👋 Hi, I’m Cory Ames.

I’m a writer, naturalist, and the founder of Ensemble Texas.

My work explores the art of living and working sustainably, diving into the connections between nature, business, and philosophy.

Through essays, interviews, and videos, I aim to understand how the world works and how it can work better.

I write a newsletter and host conversations on sustainable living, Texas, and how to leave the world a better place than we found it.

Mar 26

What Happened to TOMS Shoes: The Death of the Buy-One-Give-One Model

Business as a Force for Good or Just Feeling Good? TOMS shoes was among the earliest pioneers of the better

Mar 26, 2024

8 min read

Feb 02

9 Examples of Greenwashing

What is Greenwashing? Greenwashing is the act of a company misleading or misrepresenting themselves to the public as to the

Feb 2, 2024

15 min read

Nov 29

Is Ben & Jerry's a Trojan Horse of Corporate Social Responsibility in Business?

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream has been a Certified B Corporation since 2012. Their Founders wrote a book on

Nov 29, 2023

4 min read

Nov 02

What is Conscious Consumerism & 7 Ways to be a More Conscious Consumer

There are two seemingly contradicting realities of “conscious consumerism”: 1. No matter how “consciously” we buy, we aren’t going

Nov 2, 2023

18 min read

Aug 24

9 Companies with Social Impact Built into Their Business Model

Charity, or corporate social responsibility, isn’t the same as the example companies I’ll share here. Yes, giving back

Aug 24, 2023

10 min read

Aug 17

What Real Transparency in Business Looks Like

It was April 23rd, 2013, when garment workers evacuated the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when cracks appeared in

Aug 17, 2023

10 min read

Aug 10

29 Fast Fashion Brands to Avoid in 2023

At this point, it’s well established that the fast fashion business is in direct competition with the goal of

Aug 10, 2023

11 min read

Aug 03

The 10 Most Socially Responsible Companies (2023)

Frankly, our understanding of business’s “social responsibility” is wrong. We need to set our standards higher. Should companies consider

Aug 3, 2023

18 min read

Jul 27

The 9 Sustainable Business Practices That Will Make Business Better

Building a sustainable business is about creating a system and culture that supports it. Author James Clear explains this well

Jul 27, 2023

13 min read

Jul 20

The History & Rise of Fast Fashion: From the 18th Century to Today

Fast fashion changed fashion. The fast fashion business model of making cheap, trendy clothing fast has changed the way many

Jul 20, 2023

11 min read

Jun 29

The Real Reason Sustainability is Important for Business

“We focus on sustainability not because we’re environmentalists, but because we are capitalists…” — Larry Fink, Blackrock CEO & Chairman

Jun 29, 2023

7 min read

Jun 22

A New Definition: What is Sustainability in Business?

Harvard Business School is wrong. HBS, in their online publication Business Insights, writes sustainability in business “refers to doing business

Jun 22, 2023