Good Things Happening! Just under the surface...

After sustainability-driven talks, "What's something that I can do immediately?" is a question I get asked almost every time. My new reply: "Learn about carbon and emissions and how they are driving climate change, and thus the impacts that climate change is having - and will have - on us, humans."

In this talk, we'll dive into articles that explain why emissions should be of concern, why we've put a 2 degree cap on what we can handle in terms of a changing climate, what a carbon credit is, and whether or not there's much hope to stop the train that's already left the station.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/1/19/16908402/global-warming-2-degrees-climate-change

http://www.noaa.gov/news/noaa-2017-was-3rd-warmest-year-on-record-for-globe

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-2-degrees-celsius-is-climate-changes-magic-number

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2016/10/17/13190036/global-climate-change-facts-effects-cartoon

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/all-lyft-rides-are-carbon-neutral/558443/

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/walking_talk/sustainable_brands/all_interfaces_flooring_now_carbon_neutral_no_extra

http://www.wildlifeworks.com/kenya

http://verra.org/

http://www.ipcc.ch/

Kohl Crecelius is the Co-Founder and the CEO of both Krochet Kids intl. and KNOWN SUPPLY; two social impact companies out to disrupt the way supply chains in the apparel industry work. With their motto of “Meet the Makers” they are answering the call for transparency in the apparel industry that Fashion Revolution has put out there: “Who Made Your Clothes.” I’ve had a great time watching Kohl and his partners grow their brands, and I’m excited about the path they are forging for others, the positive impacts they are having on lives in Uganda, India, and Peru, and for the future for these social entrepreneurs.

We took some time to discuss sustainability, social impact brands, the state of the apparel industry, the strength that brands have and what the next few years will look like for him. Kohl is such an inspirational speaker and entrepreneur, and while we’ve had many sit-down conversations, this one focused more on the now, and less on what was. No matter what the topic is, a conversation with Mr. Crecelius is always a good one. Kohl is at @kohlgreyson

Some links to topics that we discussed:

The True Cost Movie - https://truecostmovie.com/

Krochet Kids - https://www.krochetkids.org/

Known Supply - https://knownsupply.com/

Fashion Revolution - https://www.fashionrevolution.org/

Kohl’s Blog - http://everythingisinspiration.com/

Seth Godin's Akimbo Podcast - https://www.akimbo.me/

Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown -

https://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-Disciplined-Pursuit-Greg-McKeown/dp/0804137382

How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this

Rob Ianelli is the CEO and Co-Founder at Oceanworks, an innovative supplier of 100% recycled ocean plastic. Oceanworks is championing the clean-up of our oceans and transforming plastic debris into useful products. He was the founder at Norton Point sunglasses - a product made from that same supply chain, recycled ocean plastic and happens to be a serial entrepreneur. The space that Rob is in is about to boom. It’s no secret that we are choking ourselves in the plastic we make and use - Rob is coming in as a solution (even if just part of it) to a global crisis movement. Our conversation touched on his early days of going to college early, studying abroad, executing a successful Kickstarter campaign, to his current role and outlook on the future.

Links to some of the things we touched on in our conversation:

Oceanworks.co - http://www.oceanworks.co/

Bureo - https://bureo.co/

Norton Point - https://www.nortonpoint.com/

World Oceans Day - http://www.worldoceansday.org/

Terracycle - https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/

International Marine Debris Conference - http://internationalmarinedebrisconference.org/

Microfiber Pollution & the Apparel Industry - https://brenmicroplastics.weebly.com/

Outerknown - https://www.outerknown.com/blogs/journey/ocean-plastic-buttons

Isaac Nichelson is a Co-Founder and the CEO at Circular-Systems, an award-winning solution in the textiles space who has been a leader in the sustainable fashion space for many years. His career has been full of entrepreneurial adventures and opportunities to work with world-class brands. Isaac and his partners were recently awarded a Global Change Award by the H&M Foundation for the innovative work they're doing with a textiles system called Agraloop, turning crop waste into valuable, textile fibers. A career in sustainability is there for the taking, but it will take persistence, says Isaac.

Here, we walk through a timeline and discuss his earliest career days, the way sustainability as a topic at brands has changed, the future of the movement, and more.

For all the links, head over to www.theunderswell.com/news-learning-podcast

After a chat with some students at UC Irvine, I wanted to share some thoughts on careers in sustainability and the benefits of working with a brand and taking career risks when you're young.

Always open to questions you might have!

Let's take a look at the topic of 3rd party certifications - you know, those labels that you see on coffee, chocolate, your seafood and more. The foundation for this piece is an article on www.greenbiz.com named "Calling into question ethical-sourcing certifications" that covers the claim made by the NGO Changing Markets Foundation, which released new research last week, suggesting many certification schemes are so focused on signing up industry partners that they are accepting lower sustainability standards and providing cover for environmentally damaging corporate practices.

Greenbiz article: https://bit.ly/2I8mc67

Other links:

https://changingmarkets.org/about/

https://apparelcoalition.org/the-higg-index/

https://www.msc.org/

http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/40976-Volcom-Achieves-Fair-Labor-Association-Accreditation

A quick look at what's going on in sustainability-in-business news: This week's topics include The H&M circularity commitment, Pact Fair Trade organic clothing, Pushfins recycled skateboards in surf finds, Oceana talks about Poke bowls, Hasbro gets sustainability recognition, the Body Shop gets a new owner (good news?), and loli straw, the edible straw, looks to come to life on Kickstarter.

Links:

https://pushfins.com/

https://wearpact.com/

https://www.ecowatch.com/poke-tuna-oceana-2522775789.html

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530128773/lolistraw-by-loliware/description

When you meet Christian, you instantly know there's something special about him. Whether it's his effortless professional approach, his sincere dedication to building personal relationships, his commitment to engraining sustainability into his career, or just his friendly smile, you know you're dealing with a class act. 

Christian and I have known each other for a few years now, thanks to him reaching out to me to participate in a sustainability symposium he and other students were putting on at UC Irvine. Since then, there have been two successful symposiums, Christian has graduated with his MBA, and has been elected as the CEO of the non-profit he helped start called, Seed Consulting Group. 

In this episode, you'll hear from a young CEO managing a very unique non-profit model in the environmental/sustainability space: a non-profit powered by volunteer students and professionals, dedicating resources to other environmentally focused non-profits, pro-bono.

With offices in Orange County, Los Angeles and San Fransisco, a column over at the Forbes NonProfit Council and an upcoming wedding, Christian has a lot going on...so glad we could grab a few minutes together.

This episode is for you if you appreciate entrepreneurial endeavors, non-profit management, young professional career building stories, leadershipChristian Johnson and SEED Consulting

Kozm Kronicles Episode 4: We break down the fibers and the builds of Kozm products!

A conversation with Kozm co-founder Troy Eckert.

Intern Ryan sits down with Troy at this home and talk about his beginnings at Volcom, his injuries that have led him to the yoga mat, and Kozm's different approach to building a brand.