2022 Honorees

Shannon Goldberg

Chief Zero Waste Officer

“I'm someone who cares about driving meaningful change whenever possible.”

Innovator2022

Tell us about where you work and what you do there.

I am the Chief Zero Waste Officer at Izzy Zero Waste Beauty. In other words, I’m their CEO and brand founder, but chose a title that better reflected our brand mission and purpose. Here, I oversee absolutely everything related to the brand, from our TikTok Strategy to the financial health of our company. As CZWO, I wear many hats and no job is too big or too small.

I also oversee every single customer service question, which is literally the most informative, light-shedding way to see what customers are actually saying and feeling about my brand 1st handedly. The FAQs actually drive a lot of our brand messaging and social posts in efforts to clear up any confusion in real time. This is why it’s crucial to have a holistic understanding of your brand, as every single action is inextricably linked to its future success.

How would you describe yourself?

I lead with curiosity, intention, and grit — never claiming to be “the smartest person in the room.” Anyone can harness a special talent or strength, but I believe my genuine passion and enthusiasm is what shines so bright. I’m fun-loving, competitive, and a collaborative BIG picture thinker with a constant craving to innovate and grow.

Family is everything, and that includes my work family. Investing in others, truly seeing them and listening to them feeds my soul. Mom, wife, vegetarian, eternal optimist and sustainability advocate — I’m really just someone who cares an awful lot about driving meaningful change whenever possible.

Innovation is at the heart of advancements in eCommerce. Do you have any thoughts or advice around maintaining an innovative edge?

Dream BIG, Innovate quickly and never get too comfortable. You never know who’s getting ready to disrupt the market. Stay on guard! We’ve seen this play out so many times… iPhone, Tesla, Uber, etc.

What do you think has been your biggest professional success so far?

Launching Izzy Zero Waste Beauty in the middle of a pandemic over Google Meets and Facetime — yes, it’s true. I managed to launch a brand without ever seeing my team in person before launch. Go technology!

Without a formal education in sustainability, I truly felt like a blank piece of paper in the beginning. I don’t even think I had a clear understanding of what “sustainability” even meant. I just knew that I no longer wanted to be part of the problem — the problem being that the beauty industry produces over 120 billion units of unrecyclable plastic a year.

Izzy is a brand that challenges every piece of the product development process. From our carbon neutral supply chain to our zero waste refill subscription model and medical-grade stainless steel tubes, Izzy is a change-brand in every sense of the word. We’ve managed to reduce “sustainability” to such a simple notion: produce something once and get endless refills from it. That really is our entire goal in a nutshell — to get our components back so they can be washed and refilled up to 10,000 times, lasting up to 2,500 years.

Some of my proudest moments thus far include:

  • Winning the Good Housekeeping Sustainable Innovation Award for best “Closed-Loop Mascara” just six months after launch
  • Being invited to join Amazon’s “Climate Friendly” brand portfolio on Launchpad
  • Earning the Carbon Neutral Certification from the Natural Capital Partners just before launch
  • Mapping out the world’s smallest supply chain for a mascara, which can be conducted on just one tank of gas or two Tesla charges
  • Creating a component with 94% less plastic, and finding a way to melt down the used plastic into its original resin for reuse.

Lastly, I’m most grateful for the growth mindset I’ve adopted through Izzy — refusing to give up and always pushing to the limit.

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What goals do you have for 2022?

Business wise, I plan to grow Izzy significantly between retail expansion, innovation, and hiring a full-time staff. I’d also like to strengthen my sales and overall brand awareness, like every brand who is just starting out.  On a personal level, I just hope for a healthier and less stressful year for everyone everywhere. My ultimate goal is to simply stay healthy — mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially.

What do you think is the next big trend in eCommerce?

Solutions based on time savings, truth, and trust, backed by radical transparency.

Name an eCommerce brand you admire and why.

That would have to be Peloton for me right now. The entire branded experience is unparalleled. From the product, to the app and equipment, you can really see how cohesive the brand marketing, creative touchpoints and tone of voice truly is. It’s the Starbucks of working out — predictable, consistent, and a culture unto itself. Heck, we even speak their language now, “One two one two!”

What do you geek out over?

Cool sustainable brands, good coffee, all things wellness, Dad jokes and my Google Meets that tend to have cameos from puppies, babies, and toddlers.