justin fox burks
Dominique Pryor-Anderson
When Kermit the Frog first sang “(It’s Not Easy) Bein’ Green” in
1970, he wasn’t just pulling your (frog) leg.
Environmentalism was synonymous with hippies, and recycling was
viewed chiefly as a cost-saving rather than planet-saving measure.
Almost 40 years later and most people agree that humans do, in fact,
have a negative impact on the Earth. Al Gore isn’t president, but his
brand of green zeal has brought him a Grammy, an Emmy, an Oscar, and a
Nobel Peace Prize. In short, green is cool.
But where the will may be strong, the wherewithal may be weak. Where
to start? How does one make the jump from excessive consumer to
sustainable smart-shopper?
Thanks to Jill-of-all-trades Dominique Pryor-Anderson, Memphians now
have a service that makes it easy to be green.
If Pryor-Anderson’s name sounds familiar, it may be from one of her
other business ventures. A veritable small-business mogul, she is the
owner of Mas Dinero Taxes, president of Vida PR and Marketing Group,
and a Spanish-language coach for Memphis’ branch of The Language
Lab.
Her latest venture with husband Tim Anderson is Luxe Green Gifts and
Concierge. Luxe Green, which officially kicked off in July, is a
personal shopping service, with consultation and event-planning thrown
in.
An initial service from Luxe Green might include the “Painless
Pantry Makeover,” in which a representative replaces all the “bad” food
and products in your pantry with the good stuff. A nursery audit will
take stock of what products (clothes, toys, paints) your little ones
are exposed to, while an office audit will do the same in the
workplace. Personal shopping will set you back $45 per hour (minimum
two hours), while prices vary on other services.
Pryor-Anderson began down the road of eco-entrepreneurship with the
birth of her daughter, now almost two years old.
“We were looking at all the baby food, and it was so gross,” she
grimaces. “So we decided to go organic. I thought about starting a baby
food company, but I had to stop myself.”
One thing she’s learned — and now teaches — is that you
don’t have to break the bank to shop and live sustainably. Many
lifestyle changes involve substituting one kind of item for another
that can save money in the long run (incandescent fluorescent light
bulbs, treating your baby’s crib with tea tree oil instead of paint).
Retail stores also are making it easier and more fun to eco-bargain
hunt.
“I was in Target even, and they had $1 recycled school products,”
she says. “Folders made out of Frito bags, pencil bags made out of
Capri Sun pouches. Very neat!”
