Former Earth Friendly Products CEO Van Vlahakis, who sadly passed away in 2014, is heavily featured in the important documentary “Green Giants”, which focuses on corporations and CEOs working to help the environment and change how business is done.
As director Alexis Posternak puts it, “‘Green Giants’ provides a clear behind-the-scenes look at what some of the most innovative people and companies are doing today to transform the world for good.”
In addition to being a prominent Greek-American businessman, Vlahakis was one of the original Green Pioneers. Inspired by the natural products his Greek mother used when cleaning, he ensured that his line of cleaning products would be eco-friendly.
His motivation was simple – as he said himself to the LA Times, “I wanted to make something that was better for people, safer for the environment.”
Vlahakis’ personal life and rise to success had previously inspired “A Green Story”, a biographical film covering his first years in the US and subsequent business success. The movie attracted well-known actors such as Malcolm McDowell, Ed O’Ross, Shannon Elizabeth, and Greek-American actors Billy Zane, Louis Mandylor, and Alexis Georgoulis.
“Green Giants” focuses more on Vlahakis’ role as a “visionary eco-pioneer”, and the amazing things he has achieved with Earth Friendly Products, which now makes the top-selling ECOS detergent and even reached the milestone of total carbon neutrality in 2013. Though Van has unfortunately passed away, Earth Friendly Products is now run by his daughter, President and CEO Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, who continues to promote the founding principles of natural products and eco-friendly operations to guide the brand forward.
Check out the “Green Giants” film when it premieres to learn more about Van Vlahakis’ legacy and hear other prominent business and environmental figures talk about what companies can do to help the world today. Ray Foote, Executive VP of the Forest Foundation, Rick Needham, Director of Energy & Sustainability at Google, and Hannah Jones, CSO & VP of the Innovation Accelerator at Nike, are some of the others featured in the film.
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