Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day 2009 :-)
It is estimated that 1 billion people will celebrate Earth Day today, in 175 countries. Earth Day events are happening all over the world - you can find an event near you with the Earth Day Network's event finder.

On Earth Day 2009, as I listen to the many chirping birds outside my window, I feel inspired to be a citizen of this Earth. We are moving towards an new era of consciousness, and I believe that we will come together as global citizens to work towards environmental solutions. I believe in the passion, creativity, ingenuity and hard work of humankind, which I think will help bring forth an exciting era of new thinking and innovative green technology - all spurred by the environmental crisis we are facing and the resulting critical need to think differently.

I am also very excited by the progress we are making with Born on Earth kids clothing. We will launch our new line in about a month, and have carefully figured out how to do just about everything sustainably...from the materials and processes we use, to the way we package, to our hang tags, to creating the clothing from scratch in the USA. It is very fulfilling to be able to create environmentally sustainable, socially just products while enabling green jobs and partners.

Today I also feel very excited about the opportunity for green innovation. Just as we have rethought and innovated through the entire process of creating t-shirts with Born on Earth, there is a vast opportunity to innovate in all aspects of society. In order to become a truly environmentally sustainable society, we need to rethink everything that we do...the way we manufacture, create, consume, eat, transport, build, work, educate, & dispose...we need to rebuild the way the entire system works. This simple fact makes me bullish that we are going to see an enormous amount of green innovation in the coming decade. Organizations like the EPA are working to ignite green innovation, check out what the Director has to say about green technology and innovation.

Grassroots organizations are also organizing people to make a difference. The Earth Day Network (the people who organize Earth Day) launched a new campaign today, called the "Green Generation", which is a two-year initiative that will launch in 2009 and culminate on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. The core philosophy behind this campaign focuses on civic participation and meaningful action. The Green Generation core principles include: a carbon-free future ending our dependency on fossil fuels and based on renewable energy sources; an individual commitment to sustainable and responsible consumption; and the creation of a green economy that helps lift people everywhere from poverty, by transforming the education system around the world and creating millions of green jobs.

According to Earth Day Network,

"the Green Generation includes ordinary people who are engaged in individual and collective activities to improve their health, to improve their schools, to participate in building a solution to urgent national and global issues, such as climate change or the world’s water crises. The Green Generation is open to everyone: people of all ages and all nationalities, consumers who are committed to buying green; community leaders who are focused on greening their communities; parents and teachers who work to provide healthy foods and green schools for their children; those who work in green jobs; academics whose research is focused on innovative products and services; scientists and engineers who develop new green technologies; and governments that seek to implement policies and support research that will build a green economy and healthy population, and the religious community who are committed to a vision of a just, sustainable, green planet. Corporations will play a key leadership role in the Green Generation campaign, particularly those that recognize that their future success is tied to sustainable products and socially just endeavors."

You can join the Green Generation here.

I love being a part of Born on Earth because we are creating consumer products and jobs that are both environmentally sustainable and socially just. Hooray for the Green Generation!!!