During our recent jaunt to Utah, we had the pleasure of catching up with a slew of members and non-profit recipients. At the Outdoor Retailer show, we were happy to share the Backcountry Village with the recipient non-profits Winter Wildlands Alliance and Protect Our Winters, and 1% member company, Green Laces, and to learn more about what they’ve been up to.
Pro soccer player Natalie Spigler founded Green Laces on a simple premise: give athletes an easy way to green up their act. Athletes, ranging from Olympians to NFL players, and everyday folk make a promise to incorporate an environmentally friendly behavior into their daily routine, and to wear green shoelaces signifying their commitment to the environment. Much like the ubiquitous yellow Live Strong bracelets raise awareness and much-needed funds for cancer research, Green Laces aims to make their all recycled, sustainably packaged laces a mascot for the environment.
Forty percent of each Green Laces purchase funds 1% recipient non-profits, like Protect Our Winters, 350.org, and the Surfrider Foundation. What’s more, when you purchase your own pair of Green Laces, you can select which of the featured non-profits you’d like to support with your purchase.
Q: What do Josh Ritter, Jack Johnson, G. Love, and Grace Potter all have in common?
A: Besides being bodacious rockstars, they are all featured artists on our upcoming release, 1% for the Planet: The Music, Vol. 1
Scheduled for release in early January, 1% for the Planet the Music Vol. 1, is a one-of-a kind compilation. More than forty artists have donated rare and exclusive tracks to produce the first album dedicated to supporting the environment. All proceeds from album sales go to 1% for the Planet, and many of the artists featured are members themselves. The all-digital release will be available online in just a few weeks, so stay tuned for more information on how to get your copy.
P.S. If his current tour has a stop in your area, be sure to check out Josh Ritter in concert. Several of us from the 1% team had the privilege last weekend and were treated to an incredible show. A longtime friend and supporter of 1% for the Planet, Josh even made a few plugs for 1% during his set!
In a follow up to our October 1st post, the results are in for Green America’s People’s Choice Award for Green Business of the Year. Drum roll please . . . . . the winner is 1% for the Planet member Reusablebags.com! In recognition of their continued success (Reusablebags.com also won this award in 2007), the company was also awarded a Longtime Leadership Award. Our greatest thanks to all who voted and recognized Reusablebags.com as a truly committed company to Keeping Earth in Business!
The 1% team has been growing fast this fall with two new additions, Brittany Nunnink (left) and Grace Kronenberg (right). Both have hit the ground running, and can be found behind the 1% HQ during lunch hour with their whitewater kayaks–class-V cornfields only.
Brittany Nunnink is a recent alumna of Scripps College, with a B.A. in Environmental Analysis. A native Vermonter, she’s happy to be out of southern California and back in the Green Mountain State running through sap lines, sipping ginger jack, hiking with her St. Bernard, and of course, helping to promote responsible business practices. Brittany has done some work with Seventh Generation in the past, and is interested in helping more (and soon ALL) businesses to take on a similar responsible business approach – doing business for positive change, while simultaneously perceiving ones business practices with a holistic perspective. Currently, she’s working with member services, helping Chrissy with global membership wrangling and support. She is also hoping to get office composting underway and do some fundraising for a double-sided printer!
Brittany loves beets and we call her the Terminator.
Grace Kronenberg is a 2006 graduate of Middlebury College where she majored in psychology and creative writing. Before joining the 1% team she spent three years growing Choose Responsibility, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting national debate on the 21 year-old drinking age. Previous employment took her to Washington, DC, but she is happy to be back in the Green Mountain State and is looking forward to all the skiing, running, and hiking the Mad River Valley has to offer. Grace is excited to be working at the intersection of business and the environment, and is currently focused on marketing support for the upcoming 1% music and film releases.
Grace is hoping to free the heel this winter and give telemark skiing a try.
We are pleased to share that 1% for the Planet co-founder Yvon Chouinard and the 1% for the Planet community have received a leadership nod by U.S. News & World Report for their commitment to revolutionizing the way business is done on this planet.
To join the movement with your business’s membership please contact us at memberships@onepercentfortheplanet.org.
For the full article please click here. Please click here to learn of the 20 fellow honorees of America’s Best Leaders for 2009.
This Saturday we encourage you to drop all plans, grab your circle of friends and family, and join the big circle, our global community, in action for 1% for the Planet Non-Profit Partner 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action. Voice, act, dance, paddle, ring, play, sing, whatever you can offer, in show of your support for the number 350, representing 350 parts per million, the scientifically backed “safe upper limit” for CO2 in our atmosphere. With creative events and gatherings across the globe, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with this powerful message that affects us all. Click here to find out what’s happening nearest you.
How are we celebrating? You can find us at Vermont’s 350 Dance Party at Higher Ground in Burlington. Headlined by 1% for the Planet member Barefoot Truth (member since Jan. ‘08) the show will be simulcast online and on cable throughout the state so all can join.
1% for the Planet will also have a presence in New York City, circumnavigating Manhattan Island with a group in kayaks stenciled by area students.
Calling all 1% for the Planet members, if you’re participating in a 350 action this Saturday, please write me at kate@onepercentfortheplanet.org. We’d be happy to share your support with updates to our blog post here!
Our greatest congratulations go out to longtime 1% for the Planet members Reusablebags.com (member since 2006) and Grounds for Change (member since 2003) for making the final round in Green America’s People’s Choice Award as the “Green Business of the Year”. “A celebration of the leaders of the green economy, and a challenge to corporate America to follow their path”, we encourage you to show your support to these committed businesses by voting through this link. Voting closes Thursday October 8th!
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About the call:
2009 could mark the most significant year in climate change history as world leaders meet in Copenhagen this December to tackle a new plan for curbing global greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, our atmosphere carries over 387 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide – the leading cause of global climate change. Our top climate scientists (James Hansen, Nicholas Stern, Rajendra Pachauri, and Al Gore) have indicated that a safe climate future rests at 350 ppm (or less). Actions across the globe will take place on October 24th - the International Day of Climate Action – to help spread awareness around this number and the forthcoming release of the United Nation new international climate change treaty.
Join 350.org’s Bill McKibben this Thursday for a briefing on this historic time in climate change and how you (and your organization) can get involved.
The call is open to everyone, so please spread the word!
Reserve your spot now for the Bill McKibben and 350.org climate change briefing on Thursday, September 24th, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT – New York time)
Space is limited, so sign up early! We’ll send you a confirmation email and the call-in information before the call, as well as information on upcoming events (you can always unsubscribe from future emails with one click).
About Bill and 350.org:
An American environmentalist and writer, Bill McKibben is the founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign. This October 24, 350.org is organizing the 350 International Day of Climate Action, with thousands of events planned at iconic places around the world. Bill frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstrations against global warming in American history. McKibben is active in the Methodist Church, and his writing sometimes has a spiritual bent. More about Bill here →
About the 1% Brown Bag Lunch Series:
This new conference call series from 1% for the Planet aims to help educate our 1% community — members, partners, and friends — about the latest environmental topics that experts in the 1% network are working on. We’re currently looking into the topic of climate change and how individuals and organizations alike can get involved. Earlier this summer, 1% non-profit partner Clean Air-Cool Planet led our first 1% Brown Bag Lunch Series call to brief us on climate and energy legislation in the U.S. For upcoming calls, please submit your ideas to brownbag@onepercentfortheplanet.org.We are picking upcoming topics based on your requests.
Last week 1% CEO Terry Kellogg interviewed with marketing extraordinaire Lynda Resnick for her first Ruby Tuesday: Pick of the Week of the fall. Terry helped start the season off with a colorful Vermont bang. Titled “Doing Well by Doing Good: 1% for the Planet Lives the Message”, Lynda concludes the interview with a line we love: “If you’re not doing something for the planet, you don’t deserve to be in business. It’s basic to your being. So, I think what you’re doing is fantastic. I wish the very best for you.” Read the full interview on Lynda’s blog by clicking here.
Mountain Khakis has been listed in Inc.’s top 500, ranking #404 in all and #34 in the Consumer Products and Services Industry. Their growth, clocked at 638% from 2005 to 2008, can be attributed to the exceptional focus and quality of their product – a hardy pant.
Another key to Mountain Khakis’ resonation with consumers is also indicated by their prominent waving of their 1% for the Planet membership logo, from the very beginning. Yes we are pleased to reveal that Mountain Khakis signed on as 1% member when they first launched the company in 2004.
A wonderful testament to the age old song, “you need to give in order to receive”, we learn with Mountain Khakis that this is indeed applicable in the world of business. Inc. concurs revealing, “If you want to know which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500″. For more information on Mountain Khakis’ success click here.
