SmartAssUndies: Brendan Saves the Planet by the Seat of Your Pants

If you were anywhere close to crunchy in high-school you had a pin on your backpack that proclaimed, "Be The Change You Want To See In The World."  The world is a big place to change, but the point (if I may, Mr. Gandhi) was that you don't need to change the world, you need to change yourself, and effect part of the world in so doing. 

Brendan Lo is the intersection of one man becoming a force for good in his own life and strategically placed motivational quotes, embodied (and on bodied...) in his company, SmartAssUndies. SmartAssUndies is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: an underwear company that's affixed  joy inducing quips to the posterior of your posterior so that every morning your day begins with a chuckle and an affirmation. Take for instance, "I See Magic Everywhere," or, a personal favorite, "Stay focused on the important shit & leave the rest behind," consider the billboard for the message, and I dare you not to grin. 

But you don't get on the pod just by being clever. Brendan sought out a leading sustainable supplier for his fabric, all of which is manufactured from recycled PET bottles. He donates 5% of his profits to forest restoration efforts. He takes great care to ensure the factories where his underwear is minted are equitably run and the labor fairly paid. 

As it says on his website, Brendan is the head of customer service, CFO, CEO, Marketing Manager.... A one man shop. Changing the world, saving the planet, doesn't mean you need to re-invent the wheel (or food, or fire...), as Brendan teaches us, it can be as simple as living up to a button on a bookbag, or an affirmation on your ass. 

"Everybody’s ass benefits," Brendan says. "Including the animals." That's something we can get behind. Also featured is non-fiction writer and sustainability expert Jessica Miles, who "butts" in from time to time. We don't mind and neither will you! Tune in.

*One quick note, Brendan at one point says that 1 million plastic bottles are discarded every second, when he meant to say every minute. Who's likes flawless people anyway??