Green Holiday Guide: Interviewing Green Business Owners

Interview with Ellen Sternweiler, Owner of Bellybum Boutique, and mother of three.

RM: Ellen, tell me about Bellybum Boutique.

ES: Bellybum Boutique opened in February, 2009. We are an eco-conscious store devoted primarily to Mama Bellies and Baby Butts (specializing in Maternal Transition, Nursing and Children's Wear; Cloth Diapers; Gear & Accessories) and the pre-and-postnatal and parenting resource and education center.

RM: What sorts of products and services do you offer at your boutique?

ES: Overall, we offer healthy lifestyle choices and education—fostering moms (pre and post natal) and parents to make informed decisions for themselves and their families. All of our bath and body products, most of our children's wear, and as much of our mommy wear and parent gear are all-natural, organic or eco-friendly products. I also go out of my way to carry as many locally produced products as possible, as well as supporting other small businesses, work at home moms and globally conscious companies.

RM: What has been your biggest challenge in running your boutique?

ES: The economy has been the biggest factor since I opened. Opening in the middle of a recession was not exactly part of my business plan. The whole thing is a constant learning experience. Every day brings new challenges and rewards.

RM: What is the main goal of Bellybum Boutique?

ES:To help moms feel good about themselves and provide much needed resources and support to those that face challenges before, during and after their pregnancies. As well, I want to empower parents in our community—through education and knowledge. I want to encourage them to make healthy choices for themselves and their families—while providing a place where they are respected for the choices that they make.

RM: What's next for you and Bellybum Boutique?

ES: A more robust support network for families with children with developmental differences. We are also introducing our new "swop and stock" night—a once-a-month, shopping night where parents can bring in their old cloth diapers to trade or donate for a discount. Used diapers will be donated to a shelter for pregnant, at risk, youths, where we will be doing cloth diapering education.

Thanks Ellen!

Bellybum Boutique is located in Chicago's Northcenter neighborhood at 4347 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60618. They are open Wednesday through Monday. Check online for details regarding hours and the many wonderful programs and resources offered at this eco boutique.

Ellen Sternweiler grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and now lives in Lincoln Square with her husband, 3 kids (Jonah 6, Elijah 5 & Hannah 2) and their Chocolate Lab (Mazy). When she isn't helping other families, she likes to spend time with her own.

Thank You Mindful Metropolis: Oh My God

Thursday evening Recycle Me sponsored the Oh My God sneak peak at Unity Church, hosted by Mindful Metropolis. There were many wonderful sponsors and attendees, and after the film a discussion lead by a very thoughtful panel of four spiritual leaders.

But this enlightening evening would not have been possible without Mindful Metropolis and their wonderful creative staff putting it together. Part of their mission is to bring the Chicago community together and this was a wonderful example of achieving that mission.

Recycle Me was honored to be a part of such a harmonious event.

Mindful Metropolis is working on having a second screening as this event sold out fast. They also mentioned the DVD would be available next year if you don't have a chance to go see it. You can check their website or sign up for updates to find out what is happening not only with Oh My God but with other sneak peaks as well.

Green Holiday Guide: Interviews with Green Businesses

Interview with Tim Winkler of Mindful Metropolis

Tim Winkler is an integral member of Mindful Metropolis, Chicago's Magazine for connecting it's Conscious Community.

RM: Tim, it's an interesting story. Can you tell me how Mindful Metropolis came to be?

TW: On March 24th, 2009, Chicago’s Conscious Choice magazine and its four affiliate magazines in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco were shut down by their corporate owner. The team from Chicago, myself included, met the very next day at Andie’s Restaurant in Andersonville, and decided to forge ahead and launch a new independent employee-owned publication, and Mindful Metropolis was born. It all happened so fast, we immediately scrambled to create a logo and identity, a mission statement, a temporary website, and re-sign advertisers in time to produce our first issue in May, not skipping a beat.

I'm still not sure how we were able to accomplish it. We just did what needed to be done to make it happen. With any other team of individuals, I’m not sure that it would be possible. I believe it happened because all of us were so mission driven, and did not want to leave Chicago without an eco-health and wellness publication. Most importantly, we had great faith, and trust in one another, without which, this herculean task, even if we were flush with funds, would not have happened.

RM: What is Mindful Metropolis' Mission?

TW: I like to summarize it as follows: I want us to educate and engage. I want Mindful Metropolis to be an independent, non-corporate influenced community media vehicle that shines a light on good people, doing good things for themselves, their community, and the environment.

Since launching Mindful Metropolis the reports from our delivery driver have been that the magazine is getting picked up at rates much higher than Conscious Choice, the response from the community has been phenomenal. Ultimately, we need to transform this enthusiasm into greater advertising and other revenue, so that we can increase our circulation and educate and engage greater and greater segments of metro Chicago’s population.

I’d like to see us to continue to give visibility to good people doing good things. Other media do this as well, but it is more essential to our mission than most. My hope is that when folks pick up Mindful Metropolis, they learn a little, are inspired to act in some small way, and become just a little bit more connected to their community and their planet.

RM: Tim, how does Mindful Metropolis connect with your own goals?

TW: I cannot tell you how surprised I am to find myself as an owner operator of a local community magazine. It was never in my plans, nor my dreams, but once I tried it on for size, I realized how well it fit.

My passions had always been those of an international or intercultural nature. I pursued traveling, studying and languages with fervor (Portuguese & Spanish). As I approached my late 30s I realized what I needed most for myself was a sense of being rooted in community, a community that was also close to family, and I fell into a job with Conscious Choice. I never thought I could sell an ad, or that I was personally a hyper-green conscious individual.

I arrived to the sustainability movement different from many, in that, although I cared about the planet, my focus was more on sustainable, respectful, autonomous, human community development. I realized how much the challenges we face in Chicago are not so different than those facing communities across the world. People are social animals. They cannot live in isolation. I’m learning that most people, most non-profits, and most business, work when they function in collaboration with others, and most importantly with kindness, my favorite human trait. I pushed hard for this section our mission statement: “We never forget that kindness is an environmental mission”. And there I had it, my past life, my past work, joined the environmental movement and became one, and whole. I couldn’t be happier.

RM: Where can readers find Mindful Metropolis?

TW: Mindful Metropolis is distributed at more than 600 locations around metro Chicago. Over 20% of our circulation is in metro Chicago Whole Foods Stores. We circulate everywhere from a street box, acupuncture clinic, to your local green business.
You can find the complete list of locations and search by zip code here: http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/DropSpots
Additionally, individuals may opt to get a home subscription if they choose, for only $24/year at: http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/Subscribe. We also have an e-flip digital magazine viewer that may be seen online at http://digital.mindfulmetropolis.com

RM: Tim, anything else you would like to add?

TW: A shout out to our readers, to let us know what you think. Call us, write us, send your ideas and feedback. We listen and we want to hear from you.

Thank you Tim!

Tim Winkler grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where much of his family still lives. He is very active in the Chicago Community, and involved with Victories of the Heart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping men build more authentic personal relationships and more satisfying lives. He is also a huge White Sox fan (go Sox!), and is spending some personal time reconnecting with his favorite childhood activities: bowling, camping, and fishing.

Mindful Metropolis can be found online at http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/Home where you can find Mindful Gift Ideas for the holidays.

World Toilet Day: Plumbing and Water Poverty

My family is full of plumbers, my Great Grandfather, Grandfather, Uncle and cousin all made or make their living as plumbers. So I know a little bit about plumbing.

But I don't normally think about the fact that many places in the world don't have plumbing or adequate plumbing.

End Water Poverty is an organization that is raising awareness about this issue and World Toilet Day, November 19th, is one way the word is spreading.

Facts taken from End Water Poverty's website:

884 million people don't have clean water and 40% of the world’s population suffer without a safe toilet, that’s 2.5 billion people.

This crisis kills many and dramatically affecting life in developing countries:

Health: Preventable illnesses spread by the crisis heavily overburden health systems. More than half of hospital beds in Sub Saharan Africa are occupied by patients suffering from sanitation and water related diseases.

Children: 4000 children die from these diseases every day. They're the biggest killer of young children, killing over five times more than HIV/AIDS and twice as many as malaria.

Education and gender: With children too ill to go to classes, education is suffering. Young girls simply don't attend as there aren't toilets at school, or they aren’t safe and private. Other girls spend hours of their day walking to fetch water or caring for ill siblings and have no time for an education at all.

Economies: It’s drastically affecting developing economies too - in Africa, an estimated 5% of GDP is lost to illnesses and deaths caused by dirty water and the absence of sanitation.

Climate change: And climate change is making things worse – with increased pressure on water resources.

What is End Water Poverty doing?

The End Water Poverty campaign is demanding that governments provide sanitation and water for the world's poorest people. We are calling for:

• One global action plan for sanitation and water monitored by one global task force
• 70% of aid money for sanitation and water to be targeted at the poorest countries
• Water resources to be protected and shared equitably

If you would like to learn more or get involved please visit the End Water Poverty website. You can also visit I Count for My Earth for other suggestions, links and information on this topic.

Green Holiday Guide: Interviews with Green Business Owners

Interview with Helen Cameron

Helen Cameron is the Co-owner of Uncommon Ground, now two restaurants in Chicago, one in Wrigleyville, the other in Historic Edgewater. Beyond great food and great service, these restaurants are leading the way in community, local flavor (music and food), and sustainability.

RM: Tell us about your restaurants.

HC: Uncommon Ground restaurants are full service, community-oriented restaurants, featuring locally produced, sustainable and organic food and beverage, along with art galleries and live music nightly.

We are currently working at both locations to become certified with the Green Restaurant Association. Our Devon location has the first organically certified Roof Top Farm in the country that is focused on promoting organic urban agriculture, eating locally and seasonally. We also provide a weekly Farmers Market in our parking lot in the summer.

RM: How else is Uncommon Ground environmentally responsible?

HC: We look at every aspect of how we operate, and when it makes good business sense, we work to be greener in everything we do. We work to educate our staff and guests and to lead by example. We also host a monthly eco-mixer called the Green Room Sessions to provide a fun way to learn about Green issues and inspire everyone to act.

RM: How have things changed since you started in 1991?

HC: Over the past 18 years we have steadily evolved into the business we have become. We just keep asking "How can we improve?" and continually work to get better at what we do. For15 years, it was a full-on struggle, and it was because of our sheer tenacity (Helen and husband/partner Michael) and will to succeed that we have survived and grown. The biggest change for us, when we opened at 1214 West Grace St, the only employees were Mike and myself. Now we have around 150 employees working at both restaurants. It feels really great to be able to provide solid jobs in our communities.

RM: What are your goals at Uncommon Ground?

HC: To provide happiness and comfort to our guests by serving locally produced, sustainable and organic food and beverage, providing an art gallery and live music nightly.

To provide a great workplace for our staff and to educate them on the importance of improving our food chain, so they can pass the word to our guests.

To provide a community center-- a place for our neighbors to meet and come together and support each other.

To educate our community about urban agriculture and other green issues.

RM: What's next?

HC: Certification with the Green Restaurant Association, starting a 501c3, holiday preparations and setting up our New Year's Eve parties.

RM: What would you like to say about going green?

HC: Going green shouldn't be difficult and doesn't have to cost more money. If everyone chooses one simple thing to change or improve, the difference we can make is substantial. Do what you can when you can afford to do it. The important thing is to act and get involved!

Thank you Helen!

What an inspiration to business owners everywhere! You can check out the Uncommon Ground restaurants at 3800 N Clark Street and 1401 W. Devon Avenue.

Helen grew up in Chicago. She currently lives in the Lincoln Square neighborhood with her husband and business partner Michael, and their two cats and hopes one day they will have time to travel.