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    What is Grow Ensemble?

    Grow Ensemble is a community built to raise awareness and inspire meaningful action around the world’s most important issues.

    Each article, newsletter, video, guide, and interview is created to help connect change-makers and innovators from all over the globe with the information and support to move forward on their impact journey

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    Grow Ensemble Founders Cory Ames & Annie Bright

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    Our Latest Articles

    We write about & share ways to make change every day—at home, work, or out in your community.

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    The Future of Technology & the Tech Industry, Made Possible by Antidote to Tech
    October 19, 2021

    The Future of Technology & the Tech Industry, Made Possible by Antidote to Tech

    The Problems in the Tech Industry (& How to Solve Them)
    October 13, 2021

    The Problems in the Tech Industry (& How to Solve Them)

    21 Best Sustainable Travel Tips: From Plan to Your Post-Trip Travel Home
    October 1, 2021

    21 Best Sustainable Travel Tips: From Plan to Your Post-Trip Travel Home

    Eco-Friendly School Supplies: A Clean Start to the School Year
    September 17, 2021

    Eco-Friendly School Supplies: A Clean Start to the School Year

    What Is Food Waste and How to Combat It with Food Recovery
    September 10, 2021

    What Is Food Waste and How to Combat It with Food Recovery

    Social Change: What Is It, How Does It Happen & How Can It Apply to Climate Change?
    August 30, 2021

    Social Change: What Is It, How Does It Happen & How Can It Apply to Climate Change?

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    Our Latest Interviews

    50+ 5-Star Reviews in Apple Podcasts, 60,000 downloads from 160+ countries, and well over 100 episodes with social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, & inspiring changemakers. Here are our latest interviews…

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    Sustainable Denim: Is it Possible?
    October 12, 2021

    Sustainable Denim: Is it Possible?

    How to Become a Social Entrepreneur
    October 7, 2021

    How to Become a Social Entrepreneur

    How Individual Actions Contribute to Collective Action for the Planet
    September 28, 2021

    How Individual Actions Contribute to Collective Action for the Planet

    How Technology and the Future of (Sustainable) Fashion Collide
    September 2, 2021

    How Technology and the Future of (Sustainable) Fashion Collide

    Redefining What It Means to Work in Tech
    August 19, 2021

    Redefining What It Means to Work in Tech

    How to Reduce (& Repurpose) Global Textile Waste
    August 10, 2021

    How to Reduce (& Repurpose) Global Textile Waste

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    On How One Percent Makes a Difference

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    On the Ins and Outs of Building a Conscious Company

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    On Corporate Boardroom Diversity in America

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    On the Future of Regenerative Organic Agriculture

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    Collection: Female Entrepreneurs using Business as a Force for Good

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    Ensemble Quarterly: Q2 | 2021

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    Collection: Ensemble 10: Plastic Pollution

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    Ensemble 10: Sustainable Businesses

    This collection highlights examples of sustainable businesses and sustainable business leaders who are resetting our expectations for how business can and should be done. 

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    The dirtiest item in fast fashion sits in most of our closets. With its use of cotton, chemicals, pesticides, and indigo dyes, denim has been making its mark on the environment for decades. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Changemakers in the fashion industry are disrupting the denim space. Brands like MUD Jeans are choosing recycled and organic cotton and leading the way in circular, sustainable production. We’ve talked to fashion industry leaders about how to reduce textile waste, what to do with unwanted clothes, how to shift from linear to circular fashion, and more. Today, we’re taking sustainable fashion a step further to talk all about denim production. Laura Vicaria is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager at the first circular denim company, MUD Jeans. In this episode of The Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Podcast, host Cory and Laura discuss the challenges and opportunities of producing sustainable denim. In this post, we cover how MUD Jeans is leading the way for eco-friendly fashion, and you’ll learn Laura’s tips for sustainable denim production.Enjoy the full interview here, and find the corresponding post on our website below.More on sustainable denim & the denim industry — https://growensemble.com/sustainable-denim/MUD Jeans — https://mudjeans.eu/Socials — @mudJeans (Instagram) + Laura on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-vicaria-20b3b857/#sustainabledenim #cirularfashion #sustainablefashion #ethicaldenim #ecoconscious #sustainability🌎 KEEP UP WITH GROW ENSEMBLE: 🎬 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw?sub_confirmation=1💌 Our Better World Weekly Newsletter - https://growensemble.com/newsletter/🎤 The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast - https://growensemble.com/podcast/📚 Check out our Books, Guides, & Courses on all topics building a better world - https://growensemble.com/products/📊 Partner with Grow Ensemble on using content to build a community around your better-for-the-world business + mission - https://growensemble.com/advertise/SOCIAL: 🐦 Twitter*Grow Ensemble - https://twitter.com/GrowEnsemble*Cory Ames - https://mobile.twitter.com/AmesCory📊 LinkedIn*Grow Ensemble - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-ensemble*Cory Ames - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amescory/
    Sustainable Denim: Is it Possible? | Laura Vicaria, CSR Manager of MUD Jeans
    YouTube Video UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw_7BAqnFJGtFk
    If anyone has a say on the best route to becoming a social entrepreneur, it’s our friend Madeleine Shaw. Madeleine has been an entrepreneur focusing on impact and social change for over 25 years. At age 25, she founded what would become Lunapads (now rebranded as Aisle), a Certified B Corporation that “was one of the first brands in the world to champion natural menstrual care.” Since then, she’s founded other nonprofit and for-profit social impact ventures. Now, Madeleine has assembled a book on her experiences and lessons learned, The Greater Good: Social Entrepreneurship for Everyday People Who Want to Change the World. Host Cory Ames had the pleasure of being an early reader of the book and welcoming Madeleine back to the podcast for a second time to dive deeper into the material they'll cover in this episode: How YOU Can Become a Social Entrepreneur.Enjoy the full interview here, and find the corresponding post on our website below.🔗LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:More on how to become a social entrepreneur — https://growensemble.com/how-to-become-a-social-entrepreneurMadeleine Shaw — https://madeleineshaw.ca/The Greater Good Book — https://wonderwell.press/books/the-greater-good/#HowtoBecomeaSocialEntrepreneur #SocialEntrepreneurship #SocialEntrepreneurs #socialEnterprise #Entrepreneurs #Business 🌎 KEEP UP WITH GROW ENSEMBLE: 🎬 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw?sub_confirmation=1💌 Our Better World Weekly Newsletter - https://growensemble.com/newsletter/🎤 The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast - https://growensemble.com/podcast/📚 Check out our Books, Guides, & Courses on all topics building a better world - https://growensemble.com/products/📊 Partner with Grow Ensemble on using content to build a community around your better-for-the-world business + mission - https://growensemble.com/advertise/SOCIAL: 🐦 Twitter*Grow Ensemble - https://twitter.com/GrowEnsemble*Cory Ames - https://mobile.twitter.com/AmesCory📊 LinkedIn*Grow Ensemble - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-ensemble*Cory Ames - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amescory/
    How to Become a Social Entrepreneur | Madeleine Shaw
    YouTube Video UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw_jsPCDDwmmnM
    When thinking about how to address changes to individual action, it often starts and ends with raising awareness and building knowledge. However, the issue with this approach is that both knowledge and awareness only go so far if you’re looking to make a change. Unfortunately, for many of us who want to make a change for our communities and planet, simply informing people is often not enough to change their behavior.For this episode of the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Podcast, host Cory Ames interviews Brett Jenks, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Rare, which is an organization that is dedicated to utilizing behavioral insights to effectively encourage individuals to take action to help the environment. Enjoy the full interview here, and find the corresponding post on our website below.🔗LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:More on taking individual action for the environment -- https://growensemble.com/individual-action/Rare.org -- https://rare.org/Socials -- @Rare_Org (Twitter and Instagram) + @brettjenks on Twitter#ClimateAction #Sustainability #CollectiveAction #EcoConscious #ClimateChange🌎 KEEP UP WITH GROW ENSEMBLE: 🎬 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw?sub_confirmation=1💌 Our Better World Weekly Newsletter - https://growensemble.com/newsletter/🎤 The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast - https://growensemble.com/podcast/📚 Check out our Books, Guides, & Courses on all topics building a better world - https://growensemble.com/products/📊 Partner with Grow Ensemble on using content to build a community around your better-for-the-world business + mission - https://growensemble.com/advertise/SOCIAL: 🐦 Twitter*Grow Ensemble - https://twitter.com/GrowEnsemble*Cory Ames - https://mobile.twitter.com/AmesCory📊 LinkedIn*Grow Ensemble - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-ensemble*Cory Ames - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amescory/
    How Individual Actions Contribute to Collective Action for the Planet | Brett Jenks, CEO of Rare
    YouTube Video UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw_Ts5apsY6r8U
    In the fashion industry, what is old is new again. But this time, it can also be sustainable.Fashion has always been cyclical, reusing older trends and updating them ever so slightly. But technology is pushing cyclical fashion to become circular, meaning that the useful life of garments extends indefinitely. Those old t-shirts or jeans you wore 15 years ago, or the ones your parents had way before that, can now become part of your current wardrobe again.This is just one example of how technology is modernizing the rather arcane approach to fashion today, where most people struggle to find what they want in the way that they want it. Faith Legendre, the owner of the circular economy advisory company, Afire Consulting, explains to Host Cory Ames during this episode of the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Podcast, “…they make 2 million black size two shirts [and] it’s bad for the environment. It’s bad for the psyche.”In this video (and corresponding post), let’s look at how technology and fashion are colliding for a more sustainable future of the fashion industry by decreasing wasteful production and increasing personalization.🔗LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:More on the relationship between Tech & Fashion -- https://growensemble.com/tech-fashion/Faith Legendre on LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/faithlegendreWorn Again Technologies -- https://wornagain.co.uk/#Fashion #Technology #SustainableFashion #Sustainability #Tech #CircularFashion🌎 KEEP UP WITH GROW ENSEMBLE: 🎬 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw?sub_confirmation=1💌 Our Better World Weekly Newsletter - https://growensemble.com/newsletter/🎤 The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast - https://growensemble.com/podcast/⭐️ Connect with Change-Makers & Innovators and Join the Ensemble Community - http://growensemble.com/membership/📚 Checkout our Books, Guides, & Courses on all topics building a better world - https://growensemble.com/products/📊 Partner with Grow Ensemble on using content to build a community around your better-for-the-world business + mission - https://growensemble.com/advertise/SOCIAL: 🐦 Twitter*Grow Ensemble - https://twitter.com/GrowEnsemble*Cory Ames - https://mobile.twitter.com/AmesCory📊 LinkedIn*Grow Ensemble - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-ensemble*Cory Ames - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amescory/
    How Technology and Sustainable Fashion Collide // Faith Legendre, Afire Consulting [Full Interview]
    YouTube Video UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw_0SVlMPeqWGc
    **Redefining What It Means to Work in Tech with Corey Kohn, Co-Founder & CEO of Dojo4**The booming field of computer science and technology is full of promise and opportunity. Tech jobs with top companies are highly coveted but what is it really like to work in the tech industry?A career in tech can mean great perks, hard work, and continuous evolution of new skills. It is also a field that could benefit from more social support. Prioritizing the humanity of the people who consume and create the internet could make it a safer, more fulfilling place to work and to be.Host Cory Ames sat down with Dojo 4’s Corey Kohn on the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Podcast as part of our new series on technology. They discussed tech and culture, and how reconnecting with humans and nature is the antidote we need.In this video interview (and corresponding post), we’ll discuss the modern experience of working in tech, the unique challenges facing women and people of color in a white male-dominated industry, and what we can do to find meaning while working in this field today.🔗LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:More on Redefining Working in Tech -- https://growensemble.com/working-in-tech/Dojo4 - https://dojo4.com/Antidote to Tech - https://www.antidoteto.tech/#Tech #Technology #EthicalTech🌎 KEEP UP WITH GROW ENSEMBLE: 🎬 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw?sub_confirmation=1💌 Our Better World Weekly Newsletter - https://growensemble.com/newsletter/🎤 The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast - https://growensemble.com/podcast/⭐️ Connect with Change-Makers & Innovators and Join the Ensemble Community - http://growensemble.com/membership/📚 Checkout our Books, Guides, & Courses on all topics building a better world - https://growensemble.com/products/📊 Partner with Grow Ensemble on using content to build a community around your better-for-the-world business + mission - https://growensemble.com/advertise/SOCIAL: 🐦 Twitter*Grow Ensemble - https://twitter.com/GrowEnsemble*Cory Ames - https://mobile.twitter.com/AmesCory📊 LinkedIn*Grow Ensemble - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-ensemble*Cory Ames - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amescory/
    Corey Kohn // Dojo4 + Antidote to Tech – [Full Interview]
    YouTube Video UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw_cJtsL4qJONE
    Sweet, luxurious, delectable, and delicious: around the world, chocolate is a consumer favorite. It tops our ice cream, fills our bellies on Halloween, and makes a s’more a s’more. Chocolate is ingrained in our everyday lives, but most consumers aren’t aware of the exploitation involved in going from cocoa bean to bar.Much like the coffee, banana, and avocado industries, the cacao tree grows predominantly in the Global South. Although companies like Hershey and Nestlé are worth billions of dollars, most cocoa farmers are barely surviving on salaries of $200 per year. This exploitative value chain has become the norm for many chocolate companies, but we’d like to introduce you to a notable exception - pushing for a slavery free chocolate industry. Tony’s Chocolonely provides a glimmer of hope for workers up and down the chocolate supply chain. Tony’s exists purely to set a higher bar for chocolate cultivation, and they demand the bare minimum: high-quality chocolate that isn’t produced by modern slavery or child labor.🔗LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:Tony’s Chocolonely - https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/enSign the Petition for 100% Slave-Free Chocolate - https://tonyschocolonely.com/petition/#Chocolate #FairTrade #Sustainability🌎 KEEP UP WITH GROW ENSEMBLE: 🎬 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw?sub_confirmation=1💌 Our Better World Weekly Newsletter - https://growensemble.com/newsletter/🎤 The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast - https://growensemble.com/podcast/⭐️ Connect with Change-Makers & Innovators and Join the Ensemble Community - http://growensemble.com/membership/📚 Checkout our Books, Guides, & Courses on all topics building a better world - https://growensemble.com/products/📊 Partner with Grow Ensemble on using content to build a community around your better-for-the-world business + mission - https://growensemble.com/advertise/SOCIAL: 🐦 Twitter*Grow Ensemble - https://twitter.com/GrowEnsemble*Cory Ames - https://mobile.twitter.com/AmesCory📊 LinkedIn*Grow Ensemble - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-ensemble*Cory Ames - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amescory/
    100% Slavery-Free Chocolate: Is an Ethical Chocolate Industry Possible?
    YouTube Video UCnkEPD9stzO2dpg-B5gfjgw_k7o7NQRM8pw
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    Learning Library

    Our Library of topics, issues, and causes that are important for leaving the world a better place. Learn about plastic pollution, conscious consumerism, regenerative agriculture, social entrepreneurship, and more.

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    Environment & Climate

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    Plastic Pollution

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    Sustainable Business

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    Sustainable Product Directory

    Change the world through how you vote with your dollar. We review & highlight businesses and products that make consuming consciously easier. Our latest sustainable product reviews…

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    Eco-Friendly School Supplies: A Clean Start to the School Year
    September 17, 2021

    Eco-Friendly School Supplies: A Clean Start to the School Year

    Public Goods Review (2021): Is Public Goods Any Good?
    July 2, 2021

    Public Goods Review (2021): Is Public Goods Any Good?

    Sunski Sunglasses Review: Quality, Sustainable, & Affordable
    June 29, 2021

    Sunski Sunglasses Review: Quality, Sustainable, & Affordable

    Holden Rings Review: Affordable, Ethical, and Minimalist Wedding Bands
    June 23, 2021

    Holden Rings Review: Affordable, Ethical, and Minimalist Wedding Bands

    Plastic Alternatives: Your Everyday Guide to a Plastic-Free Future
    June 10, 2021

    Plastic Alternatives: Your Everyday Guide to a Plastic-Free Future

    Patagonia Better Sweater Review: The Best Better Sweater Ever?
    May 24, 2021

    Patagonia Better Sweater Review: The Best Better Sweater Ever?

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    Tablas Creek

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    Dhana

    The Impact of Fashion

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    Plaine Products

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