Lynn first caught our attention almost a year ago when she called into our office asking about the impact of corrugated printing inks on the composting process. We quickly recognized this was a woman who was serious about sustainability and about her new business.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Lynn for this interview to learn what drives a wife, mother of twin four-year old boys, and former medical epidemiologist to become a green entrepreneur.

DS: Lynn, can you give us a little background on you and what led to the launching of your web based store, Compostable Goods?

LB: There were two events that led me to launch the store. The first was attending a lecture at an environmental health conference by William McDonough, co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. This beautifully simple design theory permanently changed the way I think. The second event was having twins. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of goods, most of which are landfill bound that invaded our home. I began to ask myself how many commercially available products can be composted rather than land filled, and the answer has been “not many”. Compostable Goods has been about pulling those existing products together and designing new products that will happily participate in the composting process.

DS: At first glance it would appear that owning an operating an internet green business is a great departure from as career in epidemiology but I know you don’t agree with that.

LB: That’s right – I see Compostable Goods as a public health and planet health project. Public health controls disease and promotes the health of people at a population level. Compostable Goods is a natural extension of that effort for me. I see composting as a tool that can help reduce pollution, including greenhouse gasses and non-biodegradable synthetics, improve land use practices, and improve our soils further supporting plant growth.

DS: Lynn, please tell us what makes your approach and products different from the many other green product stores on the web.

LB: Our products are selected by their ultimate form of disposal. This requires asking a lot of questions about what kinds of materials and ingredients are used. For example, most textiles, even those made with organic fibers, are sewn with polyester thread. Polyester won’t break down in a compost heap so that product will likely ultimately end up in a landfill.

DS: That brings us into a very cloudy area of the many certifications that are out there for the very great variety of green products. How do you deal with the volumes of often conflicting information out there?

LB: Most of our products are not certified compostable, since that certification process applies almost exclusively to food service items, bags and films. Most of the food service items and bags we carry are certified by Biodegradable Products Institute. Our other products are compostable simply because they are made from natural materials (cotton, wood, hemp, wool) and ingredients (waxes, oils, plant extracts) that naturally biodegrade. Almost all of our cotton product are certified organic but other plant (hemp) and animal (wool) products that are easier to produce without synthetic agricultural inputs are not necessarily certified organic.

DS: Lynn, you truly believe that composting is a good, green process with a positive end result compared to recycling and other waste handling options?

LB: Our planet uses biodegradation as a way of constant renewal without waste. The goal of Compostable Goods is to mimic this process. Recycling is a necessary and useful tool for waste reduction, but many of the materials we currently recycle are often down cycled not truly recycled. Furthermore, recycling efforts are generally limited by the recycling systems available in one’s community. Almost everyone can compost, and it is a particularly useful tool for those living in rural areas where recycling systems are underdeveloped.

Lynn, thank you for your time and I encourage our readers to visit your store and learn more about this fast growing area of green interest.

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