Balanced Living

By Andrew Weil, M.D.

What's the best way to improve the world?

Of course, "improve" means different things to different people, so let me be clear: What's the best way to move from a wasteful, polluting, unhealthy, short-sighted and authoritarian society to an efficient, clean, health-promoting, sustainable and empowering one?

Traditionally in our society, the heavy lifting of such reform has been done by government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, and by nonprofit groups such as the Sierra Club. But politics can stifle government efforts at environmental and health reform. And nonprofits, while extraordinarily valuable, often lack the money, manpower and expertise to make significant change.

Increasingly, I feel that if the world is to be improved, it won't happen outside the bounds of capitalism. At the start of the third millennium, it seems clear to me that ethical, for-profit businesses just might be the last, best hope for the planet.

According to the book Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins, we are in the midst of a second Industrial Revolution. The first one was devoted to gaining mastery over the material world and accumulating wealth - environmental and health consequences be damned. But the current revolution is aligning itself - as successful businesses have always done - with what people want now. And increasingly, what people want is a world that is healthy and safe for them and their children.

We are moving from a consumptive economy to a restorative economy.

A restorative business is one that makes a good product that a sustainable world needs, pushing out unsustainable products in the process. Some restorative businesses also donate a portion of their profits to non-profit organizations, doubling their effectiveness.

You don't have to look far to find other businesses that lead this movement: Smith and Hawken (sustainable, durable  home and garden products), and Patagonia (organic cotton clothing), are highly public examples. And such businesses need not be small: the Prius hybrid sedan, from automotive giant Toyota, is the highest-mileage (and fastest-selling) car in America.

I believe that the time is coming, albeit slowly, when such businesses will be the rule rather than the exception. I want to accelerate that process. So when people ask me why my name and face are on commercial products, the answer is straightforward.

First, every product, and every manufacturer, that licenses my name is a restorative one, actively engaged in making the world better:

ITO EN, LTD
Poised as the world's leading supplier of green tea, ITO EN is dedicated to the promotion of the fine taste, traditions, and benefits of green tea. With a history of innovation spanning four decades, ITO EN has been an industry leader, developing the first, entirely natural ready-to-drink green tea beverages. Dr. Weil worked side-by-side with ITO EN to create a line of unsweetened tea beverages, launched in Spring 2006. Available at select markets such as Wegmans, Whole Foods, Pharmaca and online.

Lucini Italia
Lucini Italia is committed to creating authentic, handcrafted Italian specialty foods that are based on high quality fresh ingredients from Italy. Dr. Weil has been a proponent of the health benefits of organic foods and extra virgin olive oil and recommends Lucini Italia Organics. The Limited Reserve Organics include Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Whole Peeled Tomatoes, and Stravecchio Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Products can be found in retailers across the country in natural and mainstream channels.

Origins Natural Resources
Since October 2005, Origins Natural Resources, one of The Estée Lauder Companies, has worked side-by-side with Dr. Weil to develop a collection of proactive, proprietary skincare treatments that reflect Dr. Weil’s approach to wellness. The line features an integrative blend of traditional, therapeutic plants and herbs combined with wellness and lifestyle techniques to optimize skin health – inside and out. Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins™ addresses key skincare issues, including skin inflammation, which is increasingly recognized as a major cause of compromised skin health and contributor to age-related changes in skin. Whether you need to sleep well, reduce your skin’s stress or boost your natural defenses against the challenges of time, Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins™ will help improve your body, mind and spirit. Origins is available in more than 410 department and specialty stores in the United States, 16 key global markets including the UK and Japan, as well as in over 100 of its own free-standing retail stores.

Idea Sphere, Inc.
Idea Sphere, Inc., manufactures, and distributes a premier nutritional supplement line based on Dr. Weil's recommendations, proprietary formulas, and evidence-based scientific research. Dr. Weil has been a longtime proponent of nutritional supplementation as insurance against gaps in the diet. Weil Nutritional Supplements are available in natural food, specialty, and vitamin retail outlets throughout the U.S.

Vital Choice Wild Seafood and Organics
Vital Choice offers sustainably harvested wild Alaska salmon and other natural and organic foods. The Weil for Vital Choice Salmon Sausage products are recommended by Dr. Weil for their superior quality and health benefits. The founders of Vital Choice have decades of first hand experience as Alaska fishermen, and take great pride in sourcing the world’s finest wild seafood on behalf of their customers. The Weil for Vital Choice line is available exclusively online.

Weil Baby
Weil Baby produces safe, sustainable baby products developed under the guidance of Dr. Weil and the precepts of integrative pediatrics. Weil Baby utilizes proven technology and BPA-free materials to minimize health risks for children while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint of industry. The complete Weil Baby line is non-toxic and entirely made in the USA using revolutionary new materials. The line will launch at the end of May, 2009 in select Babies"R"Us stores (www.babiesrus.com) and at www.weilbaby.com.

Second, I personally make nothing from these endorsements. I donate all of my after-tax profits from royalties from sales of licensed products directly to the Weil Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting integrative medicine through training, education and research (For more information, visit: www.weilfoundation.org).

The challenges before us are immense. The best efforts of all kinds of enterprises - governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit - are sorely needed. I have been active in all three arenas in the course of my 40-year medical career, and will continue to be so. I am proud to be associated with such superlative businesses, and pleased that their use of my name may contribute in some small way to their success.

Since its inception in 2005, the Weil Foundation has given out more than $3 million in grants and gifts to medical centers and other non-profit organizations nationwide.