13: Sustainable Empowerment with Meghan Forest Farmer, Founder of The Bright Factory

09/29/21 • 23 min

In this episode, I have an amazing conversation with Meghan Forest Farmer. We talk about her mission to kick start a garment factory that is utilizing sustainable fabrics and empowering women who are often over looked. In this episode, we will learn about The Bright Factory and Meghan provides amazing tips at the end of the show on how to shop sustainability. Currently the Bright Factory is in their last few days of their kick starter campaign. Please join me in being apart of something incredible by supporter The Bright Factory's Kick Starter at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thebrightfactory/the-bright-factory
Meghan Forest Farmer has woven her way through the fashion pipeline over the past 10 years, but currently works as a fashion stylist, both on photo shoot sets, and in the wardrobes of her personal styling closet. After learning of the unfortunate, darker side of the fashion industry, specifically within garment manufacturing, she made sustainability and ethical fashion a mission for her personal and professional life. In today’s conversation we are going to learn more about Meghan’s incredible story and how she went from working in the world of fashion to the idea for her newest business venture; The Bright Factory. A cut and sew factory in Fort Worth, TX, creating sustainable t-shirts, by the hands of women being given another chance.

When she is not on a photoshoot set, or running a business, she enjoys being a goofball with her amazing husband, karaoke and dance parties, and serving her community and church.

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Instagram @lifeontheupcycle
Life on the Upcycle Facebook Page
Life on the Upcycle Facebook Community Page
Instagram @thebrightfactory
The Bright Factory Facebook Page
The Bright Factory Website
The Bright Factory TikTok
The Bright Factory Kick Starter Page
Reports and articles discussed in the intro:
UNEP Article Link

When she is not on a photoshoot set, or running a business, she enjoys being a goofball with her amazing husband, karaoke and dance parties, and serving her community and church.

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12: REDUCE & Personal Finances with Heather Oynes, Financial Coach

In this episode, financial coach, Heather Langford Oynes, explains how applying intentionality and creating a spending plan for our finances can be great for personal peace and the environment.

Heather is a wife, mother, and money stewardship coach. Her passion is empowering others to give more, save more & become debt free! To connect with Heather, visit her community group at CREATED for MORE: A Financial Stewardship Community for Christian Women Facebook Community Page.
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Instagram @lifeontheupcycle
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Life on the Upcycle Facebook Community Page
CREATED for MORE: A Financial Stewardship Community for Christian Women Facebook Community Page

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14: Upcycled Snacking with Shannon Neumann from CaPao

Today’s episode is all about upcycling. Meriam Webster defines upcycling as “to recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item: to create an object of greater value from (a discarded object of lesser value).”

In our private Facebook community group Love Earth Big (you can find the link to that group in the show notes), many of you share incredible upcycling projects that you have done at home, including upcycling lamp shades into hanging planters, and upcycling old tires into beautiful outdoor gardens. This community never ceases to amaze and inspire me. On a macro level, companies like Nike have taken the rubber from old shoes and upcycled them into new gymnasium flooring and have turned plastic bags into dry fit clothing. A sector of industry that is rarely discussed in terms of upcycling is the food industry. This episode is devoted to just that, upcycled foods and specifically snacking. Without revealing too much, I’ll introduce you to today’s guest, Shannon Neumann.

Shannon is Associate Director of SnackFutures Innovation – Mondelēz International’s innovation and venture hub that plays a critical role in the company’s aggressive global growth agenda. In the SnackFutures model of Invent and Venture, Shannon is thrilled to have the opportunity to align her work with her personal passions for creating and building brands while connecting people from around the world through food.

Shannon has been with Mondelēz International for 9 years, and before that she worked with Kraft Foods, Cadbury and Nabisco. Shannon has held a number of key leadership roles in brand management, global breakthrough innovation and portfolio management across multiple categories including Gum, Candy and Biscuits. She has led and executed multi-market big bet projects for Mondelez collaborating across boundaries with cross-functional colleagues.

Shannon received her undergraduate degree from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Exclusive info: CaPao just launched a new product Quinoa Squares! Keep an eye out for this new flavor!
Let's Get Social!
Instagram @lifeontheupcycle
Life on the Upcycle Facebook Page
Life on the Upcycle Facebook Community Page
Instagram @capaofruit
CaPao Facebook Page
CaPao Website
Reports and articles discussed in the episode:
Upcycled Food Association, Foundation, and Certification