Meet Jessica Cooper

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Cooper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.

Jessica, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I’ve spent the last 20 years working in the San Francisco Bay Area’s technology industry as a marketing and communications specialist, so I know what it takes to build a company, and a brand. My entrepreneurial spirit has been reinforced by my work with both startup and enterprise businesses in a variety of sectors, including software, e-commerce, research, AI, data analytics, and mobile apps. However, it wasn’t until I became a mother that I felt motivated to launch my own company to help families and children live more sustainably.

I initially became inspired to support the sustainable fashion industry while shopping for women’s clothing and came across a Prop 65 warning. In California, this warning mandates that businesses notify consumers if a product contains chemicals recognized by the state as potential causes of cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. My further research revealed that the synthetic fast fashion that is predominantly consumed worldwide poses significant risks to both our health and the environment we depend on. Concerned about the legacy we are leaving for future generations, I began learning more about the differences between organic and synthetic materials used in clothing. This led me to recognize an opportunity to simplify the shopping experience for families by bringing together only certified organic or sustainable fashion brands in one place —eliminating the uncertainty about what they’re putting on their children’s sensitive skin.

So, together with my business partner, we set out to raise awareness and offer more sustainable options by launching an online marketplace for organic and sustainable children’s clothing, called Young Eden.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

One of my favorite things about Young Eden is that we are striving to be a carbon neutral business. We have partnered with a nonprofit organization, GoodAPI, which collaborates with initiatives like Eden Reforestation Projects and Veritree to plant a tree for each product sold. We do this to offset emissions from the production of the products we offer. Trees play a crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis and serve as a natural filtration system for the earth’s atmosphere. This helps to slow fast fashion carbon emissions that account for roughly 8% of global carbon emissions heating up the atmosphere every year, a known and leading cause of climate change. I consider it an urgent need for more businesses in the fashion industry and other sectors to adopt carbon neutral operations and sustainable practices to rectify the harm being inflicted on our environment.

It’s an exciting time at Young Eden as the marketplace is expanding quickly. When we first launched the site we only had a small sample of the best brands to offer in organic children’s apparel, like Burt’s Bees Baby, Colored Organics, and Mightly, to name a few. In the last month alone we have added a variety of new brand collaborations with more excellent organic and sustainable toy and learning product partners including Lovevery, Wee Gallery, and others to further increase the choices available in our sustainable marketplace. These partnerships are mutually beneficial for simplifying the shopping experience for families who prefer their children wear non-toxic clothing while also helping these brands gain another distribution channel to grow their business.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

A key aspect of the entrepreneurial mindset is being experimental and willing to take action. Do research about areas you’re unfamiliar with until you feel like you have a thorough understanding. Test theories and measure their outcomes. There is always more that you don’t know, and being receptive to learning new skills and tackling challenges independently requires commitment to persist until you see results.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

It takes a village. Throughout my career, every individual I have encountered–from clients to mentors, and colleagues–has contributed to my personal and professional growth in various ways. The most helpful methods I’ve experienced for my own growth have been in challenging my own limits of knowledge and growing my network with new connections who offer experiences different from my own to expand my worldview.

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Image Credits

Photo Credits to Jessica Cooper at Young Eden

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