Sustainable Investing Conference

On Tuesday I spoke on a panel at a conference about sustainable investing. Angel investors attended to see presentations from new companies who were looking for funding. Sassis was asked to speak an a panel about the benefits of eco-companies and some of the challenges. I stayed for most of the afternoon and watched several presentations. One company had a toilet flusher retrofit to make any standard toilet into a duel flush toilet without a flapper and chain. (We're getting one for our showroom bathroom and I'm getting them for my home toilets.) There were also a couple of food companies - one that had snack bites made from dried fruit. The company representative gave out samples and they were really good, and a great alternative to sugary snacks. Another company had an energy drink alternative that had no caffeine or refined sugars. The last presenter was an alternative waste disposal group. They offer valet trash and recycling services to condos and apartments. They sort the trash and recycling and make sure it gets to the right places.

I was really impressed especially by the waste disposal group and toilet flusher. The food companies were great, too, because they had products that I'm not allergic to. I've recently been tested for a lot fo food allergies and it's great to see more products that have fewer allergens in them.

The conference attendees really liked the Sunrise/Sunset concept of Sassis clothing - the fact that it's compostable. We like that, too, plus the fact that it's good looking and affordable. Much of what is available in the organic clothing industry is very expensive, or if it's cheap, it's not made in fair working conditions. Everything at Sassis is made in fair working conditions in the US :).

I just returned from a morning health festival. I was there as a vendor for both our organic clothing line as well as to demo dance/fitness hoops. It was a short morning, just 2 hours, but Sassis was very well received and there was some amount of excitement over the petal wrapper when a woman jumped up on the picnic table where her friends were to show off the many ways to wear it. "It's a skirt! But wait, there's more: it's a shawl! But wait, there's more! It's a halter..." It was really cool. She even had me jump up on the table to help her arrange the halter correctly. It has been decided that a web video needs to be made on all the various ways to wear the petal wrapper. More on that later.

We've been in our showroom/work space for about 6 months now. Sometimes, it still feels like we're just settling in. Of course, after a festival or fair, we do have to reconcile the garments back onto the racks. A local store just picked up our shorts and as I was putting the samples away I got a thrill when I noticed our card taped to the leg. It was labeled with our business card so it wouldn't get lost in their new store, and it was exciting to be reminded of our new relationship. Local and organic makes sense to be paired with local and organic, you know?

The fair was warm. Hooping in the hot sun was refreshing. It's almost spring, and in Southwest Florida, that means it's almost summer again. Summer is the season I feel most inspired. This winter, we came out with a group of dresses for summer that I'm really excited for people to start seeing. They are great for this time of year. They are easy to wear and easy to take care of. Like the petal wrapper that was so popular today, these dresses are classic staples that will last rather than be out of style in a season or two.

Enjoy this weather. In SWFL, it's warm, sunny, and beautiful. Wherever you are, this season won't last much longer, so enjoy what you have for now and remember this too shall pass :).