Clean & Green Living

If you listen to the podcast regularly or follow me on social media, you know that ingredient safety and transparency in the beauty industry is something I am particularly passionate about. And, while I have an immense amount of knowledge on this topic, I am certainly not an expert. Fortunately, today’s guest is. 

Today I am talking with Mia Davis, VP of Sustainability & Impact at Credo Beauty, the largest clean beauty retailer. Mia is also the co-founder of the nonprofit organization Pact Collective which she created to start to make a dent in hard-to-recycle beauty waste, and to bring beauty stakeholders together to move toward circularity.

Today’s episode will give you a deeper understanding of what “clean beauty” really means; helping us understand some of the nuances, we’ll go deeper into ingredient transparency, safety and also packaging. 

You will walk away from the episode with easy ways to make safer and more sustainable choices when it comes to your beauty products. 

About Mia

“I am an expert Corporate Social Responsibility strategist. I set the high bar for meaningful safety and sustainability standards for the beauty industry and other consumer products. I forge authentic paths for brands so that they can deliver positive social and environmental impact.

I am the VP of Sustainability & Impact at Credo Beauty, the largest clean beauty retailer. I created the Credo Clean Standard, including the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines-- retail's strongest "clean" formula and packaging standards.

In 2021, I co-founded the nonprofit membership organization Pact Collective to start to make a dent in hard-to-recycle beauty waste, and to bring beauty stakeholders together to move toward circularity.

I was one of the first hires at Beautycounter, where I developed the company's stance on safety, including the industry-leading "Ingredient Selection Process." I led sustainability and social responsibility efforts, including partnerships/giving, and I oversaw our legislative advocacy work. I was proud to bring Beautycounter into the B Corp community, and to pilot the Chemical Footprint Project.”

Resources Mentioned

Credo Beauty https://credobeauty.com 

Pact Collective https://www.pactcollective.org 

Our Stolen Future https://a.co/d/8oN80wW 

Connect with Mia on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-davis-ba0b213/ 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

I will admit that I used to think the people standing outside Trader Joe's asking me to sign a petition against glyphosate and Monsanto were crazy. I didn’t really know anything about Monsanto or about Glyphosate or anything about farming, for that matter. 

All of that changed when I heard Dr. Zach Bush on the Rich Roll podcast. Suddenly, my eyes were opened to the impact of pesticides on our declining health, our food systems and on our soil. That is when I really started paying attention. 

Today’s guest is David Leon, the Executive Director of Farmer’s Footprint, a non-profit organization that he co-founded with Dr. Zach Bush. Their mission, to expose the human and environmental impacts of chemical farming and offer a path forward through regenerative agricultural practices.

You will walk away from this episode with a deepened understanding of the role pesticides play on our health and what you can do to be a part of the movement for change. 

Zach Bush on Rich Roll Podcast

https://www.richroll.com/podcast/zach-bush-353/ 

https://www.richroll.com/podcast/zach-bush-414/

https://www.richroll.com/podcast/zach-bush-456/ 

David Leon is a purpose-driven executive whose experience spans early-stage venture building in funds, tech, non-profits, and consumer brands. He’s a co-founder and Partner at Biome Capital (a regenerative ag real asset fund) and a co-founder and Executive Director at Farmer’s Footprint (a non-profit working to accelerate the universal adoption of regenerative agriculture).

Previously he was Principal at Odocava (a growth-centric strategy & ops consulting firm), CEO at Saint Inky’s (a personal care CPG brand), and co-founder of Yogijii (payments and scheduling platform in health and wellness). David serves as a board member at Ho'iwai Fund, Project Biome Australia, and the Lana'i Chamber of Commerce. He lives on the island of Lana’i with his partner, Arielle, and son, Remy.

Website https://farmersfootprint.us/ 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/farmersfootprint/ 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/farmersfootprint/ 

Email [email protected] 

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

We, and I am going to speak directly to women right now, do, on average, more household work and more of the child related work than men; and in many cases, while also trying to maintain full-time professional careers. So, is there really a way to actually balance all of that without making sacrifices? I’m going to go out on a limb and say “no”.

My guest today, Alicia McKenzie, knows a thing or two about the struggle to maintain balance, and she is writing all about it in her new book, Balance is B******t. Alicia is Wellness Coach, Mentor, Wife, & Mother of 5. She wrote this book to Challenge the narrative of work/life balance. She believes it’s less about balance and more about integration. 

You’ll walk away from this episode with tools that help you prioritize changes in your routines and small steps to improve your overall health and wellness. 

About Alicia

Alicia McKenzie, aka @LiftLikeAMother, is the founder and operator of McKenzie Enterprise LLC. She has combined her decade of experience and expertise as a former USAW, Elite CrossFit athlete, CrossFit gym owner, certified personal trainer, real estate portfolio owner, and most importantly being mother of 5 to create a premier digital coaching service that focuses on women’s holistic health & wellness. She has lived the reality of juggling being a business owner, a wife, a mother, and a bi-racial woman. These experiences give her a unique perspective when coaching other women and she thrives on watching others take hold of their wellness and succeed at life.

Connect with Alicia

Website https://www.liftlikeamother.com/ 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/liftlikeamother/ 

Get the Book https://www.liftlikeamother.com/books 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

Our guest today is my friend Regan Nelson, host of the This or Something Better podcast. Her podcast is dedicated to the stories of innovators and positive change-makers committed to making the world better. Regan is also a consultant for Beautycounter, the leader in clean beauty products.

"The $63 billion beauty industry in the US is predominantly governed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which was signed into law by President Franklin D Roosevelt on June 25, 1938. Despite the industry's rapid growth, these regulations have stood largely unchanged." - PRNewswire

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

Every 30 seconds a football field's worth of natural area disappears. Open spaces serve so many important functions within our communities; they help improve air quality, reduce urban temperations, give people a place to enjoy an active lifestyle and promote a sense of community. They play a vital role in our cities and despite their known benefits, they are difficult to protect and preserve. 

My guests today are Tim and Kerry Francis, owners of Dharma’s Garden, a garden situated right in the heart of Boulder, CO.  Dharma's Garden​ is a thriving center of connection within the local community. They offer seasonal festivals, social activities, educational programs, and immersive experiences. 

After leasing the land for 5 years to run their community supported agriculture growing model, Tim and Kerry risked losing it all when the owner decided to sell the property. In order to save this most valuable 5-acre parcel and preserve the community they had created, Tim and Kerry had to raise 4.5 million dollars to purchase the land.. Despite it being a huge endeavor, they were able to raise the money to save Dharma’s garden and continue to educate and inspire others to take on the important work of tending the earth. 

About Dharma’s Garden

Founded in 2014 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational project, Dharma's Garden​ has since grown into a thriving center of connection within the local community.  Here, people are connected to each other—through meaningful work, seasonal festivals, and social activities.  Just as importantly, people are connected to the natural world—through educational programs, hands-on activities, and immersive experiences.

Through our productive half-acre garden, lively Saturday market, popular seasonal festivals, and diverse educational programs for adults and children of all ages, Dharma's Garden is a project of the community, by the community, and for the community.

Dharma's Garden brings a direct connection to sustainable agriculture right into the heart of the city, fully integrated with the community, accessible and inclusive, offering visitors an immersive experience that is all but lost in the modern world today. Using organic, biodynamic, and regenerative agricultural practices, this living homestead serves as a model for ethical land stewardship, with wild areas and cultivated areas both integral to the whole.

Connect with Dharma’s Garden

Website https://www.dharmasgarden.com/support 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dharmasgarden/ 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

Every 30 seconds a football field's worth of natural area disappears. Open spaces serve so many important functions within our communities; they help improve air quality, reduce urban temperations, give people a place to enjoy an active lifestyle and promote a sense of community. They play a vital role in our cities and despite their known benefits, they are difficult to protect and preserve. 

My guests today are Tim and Kerry Francis, owners of Dharma’s Garden, a garden situated right in the heart of Boulder, CO.  Dharma's Garden​ is a thriving center of connection within the local community. They offer seasonal festivals, social activities, educational programs, and immersive experiences. 

After leasing the land for 5 years to run their community supported agriculture growing model, Tim and Kerry risked losing it all when the owner decided to sell the property. In order to save this most valuable 5-acre parcel and preserve the community they had created, Tim and Kerry had to raise 4.5 million dollars to purchase the land.. Despite it being a huge endeavor, they were able to raise the money to save Dharma’s garden and continue to educate and inspire others to take on the important work of tending the earth. 

About Dharma’s Garden

Founded in 2014 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational project, Dharma's Garden​ has since grown into a thriving center of connection within the local community.  Here, people are connected to each other—through meaningful work, seasonal festivals, and social activities.  Just as importantly, people are connected to the natural world—through educational programs, hands-on activities, and immersive experiences.

Through our productive half-acre garden, lively Saturday market, popular seasonal festivals, and diverse educational programs for adults and children of all ages, Dharma's Garden is a project of the community, by the community, and for the community.

Dharma's Garden brings a direct connection to sustainable agriculture right into the heart of the city, fully integrated with the community, accessible and inclusive, offering visitors an immersive experience that is all but lost in the modern world today. Using organic, biodynamic, and regenerative agricultural practices, this living homestead serves as a model for ethical land stewardship, with wild areas and cultivated areas both integral to the whole.

Connect with Dharma’s Garden

Website https://www.dharmasgarden.com/support 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dharmasgarden/ 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

I am going to put it out there in all my shame and embarrassment, but there have been multiple occasions in the past few years where I have said something to my daughter after a game or race and then immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say. When it comes to balancing being a caring parent with my innate competitor, sometimes I fail, and I fail miserably.

Today’s guest is going to help me and all of us learn how to help say the right things to our children to  help them be more confident in their athletic endeavors and in life. 

Breanne Smedley, is a certified female athlete Elite Performance Coach who works to empower and enable female athletes to cultivate true confidence, unlock their potential, and level up their performance across all aspects of their lives. She also focuses on teaching moms what to say and how to support their athlete daughters. While this episode will be somewhat mother-daughter focused, the tips she shares will help any parent support your child in sports.. 

About Breanne

Breanne is a certified female athlete Elite Performance Coach who works to empower and enable female athletes to cultivate true confidence, unlock their potential, and level up their

performance across all aspects of their lives. She has a true passion for empowering and enabling female athletes (and their moms!) with the mental aspect of their sport -> the missing key to confident and elite performance. Her areas of expertise include: goal setting, affirmations & visualization, crushing limiting beliefs, shifting self-talk, overcoming mistakes, performing under pressure, letting go of perfectionism, managing stress, and becoming more resilient.

AND teaching the moms what to say and how to best support their athlete daughters!

As a former collegiate volleyball player and long time coach, Breanne has experienced first hand the unique struggles that female athletes face on the court and in life. Which is why she

and her sister-in-law founded The Elite Competitor Program (www.kristinabreanne.com/ecp).

Connect with Breanne

Website https://www.kristinabreanne.com/ecp 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elitecompetitorcoach/ 

Podcast https://www.kristinabreanne.com/podcast 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson

There is only one brand whose mission is to save the planet, and that is Patagonia. Just recently, the founder, Yvon Chouinard, transferred his family’s ownership of the company, valued at $3 billion, to a specifically designed trust and non-profit organization committed to fighting climate change. 

While most people are familiar with the Outdoor brand Patagonia, fewer people know about their food company, Patagonia Provisions. Today I am talking with Paul Lightfoot, the General Manager of Patagonia Provisions. Paul has worked for many years as an advocate for Regenerative Organic Agriculture and is personally and professionally committed to shifting the food industry from extractive to restorative. 

Paul is deeply passionate about his work at Patagonia Provisions and about Patagonia’s larger mission. You will feel the joy and excitement in this conversation, and most importantly you will walk away feeling hopeful about a better future for our food systems and our planet. 

About Paul

Paul Lightfoot is the General Manager of Patagonia Provisions, the food and beverage division of Patagonia Works. Founded in 2012 by Patagonia founder & owner Yvon Chouinard,

Patagonia Provisions was created as a way to broaden Patagonia’s environmental mission by partnering with forward-thinking farmers, ranchers, and fishermen and offering a variety of regeneratively sourced organic foods.

Based in Sausalito, CA, Patagonia Provisions looks to reexamine best practices in food sourcing by working with like-minded advocates and producers to find solutions to the critical environmental issues facing the food industry today.

Prior to joining Patagonia Provisions, Paul was the founder and president of BrightFarms, which builds and operates high-tech greenhouse farms to eliminate time, distance, and costs from their produce supply chain. Before BrightFarms, he was CEO of BSG, which provided solutions to improve the supply chains of retailers and distributors. Paul was also the founder and CEO of Foodline, a venture-backed software company that provided customer and reservation information technology to restaurants. However, he started his career as a transactional attorney specializing in complex asset-backed securitization transactions at the Wall Street law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft

Connect with Patagonia Provisions

Website https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/ 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/patagoniaprovisions/ 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. 

https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase. www.beautycounter.com/regannelson

Fertility has dropped more than 50% over the past 50 years worldwide and while some might think it’s an evolution problem, that’s not the case. The reality is that chemicals in our environment and unhealthy lifestyle practices are disrupting our hormones and causing reproductive havoc. This has resulted in decreased testosterone and sperm count increased miscarriage and an alarming decline in fertility. With reproductive health directly linked to overall health and longevity, this is a serious problem. 

My guest, Dr. Shanna Swan, is a leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist whose decades of research examine the impact of environmental exposures, including chemicals such as phthalates and BPA, on men’s and women’s reproductive health and the neurodevelopment of children. 

You will walk away from this episode with a better understanding of what you can do to reduce your exposure to these harmful chemicals to protect your reproductive health and future generations. 

About Dr. Swan

Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., is one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists and a professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. An award-winning scientist, her work examines the impact of environmental exposures, including chemicals such as phthalates and Bisphenol A, on men’s and women’s reproductive health and the neurodevelopment of children. Shanna Swan is the author of Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Health, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race co-authored by Stacey Colino and published by Scribner in February 2021.

Connect with Dr. Swan

Website https://www.shannaswan.com 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drshannaswan/ 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase www.beautycounter.com/regannelson 

Our consumption of clothing has risen by 400% in the last two decades. The textile industry produces 10% of global greenhouse emissions. Approximately  85% of clothing ends up in a landfill, and the average U.S. shopper doesn’t wear 50% of the clothing in their closet. How’s that for some eye-opening stats? The textile industry is a major contributor to climate change, and there is no time like the present to start doing something about it. It’s time to make clothes a force for good. 

That’s what Lu Barnes and & Scott Welch have set out to accomplish through the Clothes4Good campaign, a partnership between EcoAthletes and The Loopt Foundation that leverages the voices of professional athletes to help you make simple steps to reduce the negative impact of your clothes on the environment. 

Lauren, or Lu, Barnes is the captain of the Tacoma, Washington-based Olympique (OL) Reign soccer team and is a member of EcoAthletes, an organization that inspires and coaches athletes to lead climate action. 

Scott Welch is the Executive Director of The Loopt Foundation, a Portland-based nonprofit organization working to eliminate textile waste through partnership, innovation, and education. 

You’ll walk away from this episode knowing how you can make small changes in your shopping habits and how to make your clothes a force for good. 

About Lauren “Lu” Barnes:

Born and raised in Southern California, Lauren Barnes is the star defender of the NWSL’s OL Reign. In addition to being named an All-American while playing at UCLA, Lauren was invited to train with the USWNT, competing with both the U20 and U23 teams. Lauren has been in Seattle with the OL Reign since 2013 and played abroad in both Australia and Sweden on loan intermittently.

While Lauren has always been keen on environmentalism, her travel around the world for her career has been the catalyst for her activism and advocacy. After seeing the poverty and unsanitary conditions in many places abroad, Lauren has been able to work with Water1st in Ethiopia to build clean water systems in addition to her sustainability efforts in the U.S.

About Scott Welch

Scott Welch is a senior-level team leader dedicated to evolving clothing and textiles into a force for good.  He currently is the founding Executive Director of the Loopt Foundation, an organization working to become the leading and most creative force for global textile sustainability and circularity. Previously, he built and directed the Global Corporate Relations Program for the Columbia Sportswear Company family of brands including Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, prAna, and Sorel (CSC) for over a decade. At Columbia, Welch created dynamic campaigns with the National Park Foundation, Ocean Foundation, Planet Water, and others featured by The New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, National Public Radio, and other local/regional media outlets and directed the donation of almost $50 million in cash and product.  Welch has a BS in Political Science from Portland State University, was a founding member of the University of Oregon’s Sports Product Management External Advisory Board, and current Pro Tem Instructor in the program, earned certifications in Business Strategy from McKinsey Academy and International Grantmaking from Tufts University served as an Adjunct Instructor at the Portland State University School of Business and is an Advisory Board Member for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

About Lauren “Lu” Barnes:

Born and raised in Southern California, Lauren Barnes is the star defender of the NWSL’s OL Reign. In addition to being named an All-American while playing at UCLA, Lauren was invited to train with the USWNT, competing with both the U20 and U23 teams. Lauren has been in Seattle with the OL Reign since 2013 and played abroad in both Australia and Sweden on loan intermittently.

While Lauren has always been keen on environmentalism, her travel around the world for her career have been the catalyst for her activism and advocacy. After seeing the poverty and unsanitary conditions in many places abroad, Lauren has been able to work with Water1st in Ethiopia to build clean water systems in addition to her sustainability efforts in the U.S.

About Scott Welch

Scott Welch is a senior level team leader dedicated to evolving clothing and textiles into a force for good.  He currently is the founding Executive Director of the Loopt Foundation, an organization working to become the leading and most creative force for global textile sustainability and circularity. Previously, he built and directed the Global Corporate Relations Program for the Columbia Sportswear Company family of brands including Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, prAna, and Sorel (CSC) for over a decade. At Columbia, Welch created dynamic campaigns with the National Park Foundation, Ocean Foundation, Planet Water, and others featured by The New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, National Public Radio and other local/regional media outlets and directed the donation of almost $50 million in cash and product.  Welch has a BS in Political Science from Portland State University, was a founding member of the University of Oregon’s Sports Product Management External Advisory Board and current Pro Tem Instructor in the program, earned certifications in Business Strategy from McKinsey Academy and International Grantmaking from Tufts University, served as an Adjunct Instructor at the Portland State University School of Business, and is an Advisory Board Member for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Connect with Lu

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/luuuuluuu/ 

Make a Difference Travel Kitshttps://www.madtravelkits.com 

Connect with Loopt Foundation

Wesbite https://www.loopt.org 

Clothes4Good https://www.clothes4good.net 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/looptfoundation/ 

Support the Podcast

Support the podcast by shopping with my affiliate partners. By shopping using my links and promo codes, you help to fund the ongoing production of the show. These companies align with my mission to help make people and the planet safer, healthier, and happier. View a full list of my affiliate partners and the discount codes here. https://linktr.ee/thisorsomethingbetter

Shop Beautycounter: You can also support the podcast by supporting my business with Beautycounter.

Use the promo code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first purchase www.beautycounter.com/regannelson