Jeffrey hollander ceo no detergent laundry spray

American entrepreneur, author and environmental activist

Jeffrey Hollender (born ) is an American entrepreneur, author, and environmental activist who co-founded Seventh Generation Inc.

Early life and education

Hollender was born in in New York City into an affluent family.^[1] His father, Alfred, was a businessman and advertising executive, and his mother, Lucille, was a former actress from a wealthy Chicago suburb.^[1]

At the age of 17, Hollender left home for Santa Barbara, California, and attended the Santa Barbara High School, briefly living in his car and protesting the Vietnam War.^[1] Earlier, in New York and Vermont he attended three other high schools, the Putney School, Riverdale Country Day School, and The Baldwin School.^[2][3][4] Later, he attended Hampshire College for a year and a half, until ^[1] However, he left college after a year to move to London, where he explored psychoanalysis under the Philadelphia Association.^[1]

Career

In , Hollender established the Skills Exchange in Toronto, a nonprofit adult education venture.^[1][5] Later he moved back to New York, where he founded the Network for Learning, which he eventually sold in ^[1][5] After selling the Network for Learning to Warner Publishing, a division of Warner Communications (now known as Time Warner), in , Hollender was named president of the company, which was then renamed Warner Audio Publishing.^[6] Later, Hollender shifted his focus towards environmental and social activism.^[1]

In , Hollender partnered with Alan Newman to purchase a mail order catalog business that focused on selling environmentally friendly products.^[4] A year later, this business became part of Seventh Generation Inc.

which he also co-founded with Alan Newman, focusing on producing environmentally friendly products.^[1][7] Despite initial challenges and a split with Newman, Hollender's involvement in the environmental movements of the time helped establish his reputation.^[1] His commitment to the cause deepened following the suicide of his brother Peter in , who had played a major role in the company.^[1]

In , Hollender co-founded the American Sustainable Business Council.^[4] He also co-founded and was a director of Community Capital Bank, a New York-based financial institution focusing on investments in affordable housing and community development.^[5] Later, in the same year, Hollender stepped down as CEO of Seventh Generation and was succeeded by Chuck Maniscalco, a former PepsiCo executive.^[1] Maniscalco aimed to substantially increase company revenues but resigned after just over a year due to disagreements over the pace of expansion.^[1] In September , Hollender was placed on leave and later split from the company under disputed circumstances.^[1][8][9] In , after Unilever acquired Seventh Generation for $ million, Hollender was asked to rejoin the company's board of directors, an opportunity he gratefully accepted.^[4]

In , Jeffrey Hollender, his daughter Meika, and wife Sheila Hollender co-founded Sustain Natural, a company that focused on producing sustainable, fair trade, and non-toxic condoms in the sexual wellness industry.^[10][11] Sustain Natural was acquired by Grove Collaborative in for an undisclosed sum.^[12]

Hollender has continued to advocate for corporate responsibility, social equity, and addressing climate and population issues.^[4] He currently teaches in the Business & Society program at New York University's Stern Business School, where his courses focus on guiding students in creating socially responsible businesses.^[4] He is also "An Executive in Residence", at Stern where he mentors and coaches business school students.^[4] He also serves on the board of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.^[4] Previously, Hollender served as the president of the Rainforest Foundation US as well as the Board Chair at Greenpeace US.^[5]

Bibliography

Hollender has written six books on corporate responsibility and sustainable practices.

Hollender's writing has been published in academic journals such as the Stanford Social Innovation Review.^[13]

• Hollender, Jeffrey; Catling, Linda (). How to Make the World a Better Place^[14]
• Hollender, Jeffrey; Davis, Geoff; Hollender, Meika ().

  Naturally Clean^[15]

• Hollender, Jeffrey (). In Our Every Deliberation: An Introduction to Seventh Generation
• Hollender, Jeffrey (). What Matters Most
• Hollender, Jeffrey; Breen, Bill (). The Responsibility Revolution: How the Next Generation of Businesses Will Win
• Hollender, Jeffrey; Zissu, Alexandra ().

  Planet Home^[16]

Awards and recognition

References

External links