A father's concern for his children's future gave birth to Worldwise over a decade ago.
Phil Genet, the "Father of Worldwise," grew up on the beaches of Florida, where the joy of a life closely connected to the water, the sun, the sky, made an indelible imprint on him.
In his teens, the contamination of his personal paradise from pollution, coincided with the politically charged atmosphere of the 1960s. Both events made a lasting impression on Phil, who vowed to remain open minded in adulthood.
In the late 1980’s, Phil, now a father living in Marin County just north of San Francisco, listened daily to reports from his two young daughters about environmental problems and issues they learned about in school. Initally he was resistant to the idea of being told what not to put in his pool or how to BBQ in his own backyard. But Phil remembered the closed beaches of his youth. Inspired, he delved into environmental study and conceived of a company that would do what no other had done before.
Enter  Aaron Lamstein.
Aaron, a motivated, socially conscious entrepreneur since childhood, had been Phil's "Little Brother" in the Marin County Big Brothers program since Aaron was eight. With mentoring from Phil, Aaron, at 14, established Marin's first computerized bulletin board. At UCLA, he co-founded The Hunger Project, a program to feed and rehabilitate the homeless. Armed with a degree in international political economy, the 22-year-old Lamstein in 1989, was ready to throw his formidable energy into a worthy cause. He literally jumped at the chance to start a company from the bottom up with his friend and mentor.
 Enter Debra Lynn Dadd. In 1980, Debra was diagnosed with “chemical sensitivity.” At the time, the concept of “hazardous waste” was confined to factories and industrial sites. But Dadd knew otherwise: her varied and disabling symptoms were directly tied to common household products. Though deemed safe, Debra knew they were loaded with unhealthy chemicals, and she vowed to identify them and remove them from her life. Her self-education, and her self-healing, led her to publish a consumer manual for others with the same sensitivities (as well as subsequent books on natural and nontoxic living), for which The New York Times labeled her the “queen of green”.
One day, Phil heard Debra on a radio talk show and immediately called a close friend to track her down. As luck would have it, her publicist lived downstairs from Phil's friend. Debra also lived in Marin and the idea of an environmentally responsible consumer products company struck home to her as well.
The trio put together a business plan, and with the support of Ilene Genet, Jim and Mary Valinoti, Gary and Jane Bell, Dave and Bev Smith, Norman and Lillan Stone, and others, initial funding was in place.
After thousands of hours of market evaluation, education, and development, Worldwise was born. After several years of representing environmentally responsible manufacturers, WorldWise was ready to launch its own brand of innovative products. But rather than concentrate on the niche markets traditionally targeted by eco-friendly brands, Worldwise took a visionary approach.
"The philosophy was, and continues to be: if we can offer a product that works as well or better, looks as nice or finer, and costs the same or less than a product that doesn’t take as much consideration of the planet, who wouldn’t make the environmentally responsible choice?"
In order to best succeed at raising environmental awareness and preserving the natural health of the planet, Worldwise looked to take their products to the masses. The philosophy was, and continues to be: if we can offer a product that works as well or better, looks as nice or finer, and costs the same or less than a product that doesn’t take as much consideration of the planet, who wouldn’t make the environmentally responsible choice?
Today, that goal has been realized as Worldwise products are available at more than 25,000 stores across the U.S., stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger and The Home Depot. With growing awareness and new technologies, Worldwise is happy to be forging a path for others to follow. We have all the resources we need, it’s simply a matter of sustaining them in a fashion that helps preserve our environment, our health, and ultimately, our happiness.
|
|
