Photo courtesy of Jill Palermo
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Though she studied architecture and art in college in Pennsylvania, it was a move to the mountains of Oregon—where she lived and worked in an organic farming eco-villageM—that shaped Jill Palermo into the environmentalist she is today. Inspired to live in harmony with the land, she soon realized she wanted to become a warrior in the battle against climate change. Her secret weapon? T-shirts. After launching the popular I'm Organic green lifestyle company in 2006, she quickly delved into a new project called We Add Up, a global campaign to spread the climate-change message and solutions via organic cotton T-shirts. Sound kooky? It may be working. Here's her story.
How did you get into this line of work?
When John Kerry lost the election in 2004, my Mom and I were so upset that we started a political messaging project called The Ribbon Revolution [since sold to another owner], which offered magnetic car ribbons protesting the Iraq war before it was popular to do so. We didn't really know what we were doing, but we got the bug for offering products that help people speak their minds. The following year, we launched I'm Organic, which promotes organic lifestyle. Two years later, we launched We Add Up, which is an organic T-shirt campaign that counts you in the fight to stop climate change.
When was your "a-ha" moment?
In July of 2007, I was having dinner at a restaurant with my Mom, feeling totally overwhelmed with the challenges the world faces, specifically climate change. I was crying behind my wine glass, kind of hiding my tears from the waiter. And I thought, I bet other people feel like this, too. How can we show that we're not alone? Four months later, we launched We Add Up.
Who is your green hero?
Van Jones. I'm reading his new book, The New Green Economy. If there is an answer, I think he's got it. But in general, my green heroes are all the folks—who are probably 50 years old or older now—who paved the way for the work we're doing now. When they began working toward sustainability, it wasn't cool and hip like it is now.
What is your ultimate green goal?
To start millions of conversations around the world about what actions we need to take to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. I want a million people a year to ask our customers, "What does that number on your shirt mean? What are you adding up to?"
What is your motivation?
I grew up in the suburbs of Ohio: cars and sameness, concrete and chemical lawns. But after college, I lived on an organic farm—no electricity, no toilets—in the mountains of Oregon and experienced a transformation. Once I really saw the stars (holy crap! there are a lot of them!) and felt of me Nature as inside and felt a very real relationship with it, I knew that this would be the motivation for whatever I did.
What is most important to you, ecologically speaking?
I want people to want to do better. I think that desire is what inspires us to change our habits and be open to learning and also transforms the political environment to make progress a natural choice for our leaders.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Well, as I write this, I've just come off an 18-hour train ride going from the San Francisco Green Festival to a conference in Portland to get schools signed up for our climate change fundraising program. I could have taken a one-hour plane ride, but the carbon footprint would have been quite high. So, traveling so much is challenging, as is trying to do it an eco-sensitive way. I plan my own travel schedule, so I suppose I could cut back on the events where we exhibit, but that leads to the next question.
What is the most rewarding?
The absolute most rewarding parts of my job are the people in the green movement and the green business community. I love you guys! Meeting people all around the country, hearing your stories and commitments, feeling your passion—it inspires me to want to do better.
Of the people you have worked with, who impresses you most?
The non-profits we partner with on our T-shirts. A portion of the price of each shirt (from $1 to $2.50) is donated to an organization that is implementing the solution the shirt promotes. For example, some profits from "Plant Trees" go to support the work the folks at Sustainable Harvest International are doing planting and preserving rain forests. "Drink Tap" helps Take Back the Tap work to protect the public water system and petition restaurants to stop offering bottled water. "Recycle" helps the courageous and visionary folks at The Green Project, which offers the only recycling center in New Orleans.
What green thing do you do everyday?
I always carry my reusable bags and reusable water bottle (filled with tap water and a packet of Emergen-C powder vitamins). I also recently sold my car, so I either carpool or mass transit everywhere I go.
What do you wish you could do?
Convince everyone to stop eating meat.
What is your biggest eco-sin?
I've relapsed back into the conventional shampoos and conditioners lately.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
That I would wake up in the morning and find the carbon-based energy system only exists as an exhibit in museums. But then I would miss out on all the fun of seeing this new renewable grid come into being.
What is your best green advice?
This may sound like a shameless plug, but it's to go to We Add Up, pick out a cause you really want to talk about (such as recycling, biking, or composting) and get the shirt. We'll print your number on it to count you in, and I guarantee that total strangers will start coming up to you asking what it means. Don't just give a man some soil; teach a man to compost. Am I right?
Change Makers is series of interviews with people famous and obscure who are creating a more sustainable world through their work. Meet more Change Makers here.
Read more about responsible shopping:
Organize Your Wardrobe and Cut Down on Waste
The Anti-Gift List: 15 Things Everyone Gets and No One Needs
It's Here: Green Your Black Friday
How to Go Green: Gift Giving
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