81. Stephanie Downs - Help The Planet, People and Yourself With Plant-Based Alternatives

You can become a pioneer for a better future by adopting a ‘flexitarian’ approach and adding vegan alternatives to your lifestyle. 

Stephanie Downs is an entrepreneur developing vegan innovations and alternatives for industries across the globe. Living a life that incorporates more plant-based choices has never been easier, and every choice you make matters.

She shares how raising animals for food and materials is an archaic practice in terms of how much time and resources it costs, and the impact it has on our planet is devastating. Thankfully we can all make a genuine difference with our daily meals and purchases by reducing the amount of meat we eat and exploring alternatives like synthetics and next-gen plant-based substitutes. 

Help make the world a better place for both animals and humans by trying plant-based alternatives!

Show Notes:
👩‍💼 Stephanie is an entrepreneur and animal lover: from owning a plant-based meat company in India to a plant-based leather company. 01:29
🐶 It's never been easier to be flexitarian - every meal makes a difference: Stephanie couldn't continue eating animals and volunteering in an animal shelter at the same time. 05:05
🌱 Benefits of eating plant-based: Removing animals from the supply chain, and letting them have their life. 09:40
🇮🇳 The story behind developing a company in India: 95% of the population doesn't have access to refrigerators but the cost of living is significantly smaller. 12:21
👜 The fashion industry is under a lot of pressure: leather is the most harmful material for the environment the fashion industry uses. 17:34
🏞️ The only alternative available to animal leather is synthetic leather, but that's plastic: Stephanie’s next-gen leather uses just 8 plant-based ingredients! 20:19
👍 An animal hide will take about 50 years to biodegrade; synthetic leather probably takes 1000 years, but next-gen leather has significant degradation after only 2 months and is not toxic. 24:12
🟤 Progress over perfection - switch to synthetics instead of animal-based clothes, and soon we'll have the next-gen leather. 26:10
❤️ We all have to step up - nobody can help everybody, but everybody can help somebody: make small steps in a positive direction. 29:27
💲 Every little bit matters - companies listen to our dollars: wherever you are, leave the place cleaner than you found it. 32:15

Links

👉  Connect with Stephanie: www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniedowns 

🍀  The Leather Company: www.uncagedinnovations.com 

🎓  Join our Academy: www.jenniferdawnacademy.com 

🌟  Connect with Jennifer: www.jenniferdawncoaching.com 

🏕️  Retreats: www.jenniferdawncoaching.com/our-retreats