Bringing a dream to life is something that many of us talk about, and that’s it…we just talk about it.  Kim Castner is one of those people who was able  to transform her dream into a tangible product:  Go Green Lunch Boxes.   

When I met Kim for the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Since we met for coffee, I thought about bringing my own mug from home (out of respect to the environment).  I assumed someone who so thoughtfully created an environmentally friendly lunch box must be some sort of green guru.  I was relieved to find out she was more like the rest of us busy moms.  Certainly she places a high priority on doing her part to save the planet, but her attitude is more in line with each of us doing our best because even small changes can make a big impact over time. The passage below describes how Kim came up with the concept:
Go Green Lunch Box was founded simply out of “frustration.” Packing two lunches everyday, I was appalled at the amount of waste generated by the packaging of single-serve items (sandwiches, juices, snacks, desserts, etc.). All of that – plastic baggies/wrap/cups, paper cartons/bags, cellophane bags – eventually wound up in our landfills. Upon reading a statistic about a typical American child generating 67 pounds of lunch packaging waste each school year, I knew I had to make some changes. After buying food containers and trying, unsuccessfully, to fit all the containers into the lunch boxes we already owned, resulting in either the lids or containers (or both!) not being brought back home from school, I decided to solve the problem . . . hence, Go Green Lunch Box! 

Meeting Kim was incredibly inspiring.  Hearing how many times she hit a wall in the design phase then managed to work through it reminded me that the path to success is never simple.  She had to learn about plastic: knowing which plastic is safe for food.  She learned about importing: her lunch boxes are made in China.  She learned about U.S. safety standards: her boxes meet the most stringent standards regarding environmental health and safety.  The most challenging aspect of the design phase was finding a way to have the compartments of the lunch box stay sealed and separate from one another.  While there were moments of doubt, she never gave up. 

When I asked Kim how she managed to keep pursuing her lunch box, even after her manufacturer told her that the specifics she wanted for her box were impossible, she said that she wanted set an example for her girls.  Rather than giving up, she showed her girls (her husband and her friends) that perseverance and dedication are the key to success.  Her lunch boxes are proof that you can realize your dreams.  

Her two daughter have been an incredibly important part of the development process- not only have they started sharing a room (so Kim could create a home office) but also they help her inspect each lunch box to make sure all of the parts work.  Kim has also asked for their input on the exterior fabrics and they test the product daily by taking their lunches to school in the box their mom designed.  Pretty cool.

Kim’s dream is just beginning.  She hopes to start selling and shipping her lunch boxes across the country and around the world.  If you haven’t seen a Go Green Lunch Box yet, check out her website and order yours today.  I picked up two for my elementary school boys and now my youngest is begging to take one to pre-school.  Share her website with others who have school aged children. This is a great opportunity for us moms to support one another in business endeavors.  Click here: to visit her website.