Q&A Ask the Expert Landing Page

Paid content

The natural products industry unites people and companies committed to making the world a healthier place. But what are the steps you can take to truly have a positive impact—and grow your business? The MyChelle Dermaceuticals and Crystal Deodorant #CleanCaringImpact movement is connecting clean and safe product formulations with caring social and environmental responsibility to gain impact for business and the communities we support. “It is no longer enough to be ‘clean’ or ‘cruelty-free,’” says Martin Floreani, CEO, French Transit Ltd. “Instead, we need to be proactive in our protection and stewardship of the planet. We need to put our time, money and full commitment behind our mission.” During our Natural Products Expo West session, we’ll share success stories and best practices in building a meaningful (CSR) plan that will earn customer loyalty, help your business thrive and scale your positive impact. Have questions for our experts about how to make this a reality for your business?

Jackie Bowen Executive Director, Clean Label Project

Amy Jargo Senior Global Category Merchant, Beauty, Whole Foods Market

Martin Floreani CEO, French Transit Ltd.

Jay Weiner Co-Founder, Gentle Barn

Jackie Bowen

Executive Director, Clean Label Project

Jackie Bowen is a food and consumer product safety and quality systems engineer and executive director of Clean Label Project, a national non-profit with the mission of changing the definition of food and consumer product safety in America. Given the growing disconnect between the definition of food and consumer product safety in the minds of the consumers and regulations, Clean Label Project prides itself on being the consumer standard for food and consumer product safety. Before coming to Clean Label Project, Jackie held numerous technical, standards development and food safety and quality leadership roles within the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, NSF International. Her expertise is in organic, gluten-free, Non-GMO Project and food safety certification, compliance and label claim substantiation. Bowen holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental biology, a Master of Public Health in management and policy and a Master of Science in quality engineering.

Amy Jargo

Senior Global Category Merchant, Beauty, Whole Foods Market

Amy Jargo is the global beauty category manager at Whole Foods Market where she leads the facial care, hair care and cosmetics categories. Prior to Whole Foods Amy spent eight years at Target Corporation where she was most recently a senior buyer in beauty and held other roles in merchandising and human resources. Amy is personally passionate about clean and sustainable beauty and helping indie brands learn and grow. She holds a BBA in marketing from the University of Iowa.

Martin Floreani

CEO, French Transit Ltd.

As president and CEO of French Transit, a global personal care company, Martin Floreani oversees such trusted brands as CRYSTAL™ mineral deodorant; Luster Premium White®, a premium tooth whitening brand offering a full line of products; and MyChelle Dermaceuticals®, an innovative source for clean, conscious, bioactive and ethically sourced skin care products. Floreani came to French Transit in 2016 after facilitating the sale of Luster Premium White to the company. He brought with him a 25-year track record of success in sales and marketing for numerous consumer and pharmaceutical companies including The Andrew Jergens Company, Merck and Stiefel Laboratories (Glaxo Smithkline). At French Transit, Floreani is a proud steward of a company mission that goes beyond the bottom line, one that requires actively listening to consumers and reflecting what matters to them. “It is no longer enough to be ‘clean’ or ‘cruelty-free.’ Those are necessary but passive labels,” says Floreani, “instead, we need to be proactive in our protection and stewardship of the planet. We need to put our time, money and full commitment behind our mission.” Under Floreani’s leadership, French Transit has worked to bring once niche products like mineral deodorants into mainstream use. Since joining French Transit, Floreani has forged brand partnerships with such entities as The Gentle Barn, an organization that rescues abused and neglected animals, and the Coral Restoration Foundation, which is not only working to restore damaged reefs but to create new ones. Floreani’s love of the ocean goes back to his youth in Mar del Plata, Argentina. He holds a BBA in international finance and marketing and an MBA in finance from the University of Miami.

Alicia Silverstone

Author and Activist

Silverstone, a dedicated activist in the wellness space, chronicled her journey towards a more conscious way of eating in her New York Times bestseller, “The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet” and her second book, “The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning.” Silverstone co-created the mykind Organics vitamin line, and her website, THEKINDLIFE.com is a platform for health and eco-living.

Jay Weiner

Co-Founder, Gentle Barn

Jay L. Weiner is the co-founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation and manages all aspects of the rapidly growing 20-year nonprofit that has rescued and rehabilitated thousands of animals across the U.S. and was founded 1999 as a sanctuary and place of recovery for severely abused animals and children. Jay is a passionate animal welfare advocate, vegan chef, CSR expert and is on the front line of animal protection and child welfare. Jay specializes in the rescue and rehabilitation of severely injured and abused domestic farm animals, participates in undercover discovery and disruption of the illegal treatment of animals and is a mission-driven business builder, whose deep commitment to animal protection, environmental wellness and proactive CSR, has established The Gentle Barn as a multimillion-dollar, world renowned, national nonprofit organization. Jay has leveraged his business acumen in the areas of management, fundraising, event planning and strategic networking to grow the nonprofit organization to a multi-national, multimillion-dollar organization. Jay’s cultivation of meaningful relationships paired with his innovative approach to CSR program development has led to partnerships with over 350 companies and brands including some Fortune 500s. Jay spearheaded the “Gentle 12” program that he developed to introduce value-aligned companies to The Gentle Barn’s passionate supporters through social media engagement, onsite demonstrations, event support and dynamic program integration. Gentle 12 has since emerged as a leading CSR program in the natural products industry and beyond.

Join us at Natural Products Expo West Friday, March 6th, 3:30-5:00 p.m.

Building a meaningful corporate social responsibility plan

Meet the expert panelists

Clean.Caring.Impact – Case studies in CSR and using your business model for positive impact

click to learn more

photo: Brian Bowen Smith

Jessica Rubino Senior Director, Content Marketing, New Hope Network/Informa Health & Nutrition

Jessica Rubino

Senior Director, Content Marketing, New Hope Network/Informa Health & Nutrition

Jessica Rubino is a Boulder native, natural products industry expert and content strategist covering issues that are shaping today's health and wellness industry. As senior content marketing director at Informa Health and Nutrition, with more than a decade serving this industry through her work at New Hope Network, Jessica helps companies in the food and beverage, personal care and supplement industries tell their stories and strengthen their businesses through high-quality content, education, data and insights and events. Jessica is passionate about making healthy living a reality for all people and serves on the advisory board for Protect Our Breasts, a nonprofit that raises awareness about breast cancer prevention on high school and college campuses. She believes that a good meal, great conversation and meaningful connections are the ingredients for happiness.

#CleanCaringImpact session keynote Alicia Silerverstone, author and activist, says that connecting with the values of this movement has been critical to her life and work. “Living a kind life has shaped my life immensely, from writing books to lobbying politicians on cruelty-free and plant-forward legislation to co-founding and working with companies that share similar values," she says. "My brain is always spinning with questions and ideas regarding health, ethics, and the sustainability behind everything from food to beauty products to household goods. I have 'kind' goggles on and they influence every action I take!"

#CleanCaringImpact session keynote Alicia Silverstone, author and activist, says that connecting with the values of this movement has been critical to her life and work. “Living a kind life has shaped my life immensely, from writing books to lobbying politicians on cruelty-free and plant-forward legislation to co-founding and working with companies that share similar values," she says. "My brain is always spinning with questions and ideas regarding health, ethics, and the sustainability behind everything from food to beauty products to household goods. I have 'kind' goggles on and they influence every action I take!"