Aspirational Sustainability: How SISTAIN Is Changing the Sustainability Landscape with Jaclyn Tracy

Jaclyn Tracy is the founder of SISTAIN, a DTC marketplace that curates sustainable products and provides the tools to educate consumers about sustainability, making it not only easier, but aspirational too. She joins The Gravity Podcast for a conversation about knowing you’re on the right path in life and balancing commerce with lifestyle.

She came from a household filled with diverse opinions. While her parents were traditional and conservative, her brother was a mohawk-sporting anarchist. He started her journey of exploring sustainability, and seeing the way her family would interact with one another shaped much of her approach to getting a message out into the world. 

Working in advertising before becoming an entrepreneur, she learned that consumer behavior can be changed and made doing just that her mission: moving the world toward less waste and, as she puts it: “imperfect progress.”

We discuss how she realized she wasn’t on her right path in life thanks to a holistic, intentional approach to living. Of course, knowing about a problem is much easier than fixing it, so we also talk about the changes she made to address things. An interesting part of our conversation gets into the need for money and whether or not this always comes at the expense of how we choose to live our lives. 

Self-care is important to Jaclyn – as it should be to all of us – we cover her must-haves, from sabbaticals to drinking enough water. Then we get into what the future holds for her and SISTAIN. It’s exciting, meaningful stuff. Tune in for a look into the future of digital commerce.

What Brett asks:

  • [01:26] Talk a little bit about the early memories of your childhood.
  • [05:38] What was it like growing up with such diversity of thought in your household?
  • [10:44] What were your childhood passions?
  • [14:48] What was your relationship with your anarchist brother like?
  • [18:46] How did societal norms initially keep you in a lane?
  • [22:14] How do you balance the need for money and the importance placed on money?
  • [25:22] What was your path towards entrepreneurship?
  • [33:52] Tell me how you self-care.
  • [43:34] What’s next? Where are you going from here?
  • [46:18] What’s the biggest obstacle for you in the way of getting the business to the next step?
  • [47:46] Any final thoughts?

 

Lessons for intentional living:

  • Jaclyn was set on one path in life and didn’t let that stop her from stepping out of her comfort zone and pursuing new areas, opportunities, and ideas. An intentional approach to living can be a great way to guide us in knowing that we’re making the right decisions about what we do with our time, our careers, and our mental energy. 
  • One of the most interesting parts of our conversation in this episode was the need to strike a balance when it comes to money. Obviously, we need money to live – to sustain our and our family’s lifestyles – but that doesn’t mean that we should view money with too much importance. Striking the right balance is crucial to living a happy, fulfilling life. 

 

Resources: