The Story of a Red Shirt has been a bit quiet lately, and I think I have a pretty good excuse. The last week+ I have my head in my computer and fingers on my keyboard loading content into our new website. This afternoon, we went live!
Take a look around. I would love to hear people’s thoughts – www.atayne.com.
I thought I would piggyback on last week’s post/rant about jumping on the bandwagon by providing a sneak peak at some of our soon-to-be launched Point of View (POV) graphics. The best part about our new graphics is the medium continues to match the message. In addition to more messages, we are offering more mediums.
Not only will you be able to express your POV while getting active in our 100% recycled polyester performance top, you will be able to do the same while “trashing” around in our new lifestyle top – the Trash T (65% recycled cotton/35% recycled polyester).
Below is just a small sampling of some of the graphics we will be launching this fall. Be sure to check us out as we launch our fall line and new website the week of September 14th.
Run Forrest Run
“My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”
-Forrest Gump
Generally speaking, I have to say I agree with Momma Gump. I don’t necessarily believe in destiny. I think people have the ability to choose their path in life. Take me for instance. Who would have ever thought that I would be “destined” to start a company that makes athletic gear from “trash” and organizes people to go out for runs and pick up trash?
Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely love what I do. Being able to start a company around things I am passionate about (an active lifestyle and the environment) is a dream come true. But I question if it was my destiny, or at least I used to.
My mom recently shared a picture with me that I drew when I was about 8 years old. I was not at all surprised to see it was a scene of people running. I used to draw sports pictures all the time – from running and soccer to baseball and basketball. What really caught my attention was the fact that I added a trashcan near the race finish line of the picture.
The Fine Art of 8 Year Old Jeremy Litchfield
As I reflect on this picture, I have few questions:
I don’t have answers to the first two questions, but maybe the answer to the third is something like this:
“I don’t know if Momma was right or if, if it’s Lieutenant Dan. I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.”
-Forrest Gump
I would love to hear other people’s stories of destiny, floating breezes, or both.
P.S. My very creative mother turned the picture into some great note cards that I use for hand written notes. If anyone is interested in custom note cards, I highly recommend her services. Leave a comment and I will make the connection.
Over the last couple months, I have mentioned that we will be expanding the graphics we offer on our tops. As we like to say at Camp Atayne, the Point of View is the Point.
We have several new designs in development, and I thought I would give the readers of the Red Shirt Blog the first sneak peek at one of these designs – Run with Nature, Not Against It.
Stay tuned for when we launch version 2.0 of our POV Performance top with 8 to 10 new graphics at the end of August.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
Last week in the Naked Truth Part I, I took an under the clothes look at our products – the good, the bad, and the ugly. As promised, I am now going to give an insider view of Atayne’s operations. Let’s kick things off with the pretty side of things.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, Atayne is a certified B Corporation. Unlike many other programs out there, this is not just a simple certification. To be certified, not only do you need to complete an extensive survey and interview, you must legally commit to operating at a higher environmental and social standard than ordinary companies. Within 1 year of completing the survey and interview process, B Corps must amend their operating agreement or corporate charter with language that requires them to consider much more than the financial aspects of a decision. Atayne must also consider:
When we became certified, we joined a long list of highly respected organizations including: Dankso, King Arthur Flour, Method, and Seventh Generation.
Beyond being a B Corp there are many things we do as an organization to continually reduce our impact on the environment and maximize our benefit to society. Here are a few of my favorites.
With the pretty comes the ugly, or at least the stuff we are looking to improve. Here are some of our bigger scars, and the steps we are taking to heal them.
Once again this is just a brief look at something that should be more of a conversation than a report. If you think I missed something or there are other burning questions, please feel free to comment or ask. As we continue to grow we will expand the Naked Truth to a more comprehensive discussion. Until then, we will take one step at a time in this long, naked journey we call thrive-ability (sustainability is too boring, plus do you want a relationship to be sustainable or thriving?).
The Naked Truth Part I
Since we launched sales 9 months ago, we have gotten some great coverage in the media and on blogs. A lot of these have focused on the “greenness” of our tops. One of our more recent mentions came from Treehugger, a well-known environmental blog and newsletter. While we love to get positive reviews and are very proud of some of our accomplishments, I have to agree with my good friend John Rooks. John argues that sustainability is not a color, it is transparent. In an article he wrote for Environmental Leader, John concludes with, “Sustainability is transparent, void of obscuring color. It is clear, open, and visible. Sustainability is naked.”
In light of all the positive press we have received, we decided it was time for Atayne’s first Naked Truth report. Just like it sounds, we are going to bear all – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Below is Part I of The Naked Truth 2009 in which we address the positive and negative environmental story of our products. In Part II we will address the operations of our company at large including our social impact. It is important to remember sustainability is three-fold: environmental, social, and financial.
To start off, I do have to agree with our positive press. There are many good environmental attributes of our product. Here are a few of our favorites:
That being said, our products are FAR from perfect. Whether it is carbon emissions, industrial waste, or post-consumer waste, our products and operations negatively impact the environment, as does EVERY manufacturing operation. Here are some of these “bodily imperfections.”
The dyeing of our fabric is something we are not satisfied with yet. The dyeing process for most apparel is chemically and water intensive. While we strive to select colors that are less chemically intensive, there is still no great solution when using synthetic fabrics (with natural fabrics there are some better options).
The graphics on our current tops were applied using the “conventional” screen printing process. This included the use of plastisol, which contains PVC. Thankfully we have found a local artist who does screen printing the old fashioned way. We will now be applying our graphics using water-based inks in v2.0 of our tops. This is still not perfect, but it is a major step in the right direction by avoiding the use of plastisol.
Our current tops contain activated carbon, which is derived from coconut shells. The mixing of the synthetic fibers (recycled polyester) and natural fibers (activated carbon) makes it tough to recycle the fabrics, although research is currently being conducted to address this issue. That is why we have made the decision to move away from the activated carbon for another natural fabric enhancer, Chitosan. This will keep the polyester in a more pure form allowing it to be more readily recycled. We are also developing prototypes to turn old tops of all brands into bags. This will provide a use for fabrics that have a mix of synthetic and natural fibers, e.g. polyester/activated carbon, polyester/cotton.
That is a brief look at the good, bad, and ugly in regards to our products. If you think I missed something or there are other burning questions, please feel free to comment or ask. This should be less of a report and more of a conversation. I hope you join us next week for The Naked Truth Part II.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Atayne, Green, Greenness, Sustainability, The Naked Truth, Treehugger
There is a long held belief that 50% of new businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail within 5 years. While new data from the SBA tells a different story (two-thirds of new businesses survive at least 2 years, and 44 percent survive at least 4 years), chances are still pushing 50% that starting a new business is a road to failure.
While there are countless (translation: millions upon millions) of resources, tips, and recommendations to help lead you to business success, I have to say I agree mostly with Burt’s Bees founder Roxanne Quimby who has remarked, “I had some midnight-of-your-soul type times. Once, I came home from a fair (in the very early days of Burt’s Bees) and found the window in my cabin blown in. Snow was all over. It was 20 below and 3 in the morning. I hadn’t made any money and the car had just barely made it there. I really believe that success is just getting up one more time than you fall.”
There is one certainty when starting a company. Not only will you will fall, you will fall often and hard. Just ask Becca who has been with me for nearly every up and down over the last two years on this emotional roller coaster ride called entrepreneurship.
Sometimes the fall will be rejection by potential investors and other times it will be failing to meet an event sales goal. Sometimes the fall will be a shipment of poorly manufactured products (they got returned) and other times it will be an unexpectedly large doctor’s bill. As Roxanne Quimby and I both agree, the key is to keep getting up. Eventually you just might find your balance.
I spend a lot of time talking about the successes Atayne has had as a young company. But there is no doubt that I have fallen many times. Here is one of our more recent tumbles. We had applied for a seed grant for a program that we call Trash 2 Treasure. The initiative aims to collect old athletic gear and re-manufacture it into innovative materials for new products. An example of something we proposed is to use the materials in athletic shoes to make yoga mats. Unfortunately, we were not one of the lucky 12 recipients. One of the things we got negative marks for is they considered the pay rate for the Principal (that would be me) too high. I found that slightly humorous since I have not collected a paycheck in almost 2 years. I wonder how many of the reviewers are in that situation.
Anyway, as with any fall the key is to get back up, brush yourself off, and try again. A friend of mine alerted me of a National Geographic/Sun Chips contest called the Green Effect. It aims to inspire individuals to spark a green movement in their communities with five winners being awarded $20,000 to put their idea into action. We had a couple ideas in our backpocket and decided to give it a whirl. If you are a regular visitor to The Red Shirt Blog, the ideas may sound familiar.
Trash Runners Unite
Butts 4 Benefit
We would love your help by viewing the ideas and giving us your rating. Who knows, this just might be the start of a nice period of balance. Once again, thanks for the ongoing support. In the words of Dr Seuss, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Atayne, Burt's Bees, Entrepreneurship, Roxanne Quimby, success, The Green Effect
Last week someone commented on a blog entry I posted almost a year ago. Not only did this person’s user name give me a big smile (frankelstache), the comment they left did as well. “I googled something for a work project and ended up here. Fu&*ing a’, man. Very inspiring and wise words. I know it’s been a year since you wrote this, but I hope things are only looking up. Good luck.”
I re-read that blog entry and preceded to re-read every post I’ve made in the last year plus of blogging. It has been two years since the red shirt experience that launched me into the crazy world of entrepreneurship. Over the past 24 months, I have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I have met many new friends and become even closer to current ones. And I have most definitely learned a thing or two…or three. I have learned a lot about starting a company (Lesson #1: It’s all about cash flow). But more importantly, I have learned a lot about life. In looking back on my blog entries, I realized I had many nuggets of wisdom (is that arrogant to deem my own words wise?) hidden in my ramblings. Here are five of my favorites.
1) Don’t sit around waiting for your real life to begin. Your real life is now.
2) It is not about what keeps you up at night, it is what gets you out of bed in the morning.
3) A random high 5 can go a long way in someone’s day.
4) When it comes to positive change, the responsibility is all of ours.
If you have some similar words of wisdom to share, I would love to hear them.
Wednesday was the first day for one of our summer interns, Brian. I have known Brian for a long time; probably dating back to when he was 7. He is Mike’s younger cousin, and I am very close with the entire family. In fact, his parents were one of the first very smart people to invest in Atayne.
I must note that Brian being an intern is not at all a case of nepotism. He is a great kid (well, I guess I have to call him a man now), and he is the reason we decided to bring on interns this summer. It was a thought in my mind, but he reached out to me this spring saying he would love the opportunity to intern with Atayne. I offered him a position and then decided to explore bringing on a couple other college students.
While one of the reasons for the intern program is to help me cross off some things on my “To Do List” that have been piling up the last 2 years, there is also another major reason for it. I want to expose some young, energetic minds to the idea that business can be a tool for positive change. Maybe one of the Atayne interns will go on to start the next Stonyfield Farms, Ben & Jerry’s, Honest Tea, or Atayne.
As part of Brian’s first day, I had him devote most of it to reviewing some great resources to help get him in the Atayne frame of mind. One thing in particular I had Brian watch was the Story of Stuff . If you have not seen it yet, it is well worth the 20 minutes. As Brian said, “At first I was like, great this thing is 20 minutes…. but once it started I got into it. It was really good.”
After watching the movie, Brian dug a little deeper. He went to the Another Way section of the website and eventually made his way to the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database. He started to explore the database, entering products that he uses daily, from toothpaste to soap. He soon realized that most of the products he used had pretty high toxicity levels. One thing he found very interesting is that sunscreen, a product designed to help prevent skin cancer, contains a lot of chemicals that are linked to cancer. As Brian put it, “It seems counter productive. It’s like an eye opener.”
If that is the only thing that Brian learns this summer, the internship program was a success in my book. Brian learned something in one day, that unfortunately, most adults never have their eyes opened to. I would encourage everyone to follow Brian’s lead. Learn about and pay attention to what is in the products you buy. From food and clothing to furniture and toys, it sometimes is mind boggling when you consider all the harmful materials and chemicals with which we surround ourselves and our children.
On a positive note, there are companies who are making products that aren’t so harmful to people and the planet. Learn a few chemicals to avoid (we try to avoid parabens, for one) and make your job easier by shopping at a retailer with knowledgeable staff.
“There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
-RFK
In my last post, I mentioned that Atayne will be expanding the graphics we offer with the launch of version 2.0 of our tops. This is something that has generated a lot of excitement from the Atayne community. We know people’s active pursuits are about more than just running and include cycling, hiking, yoga, paddling, rock climbing, rowing, skiing…the list goes on and on.
It surprises me (although it shouldn’t) that we’re sometimes asked the question, “Why do your shirts all have sayings, statements, or symbols?” To us, it’s kind of like asking why does your country have a constitution and a flag?
Here is the thing: the point of view is the point.
To us, the alignment of technical excellence with environmental and social consciousness without an obvious point of view is like a beautifully engineered and handcrafted sailboat without a rudder. Plain and simple, our products wouldn’t exist without the point of view. In fact, everything we do, we do with a point of view.
There are thousands upon thousands of people who pass day-by-day with plain old shirts emblazoned with the marks and logos of multi-million dollar corporations. But then, there are those, like you and me, with something to say. It is we, who when united in a shared point of view, create the winds of change.
That’s my point of view, I welcome yours.
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