2013 Best and Brightest Sustainable Companies in Michigan

Press Release:  September 6th, 2013

Today we received notification that Greenfundraiserstore.com was again selected as one of the
101 Best And Brightest Sustainable Companies in Michigan for 2013.   The awards will be presented at a symposium scheduled for September 18th, 2013 at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   Michigan Govenor Rick Snyder will be in attendance to honor the recipients.

The selection criteria is based on an assesment completed  earlier this year which was judged scored by an indepedent research organizaion.   Area's of assesment include:

Education. The level of education provided to employees on sustainable practices along with industry best practices.

Communication.  The extent of outreach in reporting our results of sustainable business efforts to employees, customers, suppliers and community.
  
Strategic Planning & Operantional Implementation.  The depth to which our organization measures all maters of sustainability and the support of senior management for long term viability of the organization.

Innovation & Problem Solving. The extent to which your organization monitors the entire cycle of your company's product(s) or services(s) to determine the impact and needed changes.

Environmental. The extent to which your organization monitors all aspects of the environmental output as a result of your organizations product(s) or servcies(s).

Building & Grounds.  The extent to which your organization has implemented changes to your building and grounds to impove sustainability and lessen consumption and emisisions.

Community Leadership.  The level of community outreach, monitoring of economic impact , and promotion of sustainable practices your organization provides to the community.

Workforce.  The extent of encouragment and support your organization provides employees for participating in sustainable initiatives at the organization and in the community.

Financial Performance.  Your organizations effectiveness in monitoring its sustainable performance and innovation on improving its financial performance.

Our business has evolved since it's inception in 2010 yet the vision of providing education, awareness, and advocay for "Green Shifts' in the course of daily living remains firmily at the core of the organization. 

Thank you for your kind words of encouragment and support as we continue on this journey.

Regards,

Don Sherman
President of Greenfundraiserstore.com
www.greenfundraiserstore.com

Associated articles:

http://www.grbj.com/articles/77793-association-reveals-2013-class-of-101-best-and-brightest-sustainable-companies

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/governor-rick-snyder-to-kick-off-michigans-101-best-brightest-sustainable-companies-awards-symposium-2013-09-11

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/03/new_awards_program_to_honor_be.html

From Apple picking to Kid Rock... ask yourself "Are you up for a Challenge"? Perhaps the OakGreen Challenge?

This past month has come with changes that quite frankly I could skip over or do with out many of them.  Don't get me wrong... I love the fall leaves and the annual fireworks display that mother nature brings to us with out fail.  The trips to the cider mills for fresh pressed cider and doughnuts.  This year we headed to our favorite "cider country" in Romeo Michigan for a quick trip to Big Red's and then a new tradition we are forming in picking our own apples at Stoney Creek Orchards.   Each place has it's own distinctive nitch and I love each place because of that.  Big Reds for example offers a wide range of activities AND products that we enjoy.  The kids love to climb on the stacks of hay bales literally the size of a small barn and the petting zoo.  Now... nothing here comes without it's price... so be sure to bring some cash.  I laughed at the boiling pot of water being set up to sell corn on a stick for $2 each... and then walked into the farm market and discovered I can get 6 for $2.95.  Hummm... a premium for sure to have some one else prepare this for me.
I really enjoyed the Heirloom tomatoes that I have heard so much about.

Now over to Stoney Creek Orchards... this is really a fully operational orchard that gives visitors access to the fields to get a true pick your own experience.  I believe they charge you by the amount of apples you can fit into a bag they provide at the point of boarding a hay wagon pulled by tractor out to the fields.  So... you get the experience of the hay ride and apple picking all wrapped up in one neat package.  Funny thing... when you arrive at the drop point and disembark from the wagon... you don't quite know which way to turn first.  There are apples literally falling off the trees and the kids can hardly hold back the initial excitement.  It's like a rush to get there before they're all gone... but that is unlikely since there are so many of them AND trees planted according to variety.  The biggest thrill for the kids is knowing that there are tall ladders available... because every kid must know that the best apples are at the top of the tree.  Right?  My group surly  knew this bit of information because we could not keep them off the ladders!

         As you can see here my nephew needed a lift to get to the better quality AND being that I'm the tallest guy around with no ladder in the area... you get the uplifting experience from Uncle Don!

Last thing on this... rumor has it that Kid Rock lived somewhere very close to here and I have a reliable source that can confirm that.  Let's just say my wife picked up Kid Rock's undies... when he was just a little stone growing up in Romeo.  Mrs. Richie was my wife's tennis instructor and the girls did some house keeping for the family.  Little Bobbie... Hell on Wheels... then and now.   Whowooddaknown?


http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/macomb_county/kid-rock-surprises-romeo-high-school-students-at-assembly

Now... onto the real reason for today dialogue... we move across the border and back into Oakland County for something new and exciting to tell you about.  Got Green?  Then... you need to check out the new link up on greenfundraiserstore.com .

If you have visited the greenfundraiserstore.com web site in the past week you may have noticed a new banner begging for your attention in the intrigue to "Take the OakGreen Challange!".



http://www.greenfundraiserstore.com/

http://www.oakgov.com/oakgreen/oakgreen_challenge/index.html

When you get here you will find:

 OakGreen Challenge: What Is It? 

The OakGreen Challenge is a commitment to reducing the energy consumption in your home, business, municipal facility or school facility by 10% by the end of 2012. Your efforts benefit the environment, your community, and your financial bottom line.

Getting Started

This is the end of year two of this important program that extends the request to reduce energy consumption by 10% by the end of the year 2012.  What is more important is that it is extended to:

 Residents, Business, and government AND provides all the resources you will need to get started.  

I know for me it is something simple that we all can do to get started.  With four children I could make a full time job of just going around the house turning off all the lights, appliances, fans, computers, and electronic equipment they seem to forget to do every day.  LITERALLY... I have formed a comment to them as we pass in the morning... "Please turn all your electronic devices off before leaving today..."  Kind of like the same thing as "make sure your seat is in the up right position as we prepare for landing...".   No kidding I think I can reach Brook Pattersons Challenge just in this simple act alone! 

    

All the funny business aside... this is a pretty important time and place in our history when it comes to the race for new technologies.  Those who can do things... faster, smarter, with less red tape, and more efficient will win the race.  Not only residents and businesses have to watch their triple bottom line... but local government needs to get on this.  If you want to look to a city that is really taking this to the next level... look no further than Grand Rapids.  In fact last year at the inaugural OakGreen Event... Grand Rapids sent their "full time" sustainability manager in as one of the key note speakers.  This guy does the same thing I'm doing at home (running after my kids to turn off their stuff) but on a huge scale.   The statistic that stood out for me was that this guy save GR well over many time of what his salary was.  In fact... if he worked under a performance incentive (bonus for a % of total dollar savings) he would have been way ahead! 

So... in closing today... Get to the OakGreen Web Site... read up on what you can do... and stay tuned for further announcements on the annual event coming up in early 2012.  With that in mind stay tuned for some pretty exciting announcements coming soon about the next steps for the Greenfundraiserstore.com and the bricks and mortar version under development!   ;)  

The Ecological Tee Shirt Company... a sister company of Greenfundraiserstore.com

You've heard a lot from me over the past year about changes you can make in the course of daily living that can lead to a cleaner, greener, and healthier life style. Many people across the world have responded positively by visiting our web page, making a purchase, down loading materials, and engaging in green fund raising. 


http://greenfundraiserstore.com/


This past week we reached a milestone in our mission of creating education and awareness of "green shifts" in the course of daily living.  On October 25, 2011 the 100,000 milestone occurred in the way of web site visitations. At the end of the day our reporting showed 100,355  This was a very satisfying day... not unlike watching the odometer of your car cross over the sacred threshold. Today the quality of vehicles is so much improved it would be very disappointing not to get at least 100,000 miles out of a vehicle.   And, so last week our analytic reports showed we crossed the first milestone of visits to the web site.





I spent time yesterday looking at the report and wondered who was the individual that clicked in on 100K?  The outreach has been much greater than expected and the results show global outreach like I never imagined. My geography skills are pretty good and as a former science teacher with an emphasis on earth science I have studied all parts of the world.  However,  there are some parts of the globe that I admit to not being very familiar with.  And so... today I now know where Izmir, Turkey is since there were 66 visits from this place.  Or... Beijing, China where we had 1,534 visitors.  And... 3 visitors from Ghana Africa.  


http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&source=hp&q=Izmir%2C+Turkey&pbx=1&oq=Izmir%2C+Turkey&aq=f&aqi=g4&aql=1&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=16l2855l1l4555l1l1l0l0l0l0l109l109l0.1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=f10181c958c90d45&biw=1639&bih=800


I would love to meet the 100,000 visitor.  It would be great to visit there hometown and see what is going on in their corner of the world.  Unfortunately the reporting is not that sophisticated and we will never know.  I would like to present the lucky visitor with a gift basket loaded with GFS products as kind of my way of saying... "Thanks for the visit... and come back anytime...".  And with that in mind let me say the same to you and yours for all you have or may have considered doing in the way of support, encouragement, or just a visit to Greenfundraiserstore.com .


Today I want to introduce to you a sister company of GFS that goes by the name of "The Ecological Tee Shirt Company"  or The ECOTEECO. 


http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Eco-Tee-Shirt-Company/133120500093188




 You may have some of the ECOTEECO's early work in the way of the category of "organic clothing".  One of the early projects was the iconic M24 Tee.  This was a creative shirt designed to raise funds for the Oxford Chamber of Commerce located in Oxford Michigan.  The message was designed around a theme of celebrating the many traits about the Oxford-Orion community that we some times overlook.  We focused on the "Live, Work, Play... Shop, Dine, Stay... Bring your family, friends, and business... Enjoy our Rivers, Lakes, and Trails...".  


http://www.greenfundraiserstore.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=226&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=133









What's different about a tee from the ECOTEECO?  What is our value proposition?  It should come at no surprise that each shirt we produce has to meet a "green" standard.  We apply the following standards in the production of every tee: 
http://tsdesigns.com/blog/2011/06/30/more-photos-of-organic-cotton-in-nc/


Effort to use an organic cotton Tee...
and/or
Use of water based inks for imprinting...   


From our printing partners web page:

How We're Different

Our company is different, from the way we produce our products to how we run our business. Here are just a few things that set us apart:

• We run our business based on a triple bottom line - a model that looks after People, the Planet, and Profit equally.
• We print your t-shirts with super low-impact water-based inks. These inks have both a significantly reduced environmental footprint, and are no-feel, which means that the print is part of the fabric rather than a plastic, thick coating on the surface of your shirt.
• Our three TSD-brand t-shirts are all made right here in North Carolina, less than 100 miles away. Each one has a unique sustainable attribute - one organic, one recycled, and one made from local cotton.
• We believe in the power of transparency, and we practice it religiously. Many details of our processes and products are published right here on our website, from suppliers to ink contents. If you want to know anything about how we operate, just ask.

What does that mean for you?  We feel that with every purchase the buyer will know that the farmer who grew the cotton has applied farming practices that meet the organic standard (no toxic pesticides or genetically altered product techniques).  


AND inks that are water based meaning that they have been created with techniques that allow for clean up with water and are not toxic to the environment.  Traditional plastisol imprint screening are plastic and are known to be harmful to the environment.


Therefore... we feel that our Tee's are in fact... "Ecological Tee's " and we want you to know about... and tell the story to your circle of friends, family, co-workers, and even your enemies... about our story. 


Watch for big news coming soon... Major press release coming in the next few days about our next big step in creating a cleaner, greener... never meaner... world!  And... where sustainable is obtainable!   


Thank you! 


Don Sherman
President of the Greenfundraiserstore.com AND NOW... 
The Ecological Tee Shirt Company