Local Business Owner Teaches Chatham Students Sustainability

CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham High School students are learning how they can make a difference through the way they shop.

A local business owner recently spoke to Chatham High School students about the intersection of business and sustainability, working in collaboration with the CHS Green Team and Future Business Leaders of America clubs.

Tanu Kumar, the founder and owner of GoodsAgain, which sells sustainable, upcycled products, shared with students how she founded and runs her business, as well as information on upcycling and sustainability in her products.

Kumar told the students that corporations will increasingly need to consider the "three E's" or "three P's": environment ("planet"), equity ("people"), and economics ("profits"). She described how her company considers all of these elements when sourcing, acquiring, selling, and marketing.

In addition to providing specific, individual measures that students may take to save energy and water, Kumar explained the distinction between "recycling" and "upcycling," which she refers to as "recycling's cooler brother."

Upcycling, as she put it, "is all about taking materials that were otherwise considered waste and using them to create something new instead of resorting to brand-new raw materials." Kumar underlined the need for repurposing materials as an alternative or supplement to traditional recycling, noting that just 10 percent of plastic is recycled.

"Why make products from scratch when you can make them from the stuff that’s already lying around?’ That’s the thinking behind each product at GoodsAgain, and I am so proud to support artisans who breathe new life into materials that are otherwise considered waste. There is a unique charm and story behind each upcycled product, and people love to talk about it," Kumar said.

Following the presentation, students were also able to participate in a giveaway, where Kumar raffled off a bag, a sunglasses case and a bracelet.

“I love that the Green Team and the Future Business Leaders of America teamed up to host Ms. Kumar. It brought a cross-section of students out to hear about sustainability, who may not have been aware of the ways that sustainability figures into business; likewise, our Green Team students were able to see an example of a business that makes sustainability a central tenet, which, I hope, broadened their understanding of how they could parlay their passion for the environment into a meaningful career,” CHS Green Team co-advisor and English teacher Shannon Falkner said.

More information about GoodsAgain can be found at Kumar’s website, goodsagain.com, and on Instagram at @goods_again.