Entrepreneurship with a Green Twist

Liz Long was working at a Jersey City tea shop in 2006, when she first met a graphic designer named Holly Tienken. Liz had just graduated from college and had an idea for creating a totebag that would not only be environmentally friendly, but also stylish and durable. She shared the idea with Holly and a year later, Bag the Habit was formed. The Jersey-City based company today designs reusable shopping bags made from 100% eco-textiles which they distribute internationally.

Liz is just one of a number of eclectic speakers who will appear on the “Start Something Green Panel” on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 which will be moderated by Julie Wang, the Director of the Clinton Economic Opportunity Initiative.

“The idea behind this panel is that anyone can start a green initiative in their business. You don’t necessarily have to be a major corporation,” said Roger Cervantes of Rising Tide Capital, who is organizing the event in celebration of America Recycles Day and Global Entrepreneurship Week.

The event captures a growing trend of businesses that are turning green, and for good reason. In addition to the fuzzy-feelings of doing something good for the planet, eco-friendly practices can entail lower energy bills, lower-cost materials, and even better employee attitute, according to one study.

Other panelists during the “Start Something Green Panel” will include:

• Andrew Sell- CEO/founder of Hipcycle, a new e-commerce site that sells products made from materials that would otherwise be thrown out as trash
• Daniel Strechay- the Director of Communications for the world’s largest publicly listed recycler, SIMS Metal Management
• Jesse Grossman- CEO/founder of Soltage, a renewable energy company that develops and operates solar energy stations on client sites that provide energy at below-retail rates
• Nyugen E Smith- a Jersey City artist who uses materials that would otherwise be thrown out to create works of art
• Katrina Spiratos- a Project Manager at Garden State Urban Farms, a nonprofit which collaborates with schools, nonprofits and government groups to provide programming and low-cost food distribution throughout urban areas in Northern N.J.

Tickets for this event are FREE and available to the public. To RSVP today, visit www.StartSomethingNJ.eventbrite.com.

Learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Week at www.StartSomethingNJ.org.