There’s a lot of really great, hard data here, packed into a concise presentation.  If you’re a small business owner,  you don’t always have access to this kind of research.

This presentation by Kierstin De West of Conscientious Innovation (Ci) contains tons of relevant, recent data about what consumers think about when they think about sustainability and ‘buying local’.

Kierstin is making her presentation available under a Creative Commons license, so you can use the material as long as you give them credit.

She presented some of her company’s recent research findings at  launch of LoCo BC.

Kierstin’s full presentation is here in three different forms:

Screencast, audio Podcast, and a PDF copy of her presentation.  Tip: You’ll find the data graphs a lot easier to read in the PDF .

If you want more details, or to get some custom research for your company, contact her at Conscientious Innovation.  They also have a number of follow up studies in the field right now.

Screencast: The cultural shift to sustainability and the importance of local

Podcast: Here’s the audio only podcast of Kiestin’s presentation:

Runs:  20:26
ISBN: 978-1-926758-05-3

If you’d rather get it on iTunes, here’s the direct link.

PDF: Here’s a copy of Kierstin’s presentation in PDF format

Video, Podcast and PDF are licensed under Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada

Kierstin played a video by League of Gentlemen at the presentation. As it turns out, the wrong clip ran at the time, but through the magic of the internet,  you can see the one she meant to show here.  It is hilarious.

Amy Robinson presented an overview of LoCo BC, a new business network working to create a diverse, vibrant local economy by strengthening small and mid-sized businesses, connecting and having fun in the process.

As well as Amy’s presentation, Kierstin De West of Conscientious Innovation (Ci) presented info on her company’s latest research intelligence in the area of local and sustainability, and just why it’s such a hot-button right now.  And I was there to talk about digital media and how best to use it as part of business plan.  Kierstin’s presentation is here,  and I’ll post my presentations in a couple of days.

Since I was there as a guest speaker, I’ve put together a screen-cast of Amy’s  presentation here.

Further down the page you can just grab the audio version, or the PDF (or all three !)

Here’s the screencast of  Amy’s presentation, which will give you a good picture of what LoCo BC is all about, and you should email her after you’ve watched/listened to it  because I’m sure you’ll want to get involved…

Podcast: If you’d rather just listen to the podcast, it’s here:

Runs:  15:45
ISBN: 978-1-926758-04-6

If you’d rather get it on iTunes, here’s the direct link.

PDF: And here’s a copy of Amy’s presentation in PDF format.

Podcast and video licensed under Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada

Finding environmentally friendly cleaning products is a big challenge around our house.

Vancouver entrepreneur Munu Hicken-Gaberria is hoping to solve this challenge with his new eco-friendly line of products called Live For Tomorrow.

They include laundry detergent and fabric softer for home and commercial use.

His approach goes even further than finding eco-friendly chemical mixtures – the household use products are sold in re-usable glass containers.

Munu’s also grounding his products on local production model – so while he does have to source some of his base ingredients outside of BC, the final product is created here, to reduce shipping.

LFT products are now carried in a variety of stores in Vancouver and Fort Langley.

I spoke with Munu in June, just as he was taking his idea to local retailers…

Resources:
Live for Tomorrow web site
Munu Hicken-Gaberria’s bio (pdf)

Quick facts about LFT products:

• are manufactured and distributed locally
• incorporate ‘recycleability’ in as many components of the product design
• factor in ‘re-usability’ into the maximum number of product components
• bio-degradable
• follow sustainable best practice in the sourcing and manufacturing of products
• are available in unscented formulations, and are sensitive and safe for use by individuals with sensitive skin conditions
• are free of animal testing

Podcast details:

Runs: 10:09
Munu Hicken-Gaberria, president and CEO of LFT Group Brands Ltd.
Interviewed by Robert Ouimet, June 2008, Pt. Moody BC

ISBN: 978-0-9809054-8-9

Copyright 2008, Bigsnit Media Consulting Inc.
Rebroadcast with permission only. Contact info@bigsnit.com