Right before the U.S. equity markets opened on Friday, June 16th my phone erupted with texts from numerous industry friends on the announcement of the Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods. I have been in this industry for decades, and, for me, this was one of the most exciting and interesting days I can remember for the organic movement, certainly since the release of the USDA organic standards in 2002.
For much of the past 25 years, I’ve dedicated my time to figuring out how mobile technology might help support positive social and environmental change in the developing world. During that time, I created FrontlineSMS, an open source software for grassroots organizations to distribute and collect information via text messages, and it was built from the ground up to reach global scale. Along the way, I spent time living and working in many communities where I both led and witnessed development projects firsthand. I’ve seen attempts at innovation go well, and I’ve seen others crash and burn.
JetBlue and Random House Children’s Books today launched the seventh annual Soar with Reading™ initiative, which provides age-appropriate books to children who need them most. This summer the program lands in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with JetBlue installing four custom vending machines throughout the city to distribute 100,000 books, free of charge.
Jeplan envisions a circular world in which we take all used or unwanted personal belongings, recycle the materials, and then sell them as new products. Starting with cotton and polyester, this company is reimagining waste disposal, which reduces the use of petroleum and diminishes carbon emissions. Based in Japan, Jeplan has established collection points around the country in collaboration with major retail and apparel brands to gather discarded clothes. Then, Jeplan sells the final products back to these brands and their consumers.