One Day, One Job » organic

Seed Savers Exchange

Willy Franzen — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:00:14 +0000

You’ve probably heard the term “heirloom,” in reference to fruits or vegetables. For the longest time I had no idea what it meant, but eventually I asked someone and the gist of the definition is “any garden plant that has a history of being passed down within a family, just like pieces of heirloom jewelry or furniture.” More often than not the plants are passed down in the form of seeds. Heirloom breeds of plants are important not only for sentimental reasons, but also because they provide genetic diversity. By maintaining old breeds of plants with their unique resistance to disease and pests, we are able to ensure the security of our food supply. Seed Savers Exchange is a Decorah, IA based non-profit that “saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.”

Seeding a New Career

Seed Savers Exchange maintains “more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties,” which makes them “biggest non-governmental seed bank in the United States.” They’re more focused on working with smaller farmers and gardeners, which makes sense because those are typically the people most interested in heirloom varieties. In a lot of ways, the seeds that Seed Savers Exchange provides resemble art. The genetic diversity thing is important, but the history of the seeds and the varieties of flavors of the plants that grow from them is just as important. If you’re intrigued by what Seed Savers Exchange does, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a number of positions posted that seem suitable for entry level candidates including Lab Technician, Collection Assistant – Field Operations, Assistant Curator – Seed Plants, and Horticulturist – Field Manager. The job descriptions go into a lot of detail, so check them out for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you do any gardening?

Sambazon

Willy Franzen — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:55:37 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve heard of açaí, but apparently it’s all the rage these days. In fact the buzz has gotten so big that the newest Internet scam is to push açaí as celebrity-endorsed weight loss products. This is giving açaí, a berry that has “30x the antioxidants of red wine, and an essential fatty acid profile similar to olive oil,” a terrible reputation. I think that we all know that this berry isn’t going to solve all of your problems, but that doesn’t mean that you should miss out on “getting with the purple berry.” Sambazon is a company that does açaí right. They “promote sustainable management of the Brazilian Amazon by providing the highest quality whole food, organic, fair trade Açaí products to consumers.” In other words they make products like juices, smoothies, energy drinks, sorbets, and supplements (with no false promises of instant weight loss like the scammer/spammers). I think that I first heard about Sambazon over a year ago from the Inc 5000, but I’ve been waiting for them to post some jobs that I can feature here.

These Jobs Are the Berries

Finally, Sambazon has some jobs that I think that some of you might be interested in, but first you should get to know the company a little better. The best way to do that is to check out their blog. Lately Sambazon co-founder, Ed “Skanda” Nichols, has been doing a series called The Real Deal Açaí Blog Series to address all of the crap that has been going on in the açaí industry. Reading up on this series is probably the best way to get a feel for what the company is about and how they work. If you like what you see and want to be part of the Sambazon Team (which is actually for athletes sponsored by Sambazon), then you should check out Sambazon’s Jobs page, which is hidden in a tiny font on the sidebar of their Contact page. The jobs that they have aren’t exactly ideal for most new college grads, but they look pretty cool. Sambazon is looking for Part-Time Retail Sales Merchandisers/Demonstrators in Dallas/Ft. Worth; TX, Houston, TX; and Seattle, WA. These are sales jobs that require a lot of travel by car, but they’ll get your foot in the door of a company that is cool, exciting, and growing. The application instructions differ depending on which location you’re applying for, so check out the job postings to get all of the details. Also, if you think that you could add something to Sambazon team even though they don’t have a job posted for you, you can always try reaching out to them at jobs@sambazon.com

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever tried açaí?

Food & Water Watch

Willy Franzen — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:45:34 +0000

Do you look at the labels on all of the food that you buy? Not only the nutritional facts but also the ingredients? If you answered yes, then you’re probably a health conscious consumer, or maybe you have a specific food allergy. Well what about the stuff that’s in your food that isn’t on the ingredients label? No mater what kind of drugs they pump into the cow that your hamburger is coming from, it’s always just going to be labeled beef. How about that bottle of water that you’re drinking from right now? It’s just water, or is it? A salmon from Lake Ontario is still just salmon, even if it’s full of PCBs (at least you can’t buy those in the grocery store). There’s a lot of stuff in our food and water that we don’t know about, which is why Washington, DC based Food & Water Watch exists. They’re “a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food.”

Are You on the Watch?

The government is supposed to ensure the safety of our food and water. That’s a responsibility that we’ve entrusted to them. It gives us a little less freedom in what kind of food choices we can make, but it’s worth it to know that there are certain minimum standards for what we’re going to put in our body. Food & Water Watch asserts that the government isn’t doing the job that they should be. That’s why they take it upon themselves to “challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.” If you’re passionate about food quality and safety, a job with Food & Water Watch might be something that you want to consider.

There are a number of job opportunities with Food & Water Watch currently available. The most appropriate for new college grads are Policy Analyst – Fish Campaign, Organizer – Food Campaign, and West Coast Organizer – Fish Campaign. The Policy Analyst position is based out of Washington, DC, while the West Coast Organizer position is based out of San Francisco, CA. They don’t say where the Food Campaign Organizer job is located. You can apply for these jobs by sending a cover letter, resume, three references, and a brief writing sample to jobs@fwwatch.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you watch what you eat?

Tom’s of Maine

Willy Franzen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:44:01 +0000

In case you missed the message last week, we’re celebrating One Day, One Job’s first birthday today. We have “party favors” for you, so go check our birthday blog post. I considered featuring a special birthday related company, but we’ve already covered Hallmark’s entry level jobs, so I’m out of ideas. Instead, we’re going to do what ODOJ does best and tell you about an awesome company that is looking to hire outstanding college students. Tom’s of Maine is a company that specializes in natural personal care products. What is natural care? It’s “creating safe, effective natural products free of artificial dyes, sweeteners, and preservatives; by harvesting, processing, and packaging with respect for our natural resources; by not testing on animals or using animal ingredients; and by donating 10% of our profits and 5% of our employees’ paid time to charitable organizations.” Tom’s of Maine makes toothpaste, soap, deodorant, mouthwash, shaving cream, and more – not the kind of products that most people get excited about, but people get excited about them when they’re made by Tom’s of Maine.

You of Maine? Or Texas?

The story of Tom’s is simple. Tom Chapell and his wife Kate got sick of corporate America, so they moved to rural Maine. They wanted to “move back to the land,” so they started eating natural, unprocessed foods. They couldn’t find any personal care products that were up to the same standards as the food that they were eating, so they decided to make them on their own. It started with a $5,000 loan from a friend, and now Tom’s of Maine is a $100+ million company that, through a partnership, has become independently run division of Colgate-Palmolive. It’s all because Tom and Kate set out to solve a problem that was bugging them.

Tom’s of Maine is located in Kennebunk, ME (an absolutely gorgeous area), and they’re looking for new college grads to help them keep growing their business. Right now, their current job openings show that they are hiring Grassroots Field Sales Reps in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, TX. It’s not clear if these are multiple positions, or just one, but either way it’s a perfect opportunity for someone who has been using Tom’s of Maine’s products and evangelizing them to friends for years. To get a better idea of what the job entails, you can check out this employee profile of Louanne Genther, who is in the job now (or was when the profile was posted). You can apply for this job directly from its description.

Beyond the posted job, Tom’s of Maine is also open to accepting unsolicited job applications. They have a simple to use submission form, and it allows you to state interest in any of the following areas: Executive
Administrative, Customer Service, Marketing/Brand Management, Inside Sales, Outside Sales, Retail, Manufacturing, Warehouse, Human Resources, Finance/Accounting, Information Technology, Research and Product Development, Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Communications, Public Relations, Copywriting, Graphic Design, and Web Design. We’re not sure what your chances of getting hired for an unlisted position are, but it’s worth trying. Also, before you apply, check out Tom’s of Maine Interview Tips – they may help you craft your cover letter and resume too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t forget to check out our birthday blog post.

Burt’s Bees

Willy Franzen — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:41:21 +0000

It always seems like you never have Chapstik – er, lip balm – when you really need it. Even Napoleon Dynamite was plagued by that little tube’s ability to disappear from his pocket and end up sitting on his desk at home. Some will argue that they never use lip balm because it just makes the problem of chapped lips worse, but I know for a fact that those people give in as soon as their “lips hurt real bad.” As life saving as lip balm can be at the right time, you’d still never expect it to allow a guy who lived in a turkey coop to be the face of a billion dollar business. Yes, Burt’s Bees was sold last year to Clorox for just shy of a billion dollars.

From Rags to… Rags

Apparently the whole story is quite contentious, as Burt of Burt’s Bees was bought out for just a few hundred thousand dollars by his then lover and business partner. She eventually sold the business for a much larger sum. Burt now has about $4 million to his name, but still chooses to live in a turkey coop with no electricity or running water; however, he has expanded the coop. The whole story is worth a read, and can be found at the NY Times. So, how did this cottage enterprise in Maine turn into a billion dollar business located in Durham, NC? Organic and all-natural products got hot. People will pay more for their lip balm (or cream, or shampoo, or soap) if it’s produced in an environmentally sound way with ingredients that are organic or all-natural. This is what Burt’s Bees is all about, although it stands to be determined whether consumers will still trust the authenticity of the company, now that it’s owned and operated by a bleach company.

Organic Chemistry (Not the Kind That Breaks Pre-Meds)

Although most of the jobs at Burt’s Bees require a moderate amount of experience, there are a couple that might be good fits for a college chemist. Burt’s Bees is looking for an Industrial Chemist and a Junior Quality Control Chemist. The first position appears to be more entry-level than the second, but both are worth a look. Although our chemistry knowledge is limited, we can imagine that spending a few years as a chemist with an all-natural / organic products company will open the doors for many future opportunities. The market for such products is only going to grow, and having a background in working with natural ingredients seems be something that you’ll be able to leverage quite nicely down the road.

Burt’s Bees’ Careers page is really simple, and the job descriptions are really clear about what they’re looking for. We love that! We also like their Working at Burt’s Bees page, although they’ve overlooked the fact that they should probably link to it from the Careers page. We can’t speak to whether the culture at Burt’s has changed since the company was acquired, but we imagine that it’s in Clorox’s best interest to do whatever it takes to maintain the brand’s authenticity. That should start with treating their people the same way they were treated when it was just Burt’s Bees.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Burt’s Bees
Jobs at Burt’s Bees
Working at Burt’s Bees
About Burt’s Bees
The History of Burt’s Bees (No mention of Clorox…)
The Culture of Burt’s Bees
Burt’s Bees’ Leadership Team
Research & Development at Burt’s Bees

Now where’s my lip balm…

Organic Valley

Willy Franzen — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:00:57 +0000

Organic food is back. First it was for hippies. Then it was for wealthy foodies. Now it’s hitting the mainstream with many every day supermarkets having an organic aisle. In just a few short centuries, we’ve come full circle from all organic farming (there were no other options), to chemically dependent factory farming, back to organic. Organics may be a little more expensive, but there is a growing population that is willing to pay a premium for food that they consider healthier, more humane, and better tasting. Organic Valley is a cooperative between 1201 farmer-owners that allows small organic farmers to combine their growing power and sell products on a scale that is usually reserved for industrialized farming operations. Yes, it’s true. One Day, One Job finally has a post for the aggies out there (although Organic Valley also has plenty of opportunities for people with a non-agricultural background).

“At Organic Valley, our philosophy and decisions are based on the health and welfare of people, animals and the earth. In today’s world, in order to make a difference, companies need to think differently. Since our first seven farmers started working together in 1988, we’ve been doing just that.” That pretty much sums up why we think Organic Valley is a great place to start your career. If you want more detailed information on their products, organic farming, or how they started, you can visit their web site. A google search will also turn up myriad articles and websites that go into more detail about Organic Valley and their accomplishments. Wikipedia also has an entry on Organic Valley.

As good as Organic Valley’s general website is, their employment site is hindered by the applicant tracking system that it is built on. Not only is the site slow, but it’s a bit confusing (and sometimes stops working). It also doesn’t let us link to individual jobs. We don’t want you to go through the pain that we did going through Organic Valley’s job listings, so we’ve picked out the jobs that appear to be the most appropriate for entry-level applicants. The exciting news is that there are a lot of them. New college grads should be well qualified for any of the following positions: Inventory Associate II, ERP Setup Associate, Sustainability Program Manager, Logistics Support Specialist, Sales Services Coordinator, Graphics Designer, California Hauling and Quality Coordinator, Regional Farmer Relations Representative, Farmer Communications Coordinator, and Product Development Technologist.

Almost all of these positions are based out of La Farge, Wisconsin, and there’s a wide range of fields represented – from accounting to marketing to agriculture. We did our best to make sense of the job descriptions, but they were a little unclear, so give them a good look before you apply.

We don’t want to end this post on a sour (like non-organic milk) note, because Organic Valley truly does look like an awesome place to work, so we’ll highlight a few of the perks that come with working for them. Organic Valley employees get to participate in the Kickapoo (yes, that’s the real name) County Fair. Blue jeans and t-shirts are appropriate attire. And shoes are optional, yes, optional, in the Summer.

Note: On April 24th we revisited entry-level jobs at Organic Valley.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you eat organic?