Entrepreneur magazine compiled a list highlighting thirty movers and shakers of New York City’s startup scene. How many of their startups are green? If you take a look through the list you will find six movers and shakers who are behind green startups. I’d like to give them special attention.
Of the “The Hot 30 Movers and Shakers of New York City’s Startup Scene,” here are the six people who represent startups that are green.
Zaydy is here to save us from “fast-fashion.”– apparel that is created cheaply and unsustainably, requiring consumers to buy more and more of it. The alternative is buying good– and Zady makes that happen. Their products are all locally sourced, made in the USA, made by hand, and sustainable.
But that’s not all Zady is doing. Design techniques that have taken hundreds of years to perfect are at risk of being lost forever due to globalization. In their own words, “We’ve partnered with the nonprofit The Bootstrap Project so that with every purchase made on Zady, an artisan launching a micro-business in the developing world will be provided with the crucial funds they need to grow their business and revive their traditions. It’s design with a purpose.”
Along the lines of apparel production, Makers Row is also contributing to a greener industry. Their purpose is to connect American manufacturers with small, medium-sized, and product-based businesses. Moving beyond apparel, they also work with furniture and electronic manufacturing. They make it easier for companies to be green.
Gotham Greens is literally green. They design, build and operate commercial scale greenhouses in urban areas to produce fresh produce. They are doing incredibly well, and are considered a worldwide pioneer in urban agriculture.
In their own words, “Gotham Greens’ pesticide-free produce is grown using ecologically sustainable methods in technologically-sophisticated, climate-controlled rooftop greenhouses. Gotham Greens provides its retail, restaurant, and institutional customers with reliable, year-round, local supply of produce grown under the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability.”
JuiceTank isn’t your typical incubator. What makes JuiceTank green is their practices in accordance with the “people” aspect of the triple bottom line. Their team wants to “juice” entrepreneurship and do social good. Each company that JuiceTank incubates contributes to their mission by agreeing in advance to take a percentage of its profits (once it becomes profitbale) and share it forward to help other entrepreneurs. The founders’ philosophy is this: never forget the next generation, and always step up to do the right thing.