Lauren Singer: Environmental Activist, Founder of Package Free
She produces zero garbage - she sends nothing to landfill, nothing in a trash can, and focuses primarily on recycling and composting. At 28-years-old, she’s the founder of Trash is for Tossers, a community of over 300,000 followers where she documents her Zero Waste lifestyle in New York City. She also has a YouTube channel where she gives sustainable tips and tricks and recipes to make everyday products in the comfort of your own home. After seeing how many people wanted to get involved in zero waste, she started the Package Free, a total zero waste store that sells everything from zero waste home supplies to vibrators to baby toys. Today, the zero waste store says it has diverted over 4 million plastic straws, 3 million plastic bags and 1.5 million single-use bottles and cups from sitting in landfills. The eco-conscious company has now grown to a second location in the Chelsea Market and just secured a $4.5 million seed round with investors like Casper’s founder Neil Parikh and Scooter Braun. In this episode, Lauren and I talk about the harsh stigmas around sustainability, how she’s saving money, eating healthier, and feeling better, and how Package Free is on its way to being the largest distributor of sustainable products in the world.