Holstee

I had the Holstee Manifesto on my fridge before I even knew what Holstee was.

My coworker had brought in postcards one day, grinning as she dropped a card on each desk. She's French, and wears her heart on her sleeve, which is an office perk when she's happy. So I read the manifesto and, like thousands of other late-twenty-early-thirty-somethings around the world, it resonated. I took it home and re-read it every couple of days, as a reminder to be present, focus on the important stuff, and try to build the life of my dreams. 

A few months later, I was fortuitously introduced to one of the Holstee co-founders. We had chai in a little Indian cafe across from the Ace Hotel (less hip, more room) and talked about how their work might overlap or align with ours.

Their company started in the unusual way of mantra first: they wrote a manifesto before they had a product idea or even a target market, and the consciousness that drives their triple bottom line is paramount. They produce and distribute sustainable and world-friendly 'lifestyle' goods, plus give back to causes like Kiva from their proceeds (I would cite another small-world coincidence, since Kiva was founded by my brother's college roommate, but Kiva is too big for that to be a coincidence).

Holstee is committed to leaving the planet better than they found it, and they remind us that we vote  on companies with our purchasing choices - our lifestyle - every day. They focus on products that are useful and stylish enough that people want them (like the Holstee wallet). They are already exploring the same question that we are: how can you integrate social good into your everyday life? What is the easiest way to choose the right companies / products / activities? Who is creating that filter?

But they're also a part of a movement that runs much deeper and drives these choices naturally. The manifesto communicates simple and compelling values that resonate worldwide (the manifesto has been shared over 500,000 times and viewed online over 60 million times since its release)? This is not our parent's world that we're living in. This one is much more flexible, uncertain, but with freedom and potential and new types of responsibility - to make the most of it, to be creative and live fully but with an understanding that we're all connected, and that's what it's about. Tie these values to products that are upcycled and responsibly produced, and you've got a gem of a company. 

Right now, I get the sense that the team is preparing to move in a new direction: perhaps they're finding the market for sustainable and responsible goods just a little bit crowded these days (a good thing, ultimately!), or maybe the manifesto poster/card was such a powerful jump-start that they're going to build on that idea some more. Their MyLife project is another clue, collecting stories from individuals who were deeply inspired by the manifesto. Either way, I can't wait to watch them grow: whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I'll want it in my lifestyle.

meet in the middle

It's been awhile since either of us posted. We've both had some big distractions: I got married and took a work trip to Southeast Asia, and Charlotte was accepted to business school at LBS (congrats!).

But it's also good to step away, live our lives, and think about what conscious consumerism means in the context of it all. The priority for almost everyone is to get through their day, as happily and productively as possible, and this means making choices based on what's easy. I can't blame anyone for this, I do it myself and it makes perfect sense. But I also believe in a little toughness.

It comes down to the basics: if there are two (or more) ways to do or obtain something, an individual is going to choose the path of least resistance, be it time/financial/pleasure principles. That social-good product or service has to be right there on the shelf, near the train, on the radar of the individual or it doesn't make sense.

This is where top-down changes matter. If big manufacturers alter the way they do business so that they are striving for a triple bottom line, the effects trickle down into the everyday consumer's life. The juice I buy at the bodega or the new jacket from a department store can be the responsible choice. Information on companies' CSR can be readily available, but it can also be known that all big companies follow certain guidelines and standards, so the individual doesn't have to do much research at all. Wouldn't that be nice?

In the meantime, there's another tactic I believe in, one that does take a little effort but it's effort well-spent: minimalism. If you don't really need a juice, don't buy it - save the landfill (or recycling center, we hope) that plastic bottle and your body from the empty calories. If you love juice, buy a juicer or blender, keep fresh fruits and vegs on hand, and make it before you leave the house. If you need a new coat, buy it secondhand from a vintage store. Better yet, keep wearing your old ones until they're a little wearier.

Yes, this is not the path of least resistance: this can take planning, time, and energy. But in tandem with top-down changes, this slight shift in consciousness is important. Just because we can have anything at any given moment (within limit) doesn't mean we should. And when we do decide to buy something, we should weigh the cost to the planet and to ourselves. In the coming years, that information should become more readily available. If not, we should demand it from the businesses that are providing the goods and services we use in everyday life. More on that later...