The Green Page

Good Sense Design, LLC is the company behind Lunchsense lunchboxes. I’m Nancy Owen Myers, the individual behind Good Sense Design, LLC.

To call this company "my baby" would be a bit unfair to my three real-life children, but it is, in any other sense, my creation. Of course any undertaking like this couldn't occur without an abundance of love and support from friends and family, including (but not limited to) Mike my husband and one of the co-inventors, the three aforementioned kiddos, and the two other co-inventors Lisa and Peter.

I don't say it enough: Thanks, everybody.

So then, onward: What's so green about this lunchbox?

Environmental policies: the lunchboxes and food containers

• Nylon or polyester packcloth. It’s the fabric most backpacks and messenger bags are made of.
• High density polyethylene (HDPE, plastic #2) sheeting. It’s the same plastic used for gallon milk jugs, and keeps the lunchbox crisp and able to hold its box shape.
• HDPE closed-cell foam. Made of the same type of plastic as the sheeting, this is just the “whipped” version, making a great insulating layer. “Closed cell” just means this foam won’t absorb anything that might be spilled on it.
• Other stuff, namely stainless steel hardware, nylon and polypropylene webbing, and nylon buckles, all chosen for durability and rust-free service.

You may think that perhaps the ideal box would be made of recycled content; I would agree, but until I find substitutes that are able to withstand daily use and repeated machine washings and still look crisp and new, and aren’t prohibitively expensive, I’ll stick with what I’ve got.

“Reduce Reuse Recycle” is a time-honored slogan, indeed. Note that we say these words in this order for a reason: before we even consider recycling an item, we need first to reduce and then to reuse that item. Therefore I use materials that will reduce the need for other containers, and will be reused for many years to come.

Product Design

Now what do I do with this thing?

"...the only thing worse than a PLASTIC container is a BROKEN plastic container."

Environmental policies: Good Sense Design, LLC Resource Use

Occasional Delivery Vehicle: Xtracycle.com

• my kids and my husband commute to school and work by bike, and
• we compost our leftovers and grow a garden, and
• we buy our eggs and meat from a local farmer, and
• we recycle everything the trash collectors allow us to recycle, and
• we replace our incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescents when they need replacing, and we just replaced our old water heater with a high efficiency model, and
• we obtain 10% of our household electricity from windpower, and
• we keep our home insulated, our thermostat turned down, our vehicles tuned up, and we turn off lights and computers when we aren’t using them,

• I purchase carbon offsets for all travel (since I work from home most of my major travel is to trade shows) and shipping: http://www.nativeenergy.com/
• Most of my correspondence is via email, but when I do print (on the only other piece of technology besides my laptop and cell phone, the multifunction printer/copier/scanner/fax machine) I use 100% post consumer recycled content paper for all in-house printing. The paper does cost more, but since I don’t print very much the added cost is an easy one to justify.
• Cardboard cartons are usually re-used, and my fulfillment company often uses cartons from other companies to ship my lunchboxes.
• All the other printing – brochures, business cards, shelf packaging – is on at least 30% post-consumer recycled content paper.

Good Sense Design, LLC Labor Policies and Social Policies

Professional Services
I use local labor for professional services like graphic design, website design, marketing, legal stuff and the like.

I am strengthening my local community and thus fulfilling my own social policy goals by using these services – the wonderful people that were "contractors" at first are becoming friends and compatriots as we send our kids to the same schools, shop in the same grocery stores, and swim at the same city pool.

Production and Distribution
I’m often asked this, so I guess it’s worth stating: Yes, I started out by making the lunchboxes myself. The business quickly outgrew that arrangement, so I moved production to a couple of highly skilled local gals who offer contract sewing services: Oregon Sewn Products, located in Veneta, Oregon.  They have been a great resource, and if the tag inside the lunchbox box says “made in the USA” Dorene and Dottie are the ones who did the work.

   The factory this company uses is just outside Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I visited the site and walked the factory floor. The professional staff is a mix of Korean nationals and Vietnamese locals. The production labor force is Vietnamese, who are paid wage rates that are established by the Vietnamese government.

The Big Finish