In The Hot Seat: Scott James and Fair Trade Sports

Scott James took a leap of faith that has lead him to a job he is proud of, very proud of. Years ago James had a good job, a comfortable life and could have lived happily ever after, except for one thing — he wanted to change the world and do it by helping others. The desk job at Microsoft just wasn't going to do that. So he set out on a mission that lead to the foundation of Fair Trade Sports, now the first sports equipment company in the US to launch a full line of Eco-Certified Fair Trade sports balls, ensuring Fair Trade Certified wages and healthy working conditions for adult workers.

BusinessWeek named Scott as one of "America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs" in 2009, and Forbes profiled him as a leading eco-entrepreneur in 2010. Scott is a busy man these days, between teaching courses at Bainbridge Graduate Institute and the University of Notre Dame, and blogging about sustainability for Forbes, he found the time to answer a few questions for us about his company:

Tell me about the decision to leave Microsoft and your inspiration for this company.

Most folks told me I was nuts to leave a place like MSFT, which is full of brilliant, fun people and unusually large marketing budgets. But when my first child was born, I realized one day he was going to ask me what I did for a living. I wanted to tell him the same thing that my wife does, which is to help others (she's a social worker and Health & Wellness Coach). Especially since my personal mission statement is to "Help others while having fun."

So I took three months to interview every NGO leader I could find in Seattle. I asked them two questions to get them talking for an hour ... what did they love about their job and what did they hate about their job? The outcome of those lunch interviews led me to the Fair Trade movement.

Explain your business model.

Fair Trade Sports is a start-up, Newman's Own style company, designating all after-tax profits to two children's charities, Room to Read — for an international focus — and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America — for a domestic focus. We donate $1000 annually to each, until we hit profitability, which should be this quarter if our current retail sales tests go well.

We have all the benefits of a for-profit company (culture, discipline, adherence to metrics) while producing charitable dollars to benefit youth around the world. The products we bring to market to generate those charitable dollars are Eco + Fair Trade Certified sports balls for soccer, football, basketball and more. The eco aspect means sports balls are better for the planet, and the Fair Trade aspect means they are better for the people who hand-stitch them.

What is a specific project that you are really proud of at Fair Trade Sports and what are your plans for making a difference in the future?

I believe we're nearing the tipping point of getting Eco + Fair Trade Certified products into the mainstream in North America, just as organics now are. I can still remember the days when "organic" meant buying apples from a weird-hippish-sandal-wearing-dude at the local farmer's market.

Now we find organics in every major supermarket. I believe the Fair Trade movement will follow the same pattern. And I think Eco + Fair Trade Certified soccer balls will play a major role in reaching that tipping point quite soon.

Our plans for the immediate future include expanding the product line to include baseball, softball, lacrosse and a number of other sports.

What is the best advice you have ever gotten?

Probably Steve Ballmer saying to figure out what you are NOT going to do in order to be successful at what you DO want to do. I've become better at saying "no" in tactful ways to stay focused on my goals. Whether it is teaching, writing, or building companies, I seek to have a plan, perseverance and passion for each of my projects. If I don't, I probably shouldn't be working on that project.

I've also received great advice about meetings: don't do them. I have a bias for action, so eliminating formal meetings from my work hours has been an enormous productivity hit. That is not always easy when serving on official Boards that are still locked into the old school way of getting things done.

What is your hope for influencing the industry (and/or beyond) in the next 10 years?

Our long term plans are to change this entire sports ball industry. If we can convince one of the Top 5 brands to convert their soccer balls to Eco + Fair Trade Certified, the remaining competitors will have to follow to eliminate their advantage. And then we've changed the industry.

Personally, I'm betting that Nike will be the first one to step up and make those positive changes to their supply chain. I know some of those folks down in Oregon and they are not only wicked smart, they are personally focused on living more sustainable lifestyles. That personal ethos will affect their professional decisions sooner or later. And when Nike goes Eco + Fair Trade Certified for their sports balls, we will have changed the industry.

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Photo courtesy Fair Trade Sports.