145: Waste Is A Design Flaw | Emma Rose Cohen, Final Co.

Our Earth Week episode has me fired up about the topic that first brought many of us into sustainable living: the plastic crisis! We’re joined today by Emma Rose Cohen, the CEO and founder of Final, creators of FinalStraw—the world’s first reusable, collapsible straw that raised nearly $2 million on Kickstarter. We’re talking all about the product idea that that totally took the internet by storm: resourcefulness, building community, and of course, everything about fighting single-use. We also chat about our collective qualms with the recycling economy, greenwashing, corporate sustainability, and innovative plastic alternatives.

Prior to launching Final, Emma earned a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from University of California, Santa Barbara and received a Master’s Degree from Harvard in Environmental Management and Sustainability. She then spent four years working in the Waste Minimization Department at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In the last decade, Emma’s passion for sustainability motivated her to help found a nonprofit, Save the Mermaids, with a mission to educate children about the harmful effects of single-use plastics. Since 2018, Emma has grown Final from a one product company to a company with an entire line of convenient, sustainable alternatives. Waste is just a design flaw. Emma and the Final team are on a mission to change that.

Thank you to Aspiration for sponsoring our show! To learn more about Aspiration, visit aspiration.com/eco.

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