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"In our opinion, most green directories, and some certifications, simply set the bar way too low. We pride ourselves on being an exclusive label rather than an inclusive one."
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Bio in the First Person:
Gay Browne - Founder of Greenopia
“I want to help people lead healthier lives in an increasingly toxic world,” says Gay Browne, creator of Greenopia.
A lifelong asthmatic, Gay began her green journey with her search for ways to improve her living environment to take better care of herself and her children. She started from the inside out, choosing all natural alternatives for everything from nutritional habits to bed sheets. In 1994, Gay built the first green home in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades. In her experience with researching and working with green home developers, interior designers and furniture dealers, she realized that there was a wealth of green options, but no simple resource to find them. In response, Gay developed Greenopia to provide a resource to help people like herself make choices to green their lives on a daily basis.
Founded in 2005, Greenopia has developed guides for Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York City with plans underway for a 20-city rollout that includes Chicago, Denver, Seattle and Portland, among others. Greenopia’s web presence creates a local green community where consumers can browse Greenopia’s listings
“I really want to convince consumers and their families that these businesses can help them make a smooth transition to green living,” Gay says. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Even small changes make a big difference.”
Before launching Greenopia, Gay enjoyed a successful 15-year career in advertising and public relations with various publishing companies including American Express Publishing and Times Mirror.
Gay currently resides in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband, three children and three dogs. She continues to make her home as environmentally safe as possible without sacrificing quality, aesthetics or efficiency.
Connections:
Phone: (805) 969-0985
Email: gay at greenopia dot com
Greenopia.com
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"I wish sustainability had more of an addictive quality."
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Interview with Gay Browne, Founder of Greenopia.com, with support from Doug Mazeffa, Research Director, by Willi Paul
What values are you supporting in eco-fashion?
We have hundreds of green retailers in our book from clothes and furniture to beauty salons and beauty supply stores. We believe you can be stylish and still be eco.
Who does the actual product or brand rating?
Our research director and his research team do all of the ratings.
What experience do these folks have and how did you develop the criteria?
Our research director has both his Bachelor’s and Master’s in environmental science and has a strong background in lifecycle analysis and green markets. We have also sought the help of various industry experts and constantly revise our criteria. We are always looking for new studies to make our criteria stronger and utilize life cycle principles to make sure we are considering every potential impact we can.
How does Greenopia.com address green washing? Can you give me specifics?
We do more than just follow buzzwords like organic, natural, sustainable, or eco-friendly. Because we utilize life cycle principles in our analysis, we have a much stronger sense of what is actually green versus the common misconceptions. For example, a lot of people will assume that organic automatically means something is significantly greener than a traditional product. While this is typically true, people should also take into account how far away the food item is transported, what type of packaging it used, etc. It is completely possible that an organic item can have a bigger environmental impact than a traditional one. Thus we look at the whole picture rather than just one specific area.
What social justice issues / campaigns are active at Greenopia.com?
We deal with fair and direct trade, but we do come across some environmental justice issues from time to time.
How do you define and activate localization strategies?
This doesn’t really apply to us.
Who is your competition and how are you differentiating your offerings?
Our competition is basically every green business or product directory in the marketplace.
We differentiate ourselves by being much more thorough in our analysis (as opposed to a ‘raise your hand if you are green approach’ which many guides use) and utilizing life cycle principles in our methodology.
We also are one of the few directories who will visit businesses with a brick and mortar storefront to make sure they are actually green before we fully rate them. In our opinion, most green directories, and some certifications, simply set the bar way too low. We pride ourselves on being an exclusive label rather than an inclusive one.
What traffic / members have you charted from Face Book and Twitter to date?
We have over 2000 facebook friends on the Greenopia account and about 3500 followers on twitter. Approximately 15% of our traffic comes from facebook or twitter.
How many members do you have?
Greenopia currently has 17,000 businesses and services in our U.S. database. We will have 20,000 by the end of this year and 100,000 by the end of 2010. We have a new partner that will be coming on board in January, which will help us expand more rapidly.
How do we evaluate potential advertisers?
All advertisers have to be eco-friendly or we don't accept them. The ad services that we use are supposed to follow these guidelines and for the most part do a good job, occasionally, we get a non-eco ad, which we pull down immediately.
How do we monetize the green movement at Greenopia?
Greenopia has a traditional media company. Our content is offered on three platforms-books, web and mobile. Revenue comes from selling books, advertising and sponsorship on the web. Coupons will be a part of our mobile application sometime early next year.
What on-line community model did we reference to build Greenopia.com?
We followed the Zagat style of book with the Michelin star ratings system. We feel that consumers need to have both experiences to make an informed decision. We are using YELPs community comments until our viewership is bigger.
Am I a member of any green activist websites?
No, I do not consider myself an environmental activist. I am an environmental educator. I believe that education can be the most powerful catalyst and persuasive element in creating change. I created to be the best 'eco-tutors' in the marketplace today. Based on research findings, we offer individuals choices in 53 categories on how they can live a local and sustainable, environmentally conscious life.
Are your members getting to know each other?
Not as much as I'd like. I'm hoping to change this moving forward.
Who are your Green Heroes?
I have a lot of green heroes. The green area is full of notable and respectable individuals. Among them, Wangari Mathai, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in planting trees in Africa and for breaking the forestry devastation. Andy Lipkus of Tree People for his urban forestry and early work in the environmental movement in Los Angeles. Ed Begley, for his eco-commitment, his humor and for using his background as an actor to get Hollywood involved. Laurie David for her activism in getting the 'Inconvenient Truth' on the big screen and for creating a website that has been very instrumental in raising political awareness. Bobby Kennedy for championing the need to keep our waterways clean and fish healthy....I could go on.
Do you think sustainability is a new religion?
No, but I wish sustainability had more of an addictive quality.
Instead of being an after thought or a way to feel less guilty, it would be great if all the companies started out with the goal to create the best product they can without toxicity and high carbon footprint. Triple bottom line is a buzz word, but a good analogy.
Are you helping to create new green symbols values or myths?
Hopefully, not myths, but an appreciation and recognition for those businesses and and services who are going the extra mile to be socially and ecologically responsible for their customers. The mission of our company is to make it easier to shop, eat and live a greener life.
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