Deeva Green: BEYOND THE MAT

Deeva Green and family

Member: Deeva Green

Beyond The Mat: PlantPaper

Interviewed by: Kimberley Cowans

Hello Deeva! We love having you practice with us, and we’re fascinated to find out what you’re busy with when you’re not at PREMA.

What’s your heritage and how did you end up in Brooklyn?

I grew up in Toronto, Canada. My mom is French Canadian and my dad is American. I was living in London for my undergraduate (studying environmental policy and economics). Every time I visited my sister in NYC, I felt alive. The energy, the people (and the yoga!) were very different from what I knew in London, so I moved in with my sister in the East Village when I graduated. I soon met my now husband (and business partner) Lee. That was 15 years ago. We left NYC for a few years about ten years ago, and lived in Bordeaux, Toronto and Amagansett along the way. But in 2017 we moved to Boerum Hill and have been here ever since. We now have two kids, 3 and 5, and can’t imagine a nicer community in which to raise them.

Wow, you really followed your heart! Beautiful! For those in our community who aren’t familiar with PlantPaper, what is it?

Reach out! We’ll send you samples! Or go test it out in the Prema bathroom! PlantPaper is a tree-free, toxin-free toilet paper company with a focus on human and environmental health. Our products are completely unbleached and are made without any of the harsh chemicals used in conventional white tree-based paper, like dioxins, PFAS (forever chemicals) and formaldehyde. We are one month away from launching what we think is a game-changing tree-free paper towel!

Congratulations on the new launch coming soon! Household paper products are items people don’t think too deeply about when purchasing. What are the less obvious facts people might be surprised to learn about conventional toilet tissue being an issue?

Where to start! Most conventional TP is made with pulp from old growth trees in the Boreal Forest and eucalyptus trees in the Amazon. The Boreal is the world’s largest carbon sink. We need these trees in the earth, not cut down to make something as fleeting as toilet paper. Bamboo, on the other hand, grows extremely quickly – up to a meter per day. It doesn’t need inputs like fertilizers or additional water, and stores the majority of its carbon in its roots, so that when it’s harvested, the carbon remains intact.

Shocking facts: Over 27,000 trees are cut down every day to make toilet paper. Boreal forest loss, due to logging, results each year in carbon emissions equivalent to 5.5 million passenger vehicles.

Recycled TP is great from the standpoint of forest conservation, but it requires significant additional energy inputs to remove inks and dyes before the pulping process. Also, recycled paper inevitably contains trace amounts of BPA (from receipts and materials in the recycling mix).

This one is crazy: a significant percentage of TP sold in the US under American brand names has actually crossed the ocean twice. Pulp from the Boreal in Canada and the Amazon is transported to Asia to be made into ‘mother rolls’ and then sent back to the US to be converted (cut) into TP. You’ll never see Made in the US on a toilet paper package. At best, you’ll see Made in the US From Imported Materials. It’s a convoluted supply chain.

Those are some seriously shocking facts. Thank you for educating us on this mammoth business sector we’re all at the mercy of. PlantPaper products truly land in the realm of Essentialism – what other areas of your life do you practice streamlining the options that surround your health and the planet?

I’m a big fan of plain old white vinegar and baking soda as cleaning products in the house. Also cracking open the window for indoor air quality. Indoor air quality is a huge issue. The combination of fewer chemicals in our cleaning supplies and better ventilation is an easy, streamlined fix.

And maybe most significantly: phone hygiene for mental wellbeing! We like to have a little place for phones to live close to the entry of the house. That’s where they stay during mealtime and family time.

Fabulous tips and key areas of interest to us all. I’m curious how your movement practice supports your entrepreneurship journey?

It goes hand in hand!I could not be who I need to be for the business without it. It helps me attack all the daily fires with perspective and confidence, calmly deal with upset customers (or a very stressed husband/co-founder), or huge shipping delays… My movement practice is truly essential for peace in my mind and body. I don’t even want to know what type of partner, colleague or mother I’d be without it!

Gosh, it’s all so true! We completely agree that exercise strengthens all vital abilities. What’s your movement practice of choice?

I used to be a yoga-only gal. My mother had a yoga studio in Toronto my whole life. I wasn’t into school sports, so I got into yoga at a very young age. After high school, I lived in London, where I had to travel great lengths to find good yoga. I began to do African dance, which I loved.

Back in NY, before kids, it was all yoga! In the aftermath of the birth of our second child, we went through a very heavy period. I couldn’t practice for a long time. I needed fast movement to get out of my shocked fight-or-flight state. I would do short runs down to the water and listen to loud music and later got into a great dance exercise at Bodycraft. I stayed far away from yoga for the longest period of my adult life—I couldn’t go deep inside. But once I found yoga again, it’s become an essential part of my movement practice and I’m so grateful for the Prema Annex so I can easily get on the mat after school drop-off!

This is all so relatable. Somatic movement has been proven to regulate the nervous system. Amanda introduced the ‘Remix’ to our PREMA classes for this very reason - to wake up and shake up the body and mind from ‘going through the motions’. Running your own business can feel like a 24/7 work week – how do you detach and wind down from the demands of the day?

Having kids has made it impossible to work on the weekends, and has forced me to create more boundaries around work. Though that’s challenging, it’s also been a very good thing. We commit to sitting down for an early dinner together as a family most days of the week. After their bedtime, there isn’t much winding down beyond cleaning. My morning movement really is the one window I get for reconnecting with myself and my body each day, and I am grateful for it.

So much gratitude for those windows we create to reconnect with ourselves! Getting on the mat can mean so much. Your business and life can take you out of town a bit - which items do you travel with that make you feel grounded and happy?

My matcha, a journal, a good book and lavender.

Gorgeous picks. Who inspires you the most?

My parents! At 75, they’re as active and as passionate as ever about what they love and how they live each day. They’re practicing yoga, gardening, swimming, painting, laughing together and continuing to grow (and grandparenting seven little guys!).

I can picture them! What perfect North Stars they are. What’s a piece of advice you’ve been given that you keep going back to?

Simply to remember that we are all trying our hardest. We are all having a hard time.

So important. Thank you for the reminder.

Do you any book recommendations for our community?

Transit of Venus – Shirley Hazzard. Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami.The Postcard – Anne Berest.

Fabulous! Out of curiosity – what’s your zodiac sign?

Taurus.

And lastly, because we sure know the transformative effects of a good dance here at PREMA, what records do you throw on when you really want to dance the cobwebs away?

Trenchtown Rock Live – Bob Marley. Walking on Broken Glass – Annie Lennox. Dream Another Night – Lee Reit (as in my Lee!).

That’s right! Your Lee (partner and co-founder) is a talented artist! The live version of the record you mention of his is beautiful to watch/listen to on YouTube. Thank you, Deeva, for this incredible interview for our community. We look forward to seeing you soon and to trying the new Paper Towel!

Deeva and Lee - PlantPaper

You can keep up with all things PlantPaper on IG @plant_paper and online via plantpaper.us - be sure to request samples and if you see Deeva around she’s always open to chat.

PREMA Community - use this discount code for 25% off your opening subscription to PlantPaper: PREMA25

KC | PREMA BROOKLYN