Claire Attkisson

Join the Sustainable Food Revolution: Waste Not, Want Not

October 9, 2021 By Claire Attkisson 8 Comments

sustainable-food-innovations-blog-family-meal — Farm Fresh Family Meal

How can we re-design a food system that supports farmers and the land, is truly healthy, and results in a life-supporting local and global economy poised to feed billions?

We’re amazed at what we found out researching these questions. Human innovation, ingenuity, and creativity seem to thrive when times are tough, and we finally recognize natures design constraints. Our blog this month shares cool stories of revolutionary food innovations sprouting up across the globe that are beginning to define a sustainable food paradigm by addressing world hunger, climate change, and turn food deserts into abundant nutrient oasis’…it’s happening, people!

Growing Food in the COVID Context

We humans invented Democracy and we went to the moon—testaments to human potential; yet in crisis it turns out that our survival depends, not on self driving cars or appliances that talk back to us in English and Finnish, but rather on the same basic building blocks that all animals require: clean food and water and washing our hands (that is to say, hygiene). The call is out to return there, to remember who and what we are; to pause (a different kind of action) and look back to what we’ve created and manufactured for growth and progress, and use our new innovative thinking, to get the basics—food, drink, exercise—right. How we do this, our purpose, is the “secret ingredient” or the magic, to make surviving/sustaining our compelling collective cause and lifelong endeavor.

Self-care, at its most generous, is the conversation between friends, companies, school systems, countries. Taking care of each other and our world. Sustainability as the “new normal” can redefine definitions of progress and inspire tremendous design and creative innovation. Small and big businesses alike know this more acutely now, as ESG investing is out performing standard investing during the crisis. Caring about people and the planet is the new competitive advantage for business. “We, the people”, care what happens to our world, our home. COVID points to the fact that human encroachment on wild land is bringing human contact ever closer to new life-threatening diseases. For growing numbers of people, a spot-light is shining on our economic and business as usual model. Our global economy connects us all. The time is now to design a life-sustaining economy. This is no longer abstract. COVID makes it real.

farmers-market-sustainable-innovation-food-blof — Farmers Market Bounty

Inspiring Food Innovation Companies You Should Know and Support

There are five trends emerging in restaurants that we will once again leave our homes to dine in—likely, with greater elbow room. Pockets of sustainability-inspired venues have been popping up across our country and others; now the movement is inspired, bringing whole new tastes and smells, and acres and networks that create purpose and repurpose to what and how we eat food. There is a tacit understanding and trust between patron and establishment on the terms of their relationship. “Infusion” is not in the tiring details of self-conscious waiter’s recitations (thyme and whats-its in meat, pistachios in chocolate chip ice cream.) It is trust that the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) is infused in the fabric of the menus and how the business operates.

The meals we make and bring to our table require the same standards. We cringe at what we perceive as the inhumane acts of taking fins from sharks and throwing the bodies back into the ocean. We are care about where our food comes from and where it goes.

Our nomadic ancestors chased their prey into canyons and slaughtered them. It was their only way and they used every bit of the animals they caught. We are moving away from the mass slaughter idea and embracing the habit of using the whole animal once again. Restaurants and chefs are often personally connected to local butchers, farms, and fish nurseries.

London-Meat-Free-Buther-Food-innovation-blog — London’s First Meat Free Butcher Shop

Then there’s the “Beyond Meat” movement. London just opened its first “Meat Free Butcher Shop“. An in-store butcher, trained in plant-based cooking, will do live demonstrations of meat-free recipes and give tips to customers on how to create mouth-watering vegetarian and vegan dishes at home. Customers will be able to choose from 20 animal-free products, including the likes of BBQ-pulled jackfruit, chorizo-style Shroomdogs, meatless bacon, veggie ribz and Moroccan vegbabs. All purchases will be weighed and wrapped just like in a traditional butchery.

Spoiler Alert

Composting our food waste is a successful end of life solution for farms and individuals, however, for grocery stores this is simply not done. What if we knew when food was going to spoil on grocery store shelves before it spoils? Spoiler Alert is a new company doing just that—using data to manage waste and unsold inventory so effectively that they are helping their customers feed the most needy as a result. “Since the start of our pilot program with Spoiler Alert, we were able to donate over 1.5 million meals over the last year” said Laura McCord, Executive Director of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at KeHE, a national food distributor.

ReFED

ReFED is another food innovation company that has created a road map of 27 different ways to reduce food waste, while creating new jobs. Imagine that—no more Jobs vs. the environment grid lock! The organization has launched the ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund to quickly deliver vital funding to organizations that can rapidly scale food waste reduction and couple them with hunger-relief organizations.

stockton-CA-farm-to-family-program-sustainable-food-innovation-blog — Stockton, CA Farm-To-Family Program

Meanwhile, in California, the #1 agricultural producer in the US, amidst the COVID pandemic Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced an expansion of the state’s “Farm to Family” program, that will aim to address the disconnect between the state’s farmers — who, since the onset of the pandemic, are experiencing a 50 percent drop in demand for their mostly perishable food — and food banks, many of which are scrambling to meet skyrocketing demand from families in need.

The initiative will enable food-insecure people across the state to receive roughly 20 million pounds of fresh, locally produced food per month. Participants will receive fresh food boxes — each of which feeds a family for three to four days.

Upcycled Food —What?

“Upcycled Food” is not as bad as it sounds (we’re not talking mother birds regurgitating into their chick’s hungry mouths!). It’s a fast growing fledgling industry, which creates new, valuable food products out of the overlooked nutrients falling through the cracks in our food system. Imagine: vegetable stems turned into chips and leftover juice pulp transformed into granola to surplus bread (reborn as beer!). This spring, food waste prevention nonprofit, ReFed, released a census that said 11 such food companies existed in 2011. In 2017, there are 64 and counting. An amazing 400-and-growing upcycled products are currently on the market (according to the Upcycled Food Association—yep, there is one!)

upcycled-food-brands-food-innovation-blog — Upcycled Food Brands

An Upcycled Economy is Climate Positive

Last year, Future Market Insights produced a report in which it estimated that the value of the upcycled food economy was more than $46 billion, and predicted a five percent compound annual growth rate over the next decade. This is real money!

According to scientific and policy experts, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Project Drawdown, the world leaders on ranking climate change solutions, rank reducing food waste as the number one solution to the climate crisis.

According to the Upcycled Food Association upcycled food businesses are currently preventing at least eight million pounds of food waste per year, equivalent to millions of pounds of CO2 emissions prevented, and millions of gallons of water saved.

As the Great Depression era taught my grandparents to save and reuse everything, this same ethic is being recognized again in the era of COVID as a key driver of a new life supporting upcycled food economy.

Business innovation is leading the way, are you ready to get on a much more fun and creative merry-go-round and reinvent business as a force for good? Join us.

food-waste-scraps-food-innovation-blog — Waste Equals Food

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Live Creative Studio is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Live Creative offers strategic creative for purpose brands; strategic sustainability for any business; and a curated sustainable marketplace for everyone to shop their values every day.

Beyond Net Zero: Your Guide to Scaling a Climate Positive Business.

September 22, 2021 By Claire Attkisson Leave a Comment

Timber_Age_Systems_CLT_Builder — Carbon Sequestering roof and cross laminated timber panels

It’s time for all businesses to do their part to change business for good and create a climate positive plan of action. Small business to large corporations all need to play a role in decarbonization (i.e. eliminating Green House Gases (GHG’s) and the use of fossil fuels in their operations, ditto for their suppliers, in shipping, packaging, and product material inputs) over the next 10+ years to thwart catastrophic climate change.

The good news is that we have solutions. Business solutions such as, carbon offsets (i.e. tree planting; deforestation investing, etc. solar farms); redesigning fossil fuels out of our product materials, supply chains and operations; converting to renewable energy to power your office and/or facility, and…The possibilities are many and the key to success is setting goals and a system for measuring them.

As the axiom goes: “What gets measured, gets done.”

cork-element-sustainable-lifestyle — Cork Element Carbon Sequestering Forest Cultivation

6 Steps to Net Zero

Step one: Organizational leaders (i.e. the owner, entrepreneur, c-suite, CEO + board) must lead the decarbonization and/or net zero charge by setting a clear and meaningful vision. One of the first challenges businesses face in sustainability efforts is articulating a long-term vision with realistic, short- and mid-term goals for action. Without leadership driving the process, most sustainability programs stall and fail.

Step two: Start with the low hanging fruit. Set a short and mid-term emission reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) target through the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which evaluates corporate goals goals for alignment with what science shows us is required to keep warming below 1.5°C per the Paris Agreement. Science Based Targets are also a great guide for start-ups and small businesses.

Step three: Most companies start their sustainability journey addressing Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, which include direct emissions and those from purchased energy for companies’ own use. However, to truly achieve net zero requires a holistic view of the entire value chain. This means companies should incorporate Scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions from upstream and downstream activities, like employee commutes, supplier emissions and end-of-life (i.e. so called waste) product ingredients (time to phase out petroleum and plastics) processing.

live-creative-studio-sustainable-innovation-blog — Our oceans can no longer absorb carbon without becoming too acidic

Step four: Establish your baseline and set realistic incremental goals. To begin, companies need to know where they are now and develop a thorough understanding of their environmental footprint, including scope 1,2 and 3 emissions, to help quantify and identify areas of improvement throughout the entire value chain.

Step five: Consider GHG offsets; redesigning your product to sequester carbon; or installing solar or wind power for your operations and the companies in your product value chain; or investing in regenerative farming and deforestation projects that help to sequester carbon. The solutions are here it’s really a matter of leadership taking action.

Step 6: Integrate sustainability into daily business operations. Defining how your unique business can become climate positive is just the beginning. It’s critical to translate sustainability goals into realistic action plan. Leadership should communicate the mission, vision and strategies clearly and ensure that sustainability practices are implemented into day-to-day operations and all employees are held accountable to specific decarbonization goals that they are responsible for in their job duties and evaluations.

The Benefits of Action

The late Ray C. Anderson, founder of Interface Carpet—one of the most sustainable companies on earth once asked:

“What is the business case for ending life on earth?”

An important question, but equally important is the business community’s response. We simply cannot continue business as usual if we hope to have a “climate fit for life” on earth.

The benefits of a climate positive plan for your business include:

competitive advantage
a values based workplace
product innovation
purpose-driven
a legacy impact
business longevity by supporting life on earth

Carbon in the Air Can Be Turned into A Business Opportunity

Resources

Set GHG Targets with the help of the Science Based Targets Initiative: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/

Offset your GHG emissions locally or internationally with: Four Corners Office of Energy Efficiency Carbon Offset Program: https://4cornersoffset.org/how-it-works/ or The Gold Standard: https://www.goldstandard.org/

Offset your plastic use with Plastics for Change: https://www.plasticsforchange.org/blog/what-is-plastic-offsetting

Host your website with a company that invests in renewable energy: https://www.greengeeks.com/

Search the web with an engine that invests in reforestation: https://www.ecosia.org/

Redesign waste and fossil fuels out of your products with Cradle-To-Cradle Safe and Circular Design: https://www.c2ccertified.org/education/safe-circular-material-choices

Download this Guide here:

Download: Becoming a Climate Positive Business Guide

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Live_creative_studio_logo_design_purpose_brand_agency — https://www.livecreativestudio.com

Redesigning Our World Now: Optimism, Biomimicry, and Design

September 20, 2021 By Claire Attkisson 69 Comments

Peacock_biomimicry_live_creative_studio_blog

The truth is, much of the world’s social and environmental problems can be solved by literally redesigning our world. As a marketing and creative agency in Durango, Colorado, with global impact, Live Creative Studio works with both entrepreneurs and established companies to innovate through purpose-driven branding and marketing. Some call it eco-marketing or sustainable marketing, while others call it marketing for conscious, green, or B Corporations. We call it purpose-driven marketing. We design for impact. We design to change the world no matter how you define your company.

To explore this idea of re-designing our world, I teamed up with an optimistic friend, writer/editor, Elizabeth Arlen. We will write a blog a month to bring to light all that is possible through inspiring design and new paradigms of thinking. This first blog focuses on the “earth shot” that is deeply needed in order to transform the way we make everyday things and why that even matters. We look to a new concept and tool called Biomimicry developed by scientist and scholar, Janine Benyus. She points out that Nature’s genius design principles have sustained life for nearly 4 million years, and maybe we should stop disassociating and become teachable to natural ways to drive our world’s product innovations and our new economy.

Capitalism is not the great evil; the toxic ingredients we use to make our products and short term greed need a serious reality check, now that we have the knowledge and technology to redesign them. There are no coincidences: just as we need it, we have opened up a vast new frontier. The truth is we haven’t veered off the path of progress, as so many lament; the path of progress has led us right here. Life is messy. Our learning curves are not quick and they include accidents and ugliness. So it has always been. We didn’t invent penicillin, child labor laws, seatbelts and CPR just in case a tragedy should ever happen. The tragedies happened first. We are right where we are supposed to be. The Penicillin of today is a new business and economic paradigm built on sustainable product design that upholds the natural laws of what is conducive to life.

A brief historical context: How did we get here?

The truth is, we are optimists, We the People, are. Yes, there is an American stamp on this phrase but, truthfully, all over the globe, for thousands of years, groups of any amount above an one, have been referring to themselves with equal self-possession and toward a higher purpose (there may have been a plan to go bowling but the research on that is thin).

With optimism and practical shoes, Colonists, set sail across the Atlantic in the 1700s to, oh, you know, create a new Country. It was not their second one. This was their singular shot, fueled by desperation and an optimistic faith in their cause: to create conditions conducive to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In India, in 1932, Gandi’s 7-day fast was as loud as any revolution; surrounded by fear and hate, his faith and optimism in the best of humanity, committed him to the same cause: to create conditions conducive to life, and at the risk of his own (hence, his optimism). The Dali Lama, of a Chinese oppressed Tibet, stands for a cause when he travels the globe as someone who is real and light and wrote the book, “We are Responsible for our own happiness.” We are. We must be our own heroes. We must gather our optimism to meet the needs of life.

In the West, we create movies that echo the inspiration of, “We will overcome,” and “I have a dream. Classics hang on or are redone, like, ‘Annie,’ ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘Rocky’ and Zeffereli’s tweaking of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’–the blueprint for every love song and story ever told– because we really do believe them: The sun will come up tomorrow; there is no place like home; the best of our humanity will empower us to rise up in triumph (yes, Romeo and Juliet, are actually too dead for that; but for 47 hours those two kids shared a divine and optimistic love that raised them above all else, and when Prince Eschalus declared “All are pun-ish-shed!”, the Montagues and Capulets fell to their knees to process their first phase of grief and flawed humanity). The unbound optimism of love was the victor.

Today’s Marvel heroes and Tom Cruise’s still very fast Ethan Hunt, believe there’s no place like home and run down Dubai buildings or take to the skies with hammer, iron, sticky string, breastplates, and good looks, in order to save it: earth. And, people, do we identify with the screaming civilians scampering in fear into an upended Starbuck’s and H& M? Anyone? Of course we don’t. Sure, a lot of us think we want someone else to swoop in and save us; but the truth is, in our hearts, we identify with the optimism and bravery of our heroes—we have it inside us to be one, on the saving side.

What? Yes, when Robert Downey Jr., looked at us and announced, “I am Iron Man,” we thought, ‘He’s dreamy” (well, to some, it’s in the report); what we actually thought is, ‘I am Iron-man,’ ‘I believe, too.’ Yes, when our heroes’ eyes deepen and shimmer into their souls, we, the audience, feel the tug on the hope and heart of our own humanity, and want to jump up and ‘Just do it.”

Outside of the theater, today is fast and distracting. It’s hard to find a culture around the globe that isn’t completely online and virtually doing everything. We have our smartest phones and our noses in them, while we don our serious suits or Lulu lemon leggings; with our free hand holding a blue print or protein bar or another little hand; we fight the good fight, doing our best to be the best with an ambition to be successful in our belonging. But belong to what? Ourselves, with nature as the backdrop? Stand on your heads if you have to, because our perspective is more than off. It is not real: We belong to nature and need it, just like the rest of earth’s creatures, with our own Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus, Species.

Nature is not a place that exists only when we are on vacation. We all feel the pull it has on us, don’t we? How we gaze at sunsets and sunrises and the stars and love the feel of the beach under our feet, the crunch of leaves, the smell of the rain; we ride our stationary bikes looking at a virtual trail on our monitor; we even go to bed listening to the electronic sound of the wind, the wolves or the Whales (and not just to hear Robert Redford). We are part of nature. It is within us and our home.

But what of the optimists in these climate changing times?

Optimists, step forward. Optimists are our valuable dreamers equipped with hope and knowledge; they are the people who are quiet and not apocalyptic about our future because they are too busy working in it. Inspired by their optimistic vision, they have seen that Nature’s diversity is the new paradigm in which to work and create. There is no place like home.

Our heroic optimists are in action and we can choose their side over the stagnation of a small vision of division among and between the races, classes, genders, parties, etc. ‘Just Do it.’ It’s Nike’s brilliance to tap into our inner heroism; to know we can’t think ourselves into right action or talk ourselves into right thinking: Action is where we must live. Action is life.

Janine Benyus, with her calm humility and deep wisdom, is one such optimist: “Life creates conditions that are conducive to life.” This simple and profound sentence summarizes her perfect understanding of the success of Nature. Benyus is an example of our natural wiring; whether it is from hope or optimism or something primal, we, just like the rest of earth’s inhabitants, want to create conditions conducive to life. She is not panicking; she is open and smiling and in action, spreading the word everywhere, including on Youtube and the ‘Today’ show. She knows something—even the excited “Today’ reporter could feel it tromping breathless and bubbly behind her in the woods.

What Benyus knows is the test of time of nature’s design, which she calls Biomimicry. Biomimicry “is an innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.”

All or not punished, after all! We know a way out of this mess. We have not veered from the path of progress, remember? “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” Remember? Now, is the time to regroup, and reconsider what we strive for. We need to reframe the design of all things to ensure the existence of our resources and all of our children’s sunsets, and their children’s. The sun will, indeed, come up tomorrow.

Does someone have a blow horn? Everyone should know that Biomimicry is a game-changing tool.

We need to communicate loudly or through millions of “beats” around the world that the sky is not falling. We have solutions; the absolute possibility of a livable future. This is where true grit turns to face the challenge; this is the time when great leaders inspire and say with faith and hope, “I have a dream!” “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” Those optimistic leaders and the quieter one like Janine Benyus, believe in us.

Do we believe in ourselves? You mean right now? Not so much. We are certainly moved by media to constantly point to what is not working, instead of inspiring what is possible. We traumatize ourselves with HBO specials showing brilliant scenes of oceans and sunsets that suddenly assault us with bulldozers raping the Rain Forest or Polar bears floating on a foot-long slab of ice. We do not bring forth our power by pointing to the mistakes or evil among Us. We ‘just do’ absolutely nothing with guilt or blame or hate to distract and paralyze us.

We consumers are weighted down with this rumor that the answer to our problems is recycling. It helps, but the consumer cannot bear the brunt of solving our environmental problems; nor is it a real solution. No wonder we feel powerless and overwhelmed. No wonder we suffer in an unnecessary atmosphere of doom and gloom which so many of us feel today.

Raise your chins, and get radical with the optimism within you. Negativity and gloom are so last year. Believe, because nature is our solution. Nature doesn’t have a waste problem. It knows what it’s doing. We, our young little species, do. But we are teachable. So what can we learn from nature?

What does Biomimicry have to do with re-designing our world?

Designers, this is our cue. We need to begin at the beginning, with people who design products, not just use them. How we make every day things, as well as luxury things, is a radical act. The very product ingredients, the chemistry, and their end of life, are all critical design stages from which nature can inspire us and bring about new ways of manufacturing that are conducive to life.

“Form follows function” is emblazoned in the hearts and minds of all young design students, as well as, seasoned practitioners. If we follow this wisdom, then understanding the “function” of an object is a critical first step. What purpose does the object have? Is the object/product conducive to life?

Biomimicry can help us answer these questions. It is not only a new model for design and innovation, it’s a a path to re-designing our world as we know it. Biomimicry (learn this term!) challenges designers to be at the forefront of creating things that we use and dispose of every day, as if our nature mattered—and it does. Designers love constraints because that is where the magic and creativity live. Nature is our constraint. All of life, including humans, needs sun light (energy), oxygen, water and a nice temperature to exist and thrive.

Humans are born with the competence of pudding compared to the natural genius around us. In 3.8 billion years, life on earth has learned what works, what lasts, what evolves. And, how even death becomes the ingredients for new life.

Biomimicry invites us to consider natures “operating instructions” to create things we need to “function”. In this vision, the form, which follows the function, will be in concert with life.

Yeah, yeah, this all sounds so warm and fuzzy and far away from business.

Is Biomimicry practical? How might it shape the new, clean economy?

Well, talk to the hedgehog. Few of earth’s creatures can travel with the whimsy of a hedgehog. Do they free fall from trees on purpose? You bet—because it’s quicker than climbing down. When they fall from a tree do they make a sound? We have no idea (that’s in another study), but scientists around the water cooler mentioned a giggle.

And why not? They have quills to buffer the fall and allow them to tumble and spring up good as new. Researchers and scientists are taking a closer look in the hope of saving our athletes in the NFL and Tour de France and Durango High School (home to our teenage daughters and sons— Go Demons!) from sometimes fatal concussions or eventual brain damage. Our helmets today are hard and unforgiving, and often hurt athletes as much as the actual fall.

Innovator, Hedgemen, has researched the hedgehogs quill technology and buffering system, resulting in a new line of helmets inspired by the hedgehog. Keep it in mind when you shop for helmets in the near future. Buildings too are following the lead of the hedgehog, pushing innovations in architectural design that radically reduce energy consumption.

Now take a look at the Shinkansen Bullet train. The bullet, as people like to call it, travels 200 miles per hour. It’s very James Bond and if 007 were on such a train he would be able to have shaken martini in style without any disturbing background noise or motion. Even in a cartoon, the word inside the bubble would be ‘Whoosh.’

In reality, the sound this train produced was more like a thunder clap that burst all bubbles and rattled teeth within a mile radius.

Fortunately, Eji Nakatsu, the Shinkasen’s 500’s Chief Engineer, happened to be an avid bird watcher and had the instinct to look around nature (i.e. Biomimicry) and find a model of something that could move smoothly and quietly between two mediums.

He knew the answer could not be human-made–we had taken our technology as far as it or we could go. He discovered the answer in the Kingfisher, a bird who dives from the air into bodies of water without much splash.

Modeling the train front after the bird’s beak resulted in a quieter train with the added bonus of efficiently producing 15 percent less energy.

Speaking of less energy, have you ever noticed how most large animals conserve their energy and only use it when they really need it? There is something to be learned from that observation too.

The truth is, ‘There’s no place like home,” and Biomimicry sees the genius answers are right here (and we don’t have to be good looking to see them).

Next up: the peacock. We call it the “Peacock Principle”. Peacocks are a brilliant symphony of blue and gold in all their shades and variations. It’s a flamboyance of color matched only—albeit, not as nuanced—by Elton John. Actually, the Peacock is brown. I know. This fact is world-rocking, in and of itself—especially to the Peacock. We are wedded to the Peacock and its beauty, and use chemicals and pigments to recreate its likeness in our fabrics and jewelry and jewelry boxes. The brown Peacock would burn and die if its colors were invented by toxins, so instead of imitating the look, we are learning to emulate the process.

It’s a more curious and patient vision we are acquiring for the living world we belong to. What we see now is that the beautiful colors of a Peacock are created with structural color and transparent layers. When light reflects to us through these layers it creates the color blue, or green or gold to our eyes. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

So, what if we could make our fabrics with the same principles of color that a Peacock has innovated? What if we didn’t have to use toxic dyes to make gorgeous color for our jewelry? Biomimicry takes us to the edge and we simply must jump in and innovate following natures amazing design principles.

The E-reader display screen uses the Peacock Principle. Developed by Qualcom, the screen needs no back lighting, because it uses layers and the ambient light to create the different color to your eye; in so doing, this folding in of nature and technology, is a far less aggressive approach and uses a much lower energy.

See more examples of Biomimicry at work by following our Face Book page.

What does biomimicry have to do with branding?

While Biomimicry places nature at the heart of design, branding creates the meaning behind the design and why it matters. The best brands today inspire us to become something; to be part of something; to reach for possibility. We find our sense of belonging; our tribe; when we don a Nike t-shirt and “Just do it,” or open up our Apple lap-top with the inspiration to defy the rules and create the world we want; to clean house, knowing “Seven Generations” will benefit from our non-toxic sprays.

We are optimists, remember? Life is always in search of life. No matter how big our egos grow, the planet will evolve either with us or without us. Biomimicry is a platform for creating products and brands with nature as the Designer. We create and exchange goods, and we belong again to the nature of things. We act as if nature matters—and in the end it does, for life’s sake. It’s a new business and economic paradigm calling. It’s our path to a livable world. It’s time to pivot.

By Claire Attkisson (she’s the sustainability/marketing geek) and Elizabeth Arlen (she’s the writer/editor and the funny one.)

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Hope in the Climate Crisis Age: Products that Sequester Carbon

September 7, 2021 By Claire Attkisson 15 Comments

Carbon—From Enemy to Resource

What does sustainable business have to do with climate change? Our global economy today was built on cheap fossil fuel energy (carbon stored in the ground), which has fueled a never-ending thirst for more and more energy to keep it going and growing. While many point at business as the evil destroyer of the planet, I do not. I believe growing business is natural—everything in nature is growing; it is our natural order and drive. That said, I do believe that business must reinvent itself as a force for environmental and social good and take the lead on climate. As Ray Anderson, founder of Interface Carpet, asks: “What is the business case for ending life on Earth?”

As product designers, creatives, engineers, and purpose brand marketers we have a unique seat at the business reinvention table. Like, artists, we can inspire a new way of seeing the world, like Picasso, Frida Kalo, and Leonardo DaVinci have done. We are in a new age of enlightenment— a design renaissance that is going to blow our minds. Are you ready? I am.

But, before we get to where we are going with new ways of thinking that are different than our current thinking (a requirement noted by Albert Einstein), we need to understand where we are now. Climate change is not a matter up for question, it’s a matter of how bad. But we can’t freeze up and stress there. We cannot afford to and are bigger than that. There is a lack of communication between the people who are creating a new future and the citizenry who are steeped in guilt and powerlessness. As usual, good news is not news so the masses don’t hear about it. So, we consume and feel guilty, we recycle the cardboard cover of a bouncy house and feel just a bit better. But our goal cannot be to feel “less bad”! (thank you, architect and sustainability thought leader, William McDonough, for that insight).

The conventional doom and gloom feeling and story about climate change is that it is a problem of burning fossil fuels for electricity and transport. While true, that is not the entire story. What it misses is the fact that a 3^rd of global carbon emissions come from the chemistry of stuff. The biggest carbon contributors in the world of stuff are: Cement (think: buildings), steal (again think: building/auto’s), and plastic (think: every other product made on this planet). The things we love every-day are designed and manufactured to off-gas CO2.

Einstein Thinking Quote Top 60 Albert Einstein Quotes That Will Change Your Life – The Best – QUOTES BY PEOPLE

What if I told you that the new way of thinking (thank you, Einstein) that will save us are already here. It starts with changing how we think about carbon.

Carbon molecules, while vilified today, are the building blocks of all living things, including humans. Us. Big carbon-based molecules are how life stores the energy of the sun. How can we make the carbon molecule good again, life producing?

Let’s take the lead from Interface Carpet and “design with carbon in mind.” In doing so, we ask the question: What if we could take carbon out of the atmosphere when producing every-day things? What if we could build our homes and make the clothing we wear so that they sequester or store carbon? Think about that a minute.

Product design to sequester carbon isn’t science fiction. It’s happening right now all over the world.

Here are a few examples:

Take Interface Carpet, they are the company that created the carpet squares we all love. Their company-wide sustainability philosophy is a “commitment to running our business in a way that reverses global warming and creates a climate fit for life.” Wow, what a goal, what a sense of purpose! Interface is so far ahead of most companies, thanks to founder Ray Anderson, that they have already achieved 100% carbon neutrality across their manufacturing and operations world wold. Now, they are on to the next big sustainability program called “Climate Take Back”, which so far has resulted in carpet that sequesters carbon. This Climate Take Back program pushes their designers to change their way of thinking—from how can we create products that are less polluting (less bad)—to thinking about how carpet can be designed to be net positive; to restore the planet.

2. Take Charlotte McCurdy, a Yale and RISDE graduate. She designed a raincoat made from marine algae and sequestered carbon.

Carbon Sequestered Rain Coat made from Algae Plastic | Designed by Charlotte McCurdy

3. And, what if I told you that art could clear the air and sequester carbon? Scientist-inventors Anastasia Neddersen and Alina Adams do just that. They design art that sequesters carbon. They started the company Artveoli to design and manufacture wall art that converts carbon dioxide into oxygen, like plants do (sounds like biomimicry, doesn’t it?).

Carbon to Oxygen Filtration Art | Designed by Artveoli

Designing things to sequester carbon is a market-driven solution to climate change.

Carbon neutral product design is a revolutionary act. This market-driven solution (not to mention creative solution!) by-passes policy and politics. It gives us hope. Breakthroughs like this are happening all over the world inside companies and universities in research institutions, in biology and chemistry departments, right now.

In closing, the time is now to take bold, positive action. America was built with a pioneer spirit, let’s continue that legacy and show the world what is possible through a sustainability/climate plan that includes climate sustainable business innovation and incubation.

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Live Creative is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Our Creative Studio offers authentic marketing, branding, and sustainable business expertise to ethical, sustainable, and purpose brands. And Sustainable Business Team offers sustainability strategy and goals setting as well as sustainable packaging services. And, our Lifestyle Team curates our global Sustainable Marketplace, the Durango Sustainable Biz Guide, and Get Real—our inspiring Innovation for Good weekly newsletter. Follow us on Insta: @livecreativestudios, like us on Facebook: Live Creative Studio and join our FB Group: Sustainable Business Idea Exchange.

The New Durango Sustainable Business Guide is Here to Help You Spend Consciously. Shopping your values on vacation has never been easier.

May 18, 2021 By Claire Attkisson Leave a Comment

Local Eco-Friendly and Green Business Boom

Durango, Colorado is not like other mountain towns; we’re uniquely geographically located where the dessert meets the Rocky Mountains. Half an hour in any direction and you have access to river rafting, mountain biking on world class trails and ebiking along our Animas River or hiking at 10,000+ feet. Our location also brings forth an eclectic mix of ranching, Native American Tribes, and outdoor enthusiasts who call Durango home.

The uniting force here in our small rural mountain town is our mutual love of the land. Locals and transplants alike make care for our natural world a key part of their life. And that extends to the business world too. Durango has over 26 sustainable businesses that work every day to show the world that a healthy livelihood can be made by business decisions that give back to the community and our environment.

We’re thrilled to share with you 10 of our 26+ sustainable businesses here so you can shop your values while on vacation in Durango. But first, let’s define what makes these businesses so unique and worthy of your support.

What is a Sustainable Business?

Simply put, a sustainable business is: An organization of people who view the purpose of their business as a driver and creator of prosperity for people, the planet, and the economy.

This definition reflects the “triple bottom” line backbone of sustainable business. A business cannot do good if it is no longer in business. And notice, this definition is not prescriptive either; there is no sustainable business manual. However, there are sustainable business design frameworks and methods such as Biomimicry, The Circular Economy, Zero Waste, Zero Carbon, and Regenerative Agriculture that help us expand our thinking and give us a structure to make triple bottom line business decisions.

Please share the Durango Sustainable Business Guide with friends and family so they too can eat and shop their values as they explore our beautiful town. And if you fall in love with Durango like so many of us have after one visit, the Guide is a greta place to find sustainable architects, builders, interior designers, low VOC paint, upcycled furniture to help you make your move to Durango a conscious one.

AIRBNB

1. Durango Like A Local on Airbnb and VRBO

Durango Like A Local is an emerging glamping hub and tourist resource for locals and travelers looking for a hometown-take on the best places to eat, hike and adventure in and around the four corners. Come visit for a getaway or stay-cation in their fully furnished glamping tipis, wall tents and studio apartment. Amenities include a community fire pit, picnic tables, lawn area with yard games, and bath house.

Sustainability: Amber and her team believe that true sustainability begins by shopping close to home which is why they prioritize local suppliers and relationships for all their accommodations. Their spaces are filled with locally made goodies and sustainable furniture and bedding and non-toxic cleaners.

EATS

2. Basecamp Kitchen

Basecamp Kitchen Restaurant | Bar | Market

Basecamp is a 100% plant based restaurant, bar & market located in the historic lodge at Tamarron. Basecamp is inspired by the philosophy that “food should make you feel better, not worse.” Whether swinging in for a burger & beer to watch the game or after hitting the gym or the slopes for a green juice and Buddha bowl, Basecamp has something to offer everyone. Their full bar includes classic cocktails as well specialty cocktails made with anti-inflammatory herbs and spices, bottled and local draft beers and domestic and import wines.

Sustainability commitments & goals: 1. Low to no waste in kitchen and bar; 2. Offering sustainable, low to no waste packaging of market items; 3. Eventually plan to grow their own produce and make their own plant based meats and cheeses in house.

3. Grassburger

Grassburger has taken the iconic experience of eating a burger and made it better … for you, the animals and the planet! After looking for years for a place to take our family for burgers we could feel good about, we created it! Grassburgers are healthier, delicious, allergy-friendly and planet-friendly. Our grass-fed cattle live a happy, active life on a forage diet as nature intended.

Sustainability: Grassburger’s 100% USA raised, grass-fed cattle are never held in confinement, are antibiotic and hormone free, and are humanely certified. We stand behind holistic/regenerative practices for the reduction of carbon gases, the restoration of the land and the health of the planet. We serve on sustainable and recycled products and our fryer oil is recycled for biofuel.

4. James Ranch Grill

Regenerative. Family. Harmony. These are the core values of this unique Durango ranch, grill, and market. James Ranch is ten miles north of Durango, Colorado in the beautiful Animas River Valley. They offer 100% grass fed and finished beef, whey-fed pork, artisan cheese and raw milk from 100% grass-fed, grazing Jersey cows, eggs produced from pastured hens, a spruce tree nursery, an regenerative vegetable and flower garden, and a thriving restaurant grill and market.

Sustainability: James Ranch is family run, utilizing regenerative, sustainable growing practices that center around care for the animals and the land so as to build up the soil to sequester more carbon.

5. Zia Taqueria

Zia is a beloved community-minded restaurant serving locally sourced and farmed, healthy meats, vegetables, and other ingredients. They promote what they believe in: “Treat the earth kindly, stay healthy, be kind to all others, be thankful, and be generous.”

Sustainability: From upcycled building materials, kitchen scrap composting, solar panels, responsible food and to-go container sourcing, to giving back to their community and staff, Zia strives to build a sustainable business and community with each business decision.

SPECIALTY FOODS

Durango’s sustainable specialty food brands are available locally at Durango Natural Foods, Nature’s Oasis, and at the Durango Farmers Market on Saturday’s, as well as online for purchase.

6. Inner Joy Energy Bars

Inner Joy Energy Bars is a fruit based energy bar brand. Pairing locally sourced organic fresh fruit with organic energy stimulants like spirulina, cacoa, and other superfoods, the Inner Joy Energy Bar is both tasty and packs a smooth punch. Nothing like it.

Sustainability: Inner Joy Energy Bars use wholesome and organic ingredients and home compostable packaging and shipping containers.

7. LuvTempeh

LuvTempeh | Products | Cooking Classes | Farm to Table Dinners

Luv Box Foods is a local grower of Tempeh (Luv Tempeh), Miso (Luv Miso) and other ancient umami rich foods. Their tempeh is a spore culture grown on any bean, grain or legume paired with the spore Rhizopus Oligosporus, a mushroom-like fungus. It has a savory, yet slightly sweet, mushroomy & nutty flavor. And their miso is made from fresh Koji using Aspergillus oryzae, another filamentous fungus, which they harvest the digestive enzymes from to culture the miso in oak barrels.

Sustainability: Luv Box Foods grows their own ingredients without the use of pesticides and transports their fresh foods by electric bike. They also host farm to table dinners along with classes on tempeh, miso and other living creations

THINGS TO DO

8. Go bargen hunting for gear at the Durango Outdoor Exchange

Forgot your water shoes, hiking boots, rain jacket? Check out our local used (and new) gear store to get you back outside. The Durango Outdoor Exchange is a locally owned consignment shop that provides quality, new and used outdoor gear and apparel. They exist for you to sell your stuff, find great gear and get out there and enjoy it!

Sustainability: Durango Outdoor Exchange provides a marketplace for used gear with the intention of keeping it out of landfills and giving it a second life. Local commerce reduces carbon emissions by limiting extra transportation too. We are proud of being a business steward of the environment and work to reduce, reuse and recycle in our business practices.

9. Enjoy the Animas River with ROLL ebike & paddle board

Roll is solar powered electric bike and stand up paddle board rental and delivery company. Roll delivers ebikes to your home, VRB, Airbb, hotel, or friend’s home within 10 miles of Durango. And Roll delivers to the Oxbo put-in on the North calm end of the Animas River your inflatable SUP’s. Skip the rental hassle and enjoy a cruise, a float or both!

Sustainability: ROLL’s sustainability goals are to be carbon, people, and community positive. Towards these goals ROLL’s ebikes and headquarters are solar powered; their ebikes and paddle boards are delivered by a hybrid electric Prius; and their website is offset by renewable energy. ROLL pays a living wage to its employees and gives local youth job training. ROLL gives back to the community through donations to the Durango Farmers Market and Great Old Broads for Wilderness.

10. Get centered at YogaDurango

Yogadurango is Durango’s community yoga center. We believe in connecting people in healthy ways. In successful operation since 2006, we strive to create a welcoming place for people to explore, grow and transform. Our studio supports all levels of practitioner, providing high-quality experiences with exceptional instructors. As a women-owned small business, we are dedicated to the well-being of our community and contribute to the richness and vitality that makes Durango such a wonderful place to live.

Sustainability: We are a successful local small business in operation for 15 years and have maintained a quality working staff with minimal turn-over. We consciously choose where all our dollars go from offering hand picked, eco-conscious retail to supporting our local co-op with our bulk orders. We refill our cleaning supplies to minimize our waste and we look to the smallest of purchases like having BPA credit card paper! We are a place of connection and networking, which sustains a local economy. Yogadurango believes in healthy reciprocity and have donated thousands of dollars to local nonprofits, individuals and organizations.

Best of luck on your quest to live and shop your values while on vacation in Durango and every day. You can head to our Durango Sustainable Business Guide to browse more ethical and sustainable brands not included here, such as Cura.Te, Botanical Concepts, The Flying Hatter, and Passion Flower Beauty, that you can visit in person or online and have items shipped directly to your home. No more searching, just bookmark and shop your values for anything you need, anytime, every time.

Have a safe and memorable visit! And remember to “leave no trace” in town or on the trail.

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Live Creative is a sustainable business, marketing, and shopping hub. Our Creative Studio offers authentic marketing, branding, and sustainable business expertise to ethical, sustainable, and purpose brands. Our Sustainable Business Team offers sustainability strategy and goals setting as well as sustainable packaging services. Our Lifestyle Team curates the global Sustainable Marketplace, the Durango Sustainable Biz Guide, and Get Real—our inspiring Innovation for Good weekly newsletter. Follow us on Insta: @livecreativestudios, like us on Facebook and join our FB Group: Sustainable Business Idea Exchange.

Old School Wool is Making a Comeback in the Outdoor Clothing Market. This time Sustainably.

March 12, 2021 By Claire Attkisson Leave a Comment

By Guest Blogger: Valerie Smith with contributions by Claire Attkisson

yugloc-wool-live-creative-sustainability — Sheep’s Wool

Yuglet is a woman-owned outdoor clothing start-up— born from a heritage and love for Shetland wool and inspired by the adaptability and character of the companies namesake, Scotland’s yuglet sheep. Yuglet’s mission is to support Shetland Island crofters and British Isles centuries old sustainable farming communities by creating superior hi-tech wool fleece for the outdoor enthusiast market.

Yuglet Needs Your Help

As a start-up, Yuglet is looking for outdoor enthusiasts to test their products. If you are an avid outdoor adventurer or a weekend warrior and would like to be chosen to test Yuglet products, follow @yugletoutdoadventure and then send an email to hello@yuglet.co.uk describing why in one paragraph you would be a great product tester.

But first, read on and understand what sets Yuglet apart and their commitment to people and the planet…

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Yuglet Founder, Valerie Smith is from a family of sixth generation Scottish woollen manufacturers. She remembers learning to roller skate between the mills spinning frames on the smooth concrete floors. “You could go really fast as long as you didn’t get wool tangled round your wheels!” Smith is a product developer, textile designer and colourist. She has a special affinity with Shetland Island and when she heard the island was being deeply affected by COVID-19, she decided to put her knowledge and innovative thinking into a new business to benefit the people and ecology of Shetland as well as the sheep — and Yuglet was born.

www.yuglet.co.uk

Smith takes her lead from the Shetland Yuglet sheep to design a unique modern outdoor fleece using a centuries old natural fabric. Turns out, the Yuglet sheep, a so called primitive species, has survived for eons for good reason. The Yuglet’s survival is partly due to their adaptability and ability to keep warm in bitter cold. They graze on poor pasture on high cliffs close to the sea, and thrive in cold, wet temperatures during the winter months. They can conserve energy by retaining as much body heat as possible because of the quality of their fine wool.

This is why Shetland sheep wool is the central fibre used to make Yuglet’s modern high tech outdoor garments. They use a special process that retains and enhances the fibre, creating a far superior warmth to any other wool on the market. For technical and novice outdoor adventurists alike, warmth is key.

Yuglet Sheep on Shetland Island, Scotland

Why the world needs Yuglet. Now.

Synthetic clothing mostly comes from oil wells and is not biodegradable. Worse still, synthetic fibers crumble into small pieces that last for ages and wind up in all sorts of places it doesn’t belong, including inside our foods, oceans, mountains and more.

There are real concerns about the methane emissions caused by the global sheep industry. Wool farmers are experimenting with gut vaccines that inhibit gut organisms, and can thus reduce the animals’ methane emissions by up to 20 percent.

However, sheep do eat plants and store carbon in their wool – up to 50% of the weight of wool is pure organic carbon.

And some wool producers are using new dying procedures that might allow for the fabric to be treated at lower temperatures—a small measure, perhaps, but one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent.

Overall environmental benefits of wool over synthetics:

Wool products have long lifespans, meaning they are used or worn longer than other textile fibre products
Wool textile products tend to be washed less frequently at lower temperatures which has a lower impact on the environment
Wool is readily recyclable: with a market share of 1,3% of all textile fibres, wool claims 5% within the recycled fibres market share!
Wool biodegrades readily on land and in water – as a protein-based fibre, wool does not contribute to microplastic pollution

Yuglet wool is ethically sourced and sustainably made

Scottish Shetland Sheep are an indigenous breed to the British Isles. Often used for conservation grazing, this gentle system helps to increase and maintain biodiversity of natural grasslands. They are never intensively farmed, but instead are cared for by local crofters to subsidise their incomes. Wool is completely natural and biodegradable, and our ranchers love the land that supports their own families as well as their animals. Yugelt sheep are purely grass -fed and make use of land (cliffs!) that other crops can’t be grown on.

Yuglet’s tradition and expertise

Yuglet sources its woollen from a family business near Lerwick, Shetland. Since 1893—six generations—this same family has exported their fine woollen goods all over the world. Together, they have created a special blended wool that when spun, gives the Yuglet outdoor clothing line its unique finish and ‘handle’ to knitted fleece. Smith brings her love and taste in colour to this collaboration and has successfully produced gorgeous new colours. According to Smith: “we chose this mill because we know they understand what we mean when we say ‘Yuglet’.

Yuglet Fleece made from the wool of Scotland’s Yuglet Sheep on Shetland Island

Benefits of Yuglet Wool

Strong and durable, the unique finish works the fibers together so that your garment will last for longer and can be worn for longer too. It’s naturally breathable and resists perspiration. Perfect for your outdoor eco-adventure.

There are many synthetic technical materials on the market which fail to match the wicking performance of wool. And if its cold and you are exerting yourself, sweat can condense on the inside of your ‘technical’ outer shell.

None of these problems exist with wool — snow, light rain, drippy woods and very often heavy rain and sleet, can be completely ignored when worn as a breathable mid layer or extreme outer layer.

Made in Scotland

Home to some of the finest wool fibre in the world, our mill is in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles, north of Scotland and 4000 400 miles (643 km) south of the Arctic circle. There is nowhere quite like it.

Wear Yuglet anywhere

Whether you’re outside in the wild exploring or hunkered down in a mountain cabin, wearing a Yuglet makes you feel protected, warm and cosy no matter where you are. Wear Yuglet even in rain. Wool can keep you warm, even when wet. Woolen garments can hold and hide up to 60% of their weight in water before they even begin to feel wet. Each individual wool fiber can absorb – internally — 35% of its weight in water. This 35% weight gain is trapped within the complex internal structure of each fiber where it cannot touch the wearer. But also, because of the physical shape of woolen fiber, the rough surface of the fibers and their crimp (kinkiness), additional water – 25% of the weight of the garment — can be contained between the fibers that comprise the yarns from which our garments are woven. Fine wool fibers used in Yuglet clothing, not only feel softer against the skin but they absorb a higher percentage of its own weight in water before feeling wet.

Durable and comfortable

Made with super soft wool, you’ll enjoy wearing the Yuglet fleece. The thinnest wool fibers will bend when in contact with the skin, resulting in a wonderfully soft and silky feel. Yuglet wool fleece is both tough and weather-resistant but still soft and comfortable on the skin. It’s made to be worn and to last generations. Yuglet is. bringing back the idea of clothing as a family heirloom to be passed down to the generation.

Wool Wicks like Crazy

Wool picks up the water vapor that is the first stage of perspiration. When perspiration vapor condenses on the skin people tend to notice it. But it doesn’t start as liquid, the body first emits vapor. Wool was designed by nature to capture that vapor, and in a very real sense this is better than wicking because the perspiration disappears even before it condenses into water/sweat and becomes noticeable or can make you cold.

Wear it your way

We make our Yuglet as a generous unisex fit. The sleeves are designed with a ‘turn back cuff option’ on most styles, so you can wear it as you like in your own style.

Repairable by design

Every Yuglet garment is made with care to produce high quality finishes. With increased durability the Yuglet garment will last for longer and can be handed down to the next generation as many Scottish have done before. We know from historical records that woollen garments of fisherman and crofters became family heirlooms.

Wool is odor-absorbant, naturally

This odor-absorption trait also makes wool valuable for clothing because wool can be worn for extended periods without becoming odorous. Wool will absorb, internally, the compounds that create the smell people recognize as body odour.

Perfecting their fleece products

Yuglet is doing extensive testing on how wool reacts during certain wash processes. It has taken a lot of trial and error to get the surface looking and functioning as they want it: To create a hi-tech (think natural Gortex, but better) garment with a soft ‘handle’ to touch. The research phase been very technical in order to understand the structure of the wool follicle and what changes during wash conditions.

Where Yuglet is now

Right now Yuglet is working on colour combinations and styling. They are in close communications with their mills about production. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 disruption the mill in Shetland is working in-line with Government restrictions and Shetland is currently closed to visitors. If anything, Yuglet’s commitment to building their business model has been fired up by the great need for support coming from Shetland’s people and the island they love.

Join the Sustainable Wool Movement

As we stated earlier, Yuglet is looking for people to help them start off right. Follow yuglet: @yugletoutdoadventure and send an email to hello@yuglet.co.uk and share (in one paragraph) why YOU make a great tester of their beautiful hi-tech woollen fleece. Best of luck.

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