Howdy,
So you probably hear us talking about our values all the time; Verticale Values this, and Verticale Values that. And maybe you’ve been wondering to yourself, what exactly ARE the Verticale Values and how do we decide what brands belong where. Well, besides having put all the information right here, we’re also spending all of February talking about our Sustainability values. So if you’re interested in learning about sustainability without the greenwashing, tune into our Instagram this week.
Now for a quick summary of what’s going on this week- we’re talking about Valentine’s and Valentine’s gifts, we’re discussing the future of milk (and it’s looking like potatoes), and the north Brooklyn fracked gas pipeline that’s turning the neighborhood upside down.
Hopefully, this will be a better companion than hunting for a Valentine✨ See you in your inbox every Wednesday.
Jaclyn + Michelle, Founders
The Romance: Sustainable Valentine’s Brands Our Team is Loving
- Graf Lantz’ Cozy Carrier: What says romance like a bottle of red wine?
- Spoken Flames’ Favored: Start here to set the ✨mood✨
- GLDN’s Rose: Upgrade the bouquet with something a bit shinier
Busy Doing What?: Our Founders Keeping it Real
Jaclyn’s Busy…
• Feeling unsure about drinking potato milk ????
• Getting ready to watch the Winter Olympics, even though it’s off to a rough start ❄️
• Speaking of the Olympics, their collaboration with Lululemon is not looking good for the environment????
• Reading up on Congress’ Big Climate opportunity– and how it’s all hanging in the balance ????
Michelle’s Busy…
• Feeling outraged that some states, starting with Texas, are moving to ban books that discuss critical race theory as well as Black and LGBTQ characters.
• Learning about the eco-damaging California Gold Rush happening right now ????
• Wondering why all the best vintage is coming from Malaysia ????
• Giving myself my first at-home gel manicure ????
While You Were Shopping for Chocolate Boxes…
- We fangirled over 10 founders who are doing the MOST this V-Day
- • We explained what environmental racism is
- • We interviewed slow living expert Michelle Dufflocq
- • We made an NYC guide for a conscious Valentine’s day (chocolate truffles included)
Diving Deep: Something you didn’t know about the North Brooklyn Fracked Gas Pipeline
First things first, let’s define fracking. The pure definition is that it is a process that injects liquid at a high pressure into subterranean layers of rock to extract oil or gas. Why is it a problem? Well, if hydraulic fracking isn’t done with rigorous safety regulations, it can threaten local communities and wildlife, poison groundwater, impair wild landscapes, or pollute surface water– basically, a lot is at stake.
This planned pipeline in north Brooklyn is not being put in to replace leaking pipelines or provide a solution to an existing structure, but rather to bring in fracked gas from Pennsylvania to north Brooklyn. This new system will install about 6,200 feet of new pipeline throughout Brooklyn, specifically along Flushing Ave, Bushwick Ave, Moore street, Manhattan Ave, and Montrose Ave– neighborhoods with primarily Black and Latinx residents. One of the neighborhoods, Brownsville, has the highest rate of adult asthma in all of NYC.
Why is this problematic? Besides the explosions necessary to place the pipes in the ground, residents living near the oil and gas infrastructure are likely to face health risks like methane leaks (which contributes to global warming 86x more than carbon dioxide).
This pipeline will also force a temporary evacuation of 153,000 New Yorkers, 55 public schools, 81 daycare centers, 9 healthcare facilities, and 3 nursing homes. The pipeline will not even serve the affected communities because it is a transmission pipeline, which serves the community at the end of the pipeline. Because of this expansion, local customers will also see a jump of nearly $5 per month on their gas bill.
Local environmentalists are currently trying to pause the project, especially as they claim no one had heard of it until it was too late. This is just one example of environmental racism.
