Can Shopping Save the Planet? The Rise of Regenerative Commerce | Derya & Daniel Cunningham, Ep. 206

Jennifer Norman:
What if the simple act of buying something, something as ordinary as a bar of soap or a bag of coffee, could quietly help restore forests, support regenerative farms, empower communities, and invest in the future health of our planet? For decades, we've been told that sustainable shopping is the solution, but what if sustainability alone isn't enough anymore? What if the next step is regeneration? Systems that don't just reduce harm, but actively heal the Earth. Today's guests are building exactly that kind of system. Derya Cunningham and Daniel Cunningham are the co-founders behind Indijio, a regenerative ecosystem designed to transform commerce into a force for planetary healing. Derya studied biology and education, and she was also an alpinist and rock climber with the Mountaineering Federation of Turkey. Her experiences in both classrooms and out in the wild shaped her deep understanding of ecosystems, community, and learning. At Indijio, she brings together education, ecology, and community to help build practical systems that support regenerative living and long-term impact. Daniel Cunningham is the systems architect behind Indijio. Working at the intersection of technology and regeneration, he designs infrastructure that supports ethical commerce, resilient communities, and long-term ecological health.

Jennifer Norman:
Daniel is also the founder of Shiplo and leads several ecosystem initiatives, including Bavana, Indijio Farms and Academy, and Indijio Energy. In today's episode, we'll explore why traditional sustainability models are no longer enough, how everyday purchases can help build a regenerative economy. How to participate in healing the planet without feeling overwhelmed, and perhaps most importantly, what the world might look like if regeneration becomes the foundation of how we live, shop, and build community. So if you've ever wondered whether individual choices can truly make a difference, this conversation might just change how you see the power of your everyday decisions. Let's dive in. Derya and Daniel, I am so excited to have you here.

Derya Cunningham:
Thank you. And yeah, we are so excited as well. And thank you, this awesome, great introduction. It was absolutely what we are doing. And thank you for that.

Daniel Cunningham:
Yeah, grateful to be here, Jennifer.

Jennifer Norman:
Yes, I am so grateful for what you are doing because what you're building with Indijio feels more than a company. It feels like a whole new way of thinking about commerce and our relationship with the planet. I would love to know first off what personal experience led you to where you are today?

Daniel Cunningham:
Well, we have created a few businesses over the years and built and sold and never really in that time took into consideration the earth or community and realized that after time that anything that you're building, it's going to grow and scale and be sustainable has to start there. You need to take care of the soil. You need to work with local communities. And it's not about like me, it's about we. And, and that's the philosophies that we've taken and put into everything that we're doing.

Jennifer Norman:
In a nutshell, what have you seen happen if people don't take those things into consideration?

Daniel Cunningham:
What I've seen is companies come and go. They may have some success for a while, but the energy you put in is what you get out. And they're not looking at everything from, I believe, from the soil up. That it's a temporary solution. It's a temporary business. It's not going to have longevity and won't scale and be there for years to come because you're constantly dealing with the negative thoughts or negative energies that inevitably come into business when people are operating out of fear or in siloed data.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah, sometimes the most powerful innovations begin when somebody does realize that the systems and the processes that we had relied on every day or that had been built were never designed for a future that was it's regenerative and sustainable, something that we really want and that can actually stand the test of time. So I am curious because when we now say that sustainability isn't enough, and I know that people are overwhelmed when they even think about how sustainability on top of everything else I have to think about during the day. And I think that that's why you're trying to take that pressure off of them by doing it for them. But yeah, tell me why you think that a traditional sustainability model does fall short and why we have to go beyond that.

Daniel Cunningham:
There's a lot of greenwashing out there and people are putting out that they're sustainable or ethical commerce and even business. And no one's really— they may purchase carbon credits, water, soil, biodiversity credits from different segments that are out there. And that money is not really going into the soil. It's not going into projects that are verifiable. And that's something that we do. Anything or anyone that's purchasing those credits through our platform or ecosystem, we're able to actually show what's happening. They'll be issued token numbers based on what they're putting in, and then they'll get emails and texts on what's happening. You know, the seeds are being sown, it's being trimmed, there's being harvests.

Daniel Cunningham:
And we created something called Sustainable Shipping Miles where it also gives back to the brands that are actually doing the right thing and putting money into these particular communities for free shipping when it comes to Shiplo. So there's a lot that we're doing and looking forward to as we grow and as we scale this network up that we're building, and it's growing quickly, which we're quite excited about.

Jennifer Norman:
Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Norman:
I think we're noticing the need for it.

Derya Cunningham:
Yeah. Exactly. And I like to add a couple more things here. And other things is sustainability is just like kind of less harm, but regeneration is actually proactive. It's like it restores. So we, by adding carbon credits and soil water credits, biodiverse, you are actually healing the ecosystem, healing the planet. So it is actually not just less harm, it is regeneration.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. If we think about the medical fields where they say, okay, the number one foundation is do no harm or do less harm, let's say. I mean, if that was just it, then where would we be? We would have no innovation. We would have no going beyond to help undo a lot of the damage that had been done. And the restoration is where we really need help right now.

Derya Cunningham:
Yes. And most of marketplaces, they actually stop at like bringing products with sustainable products, but better products, I can't say, but they just stop there, like sourcing better. But we wanted to go a little bit further and healing side, regeneration side.

Daniel Cunningham:
Something that you can track from beginning to end. I mean, we spent a lot of time trying to find different ways and different farms and resources to put money into, but really couldn't find anything that was doing what we felt needed to be done. And that really is truly from the soil up. A lot of crops that are out there today, they're monocropping. You'll see when you're driving down the road, just corn or soybean, and the soil's brown because it's no longer living.

Jennifer Norman:
They're using pesticides and it bothers you. Really bothers you.

Derya Cunningham:
Interesting. Yeah, we just, I can't say basically, maybe we wanted to increase positive impact into commerce.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. Yeah. And I was going to say, it sounds like, I mean, you started at the soil level. You wanted to do this yourself and actually physically and visibly see and be where the action was at and know end to detail.

Daniel Cunningham:
You wanted to track it all. Be transparent from beginning to end. And the only way to do that was to do it basically ourselves.

Jennifer Norman:
And that was what I was going to get to is because I think that there are a lot of companies that will say, okay, we've already done these sorts of things, but there comes to be a point where there's, you just don't know if you can trust it. You don't know if it's gotten to a place where it's so big or some corners might be being cut and there aren't those checks and balances or a real transparent way for the consumer to see and know exactly what is going on. And with some extraordinary companies such as yourself, and it usually starts with the real cool grassroots one where they literally have cameras where you can see the farms, you can see where everything is being harvested and grown, and you can see the quality of the land. You can tell, and through blockchain and everything, there are these real proof points along the way that care is being taken to ensure a regenerative ecosystem. So that's quite a journey.

Daniel Cunningham:
That's what we do. We have cameras and we have drones that are on site that fly past twice a day. And, you know, people can log in and see what's truly happening with the money that's being utilized to purchase those particular credits. So then they can take that feed and running it into their websites to show everyone what they're actually contributing to versus just a certificate on the wall.

Jennifer Norman:
And I think this is beautiful because you are taking a lot of the guesswork out of this. I think that a lot of consumers, they'll go and shop shop on Amazon very easily, and I do it myself. I buy so much on Amazon, and a lot of times you don't know where the stuff comes from. You don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Frankly, you don't know what the labor practices are like on a lot of these, and it's just too easy for them to hide a lot of the things that are unfortunately going on in a lot of these industries.

Daniel Cunningham:
Or they don't know themselves.

Jennifer Norman:
Or they don't— yeah, or they don't know because they're contracted out, and there's so many different layers. That's right. Yeah, that's definitely true. And so here somebody can truly feel good about purchasing something and knowing that it is going back to giving back.

Daniel Cunningham:
That's right.

Jennifer Norman:
To the earth with every single purchase, which is beautiful. I love that. Yeah. Because anything that we can do to make it simpler for the consumer, I mean, consumers have a lot to think about and so many of us are, everybody is struggling in their own personal way.

Daniel Cunningham:
Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Norman:
And a lot of people financially are struggling at this moment. And they're just like, just get me the cheapest thing possible. And so tell us, like, how are you keeping this accessible for people? How are you keeping it affordable even with all of this extra legwork that you're doing behind the scenes?

Daniel Cunningham:
Well, with all the layers that we have, you know, there's revenue coming in from each of the entities within the ecosystem, and it contributes together collectively to the top end where the margins don't have to be intense. We can keep the pricing fair. We can look at the shipping through what we're doing at Shiplo to keep the carbon footprint down and the cost of shipping you know, it's far lower than what your FedEx, UPS, DHL, or USPS can do because there's efficiencies that are built in through optimization and AI.

Jennifer Norman:
And then how does the Indijio community connect to your marketplace as well?

Daniel Cunningham:
Well, the Indijio community is forward-facing to all the farmers. We actually pull together deals with the farmers from Indijio community. We work to actually ideate and bring in the 7, 8 different layers that are utilized based on soil sampling.

Jennifer Norman:
So tell us about the Indijio ecosystem and how does that extend beyond the store?

Derya Cunningham:
Okay, the Indijio ecosystem connects marketplace activity with land restoration, renewable energy, and biodiversity credits.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow.

Derya Cunningham:
So the educational center teaches how to replicate the model. and the community represents, demonstrates that is like economically viable. And it is commerce, land, and learning working together instead of like operating separately. The system is whole, like Indijio community, Indijio energy to create renewable energy, and also Indijio store all connects with each other.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, fantastic. And something in your vision that I thought was so interesting was the concept of Earth Power Lodge. So I'm curious how plays into your long-term vision?

Daniel Cunningham:
Well, if you've ever seen the documentary, The Need to Grow, Michael Smith is the owner there, and we partner with him to bring those into the specific farms that we're working on. It assists us with power on site. It assists us with creating biochar and processing, you know, the goods and the yields that are coming from the syntropic agroforestry. And it's a completely circular system and is able to power just one unit's able to power 150 homes. That are in the community. So it's something we brought in probably about 3.5, 4 years ago, and we've been working with Michael on that going forward in every community that we try to bring our syntropic agroforestry programs to.

Jennifer Norman:
When somebody hears the words agroforestry and carbon sequestration, I think that they might get confused and think, oh, that sounds really interesting, but what does it mean? Can you explain that in layman's terms?

Daniel Cunningham:
Syntropic agroforestry is just multiple layers that are designed to heal the soil. You do chop and drop and let it decay back into the soil to bring the nutrients that it needs to heal itself. You know, you can mix in biochar, which is some of the stuff that EPL can do. And then you have the monocropping, like we talked around earlier, which is what we're doing mostly here in the US, which is killing the soil. So syntropic agroforestry is just, it's designed to basically be productive, produce great yields, viable for good finance and the communities can earn additional revenue this way.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. As a side note, I was recently listening to Theo Von's podcast with Bryan Johnson, the Don't Die Guy, and Bryan Johnson was talking about how he's so very careful about the foods that he eats because his whole goal is to not die. He's the longevity master. And he said that he, you know, he tests everything that he eats and he was finding that there were heavy metals in the lentils. That he was eating. And he's like, how in the world did heavy metals get in? And it turned out after uncovering where his lentils came from, that they were fertilizing the lentils with human feces. And human feces had the heavy metals in it, which was getting into the lentils that he was then eating. So extraordinary things that are occurring that we would never know about.

Jennifer Norman:
And these are commercially bought products that, yeah, once tested, it's extraordinary to find what is in, in the foods that we're eating. And we wonder, we wonder why diseases and malnourishment is so rampant. And so working on the soil, this agroforestry, and being so committed and careful to that, I'm like, thank you. Thank you for doing that so that we don't have to worry or be concerned about all the stuff that we and our children are eating.

Daniel Cunningham:
That's right.

Derya Cunningham:
That's what we're building. It's our passion.

Daniel Cunningham:
Take an understanding of everything that's involved from the ground up, including the products we purchase.

Jennifer Norman:
So why do you think it's important to integrate carbon and biodiversity credits directly into your model?

Daniel Cunningham:
Because that allows us to actually work with the soil and the communities, but bringing it into the model, you know, does and performs the regenerative side of things.

Derya Cunningham:
And also with that, like at the beginning, how Indijio idea came up, it was kind of helping the eco-communities to survive and be self-sufficient. So this kind of carbon credits through Indigo Store will help this eco-communities to generate income and kind of grow maybe another eco-community. So this is the goal for us.

Daniel Cunningham:
And having those credits available actually allows us to bring resources and money, much needed resources to these communities so they can perform the work that they're doing.

Derya Cunningham:
Another thing, Jennifer, to be honest, like when we were trying to shop, like we were always trying to get the best product, right? Like sustainable, who made it, how they produce it, and ethical made or not. So we were spending so much time on researching, using lots of apps, if it is right or we can, we trust this app or not. It was lots of questions in our mind. Hours and hours searching just to buy one product maybe. So with this, I felt so tired and frustrated at the moment because all the responsibilities were on consumers. Like, why, right? It needs to be on actual brands, like, at the first place. If one product is coming already ethical made, already sustainable, regenerative, so we don't need to think about that. We don't need to be an environmental expert to buy a product.

Derya Cunningham:
It needs to be on brand's shoulder, not on us. So this is why we wanted to add that carbon credits options too into our system so the brands can really do better for Earth. And we wanted to help them to be more sustainable and regenerative and support this regenerative project through our system.

Daniel Cunningham:
Gives them a bit of ability to, to offset, Jennifer. They can offset the things that they can't change. Like if they're doing fabric, sometimes there's water that they may not be cleaning properly. And this is a way to buy water credits because we are cleaning water. So it's a way for them to kind of balance things out for themselves and their manufacturing process.

Jennifer Norman:
Interesting. What does the vetting process look like for the brands that you are putting on the Indiju store? How do you know and how do you assure the consumer that what they're buying is really the best of the best in terms of regeneration as well?

Derya Cunningham:
Yeah, it's a great question and we have a really strict curation system. So we search with the brands first when they wanna work with us. We want to just learn everything about them. Certification is welcome, would be awesome for us, but we also know the reality. Some of the brands, regenerative brands are really small and getting certification requires lots of like money for them and they can maybe afford that. So we also want to support these small brands who want to do the best for Earth and for the health of people. So we really talk with them and we learn their supply chain, how they source their supplies, and then how they make that product, their environment and their producing process. We search, we talk, and then once we are sure they are really doing the right things for the Earth and for the people who is going to purchase their product, then we go further.

Jennifer Norman:
Excellent, excellent. Yeah, it's a lot of due diligence to make sure that companies are above board that you are putting onto your platform, and so people can feel really confident in the kinds things that they're buying and the things that they're shopping for. And these are going to be everyday types of— what kind of products are you going to have on Indijio?

Derya Cunningham:
Okay, right now we have some beauty products and we have some crafts, like speakers, like kind of like engineering and art mixed speakers. We will have also like do-it-yourself speaker kits. You can do your own speaker at home without any electricity. It doesn't require any electricity. We have handmade loom from Cambodia and shoes. They are 100% like giving the feeling, grounding feeling, and handmade 100%. It is B Corp as well. Coffee, chocolate, essential oils, from a regenerative farm, our partner farm.

Derya Cunningham:
And we have blankets They are again sustainable sourced and earth-friendly fabrics. And we have kimonos, we have towels, 100% organic cotton. Like it is other things like we are searching about all the fabrics as well. And yeah, what else?

Daniel Cunningham:
Quite the education process. Once you start diving into this.

Derya Cunningham:
Because I will be honest, some of the brands wanted to work with Indijio Store and they claim they are sustainable and clean ingredients. Once we started to search their company and their ingredients, we realized they have some microplastics in their ingredients, even though it doesn't look like microplastic. It sounds like okay, but once you dive deep into it, you see it's microplastic. So we are definitely— we don't want microplastic. We are kind of— even though, in particular Palm Oil, we don't want palm oil as well because how you can trust that process even though it's sustainably sourced palm oil. And yeah, other things like cotton is amazing, but has to be organic cotton and other hemp, linen, you know, the earth-friendly, really eco-friendly. And some fabrics are healing the soil. We are sold on those products.

Jennifer Norman:
So yeah, that's why it's a lot, you know, it's a lot of education and it's continuing to grow. Yeah. Yes. You guys are just starting.

Derya Cunningham:
Yeah, while we are building, we are also learning too. And once we are learning, we are realizing there are more, a lot to learn as well in that industry, in that commerce place, because greenwashing is really huge. Like in the lot of—

Jennifer Norman:
I was gonna say, you have to be the experts, the sleuths to really see through a lot of that, a lot of the greenwashing that's B2B, not just B2C.

Derya Cunningham:
Yeah, it is really. So much right now. It's almost every company claims they are eco-friendly, sustainable source, but once you go dive into their product and their ingredients, you see it's not the case.

Jennifer Norman:
It's not the case at all.

Derya Cunningham:
So yeah, we have so much responsibility as a store and as an ecosystem we are building to also like educate people, to also like show what we are learning to people, how they can learn more about those greenwashing and how they can purchase products better for their health and for the planet.

Jennifer Norman:
One other comment that I thought Bryan Johnson, that he made, which I thought was so interesting. He says that almost every company out there is trading profits for life. Like they'll put something in there because they want you to be addicted or they want to try to shortcut the costs or whatever it is. And in so doing, they're trading profits. They're stealing, you know, taking your dollars and they're taking your life. And so here is such an important thing is to recognize that when you are shopping with your dollars, you're making choices about your health and your longevity and the health and longevity of the Earth, frankly. And so that's why the work that you're doing is so important and it's so important for people to be able to trust companies. And right now it's, I think that there's this whole thing where it's people just don't trust anyone anymore.

Jennifer Norman:
They don't know who to trust.

Derya Cunningham:
And they have a reason.

Jennifer Norman:
But it seems like, yeah. And so it's nice and refreshing to see that, okay, finally there is a place where I can go and shop and I can trust it. I can trust that they've done the work, they've done the legwork, they know how to see through the greenwashing to get me products that are really making a difference so that I don't have to think about everything that you've learned along the way. Yeah. You've done it for them.

Daniel Cunningham:
And it goes back to the beginning. And when we talked, it even does go down into farming. It's why we started looking at what we looked at. And I started learning around some tropic agroforestry about 5, 6 years ago, because I was looking for farms that actually weren't using fertilizers and pesticides. And I had to learn from that realm. And it comes up through the whole way from the soil up through everything we're eating and through the products we're consuming.

Jennifer Norman:
And you see what's happening to humans.

Daniel Cunningham:
That's right.

Jennifer Norman:
You know, as a result of it. And then we all wonder why. Well, yes, not really all that surprising. We are what we eat.

Derya Cunningham:
Other things, Jennifer, we believe this is like so important to have more marketplace, more commerce, really support sustainability or regeneration projects because, and also we feel so responsible for the kind of like giving our mission outside so people can learn more and then they will start choosing better products for they, for themselves and for the planet. And then this like burden we said, like we have this burden right now to do the, to fix the earth, but that burden will go on to brands. So once people get like, learn more, they will demand more sustainable and regenerative products. So brands will not survive if they are not being good for the earth.

Daniel Cunningham:
This goes back to your point, you know, trading profits for life.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah.

Daniel Cunningham:
And it's happening everywhere.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. Yeah. And unless values change, such as what we're doing amongst our own businesses, then it's, it's kind of the capitalistic way. It's like, try to do more. And granted, profits are not evil. Profits are great. But, you know, they do help to innovate and to create growth and all of that.

Jennifer Norman:
And we all need to pay our bills and we all wanna live, but we have to be able to balance both. And there are ways to balance both. And that's, uh, it might not be the easy way, certainly not, but it is the important way. I think it's the caring way.

Daniel Cunningham:
True scalable cash is really doing the next right thing.

Derya Cunningham:
Mm-hmm.

Daniel Cunningham:
Cash is a byproduct of that.

Jennifer Norman:
Mm-hmm. I agree. I agree. I would love to see what your perspective is on beyond buying just eco-friendly products. What do you think that conscious living looks like?

Derya Cunningham:
Conscious living actually is a choice, right? It's a choice. Yeah. And so we believe conscious living is participation. It's understanding that your choices matters and your choice funds the systems. So it's supporting transparency and being curious about what's— where the things come, basically come from. And, but it's also community, it's food system, right? It's all energy, education. Yes. But the main thing is it is a mindset shift from what I am consuming to what I am contributing to, basically.

Jennifer Norman:
That is so gorgeous. And truly, sometimes the path towards a healthier planet begins with these small intentional choices made by millions of people, because then It grows. And speaking of growth, if, if Indijio were to succeed at scale, what do you think would change in the world?

Derya Cunningham:
If Indijio succeed and scale, commerce becomes a solution for, I think, climate.

Daniel Cunningham:
Climate change.

Derya Cunningham:
Yes. It will be a climate solution. We believe that because carbon credits become embedded in the transaction and that's benefiting the soil and community. Perfect. Yes. And education shifts towards regeneration and communities become self-sufficient. And I think consumers like no longer feel like they are fighting the system. They will become part of a system designed to heal.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. Who wouldn't want that?

Derya Cunningham:
Right?

Jennifer Norman:
Sign me up.

Daniel Cunningham:
Yes.

Jennifer Norman:
Well, Derya and Daniel, this has been such an inspiring conversation. Before we close, I always like to ask my guests 3 questions that bring us back to the heart of what it means to be connected, our beauty, our humanity, and the truth that we live by. So I want to ask each of you, what makes you beautiful?

Derya Cunningham:
What makes me beautiful? I think still believing in dreams and still, yeah, still believe in us, in myself. We can do better for us. And for the world, for our child, for our children. I think this is making me beautiful.

Daniel Cunningham:
Jennifer, you're asking me. I'll say that what makes me beautiful is my heart and just, you know, the sheer determination that I bring to what we're doing, literally from the soil up.

Jennifer Norman:
Beautiful. Thank you so much for that. My second question, what does it mean to be human?

Daniel Cunningham:
Oh, that's a good question.

Derya Cunningham:
It is, I think it is constantly like believing the light is there in you and also seeing the dark and trying to keep yourself in the light.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah, that's a lovely answer.

Daniel Cunningham:
What is being human? Working through adversity, working through traumas, working through epigenetics and false teachings to find that middle ground, middle way. To find yourself. I think that's why we're here.

Jennifer Norman:
Absolutely. And my last question, what is one truth that you each live by?

Derya Cunningham:
Hmm, that's an interesting question, Jennifer. I love that, by the way. I need to think about that.

Jennifer Norman:
First thing that comes to mind is always the best.

Daniel Cunningham:
Well, for me, it's just following your soul, following your heart. It's a If ever a question or concern or an answer that you're looking for, go within. Yeah, don't let the outside noise get in the way. Don't let the thoughts get in the way, but truly feel.

Jennifer Norman:
That's lovely.

Derya Cunningham:
I think to me, no matter what happens in the world or in your life, still keep being the good person and keep being kind. Love where you are, who you are, and I think, like, try to do your best. It's the truth for me.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, well, those are amazing, amazing answers. Derya and Daniel Cunningham, thank you so much for sharing your vision and the work that you're doing to help regenerate our planet. Beautiful humans listening, if you'd like to learn more about their work, you can visit Indijio Store at indijiostore.com. That's I-N-D-I-J-I-O-S-T-O-R-E.com and follow them on Instagram @indijiostore. If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, share this episode, and leave a review so more people can discover these important ideas. Until next time, stay curious, stay kind, and keep building a more beautiful human experience. I'm Jennifer Norman, and this is The Human Beauty Movement Podcast. I'll see you in the next episode.

Jennifer Norman:
Thank you for listening to The Human Beauty Movement Podcast. Be sure to follow, rate, and review us wherever you stream podcasts. The Human Beauty Movement is a community-based platform that cultivates the beauty of humankind. Check out our workshops, find us on social media, and share our inspiration with all the beautiful humans in your life. Learn more at thehumanbeautymovement.com. Thank you so much for being a beautiful human.