What Works

From Alaska to California, people are creating successful enterprises that are low carbon, attuned to the ecology, locally rooted. They’re employing, training, producing, sustaining. Here you’ll find regular reports on what works for the economy we need.

Watch Erick Serpas Ventura explain his planet-friendly method of house ‘deconstruction.’

By: Josh Kozelj and Quinn Kelly

After years of upcycling scraps into sports gear in Oregon, Scott Hamlin chose a different route into the circular economy.

By: Josh Kozelj

Brayden and Angela Rogers figured out which plastic waste can be made into home goods, and how.

By: Marissa Tiel

Colonization harmed Indigenous trade, commerce, and wealth. Jacqueline Jennings’ Fireweed Institute is reversing those impacts.

By: Andrea Smith

How Moment Energy harvests and puts to work batteries from worn-out electric cars.

By: Josh Kozelj

Fast-expanding ChopValue turns millions of disposable utensils into sustainable products.

By: Grace Kennedy

See how a frontline medical worker found new life in farming and selling pesticide-free blossoms.

By: Josh Kozelj and Quinn Kelly

How package-free markets like Portland’s Realm Refillery change how we shop and reduce plastic waste.

By: Josh Kozelj

Grab a paddle. It’s time to work together.

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