001. Why I'm starting "The Intentionalista"

Hi, I’m Jenny. 👋🏻 Nice to meet you if we’ve never met! After spending the past 3 years working in sustainability at Amazon, I left my job earlier this year to explore my interest in the circular economy, as well as generally be more intentional about how I live. I wanted to be more present with my kids while they’re still little, define what I really love and want out of life, and create better systems that support my efforts to do those things. In other words, I wanted to turn off auto-pilot and be mindful about how and why I exist in the world.

There’s a lot to unpack there, for sure (we’ll cover some of that in future posts!) – but suffice it to say that this year has involved a lot of learning, research, experimentation and following my insatiable curiosity where it leads me, and I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity.

Just as I suspected it would, learning about the circular economy in particular has lit a roaring flame in my heart. If you have no idea what I am talking about, don’t worry. I have found that while the circular economy is really picking up speed and becoming mainstream (about time!), it’s still a term most people outside the sustainability bubble are not familiar with. Let me briefly digress.

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The best way to explain the circular economy is simply to contrast it with the economic model we’re all familiar with.

Our existing economic system is linear - where we extract valuable resources from the earth, use those resources to manufacture products, use those products for a relatively (or very) short time, and then discard them (and therefore the valuable resources they were made from) at the end of their “useful” life. Most often, discarded products and their packaging end up in a landfill, an incinerator, or worst of all, polluting waterways like rivers and oceans.

In contrast, a circular economy is a closed loop instead of a straight line. It encourages reuse of existing resources, reimagines “waste” as useful feedstock for new products, and most importantly, designs products with the end of life in mind, ensuring each part of a product can be reused, disassembled for remanufacturing into a new product, repurposed, recycled or otherwise be made to last a long time.

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I first heard the term “circularity” a few years ago when I was at Amazon, since it was occasionally part of broader conversations related to upcoming regulations or the company’s long-term sustainability strategy, but it wasn’t something I directly touched in my own work at the time. All I really knew about it was that it minimized (or ideally eliminated) waste through intentional design – and I was fascinated.

As a California native and ocean lover, I have volunteered at many beach clean ups – I even used to carry extra doggy poo bags on my dog walks along the SF Bay Trail to pick up any trash I’d inevitably encounter. Anytime I ever hear of a whale or other sea animal washing onto shore with large amounts of plastic in its stomach, it makes me really sad and frustrated. If there was a system to create less waste in our world, I wanted to be a part of it.

Walking my dog Corona along the SF Bay Trail. Not pictured: all the extra doggy poo bags in my pocket for picking up any trash I’d find.

When I took time off from corporate life, I wasn’t exactly sure what I would end up doing next. I just knew I needed the time and space to figure it out. I started with the low-hanging fruit: I took a 7-week Circular Economist course led by Vojtech Vosecky (highly recommend); read books ranging from “Cradle to Cradle” (one of the OG circular economy books) to “The Portfolio Life” (a great guide on being more intentional in your career); listened to many different podcasts; and devoured content from circularity and intentional living experts on LinkedIn. I met with lots of interesting people – folks working on cool startups, fellow members of my 100-person cohort from the course I took, and even other people on career breaks like me exploring what a different path could look like. Most fun of all, I challenged myself to 1) take direct actions to be more circular in my own life and community and 2) implement new systems for productivity and personal growth.

Then suddenly one day a little light bulb went off. Something I kept noticing in my conversations is that when I’d ask someone if they had heard of X, Y or Z cool thing I had learned about from a different conversation, podcast or personal experience, I was very often met with “No, I’ve never heard of that! Tell me more!” I loved the feeling of sharing a link to a podcast with someone, or telling them about a product, service or resource that I’d recently discovered. It occurred to me that instead of quietly keeping track of the interesting things I was learning and doing, maybe I should try to share them with a wider audience. If my experiences can help bring more people into the circularity or intentional living fold, that can only be a good thing!

Starting a Substack was not necessarily on my 2025 Bingo card, but it makes me super excited and hopeful for the possibilities. I’m not someone who typically posts on social media or likes to be in the spotlight, especially when it involves being vulnerable about my own learning journey. But if the small actions and mindset shifts I’m doing can inspire others to do the same, there could be some amazing ripple effects for the world – and that is worth venturing outside my comfort zone. (Fun fact: I even made my blog logo a little water ripple to remind me that those ripple effects are the ultimate goal of this passion project).

I chose the name “The Intentionalista” because it speaks to my desire to be intentional about as many aspects of my life as I can. Just like a fashionista knows all about fashion and a TJ Maxx Maxxinista knows where to find all the best deals, an “Intentionalista” is someone who is intentional about how they consume and live. (In case you are wondering, yes, it’s a totally made up word and yes, I am kind of obsessed with it). 💃🏻

Since deciding to start this blog, I’ve already caught myself thinking “what would an Intentionalista do?” in various situations. It’s who I aspire to be – and who I hope to inspire along the way.

Thanks for joining me - stay tuned for more later this week!