Who’s Who in Green: Heather Stephenson

For decades, the idea of ‘going green’ insinuated to most of the general population a whole lot of discomfort, inconvenience and unattractiveness. That’s part of what held a lot of people back from being more environmentally responsible – this idea that you had to sacrifice so much of your life in order to do it. But Heather Stephenson knew that it didn’t have to be that way, so along with partner Jennifer Boulder she launched the website Ideal Bite in May of 2005. Ideal Bite offers ‘bite-size tips for light green living’ – in other words, it makes living green accessible and attractive to an audience made up primarily of women across the globe.

Ideal Bite, which is self-described as ‘a sassier shade of green’, offers up daily tips that help people make small decisions each day to be more eco-friendly. Each tip is ranked with between one and five green apples with 5 being easy, inexpensive and high-impact. The tips range from recommendations for stylish eco-handbags to reducing the margins on your electronic documents to reduce paper waste. They’re hip, accessible and fun – just what the green movement needed to get some momentum and push forth into mainstream consciousness.

Heather grew up in Libby, Montana, a logging town where residents were proud of being supported by the timber industry and environmentalism was a dirty word. That didn’t stop her from being inspired to do what she could to help the planet. Heather, a yoga enthusiast, moved to Brooklyn in search of a more receptive environment. Before founding Ideal Bite she worked in advertising and technology, and she also founded UrbanSage, a NY-based rooftop garden design/build firm. She recently moved to San Francisco, where she says the atmosphere is great because of how supportive the city’s residents are to green ideas.

Here’s a video clip of Heather discussing Ideal Bite’s business mode and how they create a relationship with their readers:

Heather’s a big fan of incremental steps toward being green, as evidenced by Ideal Bite’s easygoing vibe. Of her own failings and the eco-confessions displayed on Ideal Bite – revealing Ideal Bite staffers’ obstacles along the path to being green - she told San Fransisco 7×7,

“No one’s perfect. Scaring people into a green lifestyle isn’t our style. I’m not even halfway there, but I’m definitely trying.”

Heather may not be one of the extreme eco-warriors who have completely transformed their lives to help the earth, but that doesn’t mean she’s not making a huge difference in the world. Through Ideal Bite, Heather has brought environmentalism to the masses – in a way that inspires them to keep taking the next step. It’s effective, and it shows – Ideal Bite has a list of over 100,000 subscribers and is sure to keep on growing in the years to come.

Heather Stephenson’s Green Score: 23,838

Photo credit: Jennifer Hale/7×7sf

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