Now They Offer More Than Just Green Deals to Drive Social Change
GatherGreen.com, the new Los Angeles-based conscious living group-buying company, believes strongly that when you review merchant deals on the site, you should also be rewarded with engaging, positive “Did You Know” educational tidbits and actionable opportunities. GatherGreen offers easy access to sustainable and local services and goods to connect health and sustainability-conscious consumers with the companies, brands and causes whose ethos match their own.
“Local green businesses love GatherGreen because we give them a highly visible platform from which to share all the amazing things they do for their communities; and our users love us because we get them anywhere from 50 to 90% off those very same businesses–ending the myth that green products and services have to be more expensive,” states Steve Sedlic, co-founder and former marketing strategy expert who has been analyzing the group-buying space for several years now. “We are THE SOLUTION for small to medium-sized socially-conscious local businesses to connect with like-minded customers.”
In an editorial style full of wit, humor and a little attitude, readers get to learn about what makes the business green and environmentally sustainable. What further differentiates GatherGreen is their desire to inspire consumers to be the change they want to see in the world by buying services and products that are healthy and socially conscious. Accompanying each deal is a “Did You Know” tidbit of encyclopedic knowledge followed by a related “Daily Action” that presents simple actions consumers can take–whether sending a letter to a Congressional Representative or participating in a beach clean-up. They also offer “Green Gatherings” which can include screenings of films whose message resonates with the site’s mission. Films shown, followed by engaging panels, have included “Crude: The Real Price of Oil”, “Chemerical: Redefining Clean For A New Generation” and “The End of the Line”, an important look at the seafood industry.
Co-founder Eduardo Sciammarella, an accomplished Web 2.0 and mobile visionary, entrepreneur and 40x patent holder, dreamed of “doing well while doing good”, writes April Rudin in the Huffington Post (12/14/10). She notes that for Sciammarella being successful by making green, i.e. money, is not enough. And he and Sedlic believe the same goes for GatherGreen’s community. Sciammarella is impressed by the determination of the businesses that strive to partner the passion for their business with being conscious of people and the environment. He points out, “Many of them have degrees in business as well as environmental related issues; they are excited to work with us, because ultimately we are a marketing consulting business that brings a spotlight on them.”
GatherGreen launched with businesses certified by the City of Santa Monica’s Green Business Certification Program, to ensure credibility, and has branched out across Los Angeles ever since, offering a variety of lifestyle deals, including the unique Vegan Tattoo, and Follow Your Heart, one of the most established vegetarian restaurants in L.A. The team understands the huge national potential, with U.S. green households growing by the millions, and have plans to begin expanding to other cities in the second quarter of this year.
GatherGreen also stands out for the pedigrees of those involved. In addition to the co-founders–who are also graduates of the Founder Institute start-up incubator–Board members include Kelly Perdew, CEO of Fastpoint Games, and winner of 2nd season of NBC’s “The Apprentice”; Bruce Ettinger, accomplished new media executive with successful record of bringing disruptive products to market, including as founding CEO of first major and most popular couponing site, Save.com; and Pamela Peeters, international environmental economist and sustainable strategist (Belgian government, UNESCO), as well as author (Urban Ecology, Eco Hero), TV host/producer (created first sustainable lifestyles TV show, “Our Planet”), and Sustainable Planet Film Festival founder.
Says Ettinger, “There are a very large number of consumers who want to buy green, but at a ‘deal’ price. On the other side, there are lots of quality green goods and service providers that are well-priced and looking for customers. Gather Green is connecting these two groups.”
“We encourage our users to see their money as THE key natural resource and to spend it with local merchants and retailers who care and give back, so that their every spending action as a consumer is a conscious and deliberate one, empowering the businesses who will make a difference on your behalf,” declares Sedlic.
