First inspired by a Le Creuset cast iron pot, she was constantly looking for products that last and thought that someone else must have created a website with such a collection. Tara was “stalked by the idea of a website” for over 2 years before realising she had to take action.
 
Tara shares her journey of commercialising the early Buy Me Once website after a Telegraph article went viral and her inbox was flooded with interest.  After two major website upgrades and a change in business model, Buy Me Once is a growing seven person team, including one in New York, and over 2000 products listed.
 
Highlights of the podcast:

• How they have developed a process to assess longevity and durability of products
• What companies are doing to improve the sustainability of products
• Why Tara is campaigning to make product lifetime information more transparent
• How the circular economy is the only way forward
• Tara’s book being sold all over the world, from Taiwan to Turkey and Vietnam to Poland
• Interesting products listed on their website; including a pen that has enough ink to last a lifetime, the unpoppable One World Futbol and the Elvis & Kresse wallets made out of London Fire Brigade hoses

Buy Me Once website: www.buymeonce.com
Tara’s personal website: www.tarabutton.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/buymeonce
A Life Less Throway: https://buymeonce.com/pages/a-life-less-throwaway
 One World Futbol: https://uk.buymeonce.com/products/one-world-play-one-world-football-blue
Infinium Space Pen: https://uk.buymeonce.com/products/fisher-space-pen-infinium-space-pen-black-titanium
Elvis & Kresse: https://www.elvisandkresse.com/
​

The risk of crossing a tipping point leading to ecosystem collapse is clear to Alan, and having spent years mapping climate risk he came to conclude that it is his life commitment to take systemic climate action.

“After many false starts I believe it’s time for a new approach to carbon, to reinvent carbon markets and the overall idea is very simple. Every organisation manages financial capital. It also manages human capital. Finally, every organisation should also manage natural capital.” 

Lykke is a marketplace for free exchange of financial assets. Their mission is huge, with a fully open-sourced platform, they see a future where natural capital is fully tokenized and protection of natural resources is incentivised. 

​Alan explains how blockchain technology is uniquely positioned to disrupt financial markets which is full of intermediaries, such as brokers and banks. Bringing in high frequency trading algorithms into marketplaces like Lykke will bring liquidity to the natural capital markets.  

Lykke listed TREE, the first natural capital backed cryptocurrency where anyone can invest into preservation of our planet.  By owning one TREE token, you participate in the movement of preserving one of the most valuable plants of Myanmar, the mangrove.

Connect with Alan Laubsch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlaubsch/
Alan interview on Lykke: https://www.lykke.com/city/blog/team-interview-alan
Tree Tokens:  http://tree-volution.com/
Tree Tokens on Lykke: https://www.lykke.com/how-to-buy-world-view-tree
Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park: http://www.wif.care/heyerdahl-climate-parks/