Latest Posts
Graffiti
Go ahead, express yourself/say something/make a statement. Who knows, someone may like it and post it on their blog.
2am Club
My stepson (Marc Griffin) and 5 others formed a fabulous band called 2am Club. Their album hit 29 on the charts and is definitely worth a listen to on iTunes. They tour the US and their concerts are great fun. Check out their website for tour dates and info. The following pictures are from Boston (House of Blues), San Francisco (The Fillmore) and the now famous 2am Club (Mill Valley). Let me know what you think…
Define Lucky
My definition of Lucky When Sales are Down is when Amazon.com runs their own promotion on 3 EO French Lavender Bubble Baths for $0.96 ~ regular price $47.00.
Local Vacation
I like local vacations as they don’t involve long travel time and I can over pack to ensure that most of what I bring I don’t use. We first visited Lake Tahoe which has a bevy of exciting activities for all ages. We spent most of our time on the Lake, which was absolutely beautiful. Our next trip was over Mt. Tam to Stinson Beach. The weather was in the mid-90s, so , much of our time was IN the water – when we weren’t snoozing or lounging.
Roof
In business (and life too) I try to be prepared for the tough times. I accomplish this by aspiring to have balance in my life, like occasional vacations to offset the stresses of life. So, in true form, upon my return from vacation, my production was shut down because of “improvements” being done to my roof. Despite assurances by my landlord of just minor inconveniences, it rained dust and roofing materials onto EOs production facility for 5 days.
Car Show
I happened upon some rough looking car enthusiasts. At first I was intimidated by their tough looks, metal spikes and burly laughs. Then upon my admiration of their beautiful cars, they turned into a very friendly, passionate and open bunch of people.
Looks can be deceiving. So can expectations.
Rogue River
It’s my second year in a row to descend down the Rogue River in an inner tube. It’s a beautiful and peaceful river to float down with an occasional class 3 rapid to spice things up a bit. It’s important to take a break from regular life and have fun. The river brings this to me.
Pet Cemetery
I visited the Presidio of San Francisco Pet Cemetery to pay tribute to our “Best Friends”. Pets play a very positive role in our lives teaching us many lessons – like unconditional love, joy, presence, to name a few. I’ve had many pets throughout my life and will continue to do so.
Be on the look out for some specials EO products for our special friends…
Gallon Container Prices
Hi Brad – I’m trying to weigh cost cutting efforts against PCR content. What do you think about the gallon scenario? We bank $6.5k annual savings going with virgin or $2.5k going with 25% PCR (from recycled bottles). Take the smaller save and the PCR or go with the larger savings?
Sam
Sam,
Saving the world doesn’t come cheap. Let’s go with the PCR and $2.5k savings. Nice going on the $2.5k reduction.
Thanks, Brad
Sounds good Brad, we’ll book the $$ save and save a little piece of the world too!
EO in your life.
EO being used in people’s lives – be it in exotic lands or (even better) in your everyday life.
Please share your photos – I may even post them on the website. Send photos to photo@eoproducts.com
Check out these fabulous pictures – thanks Willow and Adam!!!
Bottled Water
When you are unable to access drinking water out of a faucet or a reusable water container (preferably filtered given the impurities or additives in our drinking water) , it’s necessary to purchase bottled water. Please buy water that was bottled locally and recycle to bottle after use. If you are anywhere in the USA please do not buy water from Fiji, France or bottled water for your dog.
Why Organic?
If you're not buying and supporting organic agriculture, read this article published in the NY Times:
…“The biotech industry is taking us into a more pesticide-dependent
agriculture when they’ve always promised, and we need to be going in,
the opposite direction,” said Bill Freese, a science policy analyst for
the Center for Food Safety in Washington."…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html?th&emc=th
Green 11
“REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
At the retail level, we take the concept of Reduce, REUSE and Recycle to a whole new level. We procure our line of products from our manufacturers in gallon jugs. Our end-use customer brings in their own container (also available for purchase) and refills it with their choice of our personal care and cleaning product offerings.”
Packing Materials
We ship many boxes daily that vary in size and contents. We do not have a custom box to fit each order perfectly, so we need to fill the excess space with packing material. The most common packing material that’s used are styrofoam “peanuts”. We used these “peanuts” years ago, however we didn’t like the 100 year half life of styrofoam, so we switched to a starch “peanut”. While the foot print of starch is fabulous, it didn’t preform to our requirements. So, we experimented with different materials and changed to a recyclable HDPE airbag. This airbag is filled with air then sealed and looks like a pillow – light and puffy -and it’s reasonably priced and very effective. Well, a couple of years have gone by and change has come again to EO. Our new airbag is similar to our previous one however it’s biodegradable and made from recycled materials. Check it out:
http://www.airpouch.com/Void-fill-Air-Pillow-Materials.aspx
Some Days
Some days are better than others.
Namu
One of my favorite restaurants in SF is Namu, located at Balboa Street between 5 Ave & 6 Ave. I’m there at least twice a month and I’ve never been disappointed. They serve local, sustainable, organic new California cuisine that is delectable. Come by sometime and I hope to see you there.
Discontinued EO
I become attached to all of the products that we create here
at EO. They become very much like a child to me – creation/pregnancy,
launch/birth, nurturing/youth to mature products on store shelves (many with their
own personality and stories to tell) – and it’s very difficult to discontinue them.
When a product doesn’t sell (due to bad formulations, high price point,
ahead of its time,…) we do send it back to school for retraining (we focus on updating the formula, label, packaging and our sales and marketing efforts). Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn’t. So please know that
when we discontinue a product, it comes with much efforts to retain it
as an “active” item and remorse from me.
We get many phone calls to bring back these products – we never
have brought one back from the, . . ., from vacation, however you never know. Please keep telling us what products you like AND
what products you don’t and why. Who knows, we might be able to massage it back
into shape.
Continental Flight 1420
I like to share our sanitizers with others, especially when I travel. People are always appreciative to receive a free gift.
El Silencio Lodge & Spa, Costa Rica
Well, it’s worth a trip here from anywhere in the world. I’ve create “Brad’s 6 Stars” from my experience here. The 6 stars being that El Silencio excelled in 1. Eco/Sustainable, 2. Service, 3. Food, 4. Room/Facility Aesthetics, 5. Authenticity and 6. Surroundings. I had a fabulous time.
14,540 US Organic Farms
“As a follow-on to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s first in-depth survey of organic farming in the United States. NASS collected 2008 data from operators of farms that were either USDA- certified organic, were making the transition to organic production, or were exempt from certification because of sales totaling less than $5,000.
The 2008 Organic Production Survey counted 14,540 organic farms and ranches in the United States, comprising 4.1 million acres of land. Of those farms, 10,903 were USDA certified and 3,637 were exempt from certification.” To read more:
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/Fact_Sheets/organics.pdf
The 4.1 million acres represents 1% of total US farm/ranch acres.
Indian Springs
I’ve been to many spas. This is one of the best – authentic, relaxing and beautiful.
Hoffman Process
“People come to the Hoffman Process with a strong desire to make lasting positive changes and to accelerate their personal growth and development. Ninety percent are between the ages of 30 and 60. Many are executives and professionals from diverse disciplines, spouses, adult family members, and friends. Since 1967, more than 50,000 people worldwide have used the Process to achieve greater balance, inner peace, vitality and overall well being.”
About this Blog
Since co-founding EO® in 1995, I have been increasingly drawn to the idea of "responsible business" and how my participation in the world reflects my ability "to respond." My hope is that this photo blog will provide you with an insight of how and why I/we do what we do at EO® and beyond.
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