(3BL Media and Just Means) — This is not just another story about an organic, fair trade clothing line. Yes, Indigenous is a luxury, ethical fashion B Corp that weaves low-impact dyes, organic fibers and fair trade wages into every piece. But this is a story about a community loving another; a company seeking balance for their spirits and the spirits of all beings. I guess you could call this a love story.
Love is Listening
Before Scott Leonard, the CEO of Indigenous, ever decided to start a high-end, ethical fashion company, he decided to...
(3BL Media/Justmeans) — My father’s mother, Grandma Hazel, was a modest, practical woman. Truth be told, as an adolescent I found her to be obnoxious, opinionated and stuck in her ways. (Twenty-five years later, and I’m pretty certain after a glass of wine or two, my inner circle may describe me with these same three words.) Her home was simply decorated, her fashion sense non-existent; she couldn’t care less about trends or technology. Every Christmas, she’d politely ask what I would like to receive. Eagerly, I crafted a detailed list of apparel and accessories: Adidas sneakers, tube tops and fringe vests from Urban Outfitters. Every...
(3BL Media and Just Means)—Corporate social responsibility. Philanthropic giving. B Corps, employee-owned cooperatives, nonprofits, and all the models in between. The world of sustainability boasts more flavors than Baskin Robbins, more hues than a brilliant rainbow. As Nell Derick Debevoise, the founder and CEO of Inspiring Capital, has coined it, the expressions of sustainability in business are part of “The Spectrum of Impact.” 
(3BL Media and Just Means)- Living on South Beach is exactly what you imagine: a never-ending vacation. And oh yeah, you probably make money somehow, some way, but career is secondary to your outdoor lifestyle. James Faison walked across the street any time he wanted to the cool off in the turquoise waters of Miami and hit up Ocean Boulevard at night to meet friends at one of the dozens of vibrant restaurants. Faison deserved it. He worked hard. A corporate finance lawyer in Miami, Faison busted it as an undergrad at Harvard and then at the University of Virginia School of Law. He was living the dream.
(3BL Media and Just Means) – October: It’s the month which gives us an excuse to drink an excessive number of pumpkin lattes, indulge in political debate with family and trek up to Vermont for leaf peeping. Even more, it gives us the opportunity to stand side by side with small farmers around the world. Every year, I have the joy of hearing from dozens of companies who use October as a reason to support fair wages through consumer purchases. Fair trade Month is here, and in its honor, Giannella Alvarez, the CEO of Harmless Harvest, America’s first fair trade, Fair for Life certified coconut water, shared with me her excitement for the future...
(3BL Media and Just Means) - In the same way that the San Francisco Bay area will be read about in North American history books—or history apps, rather—Bangalore is creating historical tech waves in India. That country’s first certified B Corp, eKutir Global, is shaping that tide. What started as a vision to empower small farmers and shareholders with tech solutions for planting, selling and connecting has developed into a tool used by big name corporations to increase efficiency and directly connect with their supply chains.
(3BL Media and Just Means)- After 13 years of pescetarianism, I might be reconsidering prosciutto and fried chicken. Tragic, to my purist, animal-loving friends, yes. But I feel like I don’t see the industrialization of animal production ending because I substitute tofu for chicken on my bacon-less Cobb salad. When I was a young twenty-something, I quickly gave myself to the anti-climate change, animal-loving campaigners at my university. But have any of my veggie burgers mattered? I’d like to think so. But campaigns and small personal choices alone don’t change the world. When David Yeung, co-founder and CEO of Green Monday, said this of his plant-...