Whether they want to fight the grime on the kitchen floor, take out the toxins in the shower or pummel the bad stuff floating in the world, they are people against dirty®.

win our entire line of products with Chronicle Books

by USA 8. May 2009 14:59

Been over to Chronicle Books lately? They have a new series of books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal called "Little Books" including one we're head over heels for called "Little Oink." We're voting Little Oink for best pig around because he hates dirt and loves to clean. You might say he's a pig after our own heart.

 

To help celebrate Little Oink, Chronicle Books is throwing a contest where one of the prizes is our entire line of products for free - whoa. If you're interested in entering, be sure to check outhttp://www.chroniclebooks.com/littlebooks/. Contest ends September 30, 2009.

 

 

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win a gift from our co-conspirator, danny seo

by USA 7. May 2009 12:25


One of the perks of being Method’s co-conspirator is that I get invited to fancy (and fun) events in New York City to help spread the Method gospel cheer.   For the first year ever, TheDailyGreen.com held their Heart of Green Awards in the LEED-certified Hearst building in New York City (appropriate, since TheDailyGreen is owned by Hearst) and honored leading movers and shakers in the green space for innovating new ideas, trends and movements.

After grabbing the gift bag, I thought it would be fun to give away the prize-filled tote to a lucky Method blog reader.    Inside the recycled tote (made from water bottles), you’ll find:

  • Method grapefruit hand wash.  Yum!
  • An Ebay reusable water bottle.
  • Kiss my Face Creamy Face Cleanser
  • A copy of Esquire with Ben Affleck looking annoyed on the cover
  • Physicans Formula organic wear makeup
  • Sula nail polish
  • An organic chocolate bar
  •  A 4-pack of Verterra biodegradable trays made from fallen palm leaves
  • An Ecoist recycled wrapper bracelet
  • Blue Q “This Economy Sucks” change purse.

To win, just leave a comment on why you should win the prize filled tote.   No need to be super creative: you can just say “I love it” and you’ll be eligible.  Contest ends May 8. Good luck!  

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we're with B Corp.

by USA 23. April 2009 12:35

With the mounting global financial crisis comes great uncertainty for the corporate world. Businesses continue to face troubling days ahead, leading many to rethink more broadly how they fit into society. For us at Method, one bright spot through the clouds is our position as a B-Corporation, and we encourage fellow brands to follow suit.

The brainchild of two successful entrepreneurs, B-Corporation is a group that has built the legal basis for companies to create social and environmental benefit as part of their business models, rather than being focused solely on profitability. In its short history, B-Corp has convened 185 companies with social or environmental mandates. B-Corp has fostered a community centered on its own values by having each company complete a publicly reported survey of their environmental and social practices.

Method’s values define our mode of business. As a founding B-Corporation company, we have taken the B-Corp survey that rates us on our commitment to solving social and environmental issues as part of our business. Survey results are published for all to see. This helps us by keeping our values visible in our path, and by allowing anyone wondering how we’re doing to find out.

Keep an eye out for the B-Corporation logo – there are now 185 certified B Corporations, representing $965 million in market value in a range of sectors. Visit bcorporation.net to see the full list of B-Corp companies and review their survey scores.

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Categories: social responsibility


going green with guru sophie uliano

by USA 20. April 2009 12:37

Green guru Sophie Uliano has authored her second book, The Gorgeously Green Diet.  We've already checked it out and think it's pretty great. Check out our little Q+A session we had with her on what inspires her (not to mention some great easy tips, too).

Q: We love your new book The Gorgeously Green Diet! Tell us, what was the inspiration behind your second book?

I am passionate about food and cooking. As an environmentalist, I became aware of how heavy an eco-impact our eating habits can have on the planet and how by making a few very small changes, we can make a big difference. It also fascinated me how everything is connected – if I eat in a way that’s gentler on the planet, it’s also going to be better for my health, my pocket book and for maintaining my ideal weight.

Q: In the book, you talk a lot about “taking the pledge.” What’s the simplest way someone can take the pledge to help save the planet?

In the book there is a simple 6-step pledge. I found the top six ways in which we can truly make a huge difference and so by signing the pledge and committing to practice these six steps for 30 days, you get to know that you have reduced your eco-impact – as well as your waistline!

Q: It seems there are always new health concerns being highlighted in the media. When you have a new green question or concern, where’s the one place you can always rely on to get the straight truth?

I don’t think there is one place that you can depend on for the truth. I think it’s important to find an expert who resonates with you and stick with them. Being Green is about taking the middle path and gently, quietly finding the truth. Ultimately its up to you and your gut instinct, which will almost always be right.

Q: There’s a myth that going green is expensive. Help us out a bit and give us your favorite green tip that’s easy on the wallet.

Buying eco-friendly products can be more expensive, but if you’re savvy you can make it work. My top summer tip is line-drying clothes and washing them in cold water with an eco-friendly detergent.
 
Q: Thanks for taking the time with us, Sophie. Before we let you go, we have one more question. If someone wants to detox their home, where’s the first place they should start?

Start with cleaning supplies. It’s such an easy change that you can do it today.

To learn more about Sophie and her book, check out her website at GorgeouslyGreen.com.

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march madness - method style

by USA 15. April 2009 12:36

 

The method lobby became the sports world epicenter for an afternoon, hosting The Epic Final Three, a dramatic conclusion to the 3rd Annual Method March Madness Ping Pong Doubles Tournament. Clawing their way to the finals were West Loop Gyros (Andrew and Barb from Chicago), Fire & Ice (Danny & Hazel from SF), and Team Milk (Eliza & Gordie from SF).

 

 

With the smell of nacho cheese and corn dogs in the air, the three teams emerged to a frenzied crowd. Andrea fired up the accordion for an inspiring interpretation of the National Anthem that brought tears to eyes that were otherwise focused on Twinkies and Ho Hos.

 

 

Match 1 saw Fire & Ice pull out a gritty 2 games to 1 victory over West Loop Gyros, with the San Francisco home crowd spurring on the local team. Fire & Ice was once again en fuego in Match 2, defeating Team Milk in 2 games. With medals adorned around their necks, Fire & Ice then took the traditional victory lap around the lobby to “We Are the Champions”, cementing their place in method ping pong history.

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Categories: media, events + happenings


saving the bay

by USA 13. April 2009 12:38

 

This past Wednesday, 26 of us embarked on our first 2009 Eco-Maniacs volunteer event.  

 

If you don’t know, in order to encourage volunteerism in our local community, we’re given 3 days per year that we can use volunteering at one of the company-sponsored volunteer events or for an organization of our personal choice.

 

For this event, we partnered up with Save the Bay for a wetlands restoration project at Bair Island down in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay.  Save The Bay is the oldest and largest organization working exclusively to protect, restore and celebrate San Francisco Bay.  

 

 



Here are some of the highlights from our trip:
 
-       We learned about the ecosystem of our SF Bay and the importance of the wetlands.

-       We canoed out to Bair Island.

-       We planted 1,000 seedlings of native alkali heath.

-       We removed the non-native and highly invasive “pepper weed” plant.

-       We removed trash.

-       We tested the water’s phosphate levels.

-       Unearthed a dead jackrabbit.

-       Made a communal lunch of sandwiches, organic fruit, and cheez-its….yum!  Then composted the food remains.


All in all the day was a great combination of San Francisco Bay education, outdoor recreation, teamwork, and wetlands restoration. 

 
For pictures of the day check out our Flickr and Facebook pages. Feel free to comment!


If you are interested in learning more about Save the Bay and the advocacy work they do to protect our local treasure you can click here.







 

Cleaning comes to the big screen

by USA 17. March 2009 15:07

There’s a new movie on the cleaning horizon that we’re totally loving these days. It’s called ‘Sunshine Cleaning’ and features an all-star cast including Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn and more.

 

We won’t give the movie away too much but will say there’s a lot of dirt and a cute quirky cleaning service involved. The movie premiered in Los Angeles recently and is moving on to 10 additional cities this week. If you live in any of the cities below, be sure to make it out to the movie premiere because we’re giving away a full-sized pouch of our all purpose wipes along with a $1 off method coupon (redeemable at your favorite method location of course) to everyone who attends.


Learn more about the movie and watch the Sunshine Cleaning trailer by clicking here.   

 

BOSTON   

March 19, 2009

7:00 PM   

AMC Boston Common         

175 Tremont St                     

Boston, MA 02111

 


CHICAGO   

March 18, 2009

8:00 PM   

AMC River East                      

322 E. Illinois St.            

Chicago, IL 60611 


DENVER   

March 19, 2009  

7:30 PM   

Landmark Mayon                      

110 Broadway                  

Denver, CO 80203

 

MINNEAPOLIS    

March 18, 2009   

7:30 PM   

Mann St. Louis Park                         

5400 Excelsior Blvd                    

St. Louis Park, MN 55416

 


PHILADELPHIA    

March 19, 2009   

7:30 PM   

Ritz East                                  

125 S. Second Street               

Philadelphia, PA 19106

 

 

PORTLAND    

March 19, 2009   

7:00 PM   

Lloyd Center                                  

1510 NE Mullnomah Blvd                 

Portland, OR 97232

 


SAN FRANCISCO   

March 16, 2009

7:30pm   

Landmark's Embarcadero Cinema

One Embarcadero Center

Promenade Level

San Francisco, CA 94111


SEATTLE   

March 19, 2009  

7:00 PM   

AMC Pacific Place                       

600 Pine Street                    

Seattle, WA 98101

 


WASHINGTON DC   

March 19, 2009   

7:30 PM   

Landmark E Street                    

555 11th Street NW                     

Washington DC 20004

 

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mr. lowry and mr. ryan go to washington - again

by USA 16. March 2009 15:09

Our fearless leaders and co-founders, Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, recently came back from a trip out to the White House (it was Adam’s second invitation to DC this year!) where they received an exclusive invitation to speak among other young entrepreneurs about the future of US economic growth. We asked Adam what the experience was like…

 



Early last week Eric and I got a call from the White House.  They were gathering a group of about 30 young entrepreneurs (including Mark Ecko from Ecko Unlimited, Evan Williams from Twitter, Aaron Patzer of Mint.com, Tony Hsieh from Zappos), to what we first thought were to put together thoughts on policy, but as we later learned, that was more to get the juices flowing than to actually be what we would discuss. The real reason, we soon discovered, was that they wanted to establish a relationship with us that we could mutually benefit from in the future.

 

Michael Strautmanis (Chief of Staff to Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President on Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison) and David Washington (Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison), who we then soon met, explained they had lots of ideas, and they knew exactly which policies were staid or ineffective, and what new policies should replace them.  The problem, they explained, was that the Administration knew what to do, but couldn’t overcome the entrenched interests in Washington (the lobbyists and such).  What they needed was the leaders of New Economy Business, us, to help them.  They wanted to be able to make an example of us to build a groundswell of public opinion that getting behind businesses creating social equity and environmental good while they create economic growth was the way to use one solution to get out of our dual problems of economic collapse and environmental disaster.  Cool. 

 

They asked us to do a couple things:

 

•    Act as a filter for the best ideas from our communities, and to cycle those back to the Administration

 

•    Send examples and case studies of business doing things right, and the Stimulus package at work, so we could improve upon it

 

•    Give them ideas on how to make government more open and transparent.

 

On the last of those, I sent in ideas about how to publish policy debates and decisions on “transparency.gov”, to use us and others in the Administration to get out and use the news media to tell the transparency story in order to get more people engaged in what they are doing, and to integrate the transparency message across all the everyday ways we interact with government.  Everything from tax bills to the DMV.

 

I am still figuring out how, but I will be finding ways to be that community liaison out here in San Francisco.  Now is our time to create change, and I’m not going to let the opportunity pass me by.  If you have an idea, let me know.  I want to hear it….


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he's #3 on the employee roster, but #1 in our hearts

by USA 13. March 2009 15:11

 

  

With tears in our eyes and many, many pints of Guinness in our system we’re saying goodbye today to Gunther Lie, our truly beloved first employee. It’s impossible to capture on this blog (which, by the way, Gunther created) his incredible contributions to method’s success over these past seven years, but it would be a crime not to try.
 


A childhood friend of our founders, Gunther (also known as Thunder) was first brought into the method family as a part-time helper, and spent his first months here driving from store to store making sure our products looked perfect on shelf. In the years since, there is virtually no job Gunther hasn’t done, from IT Director to Director of Business Development; from Brand Manager to his current role as Director of Interactive. He’s created products, molded brands, brought us into new markets and, of course, built this beautiful website (if you have any complaints we’ll be sure to keep forwarding them to his personal email address). He’s touched on every part of our business, and has shown incredible MacGyverism in every role.
 


And as much as he’s been a vital part of our business these past seven years, he’s been even more influential in creating the method culture that we all love. Gunther was the guy who hosted the after-parties in his hotel room after our annual party. He began the highly competitive “Who wore it best?” battles within the office. He sent Drummond, our Canadian Greenskeeper, a mock deportation letter from the US Government. He soaked, folded and froze a coworker's entire wardrobe on a company trip to Lake Tahoe. He was always the first person to invite a new employee to lunch, and one of the last people standing at parties. His smile is infectious and his cheer inspiring, and we've been so blessed to have him here for these seven incredible years.


 
So we bid a fond farewell to Gunther, and wish him luck in wherever he goes next. His beautiful wife Nancy and their adorable daughter Amstel will surely keep him busy, but hopefully not so busy that he can't pay a visit to the method family every once in a while.


 
We're forever indebted to you, and will miss you immensely Thunder. And if you can't find any of your clothes tonight, check the freezer...
 
  
 
Top 10 things we will miss most about Gunther:

 
1)       Written “fashion citations,” mostly noting questionable mixing of color and pattern
2)       A steady stream of witty quips steeped in sarcasm
3)       Asian jokes
4)       Daily Amstel updates and photos
5)       Regular availability to run out for lunch, snack, coffee, fro yo, steamed hazelnut milk
6)       His feminine taste in beverages
7)       He’s a really good friend
8)       Complete and unabashed rejection of denim
9)       Good sport – we do rip on the guy pretty harshly
10)     He has embodied the method spirit since the earliest days of the company, and has inspired so many of us throughout the years. G, you will be missed terribly!

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back from Expo West

by USA 12. March 2009 15:12

  

   

A team of method’s greenskeepers, green chefs, sales and brand folk just got back from Natural Products Expo West, a huge trade show for everything from natural foods to cleaning products, where we talked about our newly Cradle to Cradle certified products (handwash, foaming handwash, and dish soap, for the record), our reasons for being a founding B Corp, and the full line of method products that we sell in natural foods stores around the continent.


Aside from the astounding variety and number of granola samples we all munched, other highlights included a surprise guerilla visit from the method biodiesel truck, great discussions with some of our favorite retail partners, and a great opportunity to establish a common carbon footprinting method with some of the other brands showing leadership in their carbon activities. We’re looking forward to using what we’ve learned at Expo West and especially playing with a couple cool new ingredients we’re thinking of using in future products.


To learn more about what Expo West is all about, click here.

   


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