Today’s featured business is Resource Revival. Check out their website and this interview with National Sales Manager Jim Hassert:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Jim: The idea for Resource Revival sprung from founder Graham Bergh’s imagination in 1991 when he got a flat tire while biking to his recycling job. That inner tube became a cradle for his stereo speakers and after three years of tinkering with other ideas Resource Revival was born in 1994.

Now we collect tons of discarded bicycle parts every year from bike shops all over the United States. We clean them using mild detergents, sort them into more categories than you can possibly imagine, and craft them into the cool products you see on our website. You can read more here.

GA: Why did you make the decision to go green?

J: To harvest discarded materials and turn what most consider trash into a profitable commodity.

GA: Tell us a little about your products.

J: We collect used bicycle parts from bike shops all over the country and breathe new life into them by creating a whole line of products ranging from key chains to clocks.

GA: What are your most popular sellers?

J: Bike Chain Bottle Opener, 4×6 Bike Chain Picutre Frame, Desk Pendulum Clock. See more here!

Thanks, Jim and Resource Revival!

Pictures with permission from Resource Revival.

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Resource Revival

Today’s featured business is Perfectly Natural Photography. Check out their website and this interview with owner/photographer Barb Lattin:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Barb: I’ve wanted to be a photographer since I was really young – at least 9 years old. Strangely, I never considered a career in photography, and instead studied Communication Disorders in college.

After having my first son 9 1/2 years ago and taking roll after roll of pictures (back in the days of film, lol), I so badly wanted to take pictures of all the kids around me. Unfortunately, I never got the nerve up to ask friends if I could photograph their kids because they all seemed to have friends with photography businesses. Or they started one themselves!!

Last October I was dreaming about it again, as my last friend to start a business had put hers on hold temporarily, and we had a differing circle of friends, when I realized that there were no local photographers (and back then, I thought there were none altogether) who were focusing on Breastfeeding Portraits. (Greener Assets Note: Please go to the Perfectly Natural Photography website to see gorgeous breastfeeding portraits!)

Knowing that this was something I had always wanted (and had even tried to have another photographer capture my image during a portrait session once), I thought maybe this would be my foray into becoming a photographer. I asked around my circle of friends, almost all of whom breastfeed their children, and received a resounding YES.

I have not stopped studying and practicing since then, and dream nightly about some photography-related aspect. LOL I have spent the time from November 2007 until the end of August 2008 bettering myself and building my portfolio. My “professional” website went up at the beginning of September, though it still needs tweaking.

GA: Why did you make the decision to go green?

B: I’ve lived a green lifestyle all my life – as much as I could – and it was important to me to make my business as green as possible. For me, being a work-at-home-mom, my business isn’t separate from the rest of my life, so it didn’t make sense to treat it any differently.

As I posted on my blog, sometimes (in my personal life) I have to choose the not-so-green choice because of finances. But I had made the decision that I would do what is necessary to be green in my business practices, and wait until I had enough money for each thing as necessary. It makes me feel good knowing that I can make good decisions for my business that are also good for the Earth.

GA: Tell us a little about your products/services:

B: I create Custom Children’s Portraiture. I use all natural light (so far, though I may supplement a bit in the future) and do on-location work, whether at the client’s home or an outdoor location. I allow the child to do what they would naturally do, and capture them being “perfectly natural”. I specialize in Breastfeeding Portraiture and believe that every mom who nurses their child should be able to have photos of this short-lived relationship.

I bet you are wondering how my business is green! Well, I’m doing everything I can to use green products and to offset my carbon footprint. For example, instead of getting my business cards from a very popular – and cheap – provider, I searched out a green printer to have my cards made.

Among the other steps I’ve taken are:
1) To send my Welcome Packet by email instead of printing and mailing it (even though I do use paper with 30% post-consumer content); I’m excited that soon I’ll have an online magazine-style viewer for my Welcome Packet.
2) To have my photos printed at a lab that has sustainable options for print and press products, as well as a commitment to being as green as possible.
3) To do away with a lot of “fluff” with regards to packaging the product for the client. While all of that is nice and looks wonderful, I believe it’s not necessary. I know that I personally would rather not receive all the extra packaging that come with my products, unless it has another use. So I will ensure that the packaging I do use is either reusable, recycled or recyclable, and all three if at all possible.
4) Once I’m doing enough business, I plan to join 1% For The Planet. Until then I’m doing little things that are free for me to use but that make a difference for our planet, such as always using Eco-Search for my search engine (it is powered by Google, and donates to other nonprofits that also support the environment) and CO2Stats to make my blog carbon neutral. I enjoy finding new things all the time. :-)

GA: Where do you see your business going in the future? 

For now I’m going to focus on networking locally and building my business. Although it’s always been my dream to be a photographer, constantly working at my business (which is so many more hours than most people realize, and that’s just the part related to the photographs) has had a really negative effect on my children, who are homeschooled. This has driven home how necessary it is for me to keep my business low volume.

So while I planned on being a low volume business from the beginning, I now plan to have a super low-volume, high quality business; only two regular sessions and a few breastfeeding sessions per month, spending the time to make each portrait just right.

In the future I will make myself available for “destination” portraiture, and I am even dreaming of a book in coming years.

Thanks, Barb and Perfectly Natural Photography!

Pictures with Permission from Perfectly Natural Photography.

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Perfectly Natural Photography

Today’s featured business is This Into That. Check out their website and this interview with owner Jim Rosenau:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Jim: I began by showing my artwork in my front yard, hanging it on the fence during a local open studio event.

GA: Why did you make the decision to go green?

J: It was never a decision. I constructed my business as part of a low-impact lifestyle from the beginning.

GA: Tell us a little about your products.

J: I am best known for making thematic bookshelves out of old book. Inside, there is a frame made from recycled wood. The titles are chosen to tell a story or joke. (See more about the creation process here.)

GA: What are your most popular sellers?

J: Thematic bookshelves from vintage books (Check out everything for sale here. The one pictured above is called “Anatomy of a Murder.”)

GA: Where do you see your business going in the future?

J: I will continue to make bookshelves but am about to launch a second body of work, one of a kind art pieces from found material transformed into familiar forms.

Thanks, This Into That and Jim!

Pictures with permission from This Into That.

Post from: EveryJoe

Support This Into That

Today’s featured business is Close the Loop, LLC. Check out their website and this interview with owner Rita Lacey:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Rita: I worked in the corporate world for 15 years, left to have my daughter & started the business when she entered school 8 years ago. I wanted to “buy recycled”, but couldn’t find a place to go that had much more than recycled paper available…so I started my business Close the Loop, LLC in 2000 just offering recycled products.

Here’s some more background:

Close the Loop , LLC works with US manufacturers who produce high quality & unique recycled products. We are working to increase consumer confidence, awareness and demand for recycled content products and help grow markets. Finding new uses for old materials – help educate consumers to view our waste as a valuable resource, not as trash. Close the Loop has recycled 7 MILLION pounds of tires for new & beneficial uses (rubber mulch for playgrounds, landscaping, equestrian, military use, etc), and over 100,000 lbs of recycled plastic. We offer educational programs in the schools to teach the children to care about the environment through our magic of recycling program. Author of bi-monthly free E-newsletter, The Loop. Website: www.closetheloop.com

GA: Why did you make the decision to go green?

R: Eco-friendly business can help create jobs, meet customers needs by reducing facility operation and maintenance costs by using more durable and long-lasting materials, while leaving the world a BETTER place for the generations to come.

Close the Loop does not charge the manufacturer anything to do the web design, catalog & brochure creation, sales, marketing & distribution. We do not get paid unless the product sells…then we earn a commission on the sale. If we feel a product has potential in the marketplace, we usually will give it a chance online for at least a year at no cost to the producer.

Close the Loop was built on the principals of the 3 P’s: people, planet, profit – We can help create & keep US manufacturing jobs, solve environmental problems & do well by doing good!

GA: Tell us a little about your products/services:

R: Close the Loop , LLC offers a wide variety of recycled products and green building materials such as rubber tiles and timbers for playgrounds and equestrian facilities, plastic post and rail fencing, and mulches made from rubber, cocoa shell, and tumbled garden glass.

GA: What are your most popular sellers?

R: Rubber products & plastic fencing.

GA: Where do you see your business going in the future?

I am looking to have a retail store and grow the business & offer more in-house educational programs for children & adults, along with recycled craft projects & getting the community involved in “Give & Takes” (aka – promoting freecycling) & litter cleanups. Hope to increase recycling rates & producer responsibility.

Thanks, Rita and Close the Loop, LLC!

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Close the Loop, LLC

Today’s featured business is Paper Nor Plastic. Check out their website and this interview with founder and owner Jeffrey Lui:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Jeffrey: After watching a few business inspirational segments on the Oprah Winfrey Show during my last two years in college, I developed a passion….a desire… to own and operate a company; preferably one that makes a positive difference to people’s lives. Shortly after college, I worked for a few companies while constantly searching for that simple idea I can run with.

That idea struck on January 27^th of 2005 when I heard the city of San Francisco was proposing a charge of 17 cents for paper or plastic grocery bags. I remember saying to myself, “This is crazy and unfair.” Therefore, I decided to do a little research. What I’ve discovered was an eye opener for me. I learned that millions of trees and barrels of oil were used to make paper and plastic bags. Plastic bags are a huge pollution problem to city streets and waterways. Importantly, plastic bags pollute the ocean which endangers marine life.

After an hour of research, 17 cents per paper or plastic bag did not seem all that “unfair.” On that same day, I decided to pursue my long overdue desire to become an entrepreneur and start my own reusable bag business. After a few nights of brainstorming with my wife, we decided if stores were to ever ask us “paper or plastic?” we would say, “PAPER NOR PLASTIC.” Thus, the birth of Paper Nor Plastic.

GA: Why did you make the decision to go green?

J: There is no better feeling than to start a business with a product or service knowing you will positively influence the lives of others. Bottom line, it feels good to do good.

GA: Tell us a little about your products/services:

J: At Paper Nor Plastic, we strive to help people become more aware with the basic and fundamental knowledge of how paper and especially plastic bags are negatively impinging the environment. At the same time, we provide a solution to this issue; a low cost, great quality, user friendly reusable bag with many uses. We hope to inspire everyone to improve the environment with the information and product from our site.

GA: What are your most popular sellers?

J: Our popular seller is our famous Paper Nor Plastic Grocery Style Bag. It is what I call our “WOW” bag. The bag earned its name because people have stopped me numerous times to say, “Wow! This is a great bag.” The bag is made from heavy duty 600 denier polyester. A fabric commonly found with manufacturing backpacks, personal computer bags, and tool bags. The design of the bag mimics a traditional grocery paper bag; it even folds conveniently away like one.

GA: Where do you see your business going in the future?

J: Funny that you ask because we recently decided to help companies with a unique way of advertising on our limited edition Paper Nor Plastic “Helping Earth” reusable bag.

For the past three years, we’ve had many companies requesting to have their logos display on our bags. We’ve always had to kindly defer those requests to strengthen the Paper Nor Plastic brand. It was until recently that we said, “Let’s give companies what they want.” We’ve started a “Helping Earth” program and are allowing companies to purchase lots (spaces), so the more lots purchased, the bigger their logo will be. When we successfully complete the program, we will be able to give out these limited edition “Helping Earth” reusable bags with all the different logos for FREE to the general public. Basically these companies will help us design the “Helping Earth” bag as they choose the size and placement of their logos.

Additionally in helping companies advertise and giving out free bags, we will make a $100,000 donation to one of three Environmental Agencies upon completion of the program; the winning agency will be selected by participants receiving the FREE limited edition “Helping Earth” reusable bags. We are extremely excited about this program as it benefits a lot of different people. Companies will get their message of supporting our planet out to the right customers, thousands and thousands of lucky individuals will get a free bag, and a generous donation will be made to one of three agencies. It’s a win-win situation for all.

Thanks, Jeffrey and Paper Nor Plastic!

Picture with permission from Paper Nor Plastic.

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Paper Nor Plastic

Today’s featured business is Eco-Artware.com. Check out their website and this interview with owner Reena Kazmann:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Reena: I’ve had several crafts-related businesses in the past. This one started when I went to the Gift Show in 1999 and saw too few products made from recycled materials–there wasn’t much available then. They stood out from everything else by their strong design and efficiency of reusing discarded materials.

I thought this was the way to go and on faith, opened up an online store trusting that there would be more products available in the future.

GA: Tell us a little about your products.

R: I have an online gift store, Eco-Artware.com (www.eco-artware.com). We offer gifts from recycled, reused and natural materials for all occasions and price ranges by 27 (and counting) artists. Our artists have a special imagination and talent to identify and use sustainable materials–these supplies are not always easy to find. It sometimes takes detective work to locate retired aluminum road signs to make into chairs, obsolete typewriters to give up their keys for cuff links, old bicycle parts for picture frames. Some artists look out for used or discarded (but perfectly good) materials such as 33 rpm records and transform them into innovative bowls and coasters.

At Eco-Artware.com, we care about workers’ rights and quality of life, and check that all the people who make our products receive fair wages and work reasonable hours in good conditions. We pack your orders in a way that is also easy on our environment. Most of our packing peanuts and bubble wrap are reused from boxes we receive, and we spread the word to our neighbors and local stores to let us know when they have some available. We also find some by answering notices on Freecycle.org and our local neighborhood web chatroom. When necessary, we buy only biodegradable packing peanuts. We hope you will find a little space to store these supplies, too, and use them for your future shipping.

We offer information and crafts ideas in addition to our catalogue. With the help of our visitors and returning customers, Eco-Artware.com has compiled a Recycling Guide, a growing directory of resources to help find new homes for everything from appliances (in good working order) to wedding dresses. If you know of a good resource, please let us know and we will add it. We offer diy craft projects; a free illustrated newsletter, Recycling Rag, which appears every 3-4 months and covers the relationship of recycling and the arts; a holiday gift guide with suggestions for green ideas for celebrating the holidays; and an article about ways to wrap and decorate for holidays and celebrations.

GA: What are your most popular sellers?

R: It’s hard to pick because different products are very popular at different times. Here are some evergreens:

• record bowls and coasters
• typewriter key cuff links
• toys made from recycled sweaters
• business card cases made from unusable circuit boards
• Ming Dynasty pottery shard pendant necklaces

GA: Where do you see your business going in the future?

R: Because there is wider recognition of the need to save our resources, I think there more people will be interested in our well designed and eco -friendly products.

Thanks Reena and Eco-Artware.com!

Pictures with permission from Eco-Artware.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Eco-Artware.com

In celebration, during the month of September, I’ll be profiling a number of small green businesses, most of whom you can support online. NONE of these profiles are for businesses where I run affiliate programs, and I’m not getting any incentives for profiling them. This is purely to support these businesses. The first one goes up tomorrow, and you’ll be able to read them throughout September!

And if you’re a small business owner offering a green product or service or taking measures to go green with a typical business, contact me! I’d love for you to take part in this series.

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Small Green Businesses