Green Business

I came across the following site and I just smiled. Here you will find a company dedicated to our four-legged friends. Paw Luxury, an online store, specializes in providing dogs with organic food and other eco-friendly products. From beds & mats to clothing, Paw luxury has all the bases covered if you are looking to care for your dog in an environmentally friendly way. What a smart green business Paw Luxury has created. Animals have become part of our family, and with a bit of intelligence and a lot of hard work this green business is going places.

You can click the image below to check out their website.

Here is a really cool video that follows Pizza Fusion. This pizza parlor sells only organic pizzas and they are thriving, selling franchises at a rapid rate. In my opinion pizza is one of the most popular foods in America, and Pizza Fusion is doing it right, selling great tasting pizza while thinking about the environment. An amazing concept from an amazing company. Thumbs up from Green Business to Pizza Fusion for taking a saturated pizza market and creating something new, exciting and green!

I just saw the following video by United Natural Foods Inc. This company is a distributor of certified organic foods. Yeah, it is a bit of an infomercial, but it drives the point home that business can maximize profit by being sustainable. Reducing costs and reducing negative impact on the environment is where it’s at for United Natural Foods. An example of how they reduce their environmental impact is the wood used in their offices is sustainably harvested. They have also installed sensors in their offices so when people leave the room the lights automatically shut off. Very cool! A big thumbs up from Green Business to United Natural Foods Inc. for making money with a conscience.

The CEO of Stoneyfield Farm, Gary Hirshberg, offers his views on organic farming, specifically how organic farming can not only be profitable but actually reduce production costs. The following is a two minute clip from the talk. If you want to view the entire talk just click here.

Every so often, here at Green Business, we will write about companies that are doing their part to help keep our world clean. Two companies are thriving in Vancouver, BC, Canada, by creating businesses that promote sustainability- Happy Planet and SPUD are the future of business.

Using only organic fruits, Happy Planet makes some of the best juice around. Founded by Randal Ius and Gregor Robertson, Happy Planet has cemented itself in the city of Vancouver. Their juices can be found in mainstream grocery stores, local tuck shops, and yes, even Starbucks. Their juices do cost a little more than the competition, but Happy Planet is not your average juice company. Made with 100% organic juice, it is such a high quality product that people are more than willing to pay a little extra for one of their products. Personally, I’m addicted to Extreme Green. Made with apple juice, banana puree, spirulina, stinging nettle-you get the idea, it’s more than just a juice, it’s a meal. If you’re lucky enough to see some on a shelf, give it a try- it’s definitely worth it.

SPUD is an online grocer also headquartered in Vancouver, BC. In business since 1998, SPUD is known for its organic produce and for delivering all of its products to your front door. I always see their vans making deliveries in the city. It’s founder and CEO, David Van Seters, conceived of this brilliant idea in 1997 while he was conducting a study on “the economics of sustainable community food systems”. David gives five reasons why he started SPUD:

1) Protect the environment by buying local, organic, minimally packaged, and eco-friendly products.

2) Build community by creating more direct connections between food producers and consumers.

3) Reduce traffic congestion and pollution by delivering groceries on a set route and avoiding private car trips to the grocery store.

4) Educate customers about important food issues through a weekly newsletter.

5) Donate leftover food to food outreach groups and disadvantaged families.

Sustainable businesses, like the two mentioned above, put a smile on my face. There are no more excuses for businesses that harm our environment. Every business is now accountable-there’s no more hiding.

I recently moved into a new neighborhood. Not knowing it that well I went on an expedition, checking out all of the stores along the main strip. Between all of the used furniture stores, I mean antique shops, and all of the used clothing stores, I mean vintage, I found a small corner store that specialized in organic products.

Selling only organic produce and other foods made by independent producers, this was a corner store with a conscience. The thing that surprised me most was the size of it. The space was tiny, but it was filled to the roof with great products. I witnessed a steady stream of people browsing and buying. After making a purchase of organic milk I asked the woman behind the counter if she owned the store, she did. Luckily she was more than willing to answer my questions about owning such a store. She said that she believed that most people in the neighborhood wanted to eat organic food but couldn’t afford to do so with their limited budget.

“People in this neighborhood can’t afford to go to a grocery store that sells organic food and do a weekly shopping there. It’s too expensive for most of them, but here they drop by a few times a week and buy something small each time. The people who shop here don’t buy a lot, but they buy often.”

I asked her, as gently as possible, if the business is generating enough revenue for her to keep it afloat. Basically I wanted to know if she was losing money. She said that she makes a decent living. Meaning that she pays all of bills at the end of the month with enough left over to get by, just like most of us.

I have to say, although she seemed liked she really was into the organic food movement she wasn’t a fanatic about it. She didn’t seem to live and die with all of it. She’s content on making a living doing something that she enjoys. She asked me not to give out her name or the name of her shop. Personally I thought any sort of exposure, large or small, would be beneficial. She said that she was happy with how things were going and didn’t want to disturb anything. I think that I’ll become one of her regular customers. One who buys a bunch or organic carrots one day and organic apple cider the next. We all have to do our part.

Major food companies, such as Heinz, are getting on board the organic food movement. I have to admit that I don’t watch a lot of television so you could imagine my surprise when two days ago I was at a friend’s house and as I was watching television I saw a commercial for Heinz “organic” baby food. I’m as cynical as the next guy when it comes to what major food makers put in our food, whether it be adding genetically modified ingredients without telling consumers or revealing what pesticides were used. My point is when a major food company starts to produce and market organic foods on television times are changing. If there wasn’t a market for these types of products, and a significant one at that, there is no way any major company would advertise organic products on national television. With companies in all businesses squeezing margins to extract every cent, there must be considerable demand from consumers. Business is listening.

A major grocery chain who’s headquarters are based in Ontario, Canada, named Loblaws, who is a world leader in private label foods, have made significant investments in their private label organic food division. The line of products is known as PC Organics. Every time I walk down the aisles of one of their many stores I seem to notice more and more organic products on the shelves.

Some statistics that might surprise the average organic consumer and even the average business person is that there are over 30 million hectares of land that are certified to organic standards, and this number is only going to rise. The country with the largest surface area is Australia, Argentina, followed by China.

The trend towards producing certified organic products is only on the rise. As consumers continue to demand to eat food that has not been genetically modified and pesticide free the growth of products made by major food producers will continue to grow. This is good news for the bottom line, for everyone.