Hi All,

Yesterday I had a great interview and conversation with Dr. Sally Edwards, about her consulting work in assisting companies to think about the design of their products, from a sustainability standpoint, BEFORE they are made, making it much easier to meet good environmental practices. Sally is a co-founder of the Chemical Footprint Project (www.chemicalfootprint.org), which recognizes companies for their leadership in reducing the use of hazardous chemicals. She also works with the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (www.greenchemistryandcommerce.org) an organization of businesses that are working to develop and use safer chemicals in products.

It gives me hope to know there are people like Sally working on the ground level, influencing companies to become better stewards of the earth.  A few projects and resources that we spoke about, I would like to share with you. First was the Q’ewar Project, which is a cooperative doll making initiative in Peru, that Sally visited while writing her book, Beyond Child’s Play. The cooperative Q’ewar Project has helped to lift a community out of poverty, and is a wonderful model of how a business can work. Another resource that I have mentioned many times before is the Environmental Working Group, which has consumer guides that can help you know which personal care products are toxic, which foods contain GMO’s and what produce is most heavily sprayed. Another one is GoodGuide, also evaluating the ingredients in consumer products for their health impacts. They are great resources! Lastly, we talked about Women’s Voices for the Earth, which is a nonprofit organization committed to eliminating the toxic chemicals that harm our health and communities. Check them out! If you missed our interview, you can listen to it here!