Co-Founders Paige Davis, Amy George and Melissa Nathan

Durable green lifestyle products company BlueAvocado® announced today it closed on over $1.7 million of Series B capital to help the company meet the growing demand for stylish green goods with impact. Bruce Barshop, president of Barshop Ventures led the funding round, with participation from Gamefly.com co-founder Sean Spector, and other retail experts. Renewing investors included celebrity designer Lauren Conrad, Jack Long, Chairman of PeopleAdmin, M. Block & Sons, Baylor Angel Network and other early-stage investors. With the new capital the company will expand its leadership team, accelerate national brand awareness, and grow its online marketplace for high impact products like the recently launched Made in the USA line.

BlueAvocado currently offers reusable food-on-the-go, shopping and travel accessories at more than 8,500 stores and online retailers nationwide including The Container Store, Whole Foods, Target, Amazon and Kohl’s. The company is on track to double revenue for a third consecutive year, while keeping 200 million disposables and more than 6 million plastic bottles out of landfills.

"BlueAvocado's customers use our products three to five times a week, reducing waste with each use. We help them pack their lunch smarter, shop easier, travel lighter and give gifts with impact," BlueAvocado CEO Amy George said. "Our recent funding will allow us to continue to innovate and inspire more customers to help us keep a half a billion disposables out of landfills by 2015."

The company partners with top national retailers in the mass consumer market space. These retail partners have been implementing higher sustainability standards that underscore the critical role brand partners will play in the future. “As national retailers expand sustainability score cards and healthy living categories to meet customer demands, we see tremendous opportunity for BlueAvocado to be a leader in sustainable home products and services," says Bruce Barshop, President of Barshop Ventures.

The company has also integrated technology with its products to magnify its social impact goals like investing 1 percent of sales toward women micro-entrepreneurs, as demonstrated with its "Make Change, Not Waste" app developed with Whole Foods' Whole Planet Foundation. The app saves customers $200 per year in coupons, while raising awareness and money, enabling micro-entrepreneurs to alleviate poverty. The company will continue to expand its use of technology to strengthen customer engagement and accelerate its impact.

The company is a certified B Corporation (B Corp), a company who uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. A B Corp voluntarily meets a higher standard of transparency and accountability against performance metrics that track community, governance, environment and employees. In the home and housewares category, there are fewer than a half-dozen B Corps but more than 800 companies in more than 60 industries worldwide, including well-known brands such as Patagonia, Method, Seventh Generation, Plum Organics and Preserve.

About BlueAvocado
Started in Austin, Texas in 2008, the company has maintained the vision of its founders, Melissa Nathan, Paige Davis and Amy George to raise consumer consciousness around disposable lifestyle to a more mindful one focused on re-use and preservation of natural resources. The company's first product was a reusable shopping kit that eliminated 1000 plastic bags from a customers' routine annually, and fit neatly in a car. Since inception, BlueAvocado's mission has been to create affordable, durable products backed by stylish and thoughtful designs. Every BlueAvocado product has an impact label showing the waste avoided or upcycled with each use. To inspire new market segments to reduce waste, the company continues to partner with top celebrity designers including Lauren Conrad and Ross Bennett. Find out more about BlueAvocado’s mission to “smile more and waste less” at BlueAvocado.com.

About Barshop Ventures, LLC
San Antonio, Texas-based Barshop Ventures, LLC is a diversified venture capital investment and portfolio investment management firm, primarily representing the interests of the Sam Barshop family. Barshop Ventures has founded and/or invested in, and Barshop Ventures’ executives have served on the Boards of, a number of early and mid-stage enterprises in media and telecommunications, life sciences and medical devices, and other fields. Barshop Ventures has been a particularly active investor in enterprises that target the fast-growing U.S. Latino market.

BlueAvocado

BlueAvocado

Started in Austin Texas in 2008, the company has maintained the vision of its founders, Melissa Nathan, Paige Davis and Amy George. The original vision of these three women was inspired by the then nascent movement to ban plastic bags and to raise consumer consciousness around disposable lifestyle to a more mindful, conscious focused on re-use. The company's first product was a reusable shopping kit that eliminated 1000 plastic bags from a customers' routine annually, and fit neatly in a car. Since inception, BlueAvocado's mission has been to create affordable, durable products backed by stylish and thoughtful designs. Every BlueAvocado product has an impact label showing the waste avoided or upcycled with each use. To inspire new market segments to reduce waste, the company continues to partner with top celebrity designers including Lauren Conrad and Ross Bennett. Find out more about BlueAvocado’s mission to “smile more and waste less” at BlueAvocado.com.

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