Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> July 1, 1998
JOHN SCHAEFFER, President of the Real Goods division of Gaiam, Inc., has
been exploring renewable energy and sustainable living since his 1971
graduation from the University of California at Berkeley, where he
majored in Anthropology. During the last 25 years, he founded and grew
Real Goods (now Gaiam Real Goods) from a garage startup to the foremost
global source for tools and information on renewable energy and
sustainable living. Along the way, he has brought new ecological
products to a wider market and pioneered ways of raising money directly
from his customers without the need for investment bankers and stock
brokers while doing business ethically, responsibly and humanely. In
1995 he created the Solar Living Center in Hopland, California, a 12-
acre educational demonstration site powered by solar and wind which
hosts over 150,000 visitors annually and is the home of the nation's
premier annual energy festival, SolFest. He founded and remains Chair of
the Board of the educational non-profit Solar Living Institute,
dedicated to promoting renewable energy through inspirational
environmental education. Profile
on Real Goods Trading, and then bring us up to date. Over the next two
to three years, what do you see as the key
