Becoming environmentally friendly is hip and it is smart, but it is not always easy.
That’s the experience of David Kaufer, founder and chief green officer for a new Edmonds-based start up, GreenforGood.com.
Kaufer and his small team of executives launched the Web site last month as a way to help teach consumers to “be green” — in their habits, their shopping and their activities.
The site combines advice columns from green experts, forums for the exchange of ideas and listings of green companies.
It also has an area — the “Penalty Box” — where users can call companies out for negative environmental practices. Home Depot, which was fined $1.3 million recently for Clean Water Act violations, occupied the box at press time.
In its first weeks, GreenforGood.com has attracted over 500 registered members, but Kaufer and his team have grander goals: They are trying to raise $1 million in their quest to become a sort of online “green” clearinghouse with a worldwide reach.
The site’s timing is perfect, Kaufer said.
“You do not have to convince anyone anymore that this issue has to be addressed,” he said Feb. 28 during a company meeting at Edmonds’ Red Twig coffee shop.
“Al Gore did all that for us,” said Bob Nitschke, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
Teaching people to be even just a little bit more environmentally friendly is an easy goal, they said.
The Web site has experts discussing green eating, green teens (Edmonds-Woodway student Hilary Scheibert), green seniors, green parents and even green bodybuilders.
There’s something for everyone, said Gregg Arnold, an Edmonds-based marketing consultant who uses the site to promote the green practices of his clients.
Arnold is not a green fanatic, but he wants to do better, and he joined hoping to learn more, he said.
“Many of our users are not necessarily people who would go to the Sierra Club or its Web site,” said Teresa Whipple, one of the company’s vice presidents. “Our users are just getting started. We want to make them feel welcome.”
Creating community, though, is a tougher goal.
In addition to the online arena, GreenforGood.com will attempt to connect users through real-world events.
The first such event will be a Green Power Baby Shower Expo planned for Seattle’s Sheraton Hotel May 3, Kaufer said. It will help connect new and expecting mothers to green behaviors, he said.
Connecting young mothers to greener and healthier behaviors is a key strategy for the GreenforGood.com team.
Kaufer came to the green movement early, but redoubled his efforts when his wife got pregnant, he said.
Whipple and Kathryn Jobs Gerke, another vice president, both said motherhood brought them closer to green ideals. It’s a time when consumers start getting serious about health, Whipple said.
“You cannot talk about the environment without talking about health,” she said. “Those are in lock step.”
Going forward, striking the right balance between advice and activism is one of the site’s primary goals, Kaufer said.
“We do not want to be preachy. We want to give people hope,” he said. “We want it to be fun.”
Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
