Mar 19, 2020
Meet Colin McIntosh, the founder of the sustainable (and ethical) eucalyptus sheets company based out of Denver Colorado, Sheets & Giggles.
“Americans produce ten million tons of textile waste every single year…For better or for worse, we [Americans] are trained from a very early age to consume. This makes us great consumers and it makes us a great marketplace for businesses. But when you walk down that aisle at Target you have no idea where the potato chips came from, you have no idea how that toothpaste was produced, you have zero idea who built that tv, or where it was built or how, it’s like magic….It’s frustrating for me because I think it’s wonderful in some ways but in other ways people have no idea where the products they’re buying are coming from or who is making them and why. … It’s so systemic—buy, buy, buy—it’s never about thinking critically about where these things come from and how they get here.” -- Colin McIntosh, Founder of Sheets & Giggles
In today's episode Colin and I chat about:
- The journey that led him to founding Sheets & Giggles (FYI, he never
thought he'd be the founder of a sustainable bedding company).
- How and why he was fired from his first job out of college and
how it changed the course of his career.
- The process he underwent to develop a super successful business
model and how he selected the name, Sheets & Giggles (Colin loves
puns!)
- The importance of conscious consumerism and why it matters.
- Why developing a sustainable business was important to him.
- The challenges around sustainable manufacturing and why
ethical/sustainable products are often more expensive than
"commercial" products.
- The difference between bamboo viscose and eucalyptus lyocell
fabrics.
- His passion for politics.
- The entrepreneurial challenges he's overcome throughout the
years.
- And so much more!
Such a wonderful conversation! Happy listening.