What also makes Evertune unique is company CEO Mark Chayet’s commitment to sustainable packaging that is quality, low cost and effective. Though to some those three requirements may seem almost contradictory, Mark was determined, and his search eventually led him to Globe Guard® products and Salazar Packaging.

The Need for a Protective, Versatile Packaging Solution

The Evertune bridge is a quality, professional piece of hardware, and wrapping it in bubble wrap was not going to be acceptable. In fact, covering and cushioning the Evertune in any packaging material would likely prove laborious, would probably not prove effective from a protection standpoint, and quite frankly did not deliver the high-quality image the company desired.

In addition, the Evertune bride is sold directly through their web site, as well as through dealers, so they wanted to avoid having to create and stock two different package designs. However, a stock design was unlikely to fit the uniquely shaped product correctly, and a custom solution was probably going to be price prohibitive.

The Globe Guard® Solution

Mark soon realized that thanks to a low-cost new tooling capability we offer, he would be able to afford a custom-molded, 100% PCW recycled content pulp tray that his product and accessories could fit in snuggly without time-consuming or environmentally unfriendly cushioning materials. A tray was designed quickly and at minimal cost. It was also sized to fit into a stock Globe Guard® 100% recycled content die cut mailer box so the high cost of additional cutting dies could be avoided.

To satisfy the branding requirement as well as the multi-purpose need, the stock box was custom printed with the company’s logo in their PMS specific blue. The package looks first class whether it is on a dealer’s retail shelf or being used as a shipping container for an Internet customer.

The end result is packaging that is effective, very affordable and most definitely green. For the best guitar bridge that never requires tuning, contact www.evertune.com. For the best green packaging that is certain to satisfy your needs, please contact Salazar Packaging.

The one area of sustainability that we have yet to master is that of “upcycling,” which is recycling a product and making it even more valuable than it originally was. I sincerely appreciate and respect people who are able to take empty juice pouches and turn them into fashion handbags or use empty wine bottles to create beautiful table lamps out of what might otherwise end up in a landfill. However, Mark Langan, with a lot of talent and time, is able to take corrugated board and turn it into beautiful works of art.

Yes, It Really Is Made of Old, Used Boxes

I urge you to visit Mark’s website, www.Langanart.com, where you will undoubtedly have to take a second and perhaps even a third look at Mark’s work because it is so difficult to believe it is all made of used corrugated board. The shapes and textures he is able to achieve seem unlimited, enabling him to create unique pieces that adorn boardrooms and lobbies of major corporations, as well as homes of celebrities and the very eco-minded.

It is not unusual for one of Mark’s creations to consume more than 100 hours of meticulous hand crafting, so his is not likely ever to become a large-volume upcycling operation. However, what Mark lacks in terms of volume, he more than makes up for in terms of beauty and creativity.

It also serves as a reminder, especially to all of us who buy, sell or use corrugated shipping boxes, that in the right hands, this most basic of packaging materials, much like the tree it originally came from, can be pleasing for generations to come.

Social Responsibility and Environmental Responsibility

For most green companies, it is not a choice of one or the other; the question is how best to accomplish both. We try to make the environmental part of that objective as easy as possible by providing our customers the most eco-friendly packaging available. The nice people at Mahamosa quickly agreed that our Globe Guard® 100% PCW recycled content corrugated shipping boxes were consistent with their goals and messaging.

They also take their social responsibility very seriously and decided to spend a little extra and have their boxes printed in three colors on all four panels. The copy includes their all important “Being in the World” mission statement. Mahamosa has committed to contributing 50% of their after tax net profits to a variety of great organizations including World Wildlife Foundation, UNICEF, Save the Children, Water.org and the International Committee of the Red Cross, just to name a few.

Teas, Spices and Herbs with a Powerful Message

I will be totally honest and admit I am not a tea drinker so I have not personally tasted any of the products. I assume, however, that the products are of high quality like the people and their company.

What I find most impressive is not the unusual three-color graphics they chose for their shipping boxes or even the 100% PCW construction. After all, all of our customers are determined to use attractive, low cost, eco-friendly packaging whenever possible. No, what really makes Mahamosa unique is the example they are setting for an entire industry and for all of us in business who call ourselves responsible.

I encourage you to visit their web site and see what they are doing to bring wonderful flavors and much needed help to some deserving organizations.

For the very first time, we also realized how many husband and wife couples have become green entrepreneurs and are enjoying building a green business together. Some are applying their past experience and skills, or in some cases they are utilizing brand new, previously undiscovered talents. In either case, they have teamed up with their significant other and together are making an equally significant difference in the irreversible green trend we are all witnessing.

Maybe it’s a sign of the economic times or a result of the continued interest and growth in sustainability that has helped to create these husband and wife green teams. Or perhaps it is simply that no one other than a loving life partner would be willing to work as long or as hard, and in many cases for little or no immediate compensation.

Certainly the sacrifices of owning your own business are many, but so are the benefits when you both enjoy and are totally committed to what you are doing. The festival was filled with many wonderful “grouples” stories, and I would like to share a few with you.

Melissa and Mike Smith – 1820 House

Everyone who’s been married for fifteen years like this couple has undoubtedly experienced some changes in their life that initially appeared as negatives but eventually proved to be positive opportunities. Mike and Melissa (pictured above) operated a popular antique shop in East Palestine, Ohio, but eventually the downturned economy impacted their business as well. About the same time, Melissa was laid off from her job at GM, so they narrowed the focus at their store to their eco-friendly candles that had continued to sell well in spite of the economy.

Today their brick-and-mortar store is doing well, and they are looking at expanding their candle manufacturing capability. They have added organic bath and beauty products, as well as handcrafted jewelry from local artisans, so things are looking and smelling good.

John and Melissa Ziech – Recycle Bin Box.com

John and Melissa’s experience in office interior design helped them to realize offices and businesses needed attractive and affordable recycling containers to make their recycling efforts possible. The only available products seemed to be either very overpriced or inexpensive but extremely unattractive.

So after thirty-eight years of marriage, and a lifetime of being consultants and service providers, John and Melissa decided to make a daring change and go into the manufacturing business to make the products they were confident the market wants.

Six months ago they created and launched their own line of attractive, eco-friendly recycling containers designed for a green office environment. Their products look great and are made of recycled molded plastic and plastic corrugated board, making them lightweight, reusable and washable. Their unique products are available on their web store, and don’t be surprised to see them at a local green festival. You’ll be impressed by the products and the people.

Gerri Alger and Kurt Brunner — The Nicolet Candle Company

Even though they were just engaged a year ago, Gerri and Kurt have been together for more than eight years and are partners in a company they started in 2007. Gerri has been a full-time massage therapist, which is how she became aware of the need for scented but natural eco-friendly candles. Much like our friends John and Melissa Smith above, when Gerri could not find what she wanted, she decided to make it. Kurt’s background is in residential architecture, so the slowdown in his industry has enabled him to spend more time with Gerri growing their business.

There are a lot of companies selling soy-based candles these days, but theirs are unique in that most of the containers they sell are either natural wood or recycled glass. Their most popular products are their recycled glass candles made from old wine bottles, which make attractive and unique drinking glasses when the candle is used up. Their web site and store are extremely well done with some beautiful photography.

Quite frankly, I’m not sure if the word “grouples” is ever going to catch on but I hope it does because it describes some pretty neat and dedicated people who are enjoying each other as well as their work.

However, Earth Day is not about corporate initiatives, products, or even carbon footprints. It is really about a very large and diverse group of people who contribute time and talent in an effort to create a greener and better Earth for the next generation.

This year I thought I would do something different — highlight three people who have made and are making a unique and substantial difference in the worldwide effort to preserve the environment. I shared these stores with three friends in the green media, and I am pleased to say they each have shared one of the stories with their readers.

Green Biz – A neat green story I found where I least expected to find one. I also consider them a reluctant green hero and a publicity shy corporation. Who would guess that either existed today?

Environmental Leader — A quiz of sorts about someone who played a key role in the very first Earth Day and continues to do so 41 years later.

Sustainable Is Good – Read about a lady who has written a book that has tremendous potential impact as she attempts to engage and involve the fastest growing population group in sustainability.

There are countless people and stories that deserve to be shared, and it was difficult to select only three. I also have to acknowledge and thank the three excellent green-focused web sites above that understand we all have something to contribute, and for allowing me to do so from time to time.

Happy Earth Day!

Dennis Salazar: Rosamaria, please give us a little background on how you and your husband, PJ Stafford, started your company.

Rosamaria Caballero: About 3 ½ years ago, we read Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, saw the movie and came to the realization that we needed to start taking our own small steps in our home and lifestyle. As we started adopting green initiatives in our own apartment, we felt overwhelmed by the amount of information and mis-information out there. We wanted to go green, but we didn’t want to make it a hobby (as it turns out, we made it our careers!) and we knew that other busy families and business owners were not going to spend hours researching reliable information and great products. As entrepreneurs, we knew that there was no way that green was going to go “mainstream” unless people could get easy and reliable advice, and that’s how Green Irene, your local Eco-Consultant was born.

DS: Obviously, there are other companies attempting to do what you do, so please explain what makes Green Irene so effective and unique?

RC: There are two aspects to our business – the one that leads families and businesses to a healthier, safer and more sustainable lifestyle, saving them money while conserving energy, water and other resources through our consulting services and green products. And then there is the part of our business that helps local entrepreneurs become Eco-Consultants and  “power” their consulting practice by providing everything from training and their own ecommerce-enabled website to research and order fulfillment. We provide the infrastructure so they can focus on building their local eco-consulting practice.

DS: Can you tell us what type of investment in time and dollars it takes for a consultant to learn what they have to know to be successful?

RC: You can become a Green Irene Eco-Consultant for $150 (Basic) or $350 (Plus). Our Eco-Consultants have to take our in-depth online training program, which is designed to take about 25-30 hours, but beyond that we continue to provide new research and new training on an ongoing basis. As you know, in this industry new information comes out every day, and we help our eco-consultants stay informed.

DS: We see overwhelming interest in sustainability with younger people, so please fill in our readers on your brand new campus program.

RC: Our nationwide program offers training to students on any university campus as Green Irene Campus Eco-Consultants, so that they can become a force for positive green change both on campus and in the surrounding community while earning money through consulting and product sales. Details are available on our page about our Green Irene Campus Eco-Consultant Program.

DS: Earlier this summer you launched your own line of cleaning chemicals. The “natural cleaners” category has become very crowded in the last couple of years. Please tell us how your product line and program differs.

RC: Although it may seem to us that there are a lot of “green” cleaning products on the market, believe it or not, green products only account for 3% of sales of household cleaning and laundry products. That’s not only because people still need to be educated about toxic chemical-based cleaners, but also because people are still looking for toxic-free cleaners that really work.

I set out to create Green Irene cleaning products that clean effectively, are safe for our families and our environment, and that are packaged in a sustainable manner.

I wanted to offer our clients products that are not only safe, but that actually get the job done – they clean effectively. I’ve tried many “green” cleaners that use different approaches to remove harsh or toxic chemicals from their formulations, but I had never been thrilled with their job performance. Until now. Our cleaners are “powered by enzymes.” Without getting scientific here, our task specific hospital-grade enzymes break down dirt and grime into their basic elements like carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

I set out to design a line of green cleaners with a short list of safe ingredients, all of which I could list on our label and pronounce! I didn’t want any phosphates, alcohol, ammonia, chlorine, artificial fragrances or colors, and definitely no petroleum-based ingredients. Our cleaners needed to be non-toxic, non-caustic, hypoallergenic and safe for my daughters and our Yorkie, not to mention my husband and I. And I wanted to provide as much information as possible about the ingredients and uses for each product.

And last, but not least, I want Green Irene to practice what we preach and I wanted us to be part of the solution by reducing the carbon footprint of the product line by offering cleaners only in concentrate formulas. And our concentrates, in combination with our packet refill system, dramatically reduce packaging waste and save you money since you do not pay for a bottle over and over again. Green has never been so clean!

DS: Rosamaria, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to share your great and unique green story with our readers. I encourage everyone to learn more about Green Irene at your site www.greenirene.com.

Dennis Salazar: Tom, there is an interesting story about how we each got into the business of green, and your business card introduces you as an Eco-preneur. Please share your story with us.

Tom Prinzing: I was working as a consultant for industrial distributors and manufacturers. A common denominator is they were all looking for future market trends.  I kept seeing “green” opportunities in my research. In looking at recycling signs, I noticed that most of them were made out of environmentally unfriendly materials.  Those signs would last for eons in landfills. The general premise would be to make recycling signs from recycled materials. Then I thought, “Why don’t I do this myself?”

DS: Tell us about your products in terms of composition. What makes them green?

TP:  We try to make the greenest possible products. We always shoot for the highest mark, which is 100% post consumer materials. However, the product must function as it was designed to do. Our signs are made out of four different materials depending on the application. Our rigid plastic is made from 70-80% post consumer plastic (for example, milk jugs and detergent bottles). Most pressure sensitive signs are made from evil vinyl.  We use a bio-degradable renewable resource instead. Our outdoor signs are made from 99% recycled aluminum (80% post consumer). We use green manufacturing processes as well.

DS: One of the things that is obvious on your site is the variety of signage you have available for different purposes and places. Can you talk a little about that variety?

TP:  We have environmental signs for the workplace. They are categorized by office, warehouse, break room, manufacturing, lobby, mailroom, etc. locations. We also have industrial OSHA safety signage. For outdoors, we have traffic and parking lot signs. All signs meet appropriate regulations. Our newest product is the RecycLock. To our knowledge, it’s the world’s first recycled content (70%) safety padlock. We are also working on a full line of eco-friendly Lockout-Tagout products.

DS: What about the creative and artistic side of what you do? Who comes up with all of the great ideas you offer?

TP:  I wish I was that bright! I just listen very closely to our customers and other very smart people.

DS: Speaking from experience, I know patents and copyrights are expensive, and many good ideas simply can’t be protected. How do you deal with that challenge?

TP:  Dennis, you are 100% correct. Intellectual property is very expensive. We do our best by using top legal counsel, but our best defense is to have a good offense. Our job is to keep coming up with innovative eco-products and getting them to market first. It forces others to always play catch up. We strive to always be a step or two ahead.

DS: I think most readers will assume you use Globe Guard packaging materials, but what else do you do to make your business as green as possible?

TP: Globe Guard packaging is absolutely essential to our brand. How could we ship eco-products in eco-nasty packaging? That would ruin credibility. We are proud to partner with Salazar Packaging. We also have a green powered website. Our printed materials (catalogs, stationery, envelopes, business cards, etc.) are all from recycled paper. Our tradeshow booth, giveaways and even attire are all environmentally friendly.  Lastly, 99% of our product line is made in the USA.

DS: I hope all of our readers will take a moment to visit Tom’s web site at www.zinggreenproducts.com and take a look at his unique and creative product line. I’m confident you will find a green message there you will want to share with your friends, family or co-workers.

Thank you Tom, for allowing us the opportunity to introduce you to our ISP friends.

As busy as John is, we sincerely appreciated him taking time to share his unique project and story with our ISP readers.

Dennis Salazar: John, before we get into your new program, please give us a little background on you as a “social entrepreneur.”

John Mennell:  I’ve spent most of my life innovating to create social value – to see things the way they could be and to find effective and efficient ways to address basic community and human needs through creativity, collaboration, technology and leverage.  Twenty five years ago, I began a lifelong “hobby” of standing at the entrance of supermarkets to conduct food drives.  There, I find captive shoppers, appreciative of the convenient opportunity to donate food for their hungry neighbors. I learned that by standing there, making eye contact, even one volunteer in one day could collect up to sixteen carts full of groceries. People had questions I couldn’t always answer – where can I donate food I have at home? Where can I volunteer?  Where can I get food for my family?  So, I engineered and launched a toll-free hotline that automatically recognized the location of a caller and connected them to their local food pantry.

DS:  The portion of your program I am familiar with is focused on recycling magazines, but it was preceded by a program that gave annual subscriptions to children’s magazines to poor children. Is that program still active, and how are our readers able to get involved?

JM:  Yes, we operate two programs – Magazine Harvest recycles clean, gently read magazines to new readers.  Magazine Mentors provides new subscriptions to children and families via community literacy programs.  These magazines are sponsored by businesses and individuals. We meet many literacy objectives, but our highest priorities are children, teens and moms in homeless and domestic violence shelters, homeless students, youth in mentoring programs and adults in job training programs.  Our mission is to manage an online marketplace where literacy agencies can post their needs and consumers can support them.  Anyone can get involved by visiting the MagazineLiteracy.org website.  Select “Donate Now” to sponsor new magazines for literacy programs or “Volunteer” to help organize community literacy outreach.  Our Magazine Literacy Ambassadors are students and citizens who work with local literacy agencies to help them get involved in our magazine programs.

John Mennell

DS: Now, tell us about your magazine recycling program. Where are the magazines coming from, where do they go and how do they get there?

JM: Sharing magazines with new readers gives them a second life.  Collecting and recycling magazines to children and families is a natural extension of my food drive work.  I knew my own joy reading magazines and my children’s joy when their magazines arrived in the mail, and the families we were feeding did not have ready access to magazines or other reading materials. I launched Magazineliteracy.org to create a pipeline between generous magazine consumers and new readers, and to challenge citizens to fill that pipeline – to put magazines into the hands, hearts and homes of children and families hungry to read.  Recycling magazines to new readers is simple with just a few steps, and it resonates well with our eco-friendly community spirit.  The best solution is when a team collects magazines and delivers them to nearby literacy programs.

Magazines can be collected in bins at work, in a school or church, and even at home.  Where local teams exist, there can be collection bins set up in public places such as supermarkets and libraries.  If local collection is not available, we ask consumers to send us their clean, gently read magazines, which are distributed through a network of hunger relief and human service agencies.  Instructions can be found at the “Recycle Mags” link on our website, or just click on the “Volunteer” button.  It’s important to keep the magazine covers intact, with no cuts or tears.  Mailing labels should be blacked out with a permanent marker.  We apply a nice “gift” label over that to create a dignified experience for the new readers.

DS: Obviously without breaking any confidences, can you tell us some of the people, companies and institutions that are working with you and MPFLP?

JM:  Our work is made possible by the generous support and active engagement of many businesses and associations like Salazar Packaging and literacy champions like you, Dennis, who extend their enthusiasm and expertise in partnership with our cause.  We have strong relationships throughout the magazine publishing supply chain, from publishers, to distributors and printers, advertising agencies, marketing consultants, logistics companies and trade associations, such as the Magazine Publishers of America and the Association of Educational Publishers.  Businesses make substantial contributions by sponsoring recycled magazine programs and new magazines for large numbers of children and families.

DS: What can we do to help you with this amazingly beneficial project?

JM: We need and appreciate businesses, like yours, that set an example for others to follow with their active involvement across the spectrum of our literacy work.  Of course we are so pleased to be able to make the Globe Guard® Reusable Tote available to our Magazine Harvest teams.  As a model for other companies, we’d like to celebrate this partnership and to find other ways to engage your staff and stakeholders to plant and to grow our magazine literacy seeds – to change the world, one magazine at a time.

Editor’s note: I encourage anyone and everyone to visit John’s web site http://magazineliteracy.org/ to learn more about the program. Perhaps you or someone you know has magazines that could help others and help change lives.

Use promo code GLOBE for a 15% discount on your purchase at www.MotherTongues.com – valid till 8/30/2010.

Interview with Michelle Hamman of MotherTongues

The green community is blessed with many kind hearted and dedicated people eager and willing to make a difference. Every once in a while we are fortunate enough to meet a person and organization that really stands out in that crowd. One of them is Michelle Hamman and her company MotherTongues.

DS: Michelle, before we start talking about your business, please tell our readers about your background and home life including the transition from professional, to stay at home mom and entrepreneur.

MH: Dennis, thank you for letting me tell the MotherTongues story. I made the transition from electrical engineer to home based entrepreneur when our daughters were 1 and 3, and it was getting too difficult to keep up with changing diapers, coordinating naptime and working from home. As a bilingual person, language is important to me and so too the differences that are embedded in culture. MotherTongues began when my husband and I explored the riches different languages and cultures offer. The company has just grown from there.

DS: Your company is very unique in a market crowded with “message apparel” companies. Please explain to our readers how yours is so very different.

MH: I research words that have no direct English translation and print them with poetic and symbolic descriptions on t-shirts, socks, aprons, scarves, and tote bags. The values of community, peace, justice, and ecological well-being contained in the words are definitely unique! People wearing MotherTongues apparel show their “philosophy of life.” One’s worldview is not related to one’s age and MotherTongues clothing is worn by 4-year-olds to 80-year-olds!

MotherTongues is a fair labor, organic cotton apparel company. This combination is uncommon, but important to me since MotherTongues nurtures the earth as well as its peoples.

DS: That of course leads us to the story and meaning of your very first, and to date most popular tee shirt – Ubuntu

MH: Ubuntu is a very unique Zulu or Xhosa word from my “mother country”, South Africa. Ubuntu is a term for humaneness, for caring, sharing and being in harmony with all of creation. In “No Future Without Forgiveness” Archbishop Desmond Tutu says this about the concept of ubuntu: “Africans have a thing called ubuntu. It is about the essence of being human, it is part of the gift that Africa will give the world. It embraces hospitality, caring about others, being willing to go the extra mile for the sake of another. We believe that a person is a person through other persons, that my humanity is caught up, bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I inexorably dehumanize myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. Therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in community, in belonging.”

Hospitality, humanity, community, belonging…. Aren’t these meaningful and beautiful values that we can all relate to and learn from?

DS: How do you decide on the words and messages you select for your product line?

MH: I research interesting words and concepts in diverse cultures and numerous languages through personal travel and MUCH reading. Immigrant friends and persons hearing about MotherTongues too are sources of new words.

DS: I know you are very generous in terms of sharing your sales proceeds. Please tell us about some of the organizations you support.

MH: MotherTongues supports the Center for Women in Transition, a center in my hometown serving women and children who are victims of interpersonal violence and other life-changing situations. CWIT receives $1 of every t-shirt, tote bag or apron sold. For every Sisu t-shirt or bag sold, MotherTongues donates $1 to the American Cancer Society. My intention is to support more causes that align with the MotherTongues ethos in our community and wider as MotherTongues sales grow.

DS: Tell us a bit about the MotherTongues green journey.

MH: MotherTongues has been transformational in my own life. My ecological awareness has grown even as my concern for many societies around the world increased. I’m taking it a step at a time: 4 years ago I changed to organic cotton, fair labor t-shirts, then I switched to using 100% post consumer waste paper for the hang tags and brochures. All inventory is in the process of switching to water based screen printing, which is more eco-friendly overall than plastisol printing. I recently switched to recycled paper shipping envelopes (thanks, Dennis!), and I buy carbon offsets for the shipping and home office electricity use. It continues to be a journey!

DS: As we have been doing this interview via the internet, I know you’ve been in Mexico with your family. Can you tell us a little bit about your time there?

MH: My husband has an academic sabbatical. First we are first spending 3 months in Chiapas, Mexico to learn Spanish. Wow, it is not easy to learn a new language as an adult! But our kids, now 6 and 8, are soaking it up. Then we’ll be in Lusaka, Zambia where my husband will teach and the kids will attend an International School, and lastly we’ll visit our family in South Africa. Fortunately, I can manage MotherTongues from anywhere: Melissa is shipping all orders from Holland (Michigan), and all the new sights, sounds, and tastes are fueling my creative ideas.

DS: I encourage everyone to visit the MotherTongues site and learn more about this very unusual and terrific company. Also, Michelle has been kind enough to offer our readers a 15% discount on our purchase if we use promo code GLOBE. This offer is valid to 8/30/2010.

Thank you Michelle. We appreciate you taking time from your work and travel to share your amazing story with us.

This interview, however, is focused on her new company called Squishy Press and the unique product line she and her husband Rob, just introduced at the Green America Green Festival held in Chicago last weekend.

DS: Allison, please tell our readers about Squishy Press and how you and Rob came up with this great idea.

AM: For years we’d been thinking that we should come up with some sort of retail product to sell that Rogue Element would design. Many designers make greeting cards, wrapping paper, gift tags, and the like to try something new and stretch their creative chops. But we could never think of anything to make that really combined our love of design and sustainability. We even had a section of our website up for a long time that kept saying “products coming soon” that we eventually took down!

Then in 2008 we had our son. As babies tend to do, he put everything in his mouth. We were able to find safe diapers, organic clothing, even nontoxic carpet . . . but not books. And what parent doesn’t want their child to have books? As he chewed on them, we were dismayed at how he would ingest the foils and laminates. We were talking one day in our kitchen about how we knew that the printing industry didn’t always use the safest materials. Then Rob looked at me and said, “We’re designers. We should design our own books!” And Squishy Press was born.

Design-wise, we knew we wanted to improve upon some of the picture books we’d seen, since many of them have terrible photography and illustrations. So we contacted our talented photographer friend Steven Gross to see if he wanted to work with us. We then engaged a printer that could deliver the greenest product possible. We even spoke with the ink and paper manufacturers directly about their processes and products so we could make informed choices.

DS: Tell us what you discovered about where and how baby books are made and how yours are different.

AM: It’s hard to truly discover how most baby books are made, since they are all printed overseas. We actually couldn’t find one printed in the USA. Some claimed to be nontoxic, but when we tried to find out how or why, there was no information available to back up those claims. Many print on recycled paper, and that’s a start, but the positives of that choice get negated if the coatings, inks, and glues are unsafe. Additionally, the shipping of books over great distances hardly helps the carbon footprint.

In February 2009 all toys sold in the United States were required to meet the safety requirements of ASTM F963, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). But children’s books are exempt. We sent our books to an independent laboratory to perform substrate and surface tests for lead and the seven other heavy metals covered under ASTM F963 Standards for Toy Safety. The lab told us that we weren’t required to have tests done, but we asked them to run the tests anyway so we knew where we fell in line with the standards. We are pleased to say that we fell well below the government standards for safety!

DS: One of the first things I noticed is that your books have no text and show photos only. How did you decide to take that approach?

AM: Babies love to look at pictures of other babies. So we thought that by using great photography and our illustration skills to fill in the backgrounds, we could provide pictures of babies done in a different way. As a bonus, it also allows us to get away with not writing any copy.

DS: You’ve launched with two titles. Tell us about those and when we can expect to see additional titles added to the product line.

AM:The first title, Silly Faces, is literally just a book of young kids making silly faces. It’s really fun, and kids love to mimic what they see and try to come up with their own expressions. The backgrounds are illustrated with colorful shapes and patterns.

The second title is Opposites, where we demonstrate the concept of opposites, like hot and cold, wet and dry, etc. Here we used the background illustrations to help reinforce the word that was being demonstrated. For example, the “wet” kid is soaking wet with goggles and a snorkel, and her background has waves and fish. We added the words in the background, so the word “wet” appears as waves. For a more universal appeal, the words appear in three languages — English, French and Spanish.

We hope to make a third book in the fall that’s based on animals, and then three more in 2011. Then we’ll also sell all six as a box set at a discount as well as selling individually. Eventually we hope to expand into other printed items, like paper dolls and memory card games.

DS: Your Rogue Element company is obviously a B2B service design business so Squishy Press is your first experience with a B2C “retail” product. How do they differ and what have you learned so far?

AM: Boy, do they differ! It’s a whole new learning curve for us. We’ve had to learn a lot about retail and wholesale pricing, fulfillment and shipping, marketing to a new audience, even working with bar codes and ISBN numbers. We’re such a new company that we’re still learning as we go. But so far so good.

DS: Allison, I know you are a big believer in what we call “eco consistency” and communicating a consistent green message is critical, up to and including your packaging. Tell us why that is so important to you.

AM: Why go halfway? In addition to having a green product, we are trying to be as operationally green as possible. From our web hosting, to our merchant provider, to shipping . . . we’re making green choices each step of the way. Even our trade show booth is recyclable! We want to practice what we preach, and thus are very transparent about our processes and claims on our website. We want to encourage more people out there to make safer books and other printed items so that children have more options. We shouldn’t be the only green children’s book publisher out there. We hope to encourage others to follow our lead.

DS: We are thrilled to be playing a small support role in the launching of this great, new product. My two toddler grandchildren love the books and yes, they have already chewed on them so it is nice to know they are not ingesting anything that is dangerous or bad for them.

I encourage our readers to visit the Squishy Press website at www.squishypress.com and buy a book or two for the little ones they know.