Update: Adventures of a Bag Man

A new company, headed by Mo Seigel, will manufacture a complete line of environmentally-sound household products.

By George Gendron | 
 

When is it news that another "green" business has been started? When its founder is Mo Siegel. Siegel, you may recall, is the fellow who launched Celestial Seasonings, the herbal-tea company that created a whole new beverage category. This time around he's hoping to do to Procter & Gamble what he did to Kraft before. His company, Earth Wise Inc., will manufacture a complete line of environmentally sound household products, including apple-scented organic cleansers and heavy-duty trash bags made from recycled plastic. And what makes him think he can beat the consumer giants at their own game yet again? "The same thing that made me think I could beat them the last time," he says. "It's the most important thing that entrepreneurs have going for them: brazen stupidity."

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"My social life is very low at this point. I call it the SSC rule for entrepreneurs -- sex, sleep, and cash flow. One out of three is all you can expect when you're starting a company. If you get two out of three, you're doing pretty good. Three out of three -- you're a mature company."

-- Alan Robbins, who founded The Plastic Lumber Co.

in 1989 and is batting one for three

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