Thomas Lee — City Council District 2 Candidate 2021 additional Integrated Community Sustainability Plan statements:

“Yes, I would adopt the goals but would recommend some changes to the strategies…

I love the idea of attempting to lay out a wide ranging strategy to address many of the issue of sustainability in our community. It is a great planning tool to try and create a vision of where we would like to head as a community in Chattanooga and our surrounding area. If I were to make one general suggestion, it is that the scope is so wide ranging and the variety of initiatives outlined so vast that it seems like trying to establish the top priorities that need the greatest focus would be nearly impossible. It would be my suggestion that among the vast number of initiatives outlined, perhaps the most expeditious approach would be to select several key items in each category and make sure that those initiative are moving forward. Then, as you make progress in each area, move down the list and add additional items to the priority list. This approach seems to me to increase the likelihood of making sure that progress has been made.

… At my company Goodhew, we spend a significant amount of time working to reduce our environmental impact, and increase the eco friendliness of our Sockwell sock products. We founded our business with an insistence on US made products with a focus on reducing our carbon footprint. Virtually all of our raw materials are made in the US versus sourcing and shipping them from all over the world. We have selected materials that environmentally friendly, and where possible biodegradable. We are constantly looking for opportunities to improve on what we are doing. Recently we began moving to the use of recycled nylon versus using a virgin product, thus keeping nylon waste out of the landfill. Our yarn dyer recently built a new plant that utilized significantly less water and electricity as compared to traditional methods. By using a series of progressive improvements in the way we do business, we are able to produce our products in an ever more environmentally friendly manner.”