May 05, 2023Slow Food

Olivia Youngs

140. Seeking Sustainability in Business and Life with Olivia Youngs of Simple Coffee Company

Mom of three girls and sustainable coffee shop owner Olivia Youngs is making waves in the coffee world one cup at a time. Simple Coffee Co. opened their doors in November of 2019 and since then, they’ve diverted more than 100k plastic/paper cups from landfill and saved countless tons of carbon. Instead of traditional paper cups, all of their to-go beverages are served in reusable glass jars. Customers can re-use the jar at all locations for a $1 discount per jar (the same price they pay at check out). Join us as we discuss the pursuit of slow living and sustainability in business and in life with this busy mom, writer and entrepreneur. 

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, Youtube, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics discussed

  • Olivia introduces herself, her background and early attraction to the coffee shop culture and the concept of the Paper-Cup Free Cafe
  • Discussion of the term Zero -Waste 
  • Olivia's journey into minimalism, slow fashion and sustainability ethics as a blogger
  • Rana Plaza collapse 2013
  • Her move to CO and the opening of the first coffee shop
  • IMBY, an early slow fashion company
  • BAR 9, a coffee shop in LA
  • The cultural assumption of single use as normal
  • Starbucks as the beginning of the coffee shop movement in the US 
  • Discussion of the term Zero-Waste
  • Where is Olivia with slow fashion now? 
  • Giving ourselves and each other grace is slow living lifestyle decisions
  • Terracycle and the possibility of community supported recycling in the shop
  • Olivia's tiny living experience
  • "Horror Vacui" and the concept of never enough time 
  • Olivia's view of slow living
  • What would Olivia do with a day alone?
  • Circling back to the coffee culture discussion, the "Third Space" concept

 

Connect with Olivia:

 

This Episode is Sponsored by Pinetree Garden Seeds!

Order their seeds today from superseeds.com and use our promo code: GOODDIRT15 for 15% off your entire order!

 

About Lady Farmer:

 

Original music by John Kingsley. Our technical partner for this series is CitizenRacecar, Post-Production by Alex Brouwer and José Miguel Baez, Coordinated by Gabriela Montequin and Mary Ball. The Good Dirt is a part of the Connectd Podcasts Network.

Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well-being.