Helen Townsend - putting the Sustained Fun back into the toy industry

SUMMARY from Fathom

Helen introduces herself and EcoSclatch

Helen founded EcoSclatch to create reusable water balloons as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic balloons, which produce 1200 pieces of waste per use. EcoSclatch balloons can be thrown and refilled multiple times.

Helen's time in Nepal and seeing plastic pollution issues first-hand motivated her to start the Rubbish Whisperer and introduce reusable produce bags and paper straws to New Zealand. She educated businesses on sustainability despite initial resistance.

Helen changed the company name to Sustain Fund to sell under a banner representing its purpose. Though some impact is hard to measure with a low carbon footprint, certification promotes values and sparks important discussions internally.

The toy industry is slow to respond to demand for sustainability despite comprising 1% of plastic production. Helen aims to change global toy industry standards through World Sustainable Toy Day and collaborating with other purpose-driven toy companies.

While profit is not a conflict for Helen, impact is challenging to measure against expectations for improvement. Careful research is needed to avoid mistakes like an unsuccessful activity book cover material choice. Values must come before potential profits from unethical opportunities.

HIGHLIGHT

• rubbish collection in nepal - Helen explains how seeing plastic waste in Nepal and Bangladesh inspired her to start a business addressing the problem when she returned to New Zealand.
• dad a b keeper - botany - Helen recalls childhood experiences appreciating nature.
• research based - Helen explains conveying research in accessible ways.
• b corp discovery - Helen discusses joining B-Corp certification for her business Sustain Fun.
• b corp journey - Helen discusses verification process and score drop after positive feedback.
• b corp reception - Helen reflects they are still young so it's hard to pin something down, whether because they've been caught or not, but people have messaged saying they're a vehicle for content or a beak-or, so it spreads word of what beak-or is and gets across their values and purpose.
• balance purpose and profit
• toy industry env impact - Helen discusses packaging sustainability in the toy industry.
• toys a key to change - Helen discusses children needing awareness of climate change as adults.

Origins of the Rubbish Whisperer and early sustainable productsTransitioning to Sustain Fund and B Corp certificationDiscussion of sustainability in the toy industryChallenges of balancing purpose and profit

Check it out! And get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

Summary Notes:

In this episode we connect with Gillian from Orba shoes one of the world's most sustainable and ethical shoe brands we talk about her early upbringing in Nova Scotia and how she initially pursued a career in the arts but how she ultimately ended up with an amazing crossroads opportunity to become part of the founding team at Orba we also cover off how they've managed to challenge the shoe industry I guess to build a better product all focused on maximizing social and environmental impact we dig into how they balance doing good whilst also trying to create start up business and finish off talking about the future sustainability standards that the B Corp movement is heading towards

Check it out! And get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

Brightly is a purpose-driven IT services company. It works with non-profits and commercial clients that prioritise positive social and environmental impact. Brightly helps these organisations with technology strategy, governance, security and projects.

In this episode, Tim chats with CEO and Founder of Brightly, Mike Carroll, about tech and business for good. Specifically, they discuss the top IT tips for organisations trying to make some impact as well as the rise, use and likely potential of AI.

Listen in to hear about Mike's journey to starting the company; Brightly's journey to B Corp certification; the benefits of B Corp certification they've already noticed, and what Mike sees as the future for purpose-driven business.

Check it out! And get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

NSPR Ltd is a PR, communications and talent management agency based in Auckland, New Zealand that helps clients amplify their impact through storytelling.

In this episode, Tim sits down with NSPR Managing Director Kate Grant to talk about the important role of PR and Communications in your ability to tell the story of impact and good that you have in your business.

Tune in to get some hot tips on how to effectively make use of PR and Communications, the ROI of PR and Comms, the use of AI in Communications, how to combat the rise of greenwashing, their journey to B Corp certification and much much more!

Check it out! And get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

In this episode, we talk to Lucy Butler of HealthPost, the second in a line of strong South Island women dedicated to providing healthier outcomes for people. We explore the origins of HealthPost, founded by Lucy's mom in the 1980s, driven by her desire to address her own health issues. We discuss the company's growth into a well-recognised online natural health retailer.

Lucy shares how family values and her upbringing have played a significant role in the success of running the business, as well as the challenges of managing a family business at scale. We also dive into the importance of transparency in their product range, how they articulate their purpose in everything they do, and their commitment to researching the impact of their products.

We explore how HealthPost balances the demands of consumers and suppliers, and their efforts to educate both to drive positive change. Lucy also talks about the challenges of competing against large overseas retailers, attracting and retaining customers, and the unconscious connection to meaning and purpose in the business. We discuss how being purpose-driven has helped them attract and retain incredible talent in a small rural New Zealand location.

If you're looking for healthy choices to feel good daily, HealthPost have you covered. Just for our Be Better listeners, they're giving 10% off sitewide with the code BETTER until 30th September. One use per customer. You can shop now by heading to healthpost.co.nz

In 2019, Peter and Clive launched Deep Down Wines, a boutique producer of organic wines. They'd met a year earlier and discovered a shared passion for organic and sustainable wine production as well as transparency. Through Deep Down Wines, they aim to push boundaries in wine-making and showcase diversity in Marlborough wines. In this episode of the B Better podcast, Tim chats to Peter and Clive about their desire to stretch the ideas of what wine from the Marlborough region of New Zealand looks like, the importance of transparency in the world of food and beverage and particularly the wine industry, their discovery of B Corp, their journey to B Corp certification and what they hoped to get out of being a B Corp in the future.

Listen in as Peter and Clive discuss:

• Why they believe there needs to be an evolution in farming towards organic as well as removal of all the additives.
• How the Marlborough wine region now has too much monoculture and commercial farming, which means too much glyphosate and other herbicides and pesticides.
• Why Marlborough's obsession with sauvignon blanc could backfire on the region.
• How being organic was non-negotiable for their winery.
• The public misconception that all wine is organic.
• The problematic lack of transparency in the industry that means few people realise many wines have up to 25 additives.

And more! Check it out! Be entertained, educated, outraged, and inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

Hello Period makes sustainable period products like menstrual cups, discs, and underwear. The goal is to reduce waste by offering alternatives to single-use period products like pads and tampons.

Cofounder and former journalist Robyn McLean describes how menstrual cups changed her life and lead to launching her company in 2017 with business partner and best friend since the age of 11, Mary Bond. As a nurse, it was Mary who designed their first menstrual cup.

Listen in to hear Robyn reveal...

• Why she expanded from just menstrual cups into the full range of reusable period products
• What differing cervix sizes have to do with it
• One menstrual cup replaces about 2000 single-use period products
• Why her vision is that one day soon, the only tampons will be in museums to show how people managed their periods in the olden days
• The ins and outs of toxic shock syndrome
• Why there's been no real innovation in traditional period products for decades
• How her aim is to divert one billion single-use products by 2030
• How they became a B Corp in 2021 and found the process helpful for formalizing their social and environmental commitments.
• How balancing profitability and purpose was a learning curve - you can't help others without being a viable business yourself first.

Check it out! Learn something, be entertained, and get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

They've got nothing to do cute little motorcycles, Redvespa is a business analyst consultancy in Aotearoa New Zealand that's been going strong since 2003.

We sat down with Head of Experience Jamie Bell who tells us that being a business for good was one of the foundational pillars of Redvespa from the get-go then B Corp came along so they started the journey in 2016 and got Certified in 2018.

Listen in as Jamie talks about how:

• The purpose of Redvespa is to unleash the potential of people, business and the community
• Redvespa analysts solve problems that businesses can't solve on their own
• Why Redvespa see the journey of B Corp as being more important than the destination
• How the B Corp community is the greatest strength of the movement
• Why he shops B Corp and palm-oil free...

• 
  

... and more. Check it out! And get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!