Going Green: Businesses Lead the Way to a Sustainable Future
Recognizing that 14 billion paper coffee cups are thrown away in the United States every year, Sarah Walsh founded Caffè d’Amore and chose to use Mason Jars over plastic and paper, cutting her potential waste output by half.
greenSinner, a floral business and flower farm founded by Jimmy Lohr and Jonathan Weber, creates its pieces for weddings and events with objects they thrifted and produce grown behind their shop. By localizing their choice of resources, they are helping the local economy and proving that choice of local produce can be a sustainable and successful business strategy.
When Debbie and Larry Jacknin started a stained glass business, they decided to draw their materials, recycled glass, from fellow mosaic artists. Working together, they have created window mosaics, big and small, that capture the spirit of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh, formerly known as an industrial hub and “hell with the lid off”, has rapidly transformed into one of the nation’s greenest cities, thanks to the surge of organizations coming forth with environmentally conscious visions. It is businesses like these three and many other urban pioneers who have made it their mission to ask Pittsburghers the question “Why not go Green?”
“Maybe we all can’t do large things but if everyone did something small, recycled something today that they didn’t yesterday… maybe that is the message that we would give to other people,” said Debbie Jacknin
Corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenues in the 1940s (Photo from takepart.com)
The history of Pittsburgh’s economy is a story of heavy industry, specifically steel. For many years, the steel-related air and river pollution was seen as a sign of prosperity. When the steel industry collapsed in the 1970s, due to foreign competition and deindustrialization, it led the city into a depression. Since then, Pittsburgh has reemerged from this dark age with a diversified economy, richer infrastructure, and is now a leader of green environmental design. For example, the University of Pittsburgh, which has been a strong influence in our new medicine based economy, has promised to only build LEED certified buildings. PNC was the first financial institution to request greener buildings and is now building the most sustainable skyscraper in the world. Many smaller businesses in the Pittsburgh region have also embraced these green practices, but environmentalists and other individuals from the area say there is still much more to be accomplished.
Introduction to Caffè D'Amore Catering
Sarah Walsh, owner of Caffè D’Amore Catering located in Pittsburgh Public Market, has made it her priority to offer her customers with the best quality product and health available. Yes, she is concerned about her customers’ health, and the world’s. Part of their business’ practice, is to reduce the footprint that a regular coffee shop would leave. At first it was about offering a quality product, as she told us about how she gets her milk, a key ingredient in many coffee beverages. “Let me tell you a little bit more about the milk,” she said giddily. “The best milk that we use is from Pasture Maid Creamery, and they are a local dairy in Pennsylvania... Their cows live 8 and ½ years. On the average dairy farm, they live 3 ½ years.” But buying quality ingredients is only the first aspect to their business.
Paul Seif pours milk into a jar to prepare a drink (Photo by Madeline Gettman)
The unique thing about Caffè D’Amore, is how they store all of their ingredients. The milk? Well “its glass bottled. “And “when [they] get caramel sauce, [they] get it in mason jars.” Then Caffè D’Amore uses the jars and gives them “back to [the distributor] and they reuse it.” They have taken it one step further; they buy retail mason jars to sell, or give to their customers.Though it sometimes cost more in the long run, they take the cut in order to cut landfill dumping. Paul Seif, business partner and manager at Caffè D’Amore said, “The beauty of this elegant little piece of tempered glass it could keep hundreds of pieces of paper and plastic from the landfills.”
Caffè D'Amore and What They Do
Caffè D'Amore Catering can be found at the Pittsburgh Public Market, or by visiting their website: http://caffedamorecatering.com.
SUSTAINABILITY IN FULL BLOOM
When Jimmy Lohr and Jonathan Weber decided to take a class at Phipps Conservatory, they never expected to own a full-fledged gardening and floral center. They had simply wanted to invest in a local flower farm, to provide those in Pittsburgh with a more sustainable option for flower and greenery choices. Now, nearly 5 years later, greenSinner Floral and Garden Center in Lawrenceville has become one of the few florists to commit their entire business to sustainability. Amanda Rose Kocher, an employee at greenSinner, shared the business’s goals and ideals.“We are a sustainable florist, our name is greenSinner because we try to be local, sustainable, and green, but we are not saints about it. Sometimes we have to bring product in from non-local areas but we try to do as much as possible to be local,” she said. Instead of importing flowers, Jimmy and Jonathan did end up creating a flower farm, located right in their backyard of their store. Instead of buying new bowls, centerpieces, and accessories, they became thrift shopping masters. “Their whole desire is to reduce the footprint,” said Amanda Rose.
Some recycled shoes used for yard planters at greenSinner (Photo by Jacalyn Sharp)
From what she knows, they are the first from the floral industry in Pittsburgh to have such a large initiative. But it is easy; it can actually it can be more cost efficient. For example, “In the city, all planting material is not recyclable here.” So it is also not uncommon for florists to just throw away all unwanted parts of their products (most of the plants). But “you can very simply pack it up into compost bags, [and] it is probably less for what you pay in garbage” once you take it to the compost facility.
A pile of bags full of compost, ready for delivery (Photo by Jabari Anderson)
For greenSinner, sustainable practices are a lure for bringing in customers, yet they are also an example of a business that proves that being “Green” is in fact not only for larger floral businesses that can afford it. In regards to the floral industry, Amanda Rose says that “if you can make a little bit of an effort to be a little bit responsible,” waste can be reduced making sustainability achievable in Pittsburgh.
What Makes greenSinner So Green?
greenSinner can be found at 5232 Butler Street in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville, or by visiting their website: https://greensinner.com.
PICTURE PITTSBURGH FROM BROKEN GLASS
When we think of Pittsburgh stained glass, we often think of tall chapel and cathedral windows that share biblical messages. These windows are typically called masterpieces, but if you were to ask most Pittsburghers what they thought when hearing about stained glass, they probably would say church windows, Pittsburgh’s identity.Larry and Debbie Jacknin have created a unique way to make stained glass pieces of art into pictures of Pittsburgh’s cultural identity. Beautiful mosaics and glass windows of Pittsburgh, and places that this couple have been, adorn the walls of their small booth found at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District.
PA mosaic glass window of Pittsburgh’s iconic skyline (Photo by Madeline Gettman)
After a life full of personal hardships, Larry and Debbie wanted to do something together that would allow them to make meaningful art in a sustainable way. Larry, who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, was eager to explain how they chose their resources: “We try to reuse materials whenever we can.” He proudly described every detail of a piece mostly made from old windows, picture frames, and recycled glass. He and his wife methodically take old cuts of glass that full stain glass window shops would normally throw away. “We also use rocks and pebbles from our local, creeks, rivers, and streams,” said Debbie. Embedded in their art can be found small rocks, helping to telling Pittsburgh’s stories using these pieces of Pittsburgh’s terrain. The mosaic’s they produce are not only several Pittsburgh scenes, but a wide assortment of other art.
Mosaic Glass Creations and Their Art
Mosaic Glass Creations can be found at the Pittsburgh Public Market or by visiting their website: http://www.mosaicglasscreations.com.
Written by Madeline Gettman
Videos by Jabari Anderson
