Welcome to episode 12 of the Fairware Changemaker Series, where we highlight entrepreneurs and thought leaders that continuously inspire us through their passion for using business to better the world.
In this episode, we feature Pierre Martichoux, President of Chameleon Like. Watch below to learn more about how and why Chameleon Like has been designing and manufacturing contemporary stationery products in the USA from post-consumer recycled paper, recycled paperboard, and leather since 1998… long before “green products” were the trend.
When did you start Chameleon Like, and what does the business do?
I started this company about 21 years ago. We do good old-fashioned notebooks about 30 minutes south of Silicon Valley.
Why did you choose to keep manufacturing in-house?
When I was telling people what I was going to do, and that I wanted to manufacture, people would look at me and say, Why would you want to do that? Everyone else is outsourcing and closing down their manufacturing. You should do the design and the marketing and outsource the rest. My response was always that my interest was to actually make things. For me, the soul of the company is in the making.
What does being a changemaker mean to you?
For me, I think being a changemaker very often means that you’re not just going with the trend. Either you try to preempt the trend, or you just do something different and it becomes a trend or it doesn’t, and you make your changes along the way.
When did you start using green products in your business?
When we started the company, I was discussing things with a designer and I asked, What do you think about taking an environmental approach with our products? This was way before greenwashing, and the designer said to me that they thought the approach wouldn’t only be a trend in the future, it’d be a necessity. From very early on we used paper that was 100% recycled, and still to this day have stuck to those types of materials.
What’s one branding tip you’d like to share with other changemakers and entrepreneurs?
As a brand, as long as you stay consistent with who you are, and apply that to a little bit of everything that you do within your organization, that will transpire.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of our changemaker series with Pierre! We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Pierre and the entire team at Chameleon Like for showing us around their space, and for setting such great example that other businesses can aspire to.
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