had been going on there. There’s a lot of plastic, a lot of waste tires, and I actually learned that over one billion tires end up in landfills each year. I had an idea, and it was a hybrid of my previous experience in recycling and also working in the surf retail sector. I wanted to start a sandal brand made out of repurposed tires as soles. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s what Indosole is. It’s a sandal brand made out of recycled materials? KYLE PARSONS: Yes, absolutely. JOHN SHEGERIAN: What year did you start it? KYLE PARSONS: There were about three years of development, which started as just carrying suitcases through the airport packed with sandals, giving them away to my friends. As things evolved, I found a more professional factory that I could partner with and refine the product and get it ready for the U.S. market. We did our first retail delivery in May of 2010, so here we are in 2014, charging ahead. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Before we get talking about the samples right here, for our listeners and viewers out there, you can find Kyle’s products at www.indosole.com. Talk a little bit about what environmental problems, besides the fact that we waste so much on this planet, what other environmental factors were you thinking about, and what were you solving? What problems were you solving when you created these beautiful shoes? KYLE PARSONS: As we got going, we realized that we were solving multiple problems. First of all, there’s a lot of waste tires in landfills around the world. These tires take hundreds of thousands of years to decompose in a landfill. By preventing them from ending up in the landfill and making them into shoes, we’re addressing that problem. Another thing that we’re doing, actually, on the manufacturing end, is finding a cleaner and greener way to manufacture shoes. It’s almost like the old fashioned way of making shoes, by taking a tire, keeping it in its raw original form, and cutting it up and refining it, adhering it to the upper of a sandal. It’s a very organic process. There’s no melting down, there’s no toxins, and the tire is left in its original form. It’s actually different than recycling. It’s repurposing. It’s upcycling. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Is your company located here in California? KYLE PARSONS: Yeah, we’re based in San Francisco. All of our manufacturing is in Bali, Indonesia. We employ six Americans full-time and over 40 Balinese craftspeople in our factory. Our distribution is steadily growing each year. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Does that factory make a lot of products, or is it dedicated just for Indosole’s products? KYLE PARSONS: We’re their number one shoe client at our factory. There are some other customers, but none make products like ours. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Are there certifications when it comes to shoes? Is it similar to fair trade, in terms of sustainability standards and things like that? KYLE PARSONS: Yeah, we’re a certified B Corporation, which we recently got approved for and we’re proud of, which simply says that we’re doing our best to do things the best way we can. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Talk a little bit about these beautiful shoes we have in front of us and why they’re special and why your shoes are so special. KYLE PARSONS: Yeah. Our original products used repurposed motorbike tire. In Indonesia, there’s millions of motorbikes on the streets, hence lots of tires kicking around. So we took the tread and put it on the bottom of the sandal. The upper on this one uses repurposed burlap coffee sacks on the top and polyester. We don’t use any leather or any animal materials. It’s all vegan. We also use recycled trash as hang tags. This one happens to be a coffee wrapper. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. That’s awesome. Beautiful. KYLE PARSONS: Some of the other materials we use are natural, just from the Earth. This is grass mat, so this is grass that’s grown in the rice fields of Bali, taken out, dried, and then spooled together and bound with thread and pulled together. This one says Bridgestone on the bottom of this tire. We put a lot of time into the comfortability of these sandals, too. There’s an embedded arch support and nice, soft foam on the inside. The ladies represent most of our business these days. Women love to shop, so we wanted to give them something that they really can feel comfortable in and feel beautiful in. JOHN SHEGERIAN: This really feels comfortable. KYLE PARSONS: Yeah, this model is called the Ikhanna. It has a zipper on the back, vegan suede. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I see the Dunlap brand right on the bottom. KYLE PARSONS: Yep, that’s right. We use all different kinds of tires, just continuing the journey, letting the good times roll on. JOHN SHEGERIAN: What do you got there? KYLE PARSONS: This shoe is called the Kelapa shoe. It’s just a nice, easy slip-on for women. It’s one of our top sellers. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I’m looking at the box here. I want to just turn this around. First of all, I love your tagline, “Soles with soul.” That’s awesome. Made from 100% recycled cardboard. This is a DNA cultural issue at Indosole. KYLE PARSONS: Yeah, what we like to say is that we’re either repurposing or giving things a future purpose. For example, our hang tags, too. At the retail level, we give these hangers to our retailers, and these are made from repurposed scraps from furniture makers. It’s used to display the shoes in the store, but when a customer buys the product, they can also take this hanger home with them, use it in the kitchen to hang dish towels or in the closet to hang belts or jeans. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How many lines of shoes and sandals do you have now? KYLE PARSONS: We have four models of sandals for men and women, and three different models of shoes. JOHN SHEGERIAN: What’s your bestseller? KYLE PARSONS: These two right here, the tan burlap and the green grass mat, are our top selling sandal models. They’re our originals. For the ladies, the Ikhanna and the Kelapa shoe, we have a variety of different colors. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Kyle, obviously, you are someone not only with vision, but with guts. You started a business all the way in Bali, and it’s growing, obviously. We’re now into the fourth or fifth year. How do you best market your beautiful products? How do you get the world to know about these products? KYLE PARSONS: First of all, it’s been an amazing rollercoaster ride, starting a business on very little capital, bootstrapping it to the hilt. It’s been a lot of fun with those challenges. All of our marketing has been completely organic. We’re on social media. Places like Green Festival, where we can connect with customers and tell them our story and then have them walk away with a pair of shoes. JOHN SHEGERIAN: They can see and touch and feel and really believe what they’re seeing. That’s great. Besides on your website, which again is indosole.com for our listeners and viewers, where else can they find your beautiful products? KYLE PARSONS: We have retailers throughout California. We have about 70 retail shops throughout the world at this point that are independent retailers. Here, locally in San Francisco, we sell to the San Franpsycho shops, and that’s four shops. We have our own shop at 45th and Noriega in San Francisco. JOHN SHEGERIAN: You have your own shop. Awesome. People can order online and you’ll deliver anywhere around the world? KYLE PARSONS: Yes, we do. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Do you have people buying them around the world? KYLE PARSONS: Yes, ordering direct through our website is a great way to go. We do free shipping within the U.S., and we can ship to anywhere in the world. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. Well, Kyle, we thank you for coming on. You’re always welcome on Green is Good. Again, Indosole Shoes and you can find them at indosole.com. Soles with a soul, and you’ll make the world a better place. Kyle Parsons, you are living proof that green is good. KYLE PARSONS: Thanks, John. I really appreciate it. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Thank you.

His focus is to develop and implement new products, business models, and partnerships to ensure success of Ford’s sustainability plans globally, including success of Ford plug-in and alternative fuel vehicles. Prior to this role, Mike led the Product Planning and Program Management activities globally for hybrid electric vehicles and was responsible for developing and implementing Ford’s electrification strategy that was announced in January 2009. Mr. Tinskey has held a variety of leadership positions during his career with Ford, which began in 1991. This includes director roles in Advanced Product Engineering, Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Business Development, and Innovation. A common thread among these positions is that he was charged with identifying and implementing game-changing technologies and new business models – and developing strategies and partnerships to implement them flawlessly. Mike holds a Bachelors and Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and earned an MBA in Finance from University of Michigan. He holds multiple global patents in vehicle control systems. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Welcome to another special edition of Green is Good. We’re here in San Francisco at the Green Festival, and we’ve got a very special guest with us today. It’s Mike Tinskey. He’s the Director of Global Vehicle Electrification and Infrastructure from the Ford Motor Company. Ford is making another visit to Green is Good. Welcome to Green is Good, Mike. MIKE TINSKEY: Thanks for having me, John. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Mike, there’s lots to talk about today, but let’s first talk about Ford and the Green Festivals. What cars have you brought today to the Green Festival, and why are they so special? MIKE TINSKEY: Thanks for asking. Ford believes in what we call the power of choice, so we brought both plug-in hybrids, hybrids, and a pure electric. It’s in the form of C-Max Energi, Fusion Energi, both the C-Max and Fusion hybrids, as well as the Ford Focus electric, which runs 100% on electric energy. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s great. And how has the response been from all the people here? MIKE TINSKEY: It’s fantastic. We’re here in San Francisco, and there’s a lot of want for these kinds of technologies. In fact, I don’t know if you know this, but we sell about 40-50% of all of our plug-ins here in the state of California. JOHN SHEGERIAN: 40% right here. I’m not a real car expert or anything, Mike, but has the Ford brand and these great electric cars started going internationally already? MIKE TINSKEY: They have. That’s one of the things that we really like because we build our products globally. Products like the Focus electric are offered as both the Focus electric, they’re also offered as the Ford gasoline, and in Europe as the Ford diesel and the Ford gasoline and the Ford Focus electric. So you take that one product that we build everywhere around the world, and you can take it and offer it as an electric in all those different regions. So to answer your question, yes, the Ford Focus electric has been launched in Europe, and we are about ready to launch our plug-in hybrid over there as well. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. So my son just graduated from college in the spring in New York and moved back to California, and he needed a car. So I said, “Son, choose a car, and we’ll go look at it together.” So he took me to the Ford dealership in Santa Monica, and we got the C-Max Energi. MIKE TINSKEY: Oh, you did? Fantastic. First of all, your son, is he nine years old? JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s nice, but no, he’s 21 years old. He did all the homework, and he was so excited and he told me all the benefits that come with it, stuff that I had not even heard of, such as the stickers that come with the car, the fact that in Santa Monica and other cities in California now that are starting to go with the program, you can park for free. You can go on the carpool lane with just one person. There’s so many other benefits that come with your great cars now, it’s just amazing. He loves it. MIKE TINSKEY: That’s great to hear. It’s really good to hear. We hear that a lot. The C-Max Energi that he has can drive up to 19 miles on electric. You mentioned all the other benefits he gets, but one of the prime benefits is it’s green. For that first 19 miles every day, he’s running off of energy here in California that is over 30% renewables. JOHN SHEGERIAN: He said that in the first week of driving, he used less than a gallon of gas. He was just psyched. Of course, we took a test drive together, and I drove it with him the first day. It’s unbelievably comfortable and has all the greatest new gadgets inside, really just a wonderful product. It’s nice to talk about it from just seeing it at the Green Festivals, which we’re here today, but it being in our family, I’ve got to tell you, you guys made a great car there. MIKE TINSKEY: That’s great. Will that car be called your son-in-law? No, your car is somehow related, being the father of the son. I think that the whole plug-ins are really starting to catch on. That vehicle he has, there’s really no compromise because if he does go farther, he has a gasoline engine and it runs in hybrid mode. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s why he chose it. MIKE TINSKEY: I get screenshots sent to me from customers all the time that show me how many miles per gallon they’re getting. Many of them are charging wherever they can find a spot, and here in California, there’s lots of places. There’s a gamefication. People try to stay in electric mode as much as they can. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s right. He was explaining to me, not only does his apartment building have it, but also the Whole Foods has it, so his whole path of travel has the charging stations now, and that’s just wonderful here in California. It makes it really convenient. Ford’s been on our show before, and we’re so honored that you guys take the time to come on the show. For good reason, we always want you on because you guys are so committed to the environment. Can you share beyond today at the Green Festival and the beautiful cars that you brought, the other commitments that Ford is making to the environment, and what you’re doing way beyond these three wonderful cars? MIKE TINSKEY: Sure. I can give you just a few ideas. You’re right. Sustainability is sort of in our roots. Our Chairman and our leadership are very passionate about it. On the emissions side, it really starts with the climate change. We believe that climate change is happening, and we need to do our part. When we do our products, when we launch our products, we want to be the fuel economy leaders. When we do products like the plug-ins we’re talking about, we want to offer as many of these products for our customers as possible. But it really extends even further than that. For example, we use old blue jeans for sound insulation in many of our products. You have to have sound insulation for your products. You might as well use old blue jeans. Much of our carpet in many of our products is used from recycled plastic water bottles. We partnered with a company called Reprieve, and they actually help us get that carpet and make it out of recycled material. Then we use a lot of grown products, soybeans and others, throughout the vehicle. If you move into the plant side, our manufacturing side, we just announced our fourth plant in the world that will have solar installed to help offset all the electricity use. We took our water usage down by 30% over the past five years. It really extends throughout the whole business to try to the best we can. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I also know you guys are big into recycling. Talk a little bit about recycling in Ford. MIKE TINSKEY: I don’t know if you know this fact, but the car is the most recycled product of any consumer product. When a car is done with its life, we can recycle about 95% of it and make it into other things. That’s not the only place we focus on. The other place is at the beginning of its life. We have a whole team. It’s a really cool team at Ford of research scientists. They’re sort of the dream team of how can we grow the raw materials to put into the vehicle? You would be amazed. Everything from the seat coverings to the floor coverings, we have quite a bit, and it’s all sustainable. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Even the pressed aluminum in the Ford F-150, most of it is recycled aluminum. MIKE TINSKEY: That’s right. In fact, that company in particular, that new F-150 that we just launched last week, all of the aluminum alloys are from 100% recycled aluminum. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Unbelievable. At Ford, green and sustainability and environment is really cultural and a DNA issue. Again, I’m going to make it really personal. I love the car. I was excited. The price was really, really fair, but speak a little bit about, Mike, and I was shocked when this happened, the tax advantages and the rebates available to people who want to avail themselves of your wonderful cars. MIKE TINSKEY: Sure. The government has a vested interest in seeing this happen because running on electricity is better for the planet. Let’s use a Focus electric as an example. We just lowered the MSRP to just under $30,000 to $29,900. If you take that vehicle and purchase it for that price, you are eligible for $7,500 from the federal government. In this state, you’re eligible for another $2,500, so there’s $10,000 right there. Some cities have additional incentives, depending on where you live. Then you add in the savings you’re going to get from running on electricity versus gasoline. You throw in some of the savings of your time, based on going in HOV lanes, as you mentioned, etc. Airport parking has been a big benefit. You add in those other intangible, not monetary, incentives, and you start seeing a very compelling case. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Mike, we’re so thankful for you guys coming back on Green is Good today. For all our listeners out there, please go and check out all the great green vehicles made by Ford at www.ford.com. Mike Tinskey, you are living proof that green is good. MIKE TINSKEY: Thanks, John.

Monica founded Veestro with her brother Mark in 2012. Growing up as brother and sister in a big family in Costa Rica, the two always loved the social aspect of sharing a great meal together. They looked forward to those special times surrounded by friends and family and home-cooked food where every meal was prepared from scratch. When they came to the United States for college (both UT Austin grads), the brother and sister duo struggled to make healthy food choices. Fast food was quick and easy to eat between classes and studying, but later, as young business people pursuing careers, the on-the-go eating habits didn’t improve much, and began catching up with them. The two were bemoaning the lack of good food choices and decided to do something about it. They searched the supermarket for healthy prepared food options. A trip to the frozen food aisle was a real eye-opener. The backs of the frozen meal boxes were loaded with ingredients that they couldn’t pronounce. They asked themselves, what was in these meals, exactly? The two realized that if they couldn’t find frozen options that fit into their new commitment to whole foods and plant-based nutrition, then they would create them. Veestro was born! JOHN SHEGERIAN: Welcome to another edition of Green is Good. It’s a special edition of Green is Good in San Francisco at the Green Festivals. We’ve got a very wonderful guest with us today, Monica Klausner. She’s the co-founder of Veestro, and this is a very special topic to me, Monica. I welcome you to Green is Good today. MONICA KLAUSNER: Thank you, John. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I’m a vegan and Monica’s company, Veestro Foods, makes vegan food, so we’re going to have a fun discussion. But before we get talking about your great brand, Veestro, I want you to share a little bit of the Monica Klausner journey. How did you get here, owning Veestro, founding Veestro, with your great product line here? What was the journey like? Did you grow up in a green household? Was it something that happened in school? What happened here? Tell us the journey. MONICA KLAUSNER: I’ll tell you, it’s sort of an interesting story. My brother and I, we were born and raised in Costa Rica. We grew up in a house eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, and all the meals were made from scratch. We really enjoyed the family experience of enjoying fresh meals. Then we moved away to college, and all things changed. We were really struggling with eating healthy. We were having a conversation one day where we were both complaining about how hard it is to eat healthy when you’re busy and you’ve got work and kids and all that. We sort of thought, you know what? There’s got to be a good way to do this. So we went to the frozen food aisle and looked at all the frozen packaged products, and we were really disappointed. There’s a lot of sodium and preservatives and so many things we couldn’t pronounce, so we made it a mission to do it ourselves and do it better. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. When did you start Veestro Foods with your brother, Mark? MONICA KLAUSNER: We started it in October of 2012, and we worked very hard to get the logistics all squared away. In May of 2013, we started selling to the public. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And you started selling online and retail, or where did you start selling? MONICA KLAUSNER: We only sell online. Our product is sort of specific because our meals are made and shipped straight to your home anywhere within the U.S. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That is great. For our listeners out there and our viewers, Monica’s company and her brother’s company, Mark, it’s www.veestro.com. You launched it in May 2013. You ship anywhere in the continental U.S. Explain the product line that you launched with, and what kind of products you have today. MONICA KLAUSNER: OK. We wanted to be able to prove the concept, so we launched with about 15 meals that you could eat for breakfast or for lunch or for dinner. We had a couple of appetizers, and we started reaching out to the vegan bloggers. We wanted to know if people who are really immersed in this world would go for it, would think it was a good idea. The response we got from them was phenomenal. They loved the food and they loved the concept of making it just so simple to be able to get delicious food. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And it’s all plant-based? MONICA KLAUSNER: 100% plant-based, organic, non-GMO ingredients, and everything is made fresh and packaged and shipped in dry ice, so everything arrives frozen. The idea is that you will put a lot of our Veestro meals in your freezer, so when you get home and you’re tired or you just didn’t get a chance to go to the market, you have healthy, organic meals ready to be popped in the oven. JOHN SHEGERIAN: They choose from a menu of choices and that’s how they order? They just click and basically fill up their shopping cart and order online with their credit card. MONICA KLAUSNER: Yeah. Right now we have over 40 meals on our menu. You can order in three different ways. You can order a la carte, so you just pick and choose whatever you want. You can order one of the preset packs, a high-protein pack or a low-calorie pack. Or you can be part of our subscription service, where we send you food every two weeks, either for three days a week, five days a week, or seven days a week. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Monica, the whole key, as you know being a vegan and as I know being a vegan, is good taste, not trading taste for quality or for our desire to eat plant-based food. I see you’ve brought a couple samples with you today. I think the moment of truth is arriving quickly here. MONICA KLAUSNER: Here’s the moment of truth. This is a red curry. It’s not very spicy, and I apologize that it might not be very hot. It’s brown rice with veggies and tofu in a red curry sauce. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s delicious. Oh my gosh. Is this one of your better sellers? MONICA KLAUSNER: That is definitely one of our better sellers, but I have to tell you, John, we have 40 meals on our menu, but we have about 25 of them that are our bestsellers. Our meals are really all delicious. JOHN SHEGERIAN: It’s hard to choose what’s the best. What’s this here? MONICA KLAUSNER: This is an eggplant casserole, all plant-based. Everything that we make is plant-based, and our chef is really, really good about keeping the ingredient list short. He makes the food as clean as possible. You mentioned something that I think is really important. There’s no reason to give up taste. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s right. No giving up taste here. MONICA KLAUSNER: Good. We wanted to make sure that we could make it really easy for people to eat vegan and enjoy it. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Amazing food. That’s delicious. So there’s 40 options online. How has it been going? You’re now in business almost 18 months. Explain the journey as an entrepreneur, a family business with your brother, Mark, and how the growth has been and how you’re getting the word out there. MONICA KLAUSNER: It’s been a fascinating journey. We have learned so much along the way, some missteps like every other new business. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I’m going to have more of this food. It’s just so darn good. Keep going. MONICA KLAUSNER: We recently brought on a CEO because we are really doing amazing. We have grown so much. We grow, on average, 25% month over month. Our subscriptions are really taking off, so it tells us that people are really looking for a way to eat healthy without really having to think about it. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Explain that. What do you mean by subscriptions? MONICA KLAUSNER: The subscription works like this. We have three choices, three days a week, five days a week, or seven days a week. We send you three meals and a snack for every day. If you are on the five days a week, you will get, basically, 15 meals per week plus snacks. We ship you two weeks at a time, and we send you the list of what’s for breakfast, what’s for lunch, what’s for dinner. You really don’t have to think about it at all. You just pull out your breakfast, lunch, and dinner for that day. You pop it in the oven. You eat it. You don’t have to think about it. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How about if I just want to go online and not subscribe, but just order a bunch of stuff, I can do that too. MONICA KLAUSNER: Absolutely. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Where do you market? How did you get the word out? MONICA KLAUSNER: We started with the vegan bloggers, and they were incredible. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How did you go beyond that? MONICA KLAUSNER: Beyond that, we did some Facebook. Facebook has actually worked out really nicely for us. We just recently hired a digital marketing agency that’s going to really help us take it to the next level. We’ve done it all sort of grassroots on our own, and it has been incredible. There really is a big need for conveniently delivered food that is good. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Talk a little bit about the benefits to both people and the environment to plant-based eating. MONICA KLAUSNER: The benefits to the environment are really amazing. For one, you’re not eating any animal products, any animal byproducts. JOHN SHEGERIAN: This food is just so good. MONICA KLAUSNER: Good. We really wanted to make an impact in the world and just make our footprint less. By eating green, you’re really contributing to everything that is good, not just for yourself, but for the environment. In terms of health, a plant-based diet is really the best way to eat. People are always asking me how do you get your protein? If I had a dollar for every time they asked me that, honestly. There is so much protein in the greens and the vegetables and the way that we mix things. It’s really just a no-brainer. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And when you stop eating meat, you’re even contributing to the lessening of the whole climate problem, right? All the different outputs that come of the cows and all the meat that’s produced in this world, it’s just better going plant-based. MONICA KLAUSNER: I have to tell you, when we drove up from Los Angeles, we drove by the cow farms, and my heart was broken. It’s just terrible. First of all, the stench is horrifying. Your heart is broken, so we wanted to do something that’s just so good. You don’t have to be a vegan to eat our food. We market it a little bit mainstream because we want everybody to be able to enjoy delicious, healthy meals, do something good for themselves and good for the environment without feeling pressured. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Monica, what happens if the food comes, but I have to go on a trip or something like that. It’s in the freezer. How long does the food last in the freezer? MONICA KLAUSNER: It will last eight weeks in the freezer. No preservatives. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s a long time, though. MONICA KLAUSNER: It is a long time. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So if you over-order or you have to go out of town for some reason or you end up going out to eat, there’s a lot of life left in the food because it’s fresh good. MONICA KLAUSNER: Absolutely. JOHN SHEGERIAN: We’re coming to the end of today’s segment, Monica. Share a little bit about yours and Mark’s dream here. How far do you want to go with this and how big can it go? MONICA KLAUSNER: Well, we want to go very far, and we believe that there is a big market. It’s amazing how mainstream media is just sort of catching up to being vegan and plant-based eating and the benefits of it. Our goal in the next year, literally, is to move to a bigger facility where we can really service a huge amount of people. We’re in the middle of a big fundraise right now because we’re busting at the seams. We just can’t make food fast enough. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How are you raising the money? MONICA KLAUSNER: We’re doing a friends and family round. We’re raising half a million dollars, if you’re interested. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Half a million dollars, and are you allowed to say how much of the company you’re selling? MONICA KLAUSNER: We are selling shares at 49 cents a share. That gives you sort of an idea. We want to make this big. We want Veestro to be a household brand name that people recognize and think of healthy choices and eating smart when they think of it. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That is just so wonderful. So a family business can potentially go global. MONICA KLAUSNER: Yes. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. For our listeners and viewers out there, if you want to buy Monica and Mark’s great food, it’s www.veestro.com. Monica Klausner, thank you for making our health and the world a better place. You are truly living proof that green is good. MONICA KLAUSNER: Thank you so much for having me, John. It’s a pleasure. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Thank you.

While studying Marketing and Psychology at The University of Colorado-Boulder, Kristen became immersed in business. However, as a yoga-practicing, earth-loving minimalist, Kristen had no interest in a career focused on selling more “stuff”. Through her studies, she came to believe that businesses and products injected with passion, honesty, and heart-felt intention can improve community faster than any other force – and for her, composting is just about the coolest, most natural thing you can do to keep the planet healthy. After graduating in 2010, Kristen teamed up with her Dad, Van, to bring his innovative composting tool to the public. In September, 2013 Kristen braved a packed Boulder Theater audience and competed in the Naturally Boulder “Entrepreneur Pitch Slam,” against impressive competition. After her live pitch to a panel of CEO and VIP natural products industry judges, Kristen won the Pitch Slam and more than $2000 in cash and another $48,000 in services and consulting prizes that would help CompoKeeper fund the launch of its projects. As interest grew in CompoKeeper, Kristen realized a strategic partner was needed to support the commercial realization of their product. In 2014, CompoKeeper received investment from Natural Eco Wholesale’s (NEW) Founder and CEO Steve Savage, a veteran in the eco-products industry. In March, 2014 Kristen took on the role of Marketing Director, helping to shape the company’s strategy and growth. She then moved to the Bay Area to oversee manufacturing and the manifestation of her family’s dream. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Today we’re at the Green Festivals in San Francisco, California, and we’ve got Kristen Hess with us. She’s the Founder and Marketing Director of CompoKeeper. Welcome to Green is Good, Kristen. KRISTEN HESS: Thank you, John. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And we’ve got a CompoKeeper right here in front of us. KRISTEN HESS: Yes, this is the CompoKeeper. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Before we talk about this CompoKeeper, and I love the color of it, by the way, I want to talk a little bit about the Kristen Hess. Talk a little bit about your journey in life. Where did you get the sustainability bug? Was it from childhood and was it from education? Was it just from the environment and friends and family along your journey? Share your journey a little bit with our listeners, please. KRISTEN HESS: Sure, OK. I grew up in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a very, very green and environmentally friendly place, beautiful scenery. It’s definitely a place to visit. When I was in school at CU, I studied business. I took a course on sustainable operations, and I learned all about how businesses could really impact and change the way that they were doing things so that, instead of being harmful to the environment, they could actually be part of the solution and actually lead society to be more sustainable. That was really the push that got me going towards a career in sustainability. Meanwhile, my dad was inventing this compost bin in our garage. After I graduated, I jumped onboard and really helped bring CompoKeeper to the marketplace. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So your dad also had the bug a little bit in his inventiveness. KRISTEN HESS: He did, yes. As a very handy person, he was actually solving a problem that our own family was having. In Boulder, as I said, it’s a very sustainable, very green place. We got curbside composting in 2008. The municipality comes around and they pick up yard and food waste from homes and businesses. They give you this small 1-2 gallon pail for collecting your food waste in the kitchen. What we found is that odors and fruit flies were a really big issue with those pails that they give out, and also that you have to take them out all the time because you make a lot of compostable waste while you’re cooking. What he did was he solved his own problem. He went into the garage, he took a big 6-gallon container, and built clamps into the bin that would seal a compostable bag, kind of like a Ziploc bag. It keeps everything contained. That took care of the odors and fruit flies, and it also allowed him to only empty it about once a week instead of every other day. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So when did your dad’s design and your bug for sustainability merge and you founded, then, what looks like a beautiful product that’s in front of us called the CompoKeeper? When was this founded? KRISTEN HESS: It was really founded in 2008. That’s when the very first prototype was made. Then in 2010, I graduated from CU-Boulder. I went and did this sustainable volunteering at a health and wellness retreat, and learned about permaculture. As soon as that was over, I was onboard. I was like, OK, I’m going to use my marketing education and we’re going to make this a reality so that other people can be less afraid of composting. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Got it. So you launched it. How did you get the word out? Did you start selling it in stores, online? How did you start getting the word out? KRISTEN HESS: Yeah. We actually just launched after years of prototyping, development, and making this an actual model that can be manufactured with injection molding. We just launched in September, and right now it’s available on our website at compokeeper.com. We’re working on distribution. We’re talking to some retailers so that it’s really easy to find in any city across the nation. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So compokeeper.com. What is the environmental benefits of composting, for our listeners out there that want to buy it but want to understand the whole cost benefit analysis of composting? KRISTEN HESS: Composting is great because it takes nutrients that are in food and the parts that we don’t use, and it recycles them back into soil. That’s what you’ll hear referred to as compost, is the actual finished compost that you can then use in your garden or even in restoration projects. What it does is it feeds the plants, it gives them more nutrients, so it makes produce more nutrient-rich. It also sequesters carbon from the atmosphere, so it’s helping in that way as well. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And where would this product typically go if we weren’t composting it? Where would it go historically? KRISTEN HESS: In the landfill, right? Most people are used to just throwing everything from their kitchen into the trash, and then that heads to the landfill. What happens in the landfill is that food waste becomes anaerobic, which means that it’s not getting oxygen. What happens with organic waste when it becomes anaerobic is that it releases methane gas into the atmosphere. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So it’s a waste of product, first of all, to go to the landfill. It fills it up. It creates more waste in the air and the land, when it could be going back to fertilize and revitalize our whole ecosystem. KRISTEN HESS: Right. Or it could be a closed loop, where it just goes back to grow more food. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. That is just great. So it’s all part of the circular economy, composting is, the new circular economy. KRISTEN HESS: Exactly. And when you use compost, you don’t have to use other synthetic fertilizers, which, first of all, take energy and create pollution to produce. They also have a lot of negative impacts when people consume them and on the water supply, so we’re just getting rid of all those chemicals and doing something that nature does by itself. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Kristen, I’m in the electronic waste recycling business as a profession, and what we see with the cities that we represent and serve, that there are three major trends going on in those cities, both electronic recycling, textile recycling, and composting. Talk about how that megatrend that seems to be really on fire now across America, in cities, especially, how that will positively affect your brand and how you can interrelate the founding of your company with the real trend and desire now for many households across America to compost in their home. KRISTEN HESS: I think the big push to keep things out of the landfill and find more uses is becoming very widely known. We’re understanding the impacts, and we want to make sure that the future for our children is just as good, if not better, as our lives are now. Also, all the land and sea creatures. As recycling is embraced by America and across the world, composting is really the next lowest hanging fruit, and it’s so easy. U.S. households, one-third of their waste stream is actually compostable waste. We’re wasting so much. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Does the city have to have a composting program, for our listeners and viewers, to be able to buy your product and compost? KRISTEN HESS: No. The bags that work with the CompoKeeper are 100% compostable. They are recommended for municipal facilities, but they do compost in the soil over time. What we recommend for backyard composters is to bury them, and they will compost in about six months. When you have a backyard pile, if you’re going to use your compost for your garden, then you can keep the bags out because they’ll tend to slow down the process, and you really want to get the compost as fast as you can and get it hot. If you keep the bags out, you can bury them. It’s also great for curbside composting because it’s super low-maintenance. You don’t have to do a lot of work. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So anyone in America who’s watching this show now or listening can buy your great product in front of us and use it. KRISTEN HESS: Yes, absolutely. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Explain how it works. KRISTEN HESS: There are clamps inside the bin that, when you open the CompoKeeper, it opens the clamps. I’ll show you. The clamps are open, and then while you’re cleaning up, while you’re cooking, you can just toss your food scraps in there. Then we close it. You push down on this, and it seals the compostable bag. It’s fashioned after a Ziploc bag. It seals odors in and fruit flies out. There’s also a charcoal filter in the lid to help absorb any extra odor. It’s six gallons, so you don’t have to take it out as often, as I mentioned. When you do take it out, there’s a bag tray inside that helps you pull out the compostable bag, so you don’t have to worry about the bag exploding or dripping all over your floor. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How much does this model cost right here? KRISTEN HESS: It’s available on our website for $99.50. It comes with 12 compostable bags and two filters. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And do they buy extra bags from you, or they can buy it from their local store? KRISTEN HESS: They can use any bags they would like. We made our bags specifically for the CompoKeeper for the longer storage, so they are thicker. They’re also the perfect size so there’s not a lot of extra bag. You don’t have that extra waste. They can buy our bags on our website, and they can even sign up for a subscription service, where you only sign up once. You tell us how often you want us to send you the bags, and we’ll take care of it from there. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. I see that you donate 1% for zero waste education. Explain that to our listeners. KRISTEN HESS: We think that the children are really shaping our future. I hear so often that there are green programs at school, and the children, then, come home to their parents and they say, “We have to start composting.” So they’re really going to start leading this effort towards zero waste. We want to make those green programs more available to children across the nation, so we’re donating 1% of our sales to those efforts. JOHN SHEGERIAN: For our listeners and viewers out there, you can go to www.compokeeper.com. Kristen Hess, thank you for being a guest on Green is Good today. You are truly living proof that green is good. KRISTEN HESS: Thank you, John. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Thank you.

The Larsen family’s experience with dietary changes aimed at improving the health of the gut microbiome eventually spurred them to found their company offering those with common gut-related food allergies ways to improve their health. Tula’s CocoKefir produces raw, young coconut kefir and markets it on the company’s website for delivery across the U.S. It’s also available in select stores in 26 states. In addition, the company is launching a new cultured vegetable drink for kids, who suffer from gut-related illnesses in higher numbers than adults. Along their journey, Michael has learned there are aspects of modern life that destroy the fragile ecosystems we harbor in our bodies (our microbiomes). While there is much talk about the impact of human activity on the environment (the macro environment), Michael has come to learn that modern life also has an impact on “micro environments.” Antibiotics, disinfectants and antibacterial soaps destroy these fragile ecosystems that science is discovering are key to our health. In addition, the standard American diet feeds unhealthy yeasts and microbes in the gut while starving off healthy microbes. Michael believes we wage war on the microbiological world in our attempts to control “bad” bacteria with little regard for the “good” bacteria on whom we depend on for our health and wellbeing. Michael and his family have found a lifestyle that nurtures healthy bacteria and has improved the health of all members of his family in profound ways. He strives to share this information that has helped his family so much in the hope others’ lives can be improved in similar ways.

Adam started his career at Microsoft working in a variety of roles within the hardware supply chain supporting Xbox and computer accessories. In 2009, Adam joined Amazon.com, working within the books division. In 2013, Adam relocated to California to support the expansion of the Amazon Fresh grocery home delivery business in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Looking for an opportunity to build something of his own, in June 2014, Adam left Amazon to found Brute Box Moving, formally launching the business in October 2014. Today Brute Box delivers reusable moving boxes and supplies to more than 35 cities in the San Francisco bay area. Adam received a B.S. degree in Supply Chain Management from Western Washing University, and currently lives in San Francisco.

Jill’s love for world travel has taken her from the exotic caves of Postojna, Slovenia to the unpaved and narrow streets of Swaziland where her experience of the different cultures, treasures and beauty secrets made a refreshing and lasting impression. By meeting people and encountering different beauty ingredients from around the world, Jill discovered myriad ways to maintain a youthful appearance from a number of natural, organic ingredients. One such ingredient is Marula oil. Jill discovered Marula oil during a visit to South Africa. It is known as the “miracle oil” of southern Africa and has been used for centuries for healing skin ailments, preserving food and fruit, for getting rid of stretch marks as well as a sun block. On researching Marula oil, Jill learned that it is packed with skin-friendly nutrients, has a non-greasy texture and absorbs quickly while delivering its nutrition at the deepest level. Her curiosity about this oil and the women who work to produce the oil took Jill back to South Africa for a rare second trip. She has since experienced the benefits and uses of Marula oil and plans to continue to work on a new series of Marula oil based products that also include other natural, organic and effective ingredients. Jill strongly believes that to attain beauty on the outside you have to begin from the inside. From her yoga practice, she has learned that beauty is not only what you put on your face and body, but also how you treat your body, mind and soul. She believes a balance between outward personality and inner self, a disciplined diet, regular exercise and a return to nature are the imperatives for looking and feeling good. It is on these premises that she founded Alapure Cosmetics and the ‘Alapure Lifestyle’. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Welcome to another edition of Green is Good. Today we’re in San Francisco at the Green Festival. We’re so honored to have with us a special guest, Jill Riley. She’s the CEO and President of Alapure Cosmetics. Welcome to Green is Good, Jill. JILL RILEY: Thank you, John. It’s great to be here. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So happy to have you. But before we get talking about all the great products we see here in front of us and more of your great products at Alapure, I’d love you to share the Jill Riley story and the journey leading up to founding and owning Alapure Cosmetics. Was this part of your family upbringing or part of your education process? How did you become such a sustainability person, someone who really cared about the Earth and the environment? JILL RILEY: Thank you, John. While growing up, I have always been concerned about what I put on my body. Additionally, I love to travel and I have been to about 34 countries to date just for fun. I love to learn about beauty tips, beauty secrets. It was in 2012 when I visited South Africa. I learned about the marula oil, and doing some research and even using the oil, I was so amazed by it and its benefits that I decided to launch the Alapure Cosmetics brand with marula oil as the key ingredient. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I’ve never heard of marula oil before. Tell us a little bit about what is marula oil, where is it found, and where is it derived from? JILL RILEY: Great. Marula oil comes from the tree growth in the southern parts of Africa. There are about 25 countries that have marula fruit, particularly South Africa, you’ll find it in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland. It grows in the wild. It’s not cultivated. It’s really very high in oleic acid, omega-9, so it’s really great at penetrating the skin. It does a great job at getting into the skin and moisturizing it deep within the surface. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Had this ever been used before in other cosmetics or soap that we’ve been socialized to before in the U.S., or are you the first person actually using and leveraging marula oil as a beauty and cosmetic tool? JILL RILEY: It has been used. Use of the tools that are used to extract the kernels goes back 10,000 B.C. Actually, the African people have been using it for centuries for its healing benefits, for its anti-aging benefits, as a sunblock, particularly for getting rid of stretch marks after having babies. So it goes back quite some time. As far as its use in the United States, in 2012, we didn’t find many companies using it back then. To date, there are a lot more. I believe the Body Shop is also using marula oil in their cosmetics. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So you found the marula oil, you saw that it was great for your skin and you saw that people were using it, you learned more about it. How did you go from there to becoming an eco-preneur creating these wonderful products? What was your background before founding marula oil? How did you know how to turn it into these wonderful products that are sitting here in front of us? JILL RILEY: What I know is what works for my skin, what works in my body. I actually had to work with a chemist to help me to formulate the products that we have. We have some soaps. We have a couple soaps. The main ingredient in the soap is oleic acid. Marula oil is not the key ingredient in the soap because marula oil is best if you can put it on and you let it sit on the skin. It’s not something you want to put on to wash off. The box is also made of 100% recyclable material. There’s marula oil, palm oil, coconut oil, and vitamin E in the soaps. It has about 78% oleic acid in the marula oil, but I added to that sunflower oil. The reason for doing that is because marula oil, while it’s very rich in omega-9, it doesn’t have as much omega-6, which is good for locking moisture in. The sunflower oil complements it nicely, as it’s very rich in omega-6. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Who helped you, though? Were you a chemist or did you have a beauty background? I mean, really. You find this wonderful product and turn it into these wonderful products is part science and part art. How did you do that? JILL RILEY: It’s mainly part nature, I would say, because the marula oil by itself is just wonderful. You really just have to put it on the skin and experience it. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Where do you make these products? JILL RILEY: Everything is made in the United States. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Have you imported the marula oil? JILL RILEY: We get the marula oil from South Africa. It’s sourced from a women’s cooperative in Limpopo, which is in the northern part of South Africa. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Is that a fair trade organization? JILL RILEY: Yes, it’s fairly traded and it’s very interesting. We were there in 2012, and because I was so intrigued about this, we had to go back this year in March. The reason for going back is to have a relationship with the women, to find out who is actually behind this, what’s the process. It was a very interesting journey to learn about the whole process of the marula oil. There’s a very short fruiting period. It fruits from January to March. The fruits have to fall to the ground naturally. Nobody picks the fruits. It just falls to the ground naturally. The cooperative is divided into three sectors. The first sector, the women are responsible for collecting the fruit. That’s all they do, collect the fruits. After the fruit is collected, it’s washed and it’s very interesting. On my little graphic there, you’ll see that the next thing that happens is that they make marula beer, which is very, very important. This beer doesn’t give you a hangover. It’s also an aphrodisiac. There’s a marula festival also. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Sounds like a wonder. This is a wonder product you’ve discovered here, right? JILL RILEY: It is. It certainly is. The interesting thing with the marula beer, also, is to get the fleshy part of the fruit away from the seed, once that’s removed, the seeds are left to dry for three months. Then it’s washed and cracked open with special stones. I tried cracking the seeds, and it took me about 29 tries. The women normally do it in about three tries. After that, a special tool is used to extract the kernel. Then that’s pressed and the oil is extracted. JOHN SHEGERIAN: There’s more to it than meets the eye. JILL RILEY: There is a lot more than meets the eye. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wait a second. I want to back for just a second. The marula beer, is that part of your grand plan, to bring marula beer to America? JILL RILEY: No, I’m not going to bring marula beer to America. JOHN SHEGERIAN: It’s all about beauty. JILL RILEY: Yes, it’s about beauty. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How many women are employed in this community? JILL RILEY: There are about 76 total. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s wonderful. JILL RILEY: The third sector, which I didn’t talk about, is still being developed. What they’re interested in is not just making the oil and sourcing the oil, but also in making things like lotions and skin balms and lip balms, etc. This is where Alapure Cosmetics is actually working with them to help refine that process, to help them in making things like lotions and stuff, so that they can improve their value add. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. Who helped you come up with going from this process to developing these wonderful products? Did you have a friend or you just hired someone? JILL RILEY: I hired someone, a specialist to work with me to get the products that I want to bring to the people. JOHN SHEGERIAN: If you just tuned in on the radio or you’re watching here on our YouTube channel on Green is Good, we’re with Jill Riley, the CEO and President of Alapure. You can find her at alapure.com. How did you come up with that name? JILL RILEY: Very interesting, because I wanted the products to be as pure as possible. It’s representative of all, ala, and then pure. Also, the Tabono symbol that you see around the Alapure is an ancient African Adinkra symbol. It’s called a Tabono, and it stands for strength, confidence, and persistence, which embodies the brand. It embodies the people who utilize the products. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So the logo is just not pretty, it means something. It has meaning behind it. JILL RILEY: Yes, certainly, it does. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. So how’s it been going so far, since you started the company a couple of years back? Where have you been selling your products, and where can our listeners and our viewers find your great products? JILL RILEY: The products right now are available at alapure.com. It’s also available on Amazon. We’re in the process of spreading out, getting into the stores and stuff, but it has been a long journey, but it has been a wonderful journey. We get a great reception from people at the Green Festival. We have been to the Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C. Green Festivals. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So you found a lot of value with being here at the Green Festivals. People can touch and smell and feel your great products. JILL RILEY: Yes, that’s one thing. People always want to touch, smell, feel, and experience it. The one thing is once the people that we encounter, once they have that ability to touch and feel the products, it’s just a no-brainer. I saw somebody got converted yesterday, a gentleman who had no intentions of buying the products. I said, “Just one drop, that’s all you need, just one drop.” He allowed me to put one drop of oil on his hand. He bought the oil. He bought some soaps. He was converted. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So this is certainly winning sub-stories, Jill. First of all, you’re supporting a sustainable and fair trade community back in Africa. Second of all, you have a woman eco-preneur, as in Jill Riley. Third of all, this is really great for all our listeners and viewers who want to use your great products because this is a natural product, no chemicals or additives in it that’s going to make their skin feel better and be better for their health all around. JILL RILEY: Certainly it is. It just works so wonderfully. It’s not greasy at all. You put it on and it soaks right into the skin. It leaves the skin with a wonderful glow and the nutrients, actually, work. I use it mainly at night, the oil. I put about three drops on my face, I massage it in, I go to bed, and the next morning I get up and I’m just like wow. That’s how it works. It’s very simple. JOHN SHEGERIAN: For our listeners and our viewers out there, please go to Jill Riley’s great website. It’s www.alapure.com. Jill Riley, thank you for being our guest today. You are truly living proof that green is good. JILL RILEY: Thanks, John. I appreciate it. Thank you.

The name Charlie Banana comes from a witty combination of Gaëlle’s daughter’s name, Charlie, and her son’s cute suggestion of a middle name for his sister, Banana. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Welcome to another edition of Green is Good. We’re here at the Green Festivals in San Francisco, again at the Green Festival, one of the greatest Green Festival series in the world. Today we’re in San Francisco, and we’ve got the founder with us of Charlie Banana, Gaëlle Wizenberg. Thank you for joining us today at Green is Good. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Thank you for having me. JOHN SHEGERIAN: This is really special stuff. We’ve never covered this issue before on Green is Good, so this is really, really exciting to talk about the joy of cloth diapering in the sustainable world. This is a very important topic, obviously. Can you share a little bit, before we get talking about Charlie Banana and how you founded the company, share your journey a little bit, Gaëlle. Did you grow up in a green household? Was this something you just learned along the way? Were you a sustainable family, or is this an epiphany that came to you that you had to make a change in your life for some reason or another? We’d love to hear your journey. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Wow. My journey began on the boat in France. I crossed the ocean with my parents. Living on a boat, you have to be green, you have to save, you have to be very careful with energy and resources, and you have to be creative to have fun because there’s no Toys R Us around the corner. So we were always doing monkey business with nothing and making something out of little things. I think the creative part started early on, and the love of blue lagoons and the conservation about the beautiful world that we are all in was very important, I think. By traveling and living in Hong Kong, I was exposed with my family to a high level of pollution. I think the seed of really wanting to make a difference and try to change the world started there. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And you became a mom. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: And I became a mom. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I’m sure that fueled that passion, when it came to sustainable diapers and cloth diapers and things of that such. Talk a little bit about the starting of Charlie Banana. For our listeners out there and our viewers out there, to find Gaëlle’s great products, which you can see a little sampling here on the table, she brought this for me, actually, today, it’s www.charliebanana.com. Just as it sounds, www.charliebanana.com. Share a little bit about when it happened, what year you started this, and how you started the business and its humble beginnings. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: I started seven years ago, manufacturing baby diapers with other companies, and then I started my own brand four years ago. We launched with target.com and babiesrus.com right from the start. They were big partners of us, but I have a background from the toy industry, so that gave me a lot of connections and being in Hong Kong was a little easier for me. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Listen, don’t downplay all the great things you’re doing. Connections are one thing in life, but being able to connect the dots and make something really happen is a special skillset. So as an eco-preneur that you are, my hats off to you by being able to have partners like that just from the beginning. That’s really an accomplishment and really important. Many times, businesses start and try for years to get into those brands and never can break in. So you started. Explain what Charlie Banana is and the great clothing diapers that you’ve created here, and why it’s so different than everything else that’s out there, and why it’s so important for our viewers and our listeners to use the Charlie Banana brand as opposed to the old stuff that’s out there that’s very non-sustainable. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: First of all, there’s not too much old stuff out there because cloth diapers have become so modern. There are amazing companies today that are doing beautiful products as well. The novelty with Charlie Banana is our sizing. We have a patent sizing system that’s wonderful. Basically, we can have a diaper that starts as an extra small, just tiny like this, and that same diaper will go to a 4- to 5-year-old baby. It’s the same diaper. There’s no snap in the front, nothing, so it doesn’t damage the pattern or whatever design you’re making. I’ll show you how the one size system works. Inside the pockets, there’s a bra system, so dad and mommy understand the system. It’s a bra, right? You know how to deal with that. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Yeah, this is easy. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: So you can size the extra small or small or large. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Got it. Right there. We have viewers out there, but for our listeners out there, the small, medium, and large are marked with an S, M, and an L, so it’s easy to see. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Yes. There’s a pocket. It’s fleece, so it’s extremely soft. You want to put it on. I can make you want your size. I can see you in camo. That would be good. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That wouldn’t be bad, actually. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: I’m having a visual. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I like it. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Basically, all of our diapers come with two inserts. We have a nice, big label so it’s easy to remove and you don’t touch anything, which is a nice little touch. The fleece will get anything good through, and it gets absorbed by the insert. Really, it’s a no-brainer when it comes to the ease of use. A lot of people don’t want a cloth diaper because they’re scared of the poo factor, and that’s the only thing really why people are not cloth diapering. So we have those wonderful Charlie Banana wipes. They are bamboo, and you put them on the fleece layer, just like that, and then if the baby poos, you lift the bamboo, you flush it into the toilet, then you have a dirty diaper, but it’s not a messy diaper. You separate the insert, you throw it in the washing machine, they go in the dryer. All you need is 24 pieces. If you use disposable diapers, it’s about 6,000 pieces the first two years. Now, what happens is that every parent is different, and what we wanted is to give them options and convenience. So we have disposable inserts that are made out of wood pulp and bamboo. If you are out in a boat or in an airplane, you just stuff it in there, and boom, you have a disposable diaper in a way, where you don’t have to carry dirty inserts. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And there’s no washer nearby or something of that nature. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Exactly. And then we have a little tote bag because a lot of people say, “Gaëlle, what do I do with the dirty diapers?” You wrap it up just like a regular diaper, and then you toss it into your little wet bag. And then oops, you’re done. It rolls up on the stroller, you can use it for other things, bottles. JOHN SHEGERIAN: One stop shop. That’s awesome. Now, your products are not only functional, not only sustainable, not only engineered with every possible permutation in mind, and they’re actually aesthetically beautiful, they really are, and for our listeners and viewers out there, my hand never felt something so soft as what I just felt a little while ago. Let’s talk about now the sustainability function, numbers and science. What has been the pushback? Why haven’t more people changed from strictly using disposable diapers on their children to these beautiful and luxurious, in many ways, cloth diapers? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: I think it’s a misconception. People think that disposable diapers are more convenient because they’ve been brainwashed by commercials of that baby sleeping well, and it’s not true. The marketing has been so strong that it’s hard to avoid it. It’s like handkerchiefs and Kleenex. Now people are starting to use handkerchiefs, which are better, they’re nicer, you throw them in the wash, they’re cute. You have your monogram on there and they’re elegant. They’ve been used for many years. Your Kleenex box creates waste, bleach, wood pulp. It’s a lot of waste for nothing. They actually dry your nose and they irritate the babies when you use them. I think there’s the same kind of thing. JOHN SHEGERIAN: If the world started using Charlie Banana’s great diapers, how much waste would we save from disposable diapers going into our landfills around the world? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: It’s about one ton per baby, just the diapers, not even the wipes and everything else. Just the diapers. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Gaëlle, what kind of advice do you have for expecting parents? Obviously, the baby business, as you know, you’ve been in it now for years, you had history in it before even this great company that you’ve created. What advice do you have for our listeners and our viewers out there that are considering having a baby or are already expecting? How can we unbrainwash them all the mass advertising that they’ve been subjected to most of their lives? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: I would say if you’re really considering cloth diapers, buy one to try it. It probably will be the best $20 you’ve ever spent in your life. You’re not making a big investment. You’ll see for yourself how nice and soft and how easy they are. A lot of dads are getting onboard, as well. If your husband is a little bit iffy about it, there are many ways to convince them. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Some of which we will not discuss on Green is Good today. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Could be green and eco-friendly. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Talk a little bit about what are the real benefits now? You talked about saving one ton of waste reduction per baby. Some of the other benefits of using your beautiful cloth and sustainable diapers versus the throwaway diapers that exist today, some of the other things we talked about in terms of what are the other benefits to the baby in terms of rash, hypoallergenic, all that other kind of great stuff? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Alright. Basically, cloth diapers are amazing for the comfort. They are much softer. The disposable diaper, they feel like an oven mitt. You know those oven mitts you put on and they make your finger fuzzy? That’s the same feel on the skin, I’ve found. The comfort is number one. They are cute. They look amazing. You don’t even need clothes for your baby for the photo opp when they’re newborn. This one is adorable. They will be cute and comfortable, which is what most parents want to start with. They will not get diaper rash because there is no chemicals, so the baby is not sitting in a plastic bag. That’s another thing that’s interesting. Nowadays, people want organic clothes, organic food, but it’s OK to leave the baby 24 hours in a plastic bag full of chemicals. I don’t understand that. It doesn’t fit with the whole thing. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Again, some of their most private parts. Wow. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Exactly. You know what I mean? We need to change that. If you’re going to go make your own pureed baby food, you have to cloth. Even if you don’t, you have to cloth. There’s no rash, so you have less visits to the doctors. You don’t have to spend money on prescriptions with cream. Imagine yourself if you have a rash on your bum even for one day, it could be painful. Imagine if you have it all the time. Those little babies, they’re not happy. They don’t sleep well. When a baby doesn’t sleep well, he’s cranky. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Mommy and daddy don’t sleep well. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: So I think it impacts also the caretaker. If they have a baby that’s in pain, it’s a lot fussier, it’s not happy, it’s not gigging. So if you have a happy baby that’s comfortable, then it’s a joy to take care of that baby. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s really true. For our listeners and our viewers out there, we’re with Gaëlle Wizenberg today. She’s the founder of Charlie Banana. To find her great website and her products, it’s www.charliebanana.com. A couple more questions, Gaëlle. Talk a little bit about the logo and the brand name. How did you come up with this? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: I actually didn’t come up with the name. My son, Zachary, did it. It was all his work. It’s a family business. Charlie is my daughter, and she’s younger than my son. We asked Zach what Charlie’s middle name should be, and he said Banana, and Charlie Banana, being in the toy industry, was like an instant trademark. It’s like Kodak. You can pronounce it in any language, which is a bonus, and I could also apply it on any products. Charlie Banana is not just a diaper brand; it’s a lifestyle brand because we have diapers, we have swim diapers, we have underwear, we have feminine pads for women, laundry soap. JOHN SHEGERIAN: How old was Zach then, when he came up with it? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: He was two-and-a-half. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And how old is he now? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: He’s eight. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So now, if people want to contact Zach to brand their new products, they just go through mom, who’s his agent. He came up with this great brand name, and how about the logo? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: The logo, I designed it, and there’s a story behind it. If you look at my pendants, self-marketing, if you turn it around like this, in Chinese it means double happiness. But if you turn it sideways, you have the C of Charlie and the B of Banana, and it kind of looks like bamboos in the middle. With Charlie Banana, you have no chemicals, so it’s good for you and it’s good for the planet because you have the waste reduction, so you do get that double happiness. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wait a second. You designed that? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: I designed the logo. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That is just gorgeous. And it’s on all the products. I see it on all the products, the Charlie Banana logo. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Yes. I’m an interior designer by trade, so design for me is everything. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Natural. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Yes, but it has to be good design. Everything has to fit properly. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I don’t mean to divert ourselves from the great, beautiful, natural clothing, but are you making more of those pendants? Are they for sale, or is that just the founder’s pendant? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: This is the founder’s, but I give it to very special people who have helped me grow the company, employees or sales reps. JOHN SHEGERIAN: It’s a badge of honor for Charlie Banana. Since this is all about sustainability and Green is Good is about the beautiful green products you’ve created at Charlie Banana, Gaëlle, talk a little bit about sourcing, the sourcing of what you put into your great products. How important is the sourcing, and where does it come from? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: The sourcing is very important because it makes everything. We have factories in China that are an hour-and-a-half away from our office that are partners, that are friends of the family for 25 years. Since day one, they just believed in me and they really helped us grow. They’ve been behind us even with cash flow and everything else. They were really the main supporters of the brand, and they are all quality like you would not believe. We try to do eco-tex fabric or thread. All the testing is done to high, high levels. We overtest products over standard tests that you can do, and we do extra in-house just to make sure. We do abuse tests. When we sell to Target stores and stores like that, we have to pass every standard. Even if I didn’t sell to those stores, I would do the same test because it’s babies we’re talking about, even human. We always resource the best material, the best quality, the least chemicals. It’s tedious work, really. The packaging also, we do soy ink, we do recycled. JOHN SHEGERIAN: So sustainability is in the culture and the DNA of Charlie Banana, right from beginning to end. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Yes. JOHN SHEGERIAN: For our listeners and our viewers out there, Gaëlle, where can they find the Charlie Banana brand clothing for their babies and diapers? Where can they find all these products? GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Currently, they’re available at Buy Buy Baby store. We have a beautiful section there, all over the U.S. They’re on target.com. We’re not in store any longer, but eventually, we’ll get back in it. You’re in and out. That’s the way it works. Sorry for Target shoppers. We’re on babiesrus.com, amazon.com, diapers.com, and all over the U.S, we have independent retailers that are wonderful that workshop as well. You can go on charliebanana.com and if you’re outside of the country, we sell in other countries, in Asia, in Europe. We have distributors pretty much all over the world. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Gaëlle, thank you for being with us today. For our listeners and viewers out there who are thinking about having a baby or are about to have a baby, or already have a beautiful baby, buy the Charlie Banana diapers now and do your baby and do your family a favor, and do the planet a favor. Gaëlle Wizenberg, you are truly living proof that green is good. GAËLLE WIZENBERG: Yes, thank you.

Over the last 40 years, Paul and his wife built a coffee company centered on values of social and environmental responsibility. Paul has formed partnerships with coffee farmers on family farms all over the world. He believes that quality of life on coffee farms = quality coffee. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Welcome to another edition of Green is Good. We’re today at the Green Festival in San Francisco, and we’ve got with us a very special guest. We’ve got Paul Katzeff. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Thanksgiving Coffee Company. Welcome to Green is Good, Paul. PAUL KATZEFF: Nice to be here. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Paul, we’re two New Yorkers. We were having a great conversation offline before we even started going today, and before we even get talking about all the great things you’re doing at Thanksgiving Coffee Company, can we first hear about your journey? How did you get here? You even said to me, “Look at us, we’re here, two New Yorkers today, sitting here. We’ve probably made a billion decisions along the way, most of them unconscious.” Talk a little bit about the highlights of your life and your journey getting to this point today, and how you came to founding Thanksgiving Coffee Company and how you got to being who you are today, in five minutes or less. PAUL KATZEFF: How about two hours or less? Look, it all goes back to the beginning. When you live long enough, you look back and see decades of decisions and a thread that you couldn’t follow. We live our life in the present and the future, so we don’t know what’s coming. But when we can look back, we can see where things began. For me, things began in my father’s fruit and vegetable store in Astoria, Queens when I was eight years old. My father had a fruit and vegetable store in a poor neighborhood, and he believed that the luxuries that we all should share together should at least be the food. So he would buy the best food, the best produce, and sell it to poor people at honest prices because he believed that’s the way to be. When I went to work there, I picked up on the idea of quality, of value and authenticity. That’s where it began. And then that little seed grew through Cornell University, School of Agriculture, where I studied pomology, which is the study of apple cultivation and dairy farming. I moved from that into Greenwich Village when I got out of college in the sixties, and there I hung out in coffee houses. That harkened back to my Aunt Celia who lived next door to me in the Bronx, who, when she brewed coffee in her Silex maker, not her percolator, but her different method, the aroma would waft over to my parents’ apartment. I wasn’t drinking coffee, but it was there. Then, when I got to Greenwich Village and there were coffeehouses, I would sit at night at 2 in the morning writing lousy poetry in somebody else’s place. When I eventually left New York 10 years, the sixties was a good time to be in New York, in Greenwich Village. In my twenties, I left for Colorado. I have a Master’s degree in social work, and that was my profession, a community organizer in New York. I was the first director of Job Corps. When I got to Colorado, they didn’t need me as a social worker and community organizer. I said, “OK, time to do a café.” Now, I’ve lived in cafes all night long hundreds of nights. I didn’t have a job. In Aspen, Colorado, in 1970, I began to build a café. A friend of mine walked in and said, “What are you going to call this place?” I said I’m going to call it Thanksgiving. I don’t know where that came from. It was like I became a messenger. It was God given. And then, three weeks later, when I was living in Harry Truman’s railroad car, the one he whistle stopped around the country in 1948, which was parked by the Roaring Fork River and I was the caretaker of it, that was the place I was living, a vehicle drove up, a Bronco, with three guys, and they thought I had run Robert Kennedy’s campaign for Senator in New York, which was not the case, but I didn’t tell them otherwise. They asked me if I would run a campaign for them. I said, “Who are you?” The guy said his name was Hunter Thompson. I said I had no idea who Hunter Thompson was, as an East Coast guy. He wrote for Rolling Stone. I ran Hunter Thompson’s campaign for Sheriff while I was building this café. That’s the thread of my life, all random, but not random, based on a seed that my father put into my head, not by telling me, but by showing me. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Wow. Thanksgiving Coffee Company was born in Aspen. Talk a little bit about the evolution from that day to where we are today. Give us a little history on Thanksgiving Coffee. How did you evolve the brand? How did it do in Aspen, and where are we today? Go through that a little bit, then we’re going to get into more specifics about the fair trade coffee industry. PAUL KATZEFF: Aspen Coffeehouse was an amazing experience, but it was in the early days of sharing. The concept of sharing was related also a little bit to the concept of taking. I didn’t want to sit in front of the register all the time, that wasn’t why I moved out of New York. My café failed because a lot of money every day was lost to my employees. I was a young kid. I wasn’t paying attention. I had a great place, and I left Aspen two years later, running, actually. We lost the campaign for Sheriff, and it was a cowboy town back then. It was time to get out of town, and I left running, basically. I tried to sell all the coffee equipment and everything I had. In Aspen, in my café, I couldn’t get good coffee, so I went back to New York and got in an old Italian grocery store an old coffee roaster, and I had remembered it was there. I went back to New York and got that roaster. I was in a U-Haul truck. I brought it back to Aspen and started roasting coffee. That’s how I started roasting coffee. It wasn’t just a café, it was like the hippie culture at the time was stringing beads, working with leather, making candles, and roasting coffee seemed like a craft that was right for its moment. When I left, I got on the road for two years. I had a broken heart. My girlfriend had left me, and I was lost. I spent two years on the road and wound up in a hippie campsite on the Navarro River in Mendocino in my 16-foot Mac truck with my waterbed and my cook stove, and liked the Mendocino coast. It was beautiful, and I stopped. I know that that was the right move because within six months, I had purchased a piece of land, I had met a woman and fallen in love on the land that I purchased, and I started Thanksgiving Coffee again. I had a business and that woman, who became the co-founder of Thanksgiving Coffee. We’ve been married for 43 years. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Everything came together. PAUL KATZEFF: Everything came together without trying, just random, wonderful timing of everything. I think if you’re on your path, these are the kind of things that happen. When you stray from your path, but oftentimes we don’t know what our path is. JOHN SHEGERIAN: It’s so true. Coffee has become so much of our lifestyle now in the United States and around the world, much more than when you and I were younger people. Now, with the whole sustainability revolution, environmental awareness, how did that happen? Explain that a little bit, and then the intersection of fair trade and sustainability with Thanksgiving Coffee and everything that you represent. PAUL KATZEFF: I’m going to answer this in a convoluted way. I apologize for that. I have a Master’s degree in social work, and that was my profession all during the sixties. I worked in Harlem with Puerto Rican street gangs. I worked for the Department of Labor, setting up job training programs. I was a community organizer on the Lower East Side for Mobilization for Youth. That was my world. When I left it, because if you can’t do that 110% or at least 100%, you’ve got to get out. For ten years, I gave 110%. I gave my whole life to a concept of helping people, and I burnt out. I got tired, so I left. When coffee came into my life, I became the first social worker to become a coffee roaster in the history of the world. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s not convoluted at all. PAUL KATZEFF: Any time two professions that are not the same come together, new ideas stem from that. I became a messenger for social justice in the coffee industry, not because I wanted to, but because it was me. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I just have to share with you, Paul, when I was reading all about you before we even had a chance to meet this morning, I saw that your motto is, “Not just a cup, but a just cup.” That’s so important, that phrase. Can you please tell me how it came about? PAUL KATZEFF: I’m happy to do that. If I tear up a bit, you’ll have to forgive me. I learned to cry as a man from Robert Kennedy when I was Director of Migrant Education Programs. I happened to bump into him in Louisiana in a field. He was bringing a group of senators to see poverty in Louisiana in the sugarcane fields. I saw him stand in a field and cry for America. If I tear up, I’m comfortable doing it. Not just a cup, but a just cup happened in 1985. The first motto of my company was, “In search of the perfect cup,” and then another motto 10 years later was, “Many beans are picked, few are chosen” because I wanted to focus on the craft. Then there was another motto that preceded “Not just a cup, but a just cup,” which was, “Roasters to wine country” because Mendocino is in the northern part of California in wine country. But in 1985, a serendipitous thing happened. You can say serendipitous. It was probably the miracle that was supposed to happen. I got a phone call from a nurse from Sacramento who had just come back from Nicaragua. I’m a roaster for 15 years, and I had never seen a coffee tree in its own environment. I had never seen a coffee plantation or a coffee family farm after 15 years. That was typical of 1985 and anything that was artisan coffee at the time. There was a fear by importers that if roasters started to deal direct, they would eliminate the middleman. The roasters were sort of kept away from jumping over that 10-foot wall. I got this call, and this woman said, “I have samples of Nicaraguan coffee I want to share with you. Can you roast them up for me and check them out yourself?” I said sure, so she sent them to me from Sacramento. I roasted them, and they were spectacular. The flavor was outrageous. I said, “I’ve got to go.” Three weeks later, I was on a plane to Nicaragua. I’m on the plane. I’m reading a book. I’ve got dollar signs in my eyes. I’m thinking I am going to score. This is it. I’m reading a book. I’m a businessman now. I’m not that guy that I just talked about. When we fly over Nicaraguan air space, the pilot said, “We are now flying over Nicaraguan air space,” and people in the plane start to sing a song. I had never been in a plane where people started to sing, a whole plane. They were singing “Nicaragua, Nicaraguita,” which is the equivalent of God Bless America. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Their national anthem. PAUL KATZEFF: No, not their national anthem, their song. God Bless America is not our national anthem. I looked around, I’m in the plane, 20 minutes to land, and I said to myself, “Oh my God, it’s all young people and older people. People as old as I am now.” I walked around the plane and said, “What’s going on? Why are you going to Nicaragua?” They were going to help the revolution. They were going to work in hospitals. They were going to work as coffee brigade people, to pick coffee so the contras wouldn’t fire at the Nicaraguans because they were Americans. They were going to build houses. I said, “Oh my God, I’m on the right of these people. These are my people. This is everything what happened to me.” I felt it, and I got scared because I had never been in a revolutionary country before, aside from my own. I’m walking down the stairs of the plane onto the tarmac, and a woman comes up to me and grabs me by the shoulder. She was absolutely exquisite. She had black hair, iridescent, she had almond shaped eyes, she was wearing combat boots, khakis, she had a red bandana and an AK-747 over her shoulder, and she said, “Mr. Katzeff, come with me.” I freaked out. I said, “They’re all going over there. I’ve got to get my luggage.” She said, “Come with me,” and she led me to a room where there were three pictures on the walls, about a 20 by 20 room. Nobody was in it. There were three pictures on the wall, Karl Marx, Che Guevara, and some other person who wound up being Daniel Ortega, who was the president of the country who I didn’t know. She leads me there. I’m alone in that room, and my heart is pounding. Then my host, Daniel Munez, who is the President of the Farm Workers’ Union, comes into the room with a translator, comes over to m. We shake hands. It’s the first time we’re meeting. He puts his arm around me and says, “Paul, here in Nicaragua, we know you’re a humble man, but we need you to be big.” What did that mean? My heart was still pounding. I was alone in a revolutionary country. He leads me to a door. We open the door. We’re going to walk through it, and in front of that door is a podium with about 25 microphones taped together and a room full of media people. It was my first press conference as the President of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which I was at the time. JOHN SHEGERIAN: But this was unexpected. PAUL KATZEFF: And not only that, I was still this kid from the Bronx. That began a romance with the Sandinistas. They took me around the country, they proselytized their point of view, they indoctrinated me, and I became a Sandinista in my heart. On the way home, in the airplane, I was thinking 10 days later, having toured the country, having met with six of the nine ruling comandantes of the revolution, I changed the name on the plane. I changed the motto from “In search of the perfect cup” to “Not just a cup, but a just cup.” That changed my life and the lives of millions of people around the world because that was the beginning of social justice in the coffee industry. JOHN SHEGERIAN: That’s an amazing story. PAUL KATZEFF: It amazes me. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And that’s your motto today. PAUL KATZEFF: Not just a cup, but a just cup. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And that still is the motto today. PAUL KATZEFF: And it leads a directs the lives of my staff, the people who sell the coffee to me, the co-ops that I work with. It keeps us on point. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Where is all your coffee sourced from today in 2014? PAUL KATZEFF: I work in six or seven countries. My coffee comes from Central America, and 25% of the million pounds of coffee that we roast a year, and a million pounds of coffee is a silo about two feet wide and 18,000 feet high, that’s how much coffee goes to our roasting machine. 25% of that coffee comes from Nicaragua. In Central America, Guatemala is another really important country. I work in Rwanda and in Uganda and Ethiopia. I only buy from cooperatives. A cooperative promotes democracy, one farm, one vote. That’s what fair trade is about. It’s not just about a minimum that the farmer is going to get in terms of money. It’s about promoting democracy because most of these countries, the people have been subjugated by dictators. How do you learn about democracy from the bottom up, not from the top down? JOHN SHEGERIAN: Paul, one of the great things is not only having amazing guests like you on the show that share these journeys and stories and then the brands that they’ve created, but I want to make sure our listeners today understand a couple of things about you and your brand. Where can they buy your brand? If they want to enjoy the quality that you’ve put forth, but also really your message of social justice resonates with them and they want to support that and continue that to grow, where can they find this commercially? Is this only online, or is this in stores around the United States and around the world? PAUL KATZEFF: It’s online. It’s around the world. www.thanksgivingcoffee.com is our website, and those stories that we’re talking about are there. Our web store is available to everybody worldwide. Probably 75% of our coffee is sold in northern California. I would say 75% is sold in California. The rest is sold around the country. JOHN SHEGERIAN: OK. I came out of the dot com world. You and I have lived through the dot com revolution, which is still, of course, booming in so many ways. When I walked up and met you this morning, you showed me something that blew me away, something I’ve never seen before. It was shocking that it hadn’t been invented, but you’re a visionary that’s constantly years ahead of the curve. I want to show our listeners and our viewers out there. This is your new app. It’s called the Smart Coffee app. PAUL KATZEFF: It’s called Smart Coffee. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Again, I’m showing our viewers out there and our listeners can go to the app store and download Smart Coffee. Explain to our listeners and our viewers what you just showed me. We’re coming to the last couple of minutes of the show, but it was so exciting and interesting, and it’s so important. I want you to finish up with this great piece of technology. PAUL KATZEFF: You go into a supermarket, and you take a look at the bulk bins of coffee and all the various brands of coffee. If you’re a coffee lover or a coffee consumer, you have no idea what to do. JOHN SHEGERIAN: I’m utterly confused at this point. PAUL KATZEFF: Right. So I decided that I realized that roasters communicate well with themselves. But as an industry, we haven’t taught our customers, our coffee lovers, how to think and drink and even talk like a coffee professional. In your lifetime, if you drink two cups a day for 50 years, it’s 3,000 gallons. That’s a big lifetime journey. If you’re going to go on a lifetime journey, you might as well know what that journey is all about and how to select coffee that really appeals to your own personal taste buds. My taste buds are different than yours. Women’s taste buds are more intense than men’s. They have more taste buds. How do we relate the 50-75 different possibilities that everybody is faced with when they go to buy coffee? I discovered over the years that 80% of the flavor of coffee is determined by roast color, just like you’re making toast in the morning. You make light toast, medium toast, dark toast. People have different preferences. So I created an app that has a flavor profile test that will enable a person to actually make some choices and then enable me to assess their taste buds and their preferences and recommend what they should do, how they can make their own blends right there in the store with the different roast colors. JOHN SHEGERIAN: And it can also show them where the coffee is from, how it’s sourced, everything, right? There’s a whole history behind everything. PAUL KATZEFF: There are 200 photographs in there, pictures that I’ve taken around the world, of coffee and how it’s grown and the people, basically giving people an education on coffee. Coffee now is expensive. It’s $15 a pound for really good coffee. If you make a mistake, you’ve lost $15. Why make the mistake over and over again? Why not just go and say, “I know what I want. I know the direction.” The app will not get you your perfect cup the first time, but it will lead you on a journey that you’ll know you’re on the path to getting your perfect cup. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Perfect, Paul. We’re going to have you back on Green is Good. We’re so thankful for you coming on today. Your story and your journey and your brand is something why we started the show. This is exactly why we started the show, to share these stories with our listeners, now with our viewers. We’re so thankful for your time. We’re so thankful for your brand, and we’re so thankful just to hear how you’ve brought social justice to the coffee and created a sustainable brand that lives on today, all the way from the sixties from now. It’s just incredible and it’s continuing to grow. You’re taking technology and expanding it even further. We’re just grateful. PAUL KATZEFF: That’s my gift to coffee lovers. JOHN SHEGERIAN: Well, you’re our gift to the coffee world. I wish all of our listeners out there and our viewers out there can support Paul and his great brand. It’s thanksgivingcoffee.com. This is just great. The Thanksgiving Coffee Company, not just a cup, but a just cup. To learn more about all the great tastes out there, if you’re interested in matching your tastes and getting the right cup, the Smart Coffee app. I looked at it this morning. I’m downloading it today. This is something else, a true revolution in a cup. Thank you, Paul Katzeff. You are truly living proof that green is good. PAUL KATZEFF: Thank you for having me. Photo by Ron Greystar