In this crazy post-recession world, what adjectives do you associate with the acronym “CEO”? For some, the word has been tarnished giving people the tendency to think overpaid, selfish, even greedy. Well, my friends, Brent Freeman is morphing the not-so-virtuous connotation of this acronym into one that conveys responsibility, impact, and holistic thinking. And he is doing so one university campus at a time.
On October 12, Brent engaged with students at LMU Late Night, one of Loyola Marymount University’s most highly attended weekly events. Late Night’s mission is to build healthy community and meaningful relationships among students on campus while inspiring them to pursue their passions and follow their dreams. How do they do this, you ask? The answer: examples.
Take Brent Freeman, a dashing and passionate young USC alum with a creative and inspiring vision: to inspire and empower social entrepreneurs to succeed. As you blog followers know, Brent set out to empower socially conscious entrepreneurs (and ishe ever!) who give back to humanitarian and environmental worlds through their businesses. 2 legit.
So who is Brent Freeman? Yes, we’re inspired, but what inspired Brent? Brent strongly believes that “if you can make an impact on the world—on just one person—then you’ve left your mark.” Better yet, he talks the talk. Check out the video of Late Night featuring Brent Freeman on our facebook page!
For those of you who have spent your valuable work hours poking around the Roozt site in hopes of further procrastination, you may have noticed White Apricot on our Partners page. Much more than just a whimsical name, our peeps (oh, the bad Roozt “hatchery” puns are SO much worse on a Monday!) over at White Apricot are one of THE top eco-fashion websites out there.
In fact, just recently Lucky magazine named them one of “5 Eco Sites to Love” and “the best place to go for Major Deals.” And because we love to brag about our good friends, we figured they definitely warrant a special shout out for all their hard work and success!
Much like Roozt, White Apricot was founded on the realization that there was a void in the market, and that something should be done to fix it. In this case, it was the observation that eco-fashion was evolving into the mainstream, but no one had created a spotlight specifically for the fashion and beauty industries.
So, what was to be done? White Apricot came to the intelligent conclusion that being a middle-man (or woman) platform for eco-fashion companies would give the brands the greatest visibility and be most convenient for the consumer.
It’s much easier to be environmentally conscious when you don’t have to sniff out these fashionable brands yourself, but have someone else do it for you!
Founder Carrie Pollare sums it up best when she says, “It’s all about making small changes in your life. You certainly don’t have to become a ‘treehugger’ to make a difference. Don’t give up your designer jeans, [just] pair them with tops made from sustainable fabrics. Try an organic skincare regimen, instead of chemically laden ones you’ve been using. In other words, just do whatever you can comfortably do, but try to do something.”
White Apricot carries everything from runway-worthy sustainable clothing to comfortable yoga wear, high-end eco-friendly handbags to lead-free lipsticks. Even if they weren’t our good friends, we would love them for the work they’re doing to continue mainstreaming eco-fashion.
If you’re a fan of Roozt, we really encourage you to treat yourself to White Apricot. We promise you won’t be disappointed!
Creativity. Innovation. These are things that Social Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurship hold as some of their highest values. They allow people to start companies and come up with solutions to make an impact on the world for the better. Using these two, Social Enterprise will continue to flourish in the future while the freshest ideas keep spurring even fresher ideas for the next generation of businesses.
Using creativity and innovation, Mexican designer Marco Castro Cosio found a way to add over 35 acres of plant-life in cities throughout America. How? Planting gardens on the roofs of buses. For every 4,500 bus gardens, 35 acres of gardening is achieved.
Seems like a ton of buses right? I mean how many could we possibly have? Well in the school system in the US alone, there are estimated to be over 480,000!! That means that those 480,000 school buses= 3,733 acres of gardens in the school system alone. Think about what impact this could have rolled out to an entire country.
The benefits are obvious:
- Aesthetic Value
- Mitigation of Urban Heat Island Effect
- Acoustical and Thermal Insulation
- Storm Water Reduction
- CO2 absorption
- Habitat Restoration
- Storm Water Management
- Public Education and Recreation
- Reclaiming Forgotten Real Estate
This type of guerrilla gardening could have a major impact on the health of cities across the US and the world. We’re already starting to see it in niche city communities like Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, New York. But taking this ideology citywide and then nationwide would be incredible. Filling in every possible space with natural gardens would be a welcome change that would make any city feel a little cleaner. Like many of the self sustaining gardens that are popping up for gourmet restaurants in many cities, a whole new industry could emerge with cities providing locally grown produce in a sustainable manner.
Recently the Roozt team was having a casual conversation that touched on the realm of natural/mineral cosmetics vs regular cosmetics. We’ve been working with a company called Alima Pure whose deal we just posted and were discussing what all the fuss about natural makeup was really all about. When told what goes into the average cosmetic product, I was in total disbelief. Between cow placenta, mercury and even pthalates (which causes everything from birth deformities in pregnant women to hormone imbalances) I couldn’t believe it. So how do we settle bets in 2010? Do some internet research. Here’s a compiled list of commonly found cosmetic ingredients, what health effects they can have on the users, and some other important things to know about your makeup:
Pthalates- These are generally referred to as “endocrine disruptors”. They have an estrogen increase effect (unnaturally) which upsets your body’s hormone balance. This can result in birth defects in men ranging from undescended testicles to a permanent testosterone deficiency. In women it can cause breast cancer, cervical cancer, early and more rapid pubescence, and even infertility. It has been closely linked to the rising childhood obesity epidemic and is something that should be avoided at all costs. Pthalates and other “endocrine disruptors” are estimated to be in 75-90% of products!
Nanosilvers- This is something I had never even heard of. Nanosilvers kill multiple strains of healthy and incredibly important bacteria. They’ve been linked to the growth of stronger, more resistant illnesses. Other than aiding viruses and unhealthy bacteria, the nanosilvers kill the healthy bacteria in your body causing problems with your digestion.
Almost No Regulation- The President’s Cancer Panel has been quoted saying that only about 11% of ingredients in the industry have been tested thoroughly. Incredibly unsettling considering the potential risks previously mentioned. What new risks will be discovered in a year? 5 years? 10 years?
Known Carcinogenic Ingredients- One chemical in particular, 1,4 Dioxane, is in 22% of personal care products (many even in children’s products) and has been directly linked to cancer
Cow Placenta- I know right? Terrible. It’s not just an ingredient that sounds disgusting, it’s terrible for you. The hormones in the placentas used are enough to show breast growth in toddlers… Girls are developing earlier but I think that’s a little too early
Mercury- Aw the liquid metal. While it looks cool, its effects are very uncool. Even in small amounts, mercury can cause brain damage. So why is it in cosmetics? As a preservative…
And on. And on.
So what should you take out of this? RESEARCH YOUR PRODUCTS! The side effects can be deadly. It’s a ton of work and it’s definitely going to give you a headache, but a research headache is better than one from brain damage.
Issues like this are why we hand pick specific vendors to be sold on Roozt. We do the choosing for you specifically because of our own experiences and research surrounding these products. If you’re looking for mineral makeup, look into a Roozt approved company called Alima Pure. They’re an all natural mineral makeup company that has an amazing mission. We’re featuring them as our deal through the weekend so give them a look!
What is the most sustainable business in the world? If I were to describe it, I would say one that takes potential trash and turns it into something of value (feel free to chime in with yours in the comments). Think about it, not only would you be saving the potential trash from a landfill somewhere, but you’re also providing people with something they would actually want to buy, effectively cutting down on the amount of trash total. This is exactly what a college duo did when they created BTTR Ventures.
The idea behind BTTR Ventures product is simple; take the coffee grounds leftover from various Peet’s Coffee locations (over 8,000 pounds) and use them as the fertilizing agent in a gourmet mushroom growth recipe. Not only is this model incredibly sustainable, but BTTR even takes the initiative after they have used the recycled grounds and donates them to local schools and gardens as fertilizer. This leaves them with literally zero carbon footprint, a way to cut down on coffee waste, a way to fertilize local gardens, AND a way to make a living! Social Entrepreneurship at its finest!
BTTR was founded by two college students going to Berkeley and has grown to a 12 employee company with an estimated 2010 revenue north of $500,000!
We talked with owners of BTTR because we HAD to have them on Roozt. Nikhil and Alex loved the idea so you can find them having their own Roozt deal on October 6! Come by tomorrow to get them 50% 0ff of $19.95!
Check out a video with a little info on the company…
Wow what an amazing week! Years of work came to fruition last Tuesday with our launch.We had an incredible amount of support from literally the moment we launched. The first day our site crashed because the server couldn’t handle the high traffic! We can’t thank you guys enough for you support and the encouragement that we are on to something huge. We’re working feverishly to bring you the best, most eco-friendly, and socially conscious products out there. Stay tuned as it’s only getting better
While the launch was definitely the most amazing thing about last week (and maybe ever), a TON of other things have been in the works to move this social entrepreneurship industry forward. Here’s an update on what we’ve been up to and are putting together for the future:
Entrepreneurs Changing the World- This event took place on our launch day at USC and went AWESOME. Our fearless leader and CEO Mr. Brent Freeman gave an amazing speech on his own inspirations to enter into social entrepreneurship as well as giving some advice to the audience on how they can start their own venture! The rest of the panel did incredible as well.
Social Summit 2010: New Orleans- This was yet another speaking engagement that took place on the very same day as our launch! Our Co-Founder Nick Reder spoke sharing his insight on social entrepreneurship as well as how Roozt can help small ventures step it up by getting them more sales, exposure, and branding. Great speech from Nick (and the video is coming soon)!
Inspire U- Roozt is on the search for the most inspiring company, plain and simple. If you think you know of the most inspiring company (even if it’s yours) you should let us know! Email Christina@roozt.com and the winning company with receive a COMPLETE business package to get off and running as a social entrepreneurship venture. This includes free Incorporation or LLC documents, free website starter kit, free logo design, free Quickbooks, free credit card processing, and free virtual phone lines. Not only that, but the winning company will also be featured as a Roozt Daily Deal, keeping all the profits!
Campus Ambassadors- We love college students. The majority of the Roozt team is either in college or fresh out. That said, we want to give college students the tools to change the world through business! This partner style internship is everything you could want as a college student: hands on, interactive, highly educational and maybe even a chance to be a full time member of the Roozt team! We’re growing rapidly and looking for those with the right mindset to help us take Roozt to the next level from the beginning. If you want in, hit up Christina@roozt.com and let her know you want to become a professional Roozter!
That’s it for now. Big things coming up! If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter do it now to get info on all the upcoming causes and deals!
In fact, just recently Lucky magazine named them one of “5 Eco Sites to Love” and “the best place to go for Major Deals.” And because we love to brag about our good friends, we figured they definitely warrant a special shout out for all their hard work and success!
Using creativity and innovation, Mexican designer Marco Castro Cosio found a way to add over 35 acres of plant-life in cities throughout America. How? Planting gardens on the roofs of buses. For every 4,500 bus gardens, 35 acres of gardening is achieved.
s type of guerrilla gardening could have a major impact on the health of cities across the US and the world. We’re already 
balance. This can result in birth defects in men ranging from undescended testicles to a permanent testosterone deficiency. In women it can cause breast cancer, cervical cancer, early and more rapid pubescence, and even infertility. It has been closely linked to the rising childhood obesity epidemic and is something that should be avoided at all costs. Pthalates and other “endocrine disruptors” are estimated to be in 75-90% of products!
Social Summit 2010
