Cincinnati born-and-raised Creative Director Joi Sears is a creative’s creative: she’s done everything from dance and spoken word to photography and theater, earning a BFA in Acting before shifting her focus to combining the arts and social change through entrepreneurship. We talk about her ethical fashion line Amsterdamage, her sustainable pop-up shop The Green Store, and why she was banned from Europe by the Dutch government(!).
We also discuss:
- Her goal of traveling 30 cities outside the US by her 30th birthday, including places in Brazil, Haiti, an Ghana before winding up in Amsterdam.
- The bold mouse and the poetry performance that changed the course of her life.
- Her top three tips for zero-waste newbies (hint: cut back on plastic, especially single-use plastic products like water bottles and straws).
- Why she wanted The Green Store to be more than a place to shop.
- What she discovered researching sustainability and shopping habits of millennials.
- Her dream of finding a permanent location for The Green Store and how it could be replicated and adapted to communities in cities around the world (attention funders and investors!).