In this lengthy but worth-the-watch video, the host of NPR Marketplace Kai Ryssdal talks with TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie and GOOD CEO Ben Goldhirsh about the passion and purpose behind their work. We found ourselves nodding in agreement throughout the length of the interview, as the honest words of these two amazing entrepreneurs truly resonate with the mission and values behind what we do everyday at Holstee. It is so encouraging to see other entrepreneurs valuing thoughtful production, sustainability, social responsibility, and community as they strive to grow and succeed. These guys hit the nail on the head in this interview and provide a solid insight into the world of Social Entreprenuership & 'Consious Capitalism.' We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have you heard of GOOD's 30-Day-Challenges?  I have been loving the motivating goal behind each challenge: "a monthly attempt to live better." Each month, the team at GOOD proposes a challenge to focus on improving ourselves and the larger community around us.  Past challenges have included going vegetarian for a month (I discovered a newfound love of garbanzo beans), driving less (my bike and I became best friends), and reducing waste (I found this great bamboo utensil set and stopped using the plastic ones). 

These challenges are wonderful for many reasons: they push us to be more conscious of our habits, allow for the ability to discover new things, and teach us more about ourselves. There also is a great sense of fulfillment that comes from accomplishing each challenge.  

I recently listened to Matt Cutt's TED talk on the benefits of trying something new for thirty days (a super short talk well worth the watch). He reflects that by consciously pushing himself to embrace a new habit, hobby, or life change for 30 days, he surprised himself with how many things he learned. The challenges allowed him to get out of a rut by finally attempting the things he had always wanted to add to his life, making the days more memorable and increasing his self confidence.

The same idea applies to each GOOD 30-Day-Challenge and I have loved the ability to take each challenge as my own. This month the challenge is Connect with People. Each day, GOOD presents a task to complete like sending a thank you card, saying hi to strangers, or calling a long-lost friend. It has truly allowed me to be conscious of how I do connect with people--friends and strangers alike--and to keep my eyes open to all of the connections to be made and to work to maintain. 

You can jump in on this challenge for the rest of September by checking Good.is for each day's new task, and stay tuned for the challenge for October. Be sure to share with us, too, we'd love to hear your thoughts and your journey. :)

CLIF Bar is challenging us to rethink the commute. Did you know that in the United States, an estimated 40% of urban travel is under two miles? 90% of those trips are taken by car (yikes!). In an effort to engage the community in the fight against climate change, the CLIF Bar 2-Mile Challenge was created as a call to replace as many car trips as possible with a bicycle. We love it!

To further celebrate and encourage bicycle lifestyles, CLIF Bar has partnered with GOOD to offer a contest to benefit organizations championing the bicycle movement. Three winners will be chosen to win up to $5,000 for a bicycle nonprofit of his or her choice (plus, a year's supply of CLIF Bars!). In order to win, submit a photograph along with your best bike story here by September 5th.

Check out the CLIF Bar 2-Mile Challenge and learn more about the power of rethinking the commute!

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. -JFK

I recently starting getting one GOOD artcile a day and as much as I enjoy the content they report on and style of the writers, the news of yet another oil spill, this time in Montana on the pristine Yellowstone River (the longest freeflowing in the lower 48), is super disheartening and makes me wonder.

Did you know there's about 20,000 oil spills a year in the United States and that roughly 300 never make it to the public eye because they are so severe that the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't allow press to cover them and private contractors are hired to clean them up... I sure didn't.   

This spill dumped over 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the river as it was being pumped from Canada to the US. 

They even found a bald eagle- our brave mascot- drenched in sludge. 

It makes me wonder why we live in a time when power and greed are preferred over health and the well-being of a planet and its people. It makes me wonder what life is going to be like for my children on planet Earth. It makes me wonder what anthropologists will think when they discover that we were one of the most wasteful and destructive of all civilizations thus far. It makes me wonder if this fight for a more conscious lifestyle and greater social awareness will ever end.

It makes me wonder how much more I can tolerate before I lose steam or control. 

Article originally found at GOOD here. 

The 1st time is an observation, the 2nd a coincidence and the 3rd time means listen up... in 2010 we are hopefully ready to embrace going SLOW. #1. Slow Food It seems like the benefits of this movement are finally receiving the very welcomed attention it deserves... 2009 even led to iphone apps dedicated to finding seasonal local produce. If you haven't already check out Michael Pollan's eye opening book, Omnivore's Dilemma, put it to the top of your list. My biggest take away (as far as nutrition is concerned): the only thing more important than what we eat is, in fact, what we eat eats. #2. Slow Fashion We recently had a chance to check out the Pratt Gallery's (free) exhibit on Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion. It displayed some of the pioneers in eco / slow fashion, including Bodkin, Loomstate, Uluru and of course, the innovative concepts of Sans. As Lika Volkova, founder of Sans contends - fashion technically cannot 'be eco' since it is continuously producing, but it is undeniable that this industry has tremendous opportunities for improvement. As an apparel line we are committed to the latter; from production, to materials, to packaging we make a point to consider all stake holders in each decision we make. #3. GOOD Going Slow When our quarterly issue of GOOD magazine arrived it was titled 'The Slow Issue'. In it were interviews with a myriad of forward thinking folks, each contributing to the issue's namesake in a unique way. Recent posts to the issue online include giving people incentive to opt for stairs over elevators, and an interview with the President of Slow Food USA, Joshua Viertel, among many others. Going slow can have implications for everything. To us, it means considering the big picture; thinking about the impact of our decisions, whether it is the food we eat, the products we buy, or the things we say. Here's to a happy, healthy... and slower 2010 for us all.

It was just two weeks ago that we sent out smoke signals in hopes of connecting with some of California's most inspiring individuals and organizations- and we were thrilled with the response. Below are some of the highlights. Our adventures started down in San Diego at Dr Bronner's Magic Soap HQ. This family business has 150 years of soap making under their belt and a history worth making into a movie. We were excited to meet David Bronner, current president and 5th generation soap maker. After speaking with David we were inspired by the many progressive milestones this soap company has achieved and continues to have on its radar. Before we left, David connected us with his friend at Livity, a lifestyle and eco apparel company. On the way, we stopped for a coffee break with the wonderful Amrit Richmond, Art Editor of GOOD magazine- a unique quarterly magazine that has become increasingly well know for their telling infographics. Next Stop was Livity. Upon arriving at their beautiful HQ tucked away in the forests of Topanga, CA we knew we'd like these guys. We met much of the team including, including founder Isaac Nichelson who had recently participated with David Bronner in a brilliant display of civil disobedience for legalization of [industrial] hemp. We saw this as a great example of two progressive companies, only linked by their values and the unique uses for industrial hemp as key sustainable resources for their organizations. As a result of meeting with livity, looks like we are one step closer to incorporating Hemp fabrics into upcoming Holstee apparel :-) We then hopped onto Route 1 enroute to San Francisco. While there we met Architecture for Humanity founder and TED presenter, Cameron Sinclair to learn about their work re-building destroyed community centers in India and even building new soccer fields in Africa and a skateboard park in Afghanistan. One of the Archechects, we met was also helping to build a completely recycled, self sustaining boat called, Plastiki scheduled to travel around the world in the coming months. Any extra space in Cameron's office is opened to fellow social enterprises. One we definitely want to acknowledge is Lulan founded by Eve Blossom (also a Ted presenter as of 2 weeks ago). Eve has created what is probably the most thoroughly sustainable textile company we have come across. She found her business with intentions of combating human sex trafficking which has reportedly multiplied as result of the world economy. Through Lulan, she has been able to rehire hundreds of women desperate to support their families, but Eve doesn't stop there. Eve uses Lulan to help subsidize housing and education for the womens' families. While in San Francisco we got the chance to meet up with fellow entreprenuer, Mike Del Ponti, founder of Sparkseed. An innovative incubator and investor for socially focused student entrepreneurs. With Mike we met together with the fun folks over at Virgance - its amazing to see how entrepreneurs all over are working hard to do well, by doing good! Overall, the trip was a true inspiration. Oh and special thanks to our cousin, Omead for lending us his hybrid auto for the trip - only 4 fill ups of the tiny 10 gallon tank the whole trip!