1. Katy’s COMMUNITY MAGAZINE
absolutelyjan/feb 2011
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KATY’s FFA ANd
rOdEO EvENTs
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2. 48 | JAN | FEB 2011 | absolutely! | WWW.ABKATY.COM
With 20+ years of both traditional and interactive marketing
experience, Mary Frances Blatchley is principal and founder of
forGreen Marketing & Design. A cross-disciplinary thinker, Ms.
Blatchley’s expertise encompasses operations, executive
management, innovative marketing strategy, creative and brand
development, interactive technologies and green initiatives.
Prior to founding forGreen Marketing & Design, she worked as Creative
Director for Brighton Beach Advertising and Vice President of Product
Development/Creative Director for Frey Media on the east coast.
ABSOLUTLEY!
INTERVIEW
B Y C L A U D I A R I C H T E R
Mary Frances Blatchley
forGreenMARKETING & DESIGN
Ms. Blatchley spearheaded B2G
(Business-2-Green) Professional
Networking, a Houston-based
group focused on bringing sus-
tainability-minded companies and
professionals together in order to
create awareness, facilitate edu-
cation and promote the utilization
of green practices. Ms. Blatchley
attended Northern Illinois University
where she studied Business Market-
ing and Visual and Performing Arts.
She currently serves as Marketing
Chair for ASES Houston National
Solar Tour, and as Advisory Council
for Houston Green Scene. She is also
a member of Greater Houston Part-
nership and the U.S. Green Building
Council-Houston.
AM: From your perspective how
green-minded is the Houston
area?
MFB: Hmmm “green-minded” is a
tricky word. Houston is well on the
way to being one of the top sustain-
able cities in the US. Believe it or not
it is recognized on multiple levels,
from the U.S. Department of Energy
naming the City of Houston one of
25 U.S. cities as Solar America Cities
and the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) ranking the City of
Houston sixth most energy efficient
buildings. Houston is the number
one municipal purchaser of green
power and the fourth largest overall
purchaser in the nation. And, with
the recent implementation of the new
Sustainability Director Laura Spanjian,
the past Sustainability Director from
San Francisco, there have been huge
leaps and bounds to get the city, big
corps and legislation shifting. I feel,
however, we have a way to go to be
“green-minded”. Living a green-mind-
ed existence in itself is an individual,
conscious behavioral change. First,
one has to understand how their
actions affect the existence of their
environment around them. Once there
is an understanding, then there is this
“WOW” and it becomes an actual
mind-set. This is not something that
necessary happens in an instant, nor
can it even be force. However, as the
numbers of green-minded individuals
grow, you’ll eventually see a tipping
point. I’m looking forward to that in
Houston, and I believe it is close.

3. WWW.ABKATY.COM | absolutely! | JAN | FEB 2011 | 49
not needed). There are some innovative
solutions/products on the market today
that can be installed from the newest
clear, energy-saving window films to
solar attic fans. If you are unsure what
all needs to be done, you can hire an
expert home energy auditor to come
in and who will provide you a report or
there is a quick start one here and here.
For moms, I’d check the grocery list.
First, buy local, organic and fresh food as
much as possible. There’s a lot of energy
that goes into producing those high
sugar, chemically “enriched”, individually
packaged snack bars shipped from the
other side of the country that are not
optimal for anyone’s health. Also, limit the
harsh cleaners and spray air fresheners
that actually add a layer of chemicals
to your countertops, rugs and floors
and reach for the vinegar, lemon juice,
baking soda and some tap water. You’d
be surprised how similar the results and
you’d be actually de-toxifying your home
instead. Kids—put them in charge of the
three R’s - recycle, reuse, repurpose. Let
them set up the systems and come up
with ideas on how to use household items
properly before throwing them in the trash
can. Wherever there is a garbage can in
the house, but sure to put a recycle bin
right next to it. Also, have the children set
up a space for those monthly recyclables
like glass, which currently isn’t offered for
pick up here yet but there are facilities
around town in which to drop off.
AM: What is your favorite green
practice?
MFB: Personally, recycling is the easiest
and an important first step to being
green. Why? Well think about this... when
you say “I’m going to throw this away”
where exactly are you throwing it away
to? There is no such thing as “throwing
something away” it just simply gets
moved somewhere else - maybe a dump,
a landfill, the bayou, someone’s backyard,
across the world to some other person’s
city, etc. Think of our planet as a large
moveable source of resources - both
nature and humans do this. Fortunately
nature works pretty slow and it learns
over slow periods of time how to “get rid”
of stuff that doesn’t work in it’s delicate
ecosystem. However, with the inception
of both the industrial and technology
age, humans are now producing more
moveable resources than that which
company, and a new journey of creating
a sustainable world began.
AM: In your opinion what is the
single most important change a
business can make to become
gentler on the environment?
MFB: Start. Just start. Make a decision
to do one thing - It doesn’t matter if it’s
adding recycle bins under everyone’s
desk or changing the bulbs to CFLs,
just start. So turning green is much like
changing your eating habits. The quick
fix, forced diets never work long-term.
What works - making a conscious
effort to instill smart changes in your
life to get life-long results. Green is
the same, as well as green business
practices. In this case, small steps
equal world change so as a business
you have to take that first step to make
a difference. The second step, and as
equally important, is educate yourself
and your employees. Once you and
your employees understand the effects
of your actions, you can’t go back. It’s
like, what you don’t know you don’t
know, but when you know - you become
responsible for that. Get educated, be
responsible. By even reading this, you
now should understand that you know
something and should take a step toward
being responsible for that. Our children’s
children deserve it, and they are the ones
who will inherit the impact of our actions
today.
AM: How about an individual or
family who would like to make
significant green changes?
MFB: Instilling family green practices is
so much easier. There’s only a couple
of bosses (usually) and a small posse
to enroll, so change can happen faster,
however, I would first suggest not making
significant changes but small ones.
Changes which everyone can ease into
and, of course, the changes have to work
into the family budget. In addition, I’d
assign each member a certain area of
“green”. For instance, a dad might want
to take on the structure of the house
with a focus on energy. Space heating/
cooling will be your largest consumption
of energy. A few places to start would be
to make sure your home’s AC/furnace
units are running optimally, then check
on insulation and air leaks and then
usage (ie. turn off those lights when
We’re in the middle of this shift, and I
suspect we’ll see some greater traction in
the next three to five years.
AM: What would you say is the most
exciting green innovation or event
we can take part in locally?
MFB: Green is a word that is all
encompassing so it’s hard to pick one.
It’s like saying “what’s the best corn-
based product out there?” – Everything
from aspirin and car cylinders to beer
and shoe polish are made out of corn.
There are innovators currently making
recycled glass countertops from local
glass that look and perform just as well
as granite, also Rice University students
are developing the Zerow House, a zero-
energy home. Amazing innovations in all
aspects of sustainability are happening
here in Houston daily.
As far as events, I can’t say enough about
Houston Green Scenes events - they hold
a variety each month for various interest
groups. One is their Green Mixers which
are held every third Thursday for anyone
interested in finding out and connecting
with green sources. Show up, mingle, ask
questions and get involved. The other
is their Business-2-Green Professional
Networking event that happens on the
fourth Tuesday for business owners,
CEO, managers and professionals
either interested in pay-it-forward cross
pollinating networking or to find out
more about eco-friendly services and
strategies. This has grown from about
20 at inception to 100+ attendees each
event.
AM: How did you get involved in a
green business?
MFB: I got lucky - it was an epiphany. I
had purchased the url “forGreen.com”.
It was a play off of my current business
name at the time, forBri Marketing &
Design (named after my daughter) and
figured as a disco granola/health nut/
enlightened fanatic, “someday I’ll do
something with this.” Then, I literally
woke up one day saying “who better to
help promote green than someone who
helps market businesses?” That’s when I
decided to focus on building companies
with value system as well as their actions
aligned with mine. Additionally I was able
to continue to hone my talents as well as
work my passion. Thus, I rebranded my

4. 50 | JAN | FEB 2011 | absolutely! | WWW.ABKATY.COM
nature or we can repurpose and we’ve
got a backload. Therefore, we need to
stop and be conscious of exactly how
and where we are moving our unwanted
resources. Moving it where both nature
and technology can not decompose
of them quickly enough causes a
problem—toxified, unusable spaces
that spreads throughout our air supply
and ground surfaces, causing negative
effects to both nature and humans.
So the question I always tell people to
ask when throwing something
away - is it being moved to
the best possible place where
it can be reused, recycled or
reduced properly? At this point in
innovation, we can not recycle or
reuse everything, but we certainly
can reduce the amount by being
conscious and acting upon one
simple task - recycling with the
systems we have available.
AM: Do you have children and
if so, are they growing up
thinking green?
MFB: Yes, and definitely. First,
I’m not sure my daughter really
had a choice. As a single parent
managing a home, business
and family, efficiency and
sustainability is just a part of
the plan. Again, it’s a way of being.
Of course, she also understands
the fundamentals. And, she actually
questions things. In Katy we are
also fortunate enough that we live in
a transient ethnic community. She
observes different home practices and
sees that her Norwegian friends pull
more recycle trash to the curb than
waste because that’s a learned behavior
from the culture they came from. She
“gets” that there are different ways of
behaving. Also, I believe the power
of the Internet is actually on our side.
Good, bad and ugly, these kids are
going up smarter and smarter and they
do understand that certain behaviors are
just making things worse.
I think this younger generation will be
more of an influence to their parents
than the other way around. Not to
mention, they are just plain smarter
than we were at that age. Kuddos to
them, I can’t wait to learn more.
AM: What are your favorite hobbies
and interests outside of work?
MFB: My work, for the most part is
pretty strategic and when it’s creative,
it is commercial creative so recently I
have re-engaged my individual creative
side and have been painting, redoing
furniture and creating other artwork.
Plus, I’m a nature and wellness freak.
Go figure. I love the water so anything to
get a chance to be on, in or interacting
on water is nirvana. Since moving from
an island on the east coast, I missed the
ocean so I decided to commit myself
to get my sailing certification. Scary
but I now legally can take friends out
on a sailing boat under my command.
In addition, I have been going back to
my “enlightenment” studies - educating
myself through the works of some
phenomenal sages and scientists, such
as Deepak Chopra, Dr. Hans-Peter
Duerr, Andrew Cohen, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf
and Ken Wilber. I believe we are living
in a time where we will see a conscious
shift in the way we think about both
spirituality and science, and therefore
I find it exciting to explore those
conversations taking place by some of
the top leaders in that arena.
AM: Do you have a favorite Houston
hang-out or restaurant?
MFB: Wow - I love food so that is a
really, really hard one. And, because
I have that creative side I love to
explore - whether it’s a small diner
off the beaten path or the next 5-star
restaurant, it’s always exciting and an
adventure. If I were to mention
some restaurants, I would have
to give a shout out for Kenzo’s as
their sashimi is tops here in Katy,
and the staff and atmosphere are
always inviting. Hasta La Pasta
is family favorite. They don’t
advertise it but most all their
ingredients are fresh and they
make entrees from scratch. Plus,
there is nothing like owners who
care about their community that
just makes you feel at home. In
town, I like Ruggles Green, for
their Spicy Fish Tacos and their
Carrot Cake and the fact they are
green.
AM: What is something people
would be surprised to know
about you?
MFB: That I really, REALLY love
to be quiet when in my own space. No
music, no talking, no sounds but that
of the natural environment. I often even
turn off my car radio when driving so I
can just enjoy the sound that is naturally
occurring. I actually like listening
to nothing. You’d be surprised how
“musical” it actually can be.
AM: What is your favorite color?
MFB: And you ask a creative this
question... lol. Seriously, I actually
do have a couple. Aqua blue, which
reminds me of my love of water. And,
Sienna - which has a multitude of ranges
because it’s the color of the sunset/
sunrise and never quite the same
orange. Nothing is more amazing than
watching a sunset or sunrise - whether
it be on the east coast shores of Hilton
Head Island or the top of Haleakala on
Maui or the sunrise behind the Houston
skyline. I plan on having a business one
day using the same name...just waiting
for my next epiphany.