DAILY DANNY

Meeting the President

I think one of the interesting things about my career is that I never really know what's going to happen next.

I'm constantly traveling and doing one thing after another: one moment I'm in the offices of O: The Oprah Magazine discussing the benefits of the Simmons Natural Care by Danny Seo bed and the next moment I'm filming a segment on dying Easter eggs in a pot of coffee for CBS The Early Show.     And then I'm back at home painting walls and doors in my new house or flipping the compost pile.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to meet the new Korean President Lee Myung-bak in New York City.  I was invited with a handful of other noted Korean-Americans to the Presidential Suite of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (I'm pictured above in the middle).     The invited guests included TV news anchors (Alina Cho from CNN, JuJu Chang from ABC News), mayors and other elected officials and scientists.     I was "Danny Seo: Environmental Lifestyle Expert."      The song "which one of these do not belong" kept ringing in my head.

The personal meeting was a real honor and we were able to discuss issues ranging from free trade to North Korea to the devaluation of the US Dollar.   Like clockwork, the meeting started and ended on time.  And when we wrapped up, we were all given gorgeous watches enclosed in a box reading "The President of the Republic of Korea."    I think I'll be giving these his/hers watches to my parents.

After the meeting, I kept thinking, "if you could ask the President of the US just one question, what would it be?"     In other words... if you were in my position, what one question would ask?      Would love to hear your thoughts.          

Happy Earth Day!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!    I hope you're all having a wonderful, eco-friendly, green-filled day.

Today, ironically enough, happens to also be my birthday.  Today, I turn 31 and I'm more grateful than ever for this day.    

Thank you to everyone who supports and reads this blog... for all the kind notes and messages...and for everyone who does Just One Thing each day to make our world a healthier, better place to live.

I'm off to celebrate my Earth Day Birthday... will be back tomorrow with more daily green ideas, tips and how-to solutions.

Now go out there and celebrate!   Cheers!

Eco Moms

There's an interesting story in the New York Times today about "Eco Moms."   Definitely check it out.

It just re-confirms what I've been thinking all along: Moms have all the power to make the right eco-decisions for their household.  They love their children, the love their families, they care about their community and they ultimately care about the planet. 

I'm thinking about putting together a TV segment about Eco Moms and would love to know what kind of questions you might have about going green.    For example, in the Times story, one mom talked about creating a compost pile,but then it attracted ants into the house, so she got rid of it.   

Are you trying to go green but faced some hurdles?   Or do you wonder if what you're doing is actually the greenest choice?   For example, is buying organic yogurt shipped from Australia better than locally made non-organic yogurt?   

Would love to hear from you.

Trashy Issue

 

The other day, I spent the morning setting up the new utilities for the new house: electric, cable, telephone, oil heat (although that will shut off soon with the new system) and trash/recycling pick-up.

It's amazing how you forget how much individual services cost; sometimes the surprise can be "is it really that expensive?" to "it really only costs that much?"   Case in point: Trash pick-up.

I'm astonished it only costs about $31 a month for twice a week trash pick-up.    Correction: twice-a-week, unlimited amount of household trash PLUS one bulky item (read: refrigerator or sofa) pick-up.   That's $1 a day to throw away as much trash as possible.

Included is unlimited recycling of cans, bottles, tin cans, newspaper and cardboard, all of which (sans the paper products) must fit in a tiny, itsy, bitty blue container while all my trash can fit in a giant, oversized industrial can with giant wheels.

Do you think we're becoming a more wasteful society because it's so easy to throw everything away?   Should there not be additional charges for bulky items and additional charges when you throw away a specified amount of trash each time?    And should you get rebates if you take the time to sort your recyclables and put them out for recycling?

If people realized they could save money by throwing away less, wouldn't we become somewhat of a less wasteful society?

Paper Recycling

In my neighborhood, I keep seeing these yellow and green signs everywhere screaming "Paper Drive!"  After seeing a sign at my local Starbucks store describing the paper drive, I decided to do a little investigating. 

Now, if you've kept tabs on my blog for a while now, you know that i once visited a paper recycling factory and learned that recyclable office paper---magazines, copy paper, junk mail---is valuable stuff for recyclers.    In fact, they can never get enough old paper to keep up with demand to make recycled paper products like cereal boxes to toilet tissue.     So, it comes as no surprise that this Paper Retriever program with local schools came to light.

 

Basically, local schools get one of these giant recycling bins.   People in the community can drive up and drop off their recyclable paper right into the bin.  As you can see, this bin here is overflowing quite a bit.

Basically, the Paper Retriever bins collect lots of different waste paper: magazines, catalogs, junk mail, office paper, old greeting cards and even brown paper grocery store bags.    One idea is to save a brown paper bag and use it as your recycling bin; fill it up and drop it off.

If you want to learn more about how Paper Retriever works, click on the link.   It's a pretty extensive description how they collect, sort, pulp and recycle the paper.

Schools earn money by each ton of paper that's collected.   So, the more the community brings and drops off, the more money the raise.

And here's my recycling bag, right by my desk.   It's a tote bag made from recycled sailcloth.    Once it's full, I just drive by the school and empty it into the recycling bin.

Return to Sender: Junk Mail Revenge

Junk mail is annoying, isn't it?    And even though you sign up for those "do not mail" lists and do everything possible to prevent junk mail, it still creeps up into our mailbox.

One thing I've noticed lately is a flood of credit card offers coming to my house.   So instead of calling each mailer up and asking them to stop sending me solicitations, I figure I'd give them a taste of their own medicine: make them pay for it.

Inside the junk mail packets, you'll usually find a Business Reply Mail envelope. These are postage-paid by the addressee, meaning when, say, the credit card company gets it in the mail, they have to pay the postage for it.

So, I figure if they are sending me these mailing unsolicited, then I can send it right back to them in their own envelope unsolicited, too.    I basically stuff those envelopes with everything they sent me and drop it in the mail.

If everyone did this, you can imagine this could stop junk mail altogether.    If it hits them in the wallet, it will stop....

Mr. Seo Goes to Washington

On Wednesday, I was invited to be a key witness for the US House of Representative's Small Business Committee.     The committee wanted to investigate the recent growth of green products and services and how small businesses can compete when large corporations are now going green.   What a nerve wracking experience! 

Anyway, here's the oral testimony I gave to the committee.  Let me know your thoughts.   I really do think small business owners are struggling to even understand the concept of what going green actually means.   

STATEMENT
FROM DANNY SEO, FOUNDER OF DANNY SEO MEDIA VENTURES

to the

Small Business Committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives
Room 2360
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC

RE: Small Businesses at the Forefront of the Green Revolution: What More Needs to be Done to Keep Them Here?

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Chairwoman Nadia Velázquez and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Danny Seo and I am the founder of Danny Seo Media Ventures.  I would like to thank Chairwoman Velázquez and this Committee for inviting me to submit testimony at your important hearing today.

I am an environmental lifestyle expert and my company produces media content that gives how-to information to millions of Americans.   Through our television programs, books, magazine columns, products, and partnerships with a variety of both large and small businesses, my goal has always been one thing: to show Americans how to live a greener life that is simple, stylish and accessible.

My testimony today will address several points:

(1) how the Green Revolution is more than just a trend;

(2) how small businesses can compete with major corporations; and

(3) what needs to be done to help small business in their quest to go green.

First, there are two movements going on in consumer taste and interests.  What I believe we are seeing in the consumer marketplace is a major shift---a cultural one---where consumers are looking for products and services that gives value to their lives, homes, families and communities.  It’s about quality, not quantity.

What we are seeing is what I’ve been calling The Meaningful Life.   If our lives, home, family and the community we live in aren’t disposable, then the products we use in our everyday lives shouldn’t be either.   

And as we see this rejection of cheap goods and services and the emergence of green and sustainable living at the crossroads, what we have here is something very interesting.   Going green is more than just better for the planet, it represents good quality and value.

Now, there has been much attention in the media lately about major corporations and manufacturers going green and how it might affect small business.  Small business should welcome the Green Revolution.

Here’s why: going green is not like adapting quickly to consumer tastes and fashion trends; it’s a philosophy rooted in the very big idea of saving the planet.     So as consumers seek out green products, they’ll want what’s really, truly the real deal.  They want authenticity.    A smaller business can create a corporate DNA that has sustainability through and through, while a larger corporation will struggle because of their size.   

Let’s use the cleaning category as an example.    Global companies like Procter and Gamble and Clorox have a stronghold on the cleaning category.    They also don’t have a history of creating non-toxic products; the warning labels on their products speak for themselves.    Enter a small company called Method---a company I recently partnered with---who took the drudgery idea of cleaning one’s home and actually made it fun by making products that are non-toxic and packaged in fresh containers with bright colors and pleasant scents.      Method even has thousands of fans called “influencers” who volunteer to spread the marketing message of Method to others.  When is the last time you heard of someone joining a Clorox bleach fan club?

So as major retailers are going green, they need a company like Method to stock their shelves.   These retailers can't turn to a global manufacturer to simply invent a green product; it would be inauthentic and without any trace of green DNA. 

But how does a small business owner, who is concerned about the environment, go green?  Where do they start?  I have two ideas.

First, I think one solution is to create an interactive website that gives small business owners a handful of useful suggestions---ten or twenty---to help their everyday business needs go greener.    It can be anything from ideas on choosing energy-efficient lighting, buying green power for their office to tailored resource listings that help set-up a recycling system for the office.    There can be a primer on what going carbon neutral means, a way of calculating what their current output is, and tips on reducing and neutralizing their footprint. This program would not be dissimilar to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program website, which is basically an interactive website giving homeowners tips on conserving power.

Another idea is to create a certification program that gives small businesses official recognition for going green.    This could be modeled after the LEED program---which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design---and is a program of the non-profit US Green Building Council.   In the LEED program, buildings that are designed in an environmentally-sound manner can submit their designs to the Council for certification; those who meet LEED requirements are then given ranks ranging from Gold to Silver to Platinum, with Platinum being the highest---or in this case---the greenest.        Small businesses who adopt green practices could apply for a new certification and use the achievement as a marketing tool.  Since they will need to prove that they are in fact adopting green practices through the certification program, receiving such an honor can be used as a real marketing tool to differentiate themselves in a crowded field.    Earning a certification will help a small business prove their green DNA to the consumer.   

CONCLUSION

Small green businesses need to continue on the paths they are leading now.    Innovative new products, good service and great design in the green space will help them thrive and profit.  Assistance in educating small business owners who want to go green about practices and everyday actions will also go a long way.  Taking steps to go green will help these businesses create a foundation of green practices that will go a long way in earning the trust and Dollars of the American consumer.

I respectfully request this Committee to accept my comments and suggestions, and take appropriate action. I welcome any follow-up requests for additional information. Thank you very much for considering this testimony.

I'm 30!

Happy Earth Day!    And it's a happy birthday for me, too!

Today, I'm 30!  Woo hoo!   18 years ago, I started an environmental group at the age of 12 (um, in case you can't do math) and ever since that day, I feel like I've been championing on behalf of this planet of ours.

So, this Sunday that is Earth Day and happens to also be my birthday, I am taking the day off.    No, I'm not going to climb into a Hummer and go shopping for furs, I am going to do something totally selfish as the rest of us celebrate Earth Day at parks and events across the country.

Okay, for me, it's going to be a visit to the Andy Warhol museum in Pittburgh, PA.    I've never been there and I figure, when in Pittbsburgh, how could you not take advantage?

Tomorrow, I'm keynoting at the Urban Land Institute's conference in the Steel City.  It's back to the green work I love.    But today: it's all about the soup cans.

Christmas Came Early...

As you may recall, the folks from LIFE magazine came to my house to shoot it for a Christmas story coming out in early December.  I had to get my act together and decorate the house for the holidays a bit early.  Instead of tearing it all down when they left, I kept it up.

Here's the holiday tree for this year: a tea party tree.     I bought a live balled tree and hung things I found in my junk drawer, pantry and kitchen all over the tree: chopsticks, tea strainer balls, tea cups, fortune cookies and tea bags.

I think the whole thing is rather stylish, really... and it didn't cost me a penny (except for the tree...which I will plant next Spring in the yard).

The lights on the tree are these new eco-friendly LED bulbs; they last something like 25,000 hours, use very little electricity and don't get hot...making it safer for the tree.     I highly recommend them; I got these at www.brookstone.com.

Here are some detail shots of the tree:

Teacup runneth over with candy:

Chopsticks made into a frame featuring a fortune:

Just One Thing: Recycle your Rechargeable Batteries

I often get asked, if I could tell people to do just one thing to help the environment, what would that be?     I always thought that was an odd question, because really, if it was just one thing we needed to do, wouldn't we all just be doing it?

But I digress.

I work with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporaiton.  You may have seen my public service announcements for them on TLC or the DIY Network.     Their work is simple: get people to recycle their rechargeable batteries.

What's a rechargeable battery?  It's those eco-friendly batteries found in things like cordless phones, power tools, a power razor, your Blackberry or cell phones.  The batteries charge over and over...but eventually, those batteries just don't charge anymore and you gotta replace 'em.

Well, when you do..don't toss 'em in the trash. Instead, bring them to stores like Radio Shack, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, Target... in fact, over 30,000 retail locations.

Look for a recycling box from RBRC and just place the battery inside!   It's free...and they'll recycle them into new metal products.

Really, how easy is that?

Fall is coming...

On a recent run along the towpath on the Delaware River, I spotted baby pine cones sprouting up on the pine trees.    Hmm...that cold breeze in the air?  Is Fall really almost here?