March 2012 —
Local and Organic in Up-State NY
Cayuga Pure Organics; Brooktondale, NY

 

For Erick Smith and Cayuga Pure Organics, it's important for food to be BOTH organic AND local. Smith points out that while organic products have many pluses for your health and for the environment, most of the organic dry beans in the US were actually grown in China, and incorporate a huge carbon footprint.

"Ultimately it is up to consumer to be as sure as possible that they know the connection between the farm and the organic label on the food they buy," says Smith, whose farm in upstate New York supplies organic beans and grains to the New England area and elsewhere, via online sales.

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January 2012 —
Purging Everyday Plastic
Life Without Plastic; Wakefield, Quebec & Ogdensburg, NY

With backgrounds in law, business ethics, management, biochemistry and ecotoxicology, Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha made a life-changing decision after their son was born in 2003. They started looking for ways to reduce their family's toxin exposure in everyday life, and when they began to discover the problems with everyday plastic, their difficult search for stainless steel or glass baby bottles gave them the motivation to start their own business, Life Without Plastic.

"Both of us were feeling like we were spinning our wheels in our previous jobs and not really making a positive difference. Too many meetings and reports that led to nothing. We were looking for something more meaningful," says Jay. " We knew other families were on the same quest for plastic-free baby bottles, so we essentially started the company with just these two products." 

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