For Tufts students, many of whom tote Nalgenes and chug bottledwater on a daily basis, the problem of water scarcity in countrieslike India, Honduras and Chile is a disturbing but far-offabstraction.
But that distant abstraction is an in-your-face reality forTufts graduate Jonathan Greenblatt (LA '92), who traveled tocountries including Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Russia,Argentina and India as an appointee to the National EconomicCouncil (NEC) during the Clinton administration.
"I spent a lot of time overseas focusing on what we called'economies in transition,' basically a euphemism for 'war-torncountries,'" Greenblatt said. "I was exposed to poverty like I hadnever seen before."
Now, Greenblatt is combating that poverty in a way that's equally innovative and effective. In 2002, he and business partner PeterThum founded EthosWater, a socially responsible company thatdonates half of its after-tax profits to carefully vetted waterprojects in countries including India and Ethiopia.
While planning EthosWater's launch, Greenblatt and Thum foundvery few businesses - short of Paul Newman's famous "Newman's Own"company - that endeavored to donate as much of their profit aspossible to charities.
They also discovered an absence of initiatives that link theproduct being sold with the humanitarian cause being targeted.
"We studied models of socially responsible businesses, andcouldn't find any that linked product and cause," Greenblatt said."Linking product and cause - that's the innovation ofEthosWater."
Seizing on the idea of "water for water," the two men - who werepeers at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management -established an advisory board and eventually launched EthosWaterout of their own bank accounts.
"We started out running the business out of what's now my son'sroom!" laughed Greenblatt, who grew up in Trumbull, Conn., butmoved to California after taking a job there and meeting hiswife.
With the help of investors - including Tufts alum Steven Koltai- the product was launched in summer of 2003 at the Fred Segalstore in Santa Monica. "I hadn't heard of Fred Segal, but my wifesure had!" Greenblatt laughed. "By launching there, we positionedEthosWater as a sophisticated and stylish bottled water."
Since then, EthosWater has become even more so. It was servedbackstage at the Latin Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and the 12thannual Rainforest Foundation Benefit Concert in New York City,which was hosted by Sting and wife Trudie Styler.
Additionally, EthosWater is now sold at Whole Foods stores inCalifornia, Arizona and Nevada, as well as at many cafes, coffeeshops and health clubs on the West coast, and the company isexploring nationwide distribution options.
The company's humanitarian goals are being met along with itsbusiness ones.
"We anticipate that we'll be profitable in 2005, but we'realready helping to fund projects on the ground in Honduras, Indiaand Ethiopia," Greenblatt said.
Greenblatt's international outlook took root during his time asan undergraduate at Tufts. "Tufts grounded me and gave me a greatfoundation and exposure to international issues," said thehumanities major, who spent his junior year abroad in Spain. "Therewas a real sense of social responsibility - Tufts was imbued withthe idea of 'giving back.'"
While at Tufts, Greenblatt implemented that idea by serving asan active member of the Leonard Carmichael Society and by teachingan ExCollege class on '80s films.
He was also involved in other on-campus activities (he was a DJfor WMFO and a Sig Ep brother), in addition to working off-campusto make ends meet: "At night, I waited tables at a littlerestaurant in Harvard Square, the Greenhouse," he said.
Greenblatt wasn't waiting tables for long. "In 1992, all thepolitical candidates were coming through Boston on their way to NewHampshire," he said. "I hit it off with one of Governor Clinton'sstaffers, and I thought I'd go work for him. When I graduated, Ivolunteered for Clinton in Boston."
Soon, Greenblatt was no longer in Boston - or a volunteer."Campaigns are a real meritocracy," he said. "If you do a good job,you get promoted quickly ... I ended up a paid staffer in LittleRock, Arkansas, analyzing budgets."
After Clinton's election to the U.S. presidency, Greenblatttraveled to Washington, D.C., where he was a member of theInaugural Committee and managed ticketing for Clinton's inauguralin 1993.
"There were 15 to 20 events lasting from Thanksgiving 1992 toJan. 20, 1993, and this was pre-Internet, so the tickets were allmanual," Greenblatt said. "After the inauguration, Ron Brown - whohad been chair of the DNC - was named Clinton's commerce secretary,and I went and worked for him in his office."
Under Brown, Greenblatt applied what he learned about politicsand international economies while at Tufts. Having taken classes atFletcher while an undergrad, he chose to focus on internationaleconomics.
In 1995, he was appointed to the NEC and continued to do thesame sort of work for the White House.
Greenblatt's experiences overseas motivated him to take actionto combat the poverty he saw. That process has been highlysatisfying.
"It's very rewarding to be working at a business with ahumanitarian goal, to be thinking about both profits and people,"Greenblatt said. "It's also both exciting and scary to run your ownbusiness."
"Plus, hearing over phone or e-mail from people who are inspiredby our mission is very gratifying," he added.
Getting EthosWater off the ground has also been frustrating,however, given the company's corporate competition. "We're in acategory dominated by companies like Coke, Pepsi and Nestle,"Greenblatt said.
Despite the challenges posed by EthosWater's more establishedand profit-focused competitors, awareness of the company and itsmission is growing - thanks in part to good, old-fashionedspreading of the water word.
"For a small, socially responsible brand, word of mouth isreally important," Greenblatt said.
In fact, EthosWater might soon find its way back to itsco-founder's alma mater.
"We're exploring expanding in the Boston area," Greenblattsaid.
