Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Go Green - The SpitFire Agency


My career has exposed me to some of the best and brightest people working on important issues all over the world. As the Cosmetic Chef it is my job to find beauty in all it's forms. One of the reasons for creating this blog is to highlight those people that are making life a little more beautiful for all of us.

Sarah Haynes rocks!  She is owner/founder of the SpitFire Agency located in Mill Valley in Marin County California. Her agency is dedicated to marketing and producing events that are socially or environmentally relevant. Sarah is one of my first choices to highlight in my Go Green posts, she in my opinion is one of the greenest gals of them all. Sarah is one of the very few people I have witnessed actually take PRO-ACTION in executing green (environmental conservation) principals in large size events, especially in the music arena.

Sarah is an ex-music executive who was a VP for Sony.  Her client list reads like a who's who in the world of entertainment: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Allanis Morrisette, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Madonna, Bonnie Raitt, Indigo Girls, Joan Baez, Alicia Silverstone, Woody Harrelson, Bianca Jagger and the list goes on and on. 

Sarah has helped me create a HUGE environmental project I have been working on which I will share with you all a little later, now I will take the opportunity to gush about how awesome Sarah's work really is.  Did you know that Sarah's agency was the first to green a 10,000+ Rock Concert, and then a 75,000+ concert her work is setting an example of being able to party with a purpose, reduce consumption and save our natural resources. Her first "green" concert was  On April 20 2003, The Spitfire Agency produced the first annual ‘We the Planet’ festival for Circle of Life (Julia Butterfly Hill's foundation) More than 10,000 people gathered in Golden Gate Park to see Alanis Morissette, Cake, Bonnie Raitt, De La Soul, Tracy Chapman, Concrete Blonde, the Coup, Flea, Andy Dick, Woody Harrelson and many others support Circle of Life’s vision of sustainability.



And then in August, eco-centric billionaire Sir Richard Branson hired Sarah's The Spitfire agency and Daryl Hannah to green the Virgin Festival at Pimlico Park in Balitmore Maryland. Following up the continental extravaganza of Live Earth, The Virgin Festival actually did more than just have a party, their theme was "GREEN IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT" - With headliners such as the Beastie Boys, The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Amy Winehouse, Wu-Tang Clan and Crystal Method.  

Daryl and Sarah implemented  BYOB, bring your own bottle, no not a bottle of Jack Daniels in a paper bag, but an empty bottle which could be refilled at the many filtered water stations provided by Virgin.  Plus all food waste was composted by local farms, food vendors used biodegradable utensils made from corn polymers, tree-free means all the paper products were 100% recycled including the toilet paper.  Energy consumption was curbed by use of bio-diesel generators and solar power for the multi-stage electrical systems. It was a smashing success, again Sarah proved you can party, have a great time and reduce the impact to our planet.  

Sarah is also a huge Burner.  She has been involved with Burning Man since the beginning. Sarah is definitely a spitfire she does what she says and says what she does.  Her simple motto for going Green is just leave no trace behind. Leave it the way you found it. It is super duper cool to have Sarah as a friend and I feel a little better at night knowing there are people out there really DOING something to ensure a cleaner and healthier planet for our future generations. Rock on Sarah!  

Have a Beautiful Day

David Parker
The Cosmetic Chef

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