Friends of The Green Wagon is a blog where Jennifer posts about these meetings, and other interesting environmental facts she stumbles across along her journey.

From working on a permaculture site in New Zealand, to a sustainable urban farming project and local government meetings about sustainability in Perth, to a small organic, family farm in China…so far, the stories of these grassroots environmental heroes are touching and inspiring.

Follow her journey until she returns to Tennessee in September, as it unfolds online. The hope is that this trip becomes the first of many, and that Friends of The Green Wagon evolves into an organization that supports the efforts of many of these individuals…making it easy for our customers to shop local AND have a global impact.

I walked into the Green Wagon just as Barack Obama began his speech. Proprietor Jen Casale smiled and said, “I’m glad I’m not watching this alone.” She was watching the speech on her Mac via CNN Online with Facebook, and her friends’ comments scrolled up the screen, like Twitter. That could actually inspire me to someday do a Facebook page.

So then my acquaintance Joanne walked in, which was a coincidence, because her husband and I had just attended a meeting together. And then someone from my elementary school Girl Scout troop walked in. We hadn’t seen each other in 35 years, and I would like to think I’ve changed more than I have, apparently.

It was a great occasion, and brought together four people with a green sense of purpose and a newly supportive environment. It must be the tenor of the times all over; Casale says she’s already sold out of some products and has had to re-order.

Written by Nikki Wood. Permalink to article on NashvilleScene.com.

Entrepreneur Jennifer Casale is opening what she calls “Nashville’s first green general store” this Friday in Sylvan Park, and we’re loving the idea. We love the idea of a neighborhood general store, and we love it even more for being sustainable and environmentally friendly. And Jen herself is the real deal – She even drives a station wagon that runs on the waste vegetable oil from local restaurants.

The Green Wagon will house a classic collection of general store merchandise, with everything from cleaning supplies to clothing to shampoo to crib mattresses. The store will feature a “refilling station” where customers can refill their bottles with certain products at a discounted price, instead of buying new containers. A large portion of the products in The Green Wagon inventory are made locally, therefore reducing the business’ and customers’ carbon footprint that would normally occur during the shipping process. Since the notion of “green” is relatively new and somewhat undefined, Jen uses a standardized assessment that will evaluate products based on their environmental footprint across the product’s lifecycle stages. This standard purchasing process will give The Green Wagon customers peace of mind and allow them the freedom to walk in and feel confident about any item they purchase. The Green Wagon hopes that defining its standards of “green” will simplify and enhance the shopping experience for customers.

The Green Wagon is located at 4429 Murphy Road and opens this Friday. It will be open from 10am-7pm every day. While you’re down there, stop at the Produce Place and grab some local produce. We’re definitely jealous of Sylvan Park right now.

Written by Morgan Levy. Permalink to article on Nashvillest.com.