in all honesty, though, indigenous is about way more than cute dogs and great lunch suggestions.  the company is pioneering some really amazing things within their supply chain.  and, for what it’s worth, i will be buying one of their winter hats.

no audit photos here, folks. but this one perhaps captures the entire day in a glance. let’s just say that when you leave your wallet behind at an audit an hour outside of LA, that’s not really conducive to getting on an airplane.

that’s when my favorite equation, M=EA, takes full effect. mishap = excellent adventure. stephanie and i truly did earn our dinner that evening. it was on an airplane, but we didn’t care. we even ate dessert first. and i’m not afraid to tell you we had some wine last. all’s well that ends well, after all.

speaking of things that are wrong, we could not resist the look of the burgers at the hotel pub (well, kate could resist the patty since they were out of veggie burgers, but nothing else!) … they hooked her up with a burger, no burger.

nomads welcome, indeed.  even no-burger-mads, it seems.

audit 3 of 8 tomorrow (no pictures, however).

the ELF staff then directed us to a raw food lunch spot called planet raw.  we were blown away by the food (and don’t even get us started on the dessert).  as a side dish, we saw two celebs who came in for some raw to go.  so yes, you could say we dined with lisa bonet and amber valetta.  it would be a lie, but you could say it.

kate and i landed in LA for our first of four audits there.  ken, now a police but always a gentleman, met us at the airport and escorted us to our rental car (while introducing us to hot funyuns in the process – really?!)  kate does her best vanna with them in front of the rental car.

later that night, ken and i talked about the past and attempted to get caught up to the present, but we ran out of time before eyelids had to close  and not even ice cream could sustain us – so we’ll have to save the rest for the future.

terry was on his way to a mini bar tending contest (small contest, not small bar). so, we caught up a bit and then helped him plan out the two concoctions that were undoubtedly going to bring him the gold.

decided to walk home, too – because hey, why not?

and so today … i am taking you, dear reader (seriously, there may only be one of you) inside a b corporation audit – where the focus goes far beyond the traditional bottom line to cover social and environmental factors of doing well – and just as importantly, good – in business.

after getting caffeinated and full-bellied at a local san luis obispo coffee shop, we met caroline duell, founder and president of elemental herbs – along with production coordinator audrey and organics officer ray – in the morro bay solar powered community center kitchen (see? it’s already awesome) and got a glimpse of the company’s production process.  this particular morning, the team was jarring up the company’s flagship product – all good goop. the “goop” is organic, all natural, and petroleum-free.  it’s often been described as “strong enough for a climber’s raw knuckles and gentle enough for a baby’s bottom.”

it also smells amazing, but i digress …

after the morning’s mini-lesson, we drove 20 minutes to elemental herbs’ office/farm for a tour and to perform the actual audit.  we would like to note that caroline promises the audit was painless.  she may have even called it “fun” – fact.

as for team west coast, we left with much more than a momentous sample bag of organic goodies (confession: i have been using at least one product daily since … and yes, the goop is that good).  we also gained a wealth of knowledge and inspiration, seeing just how much good business a company can churn out in such a sustainable way … … we also got a hug.

many thanks to caroline and her team for their cooperation. the audit team agreed that this first audit was so educational and fun that it set the bar pretty high for the rest of the b corporations that we’ll be heading to through the end of july.  no pressure, folks.

click on any photo below to view the gallery.