When thinking about the Bio Bag business, I took inspiration from a number of existing businesses. Some of them operate in the green space. Others don't. I think what ties them together is that they are decidedly non-corporate, have created a distinct, positive identity for themselves and are trying to contribute something to the world.
So in no particular order, her they are:
Innocent. www.innocentdrinks.co.uk. Fruit smoothies with a positive attitude. They continue to go from strenght to strength and their quirkiness still worksI hope they can keep it up as they grow ever bigger.
Dorset Cereals www.dorsetcereals.co.uk. They are very brave taking on the big boys in the cereals business, but they seem to succeed, again with a message of quality and goodness.
Barefoot Books www.barefoot-books.com. Beautiful and uplifting children's books. We have a few at our house and the kids love'em. The business is run by a few people who broke out of the corporate mould to create something new. I like'em a lot.
Enfin la Voila http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5226179&order=&section_id=&page=2. This is the webshop of a good friend of mine who also did the initial design of the Bio Bag logo. She runs a little web-shop selling these really nicely designed, slightly off-the-wall greeting cards and stationary. She sells them via Etsy.com, which is like an ebay for creative people and minor and major artists. It's a great site. My friend actually succeeds in making a half-decent leving off her stationary business and shes sells her stuff worldwide. I guess it is a living example of a "long tail business"