Cleaning comes to the big screen

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

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

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….

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

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!

back from Expo West

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.

A talk with our own Drummond Lawson and GreenerDesign.com

So if you’ve been keeping up with us, you know we recently became certified as a Cradle to Cradle business. This morning, one of our very own Greenskeepers, Drummond Lawson, spoke to GreenerDesign.com on the process and what’s involved.

 In the article, Drummond shares how 20 of our products received silver certification and that we’re currently in the process of certifying another 20 more. The criteria for this certification involves examining our materials to see if they’re environmentally safe, designing for material reutilization, using renewable energy, water and energy efficiency, and company social responsibility practices. A few of our practices that comply with the certification standards include using label adhesives that don’t clog up recycling systems, utilizing bottles that are made from 100% recycled plastic, and purchasing carbon offsets to make up for emissions from manufacturing and employee corporate travel to name just a few.

If you’re interested in checking out the full article, be sure to check it out here.