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John Vlahakis has been an advocate for the environment since childhood, constantly looking for ways to raise the public’s awareness of the links between our health and the health of our planet. As a seventh-grader, he and his classmates painted paper bags with environmental slogans and stood on street corners to pass them out to motorists. After the police arrived and stopped them, they took their case to the Village Board. He and his friends convinced the Board to give them permission to continue distributing their bags. This experience merely served as a catalyst for his environmental activism, and a building block for his motto: One by one, we can change the world. Upon graduating in 1980 from Northwestern University with a BS in communication studies and political science, John joined the family business, Venus Laboratories, Inc., a manufacturer of industrial cleaning products. Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management (KGSM) helped him hone his entrepreneurial skills; he graduated in 1985 with a Master of Management degree, in marketing, transportation and organization behavior. In 1990, he applied his education, and experience in the family business, to his interest in the environment. Under Venus Labs, he launched environmentally safe cleaning products to the industrial and institutional marketplace. While he generated some interest, the mainstream consumer was still missing from the equation. After the birth of his daughter, the pieces all fell into place, and his passion for the environment was re-energized. "I had an epiphany. As I held my infant daughter, I did not want any harm to come to her. I realized that everything that was harming the environment would also be harming her. I felt I had to make a difference for her, to make the world a better place for her," said John. I had to show her that one person could change the world. So, in 1993 he launched Earth Friendly Products and decided to sell his products in the retail arena with just four non-toxic cleaning products. "Basically, I became a traveling salesman, going to independent grocery stores and natural health food stores, trying to sell this product line," recalls John. His first account was Treasure Island in Chicago. Today Earth Friendly Products boasts over 60 items with international distribution. Throughout the company's growth, John has been supported by his wife, Stephanie, and his three children. The entire family took up the interest in the environment when they were building their new, environmentally friendly house several years ago, especially when selecting non-toxic paints and other building materials. Among his personal interests are prairie preservation and historical railroad preservation. He has also served on the board of the Hellenic Foundation for the six years. In 1999 he was invited and approved to become a member of the prestigious Social Venture Network, an elite business organization of social activists, dedicated to advancing socially responsible businesses. | 