Behind the Green

“Just buying from micro businesses and artisans, I think there is a unique environmental story in sustainability in that people know how to repair things. If people are learning skills and crafts and honing them and getting better, that improves our collective capacity to keep things out of landfills...The personal connection that people experience from buying art and crafts makes the world a little better. That personal connection you feel from touching someone’s art makes it one of your prized possessions."

About Valerie Schafer Franklin

Valerie Schafer Franklin is on the Board of Directors for Artisans Cooperative. She has over 20 years professional experience as a non-profit director, event planner, project manager for multi-million dollar renewable energy projects, and most importantly, 14 years running an artisan business as one-half of the husband-and-wife leathercrafting business, Walnut Studiolo. She is also a freelance writer.

About Artisans Cooperative

Artisans Cooperative is crafting a “better” online handmade marketplace, run as a values-aligned, member-owned cooperative. We began with a vision for a better alternative following the #EtsyStrike, which took place in April 2022. By October 2022, we had formed a community on Discord, created an informational website on Wordpress, and announced our plans to the world to build a member-owned handmade marketplace. Artisans Cooperative is dedicated to quality over quantity and promotes creativity, supports artist livelihoods, creates opportunities for social impact art collectives, and connects people through an equitable artistic community. 

Find Artisans Cooperative online at:

WEBSITE: Artisans Cooperative

INSTAGRAM: @coopartisans

LINKEDIN: Artisans Cooperative

LINKEDIN: Valerie Schafer Franklin

Find Walnut Studiolo online at:

WEBSITE: Walnut Studiolo

INSTAGRAM: @walnutstudiolo

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  ⁠thelimeloop.com⁠

LINKEDIN:  ⁠LimeLoop⁠

TWITTER:  ⁠@theLimeLoop⁠

INSTAGRAM:  ⁠@theLimeLoop⁠

“Different brands are in different parts of their journey. For a lot of brands, resale makes a ton of sense because there’s a ton of waste. And the brands that are further along in their sustainability journey are tapping into their waste to continue to build these new closets through repair and resale. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done. How do you match action to the goals? And what can really be achieved which is where technology gets really interesting."

About Peter Whitcomb

Peter Whitcomb is the CEO of Tersus Solutions. Peter spent the 5 years prior to joining Tersus Solutions building circular business models across the retail sector, serving as Vice President of Growth and Partnerships at Trove, a white label resale software solutions provider for premium brands and retailers, including REI, Lululemon, Nordstrom, and Patagonia. Prior to Trove, he spent some years with REI, Amazon and held a variety of roles on Wall Street with both Citibank and AllianceBernstein, eventually helping build AllianceBernstein’s Hedge Fund and Private Equity Fund businesses. Peter is an outdoor enthusiast and loves spending time with his family more than anything.

About Tersus Solutions

Tersus Solutions was founded in 2009 in Denver, CO to help close the loop on textile circularity. While they didn't start that way, they are now leaders in this space. They utilize their own developed machines and have created processes that are advanced and effective to keep textiles in use as resale and/or through repair. Through Tersus Solutions processes, we can drastically reduce the textile industry’s environmental impact by utilizing a closed-loop cleaning system that preserves water and electricity, captures microfibers, and ultimately extends the life of textiles. Over the course of the last 11 years, Tersus Solutions has been at the forefront of innovation in the use of LCO2 and ultimately keeping textiles out of landfills or being incinerated.

Find Tersus Solutions online at:

WEBSITE: Tersus Solutions

TWITTER: @TERSUSSolutions

LINKEDIN: Tersus Solutions

LINKEDIN: Peter Whitcomb

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

“We have all been wishcyclers where we’ve seen the nice recycle logo on a package and say ‘Alright I think it’s recyclable. I don’t see the number on it but I’ll throw it in the recycle bin and hopefully it goes somewhere.’ Unfortunately, a lot of the times just because it has the recyclable logo doesn’t even mean that it will eventually be recycled…being able to inform and educate and empower the consumers to make those better choices ends up being a win for everybody.”

About John Paap

John is the Brand & Sustainability Manager at Jac Vandenberg and has has been in the fresh produce industry for over 15 years. He has also worked in the area of sustainability for over 10 years. During this time, John has led Jac Vandenberg in their sustainability initiatives earning multiple awards for product innovation along the way. He is also currently the co-chair of the Sustainable Packaging Working Group at the International Fresh Produce Association, member of the Environmental Sustainability Working Group at GlobalG.A.P., speaks on the subject of sustainability in the fresh produce industry at various forums, is a contributing writer for VISION Magazine and co-host of The History of Fresh Produce podcast series on The Produce Industry Podcast.

About Jac Vandenberg

Family, fresh, innovation — this trio ensures we always deliver the freshest produce, responsibly grown and sourced, from farm to store. Jac. Vandenberg is a 4th generation family-owned and operated fresh fruit importer and marketer that is turning the industry on its head by transforming fresh produce into a delicious, nutritious snack that delivers enormous social and environmental impact.

Find Jac Vandenberg online at:

WEBSITE: Jac Vandenberg

LINKEDIN: Jac Vandenberg

LINKEDIN: John Paap

Find Sunrays online at:

WEBSITE: Sunrays

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

“By slowing down this fast carbon, we are giving our society some time—buying us some time to ween ourselves off of our fossil fuels…the ways that our every day lives would change, if we can’t start doing this at scale, could be truly detrimental for our future.”

About Elizabeth Bridges

Elizabeth is a co-founder of the OurCarbon brand and works as the Director of Design Research for Bioforcetech, the carbon drawdown technology which produces OurCarbon. With a multidisciplinary design background and a focus on material innovation research, she is working to develop a market for fixed carbon materials. When she isn’t focused on OurCarbon, Elizabeth is a visiting professor at Pratt Institute in New York City where she teaches BioDesign and Sustainable Design Theory and Practice.

About OurCarbon

Every day, organic materials labeled as ‘waste’ are sent to landfill where they break down and emit greenhouse gases. Simultaneously, large scale industry continues to rely on fossil fuel dependent materials, deplete soil health, and construct our built environment with heavy carbon footprints. OurCarbon disrupts these practices by diverting organics from landfill, transforming them at net zero energy into OurCarbon, and applying it in beneficial ways. This three step ‘Divert, Transform, Apply’ process completely rethinks material production and prevents many tons of greenhouse gas emissions. OurCarbon is currently used to achieve carbon negative structural concretes, to benefit soil health, and to replace petrol based black pigments in screen printing, polymers, paints, fabric dyes, and more.

A high-level view of how OurCarbon works: OurCarbon Cycle

Find OurCarbon online at:

WEBSITE: OurCarbon

LINKEDIN: OurCarbon

LINKEDIN: Elizabeth Bridges

INSTAGRAM: @madewithourcarbon

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

“E-waste in general, there’s a lot of confusion around what to do with e-waste. People aren’t sure how to dispose of it—gray bin, blue bin, other bin? There’s a lot of education needed here because the infrastructure is there with organizations. Consumers just don’t know what to do with them.”

About Mary Curtiss

Mary is the Director of Sustainability at HP and has years of experience in the Sustainability space. Today, she is creating and managing a new business of sustainability services that will enable HP’s stated carbon and circularity goals which are quite aggressive and really driving the space forward in terms of momentum. Mary provides product leadership inside of HP's Personal Systems Services and across the company on the ideation, development, and management of sustainability services and has a deep understanding of customer & market requirements to develop industry leading sustainability products that enable their customers to achieve their sustainability goals. She grew up on a farm understanding circularity and the importance or reduce and reuse at a young age which has carried with her through the years in all of her roles.

About HP

HP is a technology company born of the belief that companies should do more than just make a profit. They should make the world a better place. HP's efforts focus heavily on climate action, human rights, and digital equity. With over 80 years of actions HP has the confidence to envision a world where innovation drives extraordinary contributions to humanity. And HP's technology – a product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions – was created to inspire this meaningful progress. Thoughtful ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time, and all it takes is one to change the world.

Read more about HP's 2022 Sustainable Impact Report

Find Mary online at:

LINKEDIN: Mary Curtiss

TWITTER: @CurtissMary

Find HP online at:

WEBSITE: HP

LINKEDIN: HP

TWITTER: @HP

INSTAGRAM: @hp

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

“We need to start engineering endings not just letting them drift into a floppy experience that burdens the consumer and also society in terms of having to put up with overwhelming amounts of waste. This is about getting purposeful about the end of the consumer lifecycle…One of the first things you can do at your business is ask “how does our product or project end?” and you’ll absolutely paralyze everyone.”

About Joe Macleod

Joe Macleod is founder of the world’s first customer ending business. A veteran of the product development industry with decades of experience across service, digital and product sectors.

Head of Endineering, you heard that right, at AndEnd. You’ll learn more about what that means coming up. He’s a TEDx Speaker. Wired says “An energetic Englishman, Macleod advises companies on how to game out their endgames. Every product faces a cycle of endings, from breakage to customer burnout to falling behind consumption trends. It's important to plan for each of them. Not all companies do." He is the author of the Ends book, that iFixIt called “the best book about consumer e-waste”. And the new book –Endineering, that people are saying “defines and maps out a whole new sub-discipline of study”. The DoLectures consider the Endineering book one of the best business books of 2022.

About AndEnd.

Businesses need help ending their customer experiences. By improving consumer endings businesses can improve long term brand loyalty and presence, improve consumer experience, align with legal expectations, neutralise the negative aspects of consumption and raise business awareness of consumer behaviour. And End. is the worlds first customer ending business focused on raising awareness of the impact of endings through talks and training staff. By assessing the current state of the consumer lifecycle through audits, and with advising, designing and delivering ends, brands can improve their wider business initiatives and their consumer experience.

Find Joe Macleod online at:

LINKEDIN: Joseph Macleod

TWITTER: @mrmacleod

INSTAGRAM: @mrmacleod

Find AndEnd. online at:

WEBSITE: AndEnd.co

LINKEDIN: AndEnd.

TWITTER: @andend_co

INSTAGRAM: @andend.co

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

READ JOE'S BOOKS

25% off Ends and Endineering ebooks.

Paperbacks can be found on Amazon and everywhere

TRAINING WITH JOE

Become an Endineer and design ends

“If you look at cost and lifecycle analysis together, it then becomes a really significant piece of work to then be able to fully understand the impact that every single component has from the packaging manufacturer, to the product manufacturer, to a CPG, to a retailer and to a consumer. That whole journey becomes really complex but we have seen the transition with products… We expect a level of provenance with food. Where does it come from? Is it truly local or is it from overseas? We don’t know that about packaging. As consumers we just take it, whatever packaging our preferred product is in, we take it. We now see consumers challenging brands.”

About Gillian Garside-Wight

Gillian has over 20 years’ experience in the packaging industry, strategically developing packaging strategies, roadmaps and packaging solutions to meet the needs of clients, consumers and the planet. She has worked with many global retailers and household brands on projects spanning sustainability and innovation to supply chain optimization. With a real passion for sustainability, her quest is to educate, influence and drive a circular economy wherever possible while complementing creativity, technical functionality and commercial realities. She grew up on a tiny island in Scotland and this is where her passion for sustainability started. She loves nothing more than (trying) to grow her own veg and exploring nature with her son.

About Aura

Aura is a packaging sustainability consultancy, committed to making a measurable difference - everyday. Aura combines consultancy, strategy, and technology to deliver best-in-class, sustainable packaging solutions. Their team of packaging, sustainability, technology, and retail experts are pioneers in the use of data and knowledge that gives clients actionable reference points to drive positive change. Aura is united in their belief that truly sustainable packaging can power positive environmental change.

Find Aura online at:

WEBSITE: aura-consultants.com

LINKEDIN: Aura

LINKEDIN: Gillian Garside-Wight

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

"The consumer understands more and they’re more invested than ever before. There’s maturity in the conversation, in the solutions and all around the pressure and accountability for brands to do the right thing. It’s coming from all angles and there’s so much work to be done… But the impact you make as a brand helps you connect with your customer. You shouldn’t just connect over the products you’re selling them. There’s a chance to engage your consumer on a moral, human level and can have a point of view on."

About Jessica Somers

Jessica is the Global Head of Brand Communications and Sustainability at 3.1 Phillip Lim. Jessica is truly dedicated to helping brands understand the environmental and social impact of their operation and has worked in sustainability across all of the continents bringing years of expertise to the table. Based in New York City, she now sits in the New York fashion scene leading sustainability, marketing and communications for 3.1 Phillip Lim globally. Her current role includes driving the strategy; measurement and implementation of sustainable business practices, working closely with the design, production and sourcing teams on material impact and innovation.

About 3.1 Phillip Lim

3.1 Phillip Lim’s raison d’être is providing beautiful everyday classics accented with a sense of madness. Phillip Lim lives by the mantra of make less, mean more. Their 3.1 sustainable balance is comprised of small, simple actions that continuously add up to larger shifts and change. Sustainability is a key piece of who they are as a brand and as the people behind the brand. As Phillip Lim approaches each season, they take the time to relook at processes from sourcing to production, to ensure that the most responsible materials and resources are chosen.

Find 3.1 Phillip Lim online at:

WEBSITE: 31philliplim.com

LINKEDIN: 3.1 Phillip Lim

LINKEDIN: Jessica Somers

INSTAGRAM: @31philliplim

FACEBOOK: 3.1 Phillip Lim

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

“We always get asked ‘Have you taken into account the return shipping with the empty package?’ Yes, we look at the sustainability holistically using a lifecycle assessment. And one of the key things to think about is that so much of the impact—from CO2 impact and resource use—comes from the manufacturing. So when you’re talking about a reusable package, you’re manufacturing just one versus 100-200 single-use packages. And another part that not everyone thinks about is that for getting those 200 single-use packages, they are also taking trips from wherever they’re manufactured to wherever they’re used, and then hopefully, they’re recycled but they may go to a landfill as well, and no matter what, there is still a trip to be taken…”

About Angela Kwok

Angela is LimeLoop's VP of Operations and is a true mission-driven leader with experience working across business and technical challenges. She's worked across business operations, engineering, and sales, so she brings a true holistic view in developing strategies which lends itself well in the reusable packaging space. Angela has worked closely with leadership to scale operations and continues day-in and day-out to expand LimeLoop's current offerings with a mission to deliver a world without waste. With her background in clean energy, the built environment, commercial real estate, and startup evaluation, Angela provides a broad spectrum of insight around sustainability and how retailers can be more sustainable throughout their entire lifecycle.

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

LINKEDIN: Angela Kwok

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop

“By 2015, when Mara had come to visit me on maternity leave, she literally sat down with tears welling in her eyes and was like, ‘We no longer can continue operating this way. Something has to change.’ She was feeling this weight, I think lead by the idea of leaving this amount of stuff and knowing the impacts of this industry and leaving it on the weight of our children. So, she said to me, ‘we have to shut this business down or we have to figure out how to change.’”

About Dana Davis

Dana joined Mara Hoffman in 2010 and successfully centralized and grew the company’s Production and Design Departments, secured partnerships with facilities around the world, and was integral in the company’s transformation into the recognizable and widely distributed brand that it is today. In 2015, Davis spearheaded the company’s transition towards sustainability, focusing on increased and innovative responsible manufacturing as well as supply chain evaluation. She is also a keen enthusiast of regenerative farming and spends her personal time gardening and landscaping with her husband and their two kids.

About Mara Hoffman

Mara Hoffman was founded in 2000 with the aim of inspiring and delighting through colors, prints and bold shapes. Fifteen years later, the company shifted their strategy to build, and operate within, a framework of sustainability. This framework includes: innovative design and manufacturing practices, responsible fabric and material selection, and increased contributions to, and participation in, social justice movements.

Find Mara Hoffman online at:

WEBSITE: marahoffman.com

LINKEDIN: Mara Hoffman

LINKEDIN: Dana Davis

INSTAGRAM: @marahoffman

FACEBOOK: @officialmarahoffman

About LimeLoop -- LimeLoop combines reusable packaging and smart technology to provide you with an efficient, profitable circular supply chain while saying goodbye to single-use packaging. LimeLoop’s reusable packaging can be used in ecommerce packaging to reduce both cardboard and poly mailers from a retailer’s shipping process, and can be used in retail supply chains to move goods from warehouses or DCs to and from retail stores.

Find LimeLoop online at:

WEBSITE:  thelimeloop.com

LINKEDIN:  LimeLoop

TWITTER:  @theLimeLoop

INSTAGRAM:  @theLimeLoop