Interview with My Green Pod & PEA Awards Founder Jarvis Smith

Ahead of the PEA Awards on 13th November, where Equinox Kombucha MD Daniel Spayne is a judge, we caught up with founder Jarvis Smith to find out more about where it all began, what inspired his sustainable lifestyle and what’s next for My Green Pod… Read on below for the full interview…

When did you first start My Green Pod and what inspired you?

I first started My Green Pod after appearing on a TV show called Dumped back in 2007. We had to live on a landfill for 3 weeks with nothing. We had to build everything you need to build a community out of rubbish. One person’s waste is another person’s gold!

It really highlighted to me the dark side of consumerism and how much damage we were doing to the planet. It made me want to inspire people to live differently, which is why I started My Green Pod with my wife Katie.

The key aim of My Green Pod is to make it easy for people to connect to a sustainable and ethical lifestyle. We find the hero products and services that people need, ones that don’t damage themselves or the planet.

How do you think people’s attitudes are changing towards sustainability?

How people buy their energy and what they put in their bodies and use in their homes is really changing. People are also really willing to adapt their diet and think more about what they eat, whether that’s reducing their meat consumption or choosing organic produce. I think brands like Tincture and Weleda are real game-changers for natural home and beauty products.

What do you think the biggest challenges are for sustainable brands?

I think it’s competing against super powerful multinational companies that dominate the narrative and shelf space. Smaller sustainable brands have much less capital which of course makes it much harder for them to cut through. People definitely do care more now though, which is brilliant. I think consumers are much more conscious about what they want from brands they buy from, and obviously if you spend a little bit more on quality, the product naturally lasts longer.

My Green Pod have recently launched a clean starter pack campaign which is a crowdfunding project that allows people to test out natural household, hair and skincare products at a lower competitive rate. Then if they like them, they can subscribe to have them delivered to their door when they need them. The idea is to democratise the natural product sector by using collective buying power to reduce their cost and make it accessible to all. You can check it out and get involved here.

Can you tell us about the PEA Awards?

This year is our ninth PEA Awards! It’s being held on Wednesday 13th November at Studio 338. The awards celebrate and reward people that are making changes and pioneering initiatives that are supporting sustainability for our future generations. It’s all about honouring these unsung green heroes who are innovating within their own space to make a difference.The judges are all experts in their field and organic product pioneers in sustainable industries.

What’s next for My Green Pod?

It’s a very exciting time for My Green Pod. We are launching a marketplace in the next few weeks which will be a sustainable and ethical alternative to Amazon. People will be able to buy all of their sustainable beauty and household essentials here, and for every purchase we’ll be planting a tree with a charity partner all across the world. Which by the way, if Amazon did, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now!

Other than that, I am releasing a new single and all sales will go towards planting trees across the globe.

Finally, we have to ask you about Equinox Kombucha! How often do you drink our kombucha and do you have a favourite flavour?

I drink Equinox Kombucha everyday because it’s part of my personal healthy ecosystem. I believe that if we can create a healthy ecosystem in ourselves, we can do the same for our planet. It has to start with ourselves though. My favourite Equinox flavour is Peach & Turmeric but I love Wild Berry, too!