World Centric Demonstrates What it Means to be “Green”

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) July 6, 2010 - In a day and age when the words “Green” and “Sustainable” decorate the labels of nearly every product in sight, the average consumer may find themselves dangerously susceptible to cynicism. How do we know which products are actually sustainable? What does “green” even mean? Most importantly, who can we trust?

World Centric is one company whose unique story will back their product. World Centric started as a non-profit in 2004 with a mission to reduce economic injustice and environmental degradation through education, community networks, and sustainable enterprises. They started to implement this mission by hosting award-winning documentaries and speakers on environmental, social, human rights and peace issues.   They also offered courses on sustainability, simple living and globalization.   At the time, there was no funding for the and World Centric had committed to be a self-sustaining organization. They needed to invent an economic engine to power their dream – and that engine needed to align with the sustainable practices they advocated. After looking at many possible income generating ideas, World Centric found their perfect venture: the sale of fair trade and compostable products.   As World Centric dove wholeheartedly into this exciting industry, they continued to host films/speaker series and offer sustainability courses alongside. As it turns out, the demand for this type of product from a trustworthy company was even higher than they had anticipated. By the summer of 2006, the majority of World Centric's time and resources were devoted to managing the organically growing sales of fair trade and compostable products.   Now, 6 years after their founding, World Centric is the leading provider of high-quality compostable food service disposables and food packaging products for use in schools, corporate cafeterias, restaurants, hospitals, parties etc. Their products are made from annually renewable resources like corn, sugarcane, and wheat straw fiber. Sugar cane and wheat straw fiber are discarded by-products of the agriculture industry and World Centric uses these fibers to make sustainable alternatives to plastics and styrofoam.   World Centric is committed to becoming the model of how sustainable enterprises should be run. In 2009, for example, they offset all their carbon emissions and gave 25% of their profits (before taxes) to grass root social and environmental organizations. World Centric hopes to one day give away 100% of their profits. The overall mission, vision and values of World Centric have remained consistent since their founding - to make a difference and create a more just and sustainable world.   In an uncertain world where the goal of most companies is simply to sell, consumers can rest assured that trustworthy organizations like World Centric do, in fact, exist. With values like authenticity, integrity, and respect – and a history to vouch for their credibility – World Centric demonstrates what “green” really means.   WC7641