Eco-Libris Q&A

Q&A with Raz, CEO and co-founder of Eco-Libris

Interview conducted by Jamie Bezozo

Tell us about yourself and what your company does.
I'm the co-founder and CEO of Eco-Libris (http://www.ecolibris.net/ ), a green business that works with book readers, publishers, authors, bookstores, and others in the book industry to balance out the paper used for books by planting trees.

Millions of trees are cut down annually for virgin paper used for the production of books sold worldwide. We want to raise the awareness to the environmental impacts of using paper for the production of books and provide people and businesses with an affordable and easy way to do something about it: plant one tree for every book they read, sell or publish. Customers also receive a sticker made of recycled paper for every book they balance out saying “One tree planted for this book” and can later display these stickers on their books' sleeves. Publishers can use our logo in their cover designs to indicate one tree is planted for that book. We have partnered with three highly respected US and UK registered non-profit organizations (SHI, AIR , RIPPLE Africa) that work in collaboration with local communities in developing countries to plant the trees. These trees are planted in high ecological and sustainable standards in Latin America and Africa, where deforestation is a crucial problem, and planting trees not only helps to fight climate change and conserve soil and water, but also benefits many local people, for whom these trees offer many benefits and an opportunity for a better future.

About me: I spent a few years in financial management and business development positions and also served as an advisor to the Israeli Minister of the Interior. Afterwards, I co-founded Hemper Jeans, an eco-fashion jean company focusing on producing fashionable jeans made of hemp. I write on green business for the second-largest newspaper in Israel (Ma'ariv). I hold an MBA from Tel Aviv University and live in Delaware with my wife, Peleg and our baby Shira. Besides developing, writing on and breathing green business, I like playing soccer and watching Woody Allen films and old episodes of Seinfeld.

Do you find that it is difficult to be an entrepreneur in your business in this day and age?
I think it's a great time to be a green entrepreneur. It's still very challenging but there's already a lot of awareness to the need for change and you see more and more people and businesses that are looking for ways to go green. Maybe in 2-3 years it will be even easier, but I think that timing is very important, especially when you're an entrepreneur with an innovative service or a product, and now it's definitely the right time, at least for me, when it comes to greening up books.

Is it hard to get some of the bigger businesses to get really interested in helping the environment?
Yes. But I guess it's much easier if you compare it with 2-3 years ago, when the environment wasn't such a mainstream issue. A lot has changed in the last couple of years and I believe that the big businesses will get more and more familiar with environmental issues when they see that by helping the environment they also help their bottom lines. I think that regulation, such as giving carbon dioxide a price, would contribute to this process as well.

Are you involved in art at all or any other clubs outside of your company?
Unfortunately, no. I wish I had more time.

What motivated you to get involved in this business?
My strong belief that green business can make a difference and my love of books and trees. I wanted to establish a green business that would become an agent of change and would help move the book industry towards sustainability. I knew it would take some time to get to the point where all books are made in an environmental friendly manner, and I wanted provide people and businesses with a simple and affordable tool to do something about it in the meantime: plant a tree for every book they read, publish, write or sell.

What do you think is the best environmental knowledge you could share with others that could impact them to make a difference?
My recommendation would be two books we reviewed lately on our blog and are about two important issues when it comes to green living - parenthood and urban living. I believe both of them have the knowledge base and the ability to drive people into making changes in their lives:

'The Urban Homestead' by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen - http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/2008/07/mondays-green-books-urban-homestead.html

'The Green Parent' by Jenn Savedge - http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/2008/04/mondays-green-books-series-green-parent.html

Where did you go to school? Did you gain anything from the experience?

I went to school in Israel. I mainly gained good friends and the love of playing soccer!

What are your favorite song lyrics?
Baby Lemonade by Syd Barret is one of my favorites:

In the sad town

Cold iron hands clap

The party of clowns outside

Rain falls in grey far away

Please, please, baby lemonade

In the evening sun going down

When the earth streams in, in the morning

Send a cage through the post

Make your name like a ghost

Please, please, baby lemonade

Im screaming, I met you this way

You're nice to me like ice

In the clock they sent through a washing machine

Come around, make it soon, so alone...

Please, please, baby lemonade

In the sad town

Cold iron hands clap

The party of clowns outside

Rain falls in grey far away

Please, please, baby lemonade

In the evening sun going down

When the earth streams in, in the morning

Send a cage through the post

Make your name like a ghost

Please, please, baby lemonade

If you weren't in this business, what do you think you would be doing as a career?
Maybe become a full-time journalist (I do it now as a freelancer). I love writing articles for the newspaper - it's very challenging, but also fun. Another option would be to write travel guides (green travel of course!). I've always envied the guys who write these guides.

Do you have any advice for other people hoping to become entrepreneurs and start their own company?
Do it because you love it and not just because you think it's worthwhile; otherwise it won't work. Try to have some fun on the way and be patient!

Q&A with Sierra Brown

Sierra Brown, a Cal State Long Beach student, swam 11 miles through the ports to her campus as part of an art project. Brown thought up the "Port To Class Supercommute" as a way of encouraging people to get out of their cars and take alternative forms of transportation.

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 28-year old MFA student at CSULB and I live in San Pedro, Ca. I was raised in Flagstaff, AZ and Albuquerque, NM but fell in love with surfing at 16 when I moved to Perth Australia. Since then I’ve lived and travelled around the world. For the last 4 years I have supported myself as a graduate student by working 6 months per year as a wildland firefighter on the El Cariso Hotshots along with intermittent work on sport fishing and dive boats. Last year I obtained my 100-ton captain’s license, quit working for the forest service, and I continue to work on boats. I prefer water over fire.

Describe your recent artwork.
Most of my recent work revolves around concerns related to global consumerism and the transportation not only of goods, but of ourselves. I’ve been working on a video series called Import that includes numerous 3 to 5 minute clips of cargo ships, cruise ships, and oil tankers moving through the Ports of LA and Tokyo. The Port-to-Class Supercommute is a sort of reaction to Import, where starting from San Pedro I will navigate through the Ports of LA and Long Beach in 8 different human powered methods as I commute to my Monday night class at CSULB. I had an intimate encounter with the busiest port in the western hemisphere on October 1st when I crossed its 11 mile span by swimming for 6 hours and 37 minutes.

What type of planning and preparation do you engage in before starting on a new project?
In the case of the Port-to-Class Supercommute it took me about 6 months of brain storming and research to come up with the design of the project. There were many small, but important details than I needed to cover, such as the legalities of swimming through the port. I had to prepare by researching long distance swimming and then doing the right kinds of training swims to feel confident in the project. It seems like I’ve been on the phone for the last two month just trying to plan out the logistics for Port-to-Class.

What steps do you take to minimize the risks involved in a project?
Take vitamins, and notify the port police. I forgot to do the latter last time.

What are you currently reading?
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox. It’s been a refreshing break from academia, and she makes me feel like a wimp! She swam across the Bering Strait in 1987, easing cold war tensions in an area where borders were closed, and swam across the Ohio River in Cincinnati when water quality standards were going to be decreased. I discovered Cox and her book after I came up with the idea of swimming through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and it may have been the determining factor in my finish. I never knew the act of swimming could have such social and political power.

Favorite short story or poem:
The Big Orange Splot, by Daniel Manus Pinkwater

Tell us a little about your website.
My friend, Rick Logan, helped me tremendously with my website. I wanted a nebula, outer-space kind of theme to go with the concept of long-distance endurance travel in the Port-to-Class Supercommute project. The website also contains a blog where I’ll be posting the aftermath of each week’s commute from San Pedro to CSULB, as well as a survey of videos and art from undergrad and graduate school.

To read or listen to 89.3 KPCC's interview with Sierra Brown: link

Sierra's website