BLOND:ISH’s Bye Bye Plastic foundation has launched Stay’ge Positive, a sustainability mentorship program to educate artists to use their voice to tackle climate change in the music industry.

Dreamed up and led by Vivie-Ann Bakos, better known as BLOND:ISH, as a grassroots movement, Bye Bye Plastic is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to removing single-use plastics from the music industry.

With festivals and venues shuttered through the pandemic, a recent study conducted by Bye Bye Plastic found that more than 570 million pounds of single-use plastic was saved from going to waste in 2020. In light of this enforced hiatus, BLOND:ISH and her team are looking to use this opportunity to reshape the way the industry talks about climate action through Stay’ge Positive. Registration for the workshop has begun here. It begins on May 3.

“Our hope with Stay’ge Positive is to educate artists on serious environmental issues in a way that drives true change,” says Camille Guitteau, co-founder of Bye Bye Plastic. “Over the years, we’ve seen how often artists let their fears of saying the wrong thing limit their voice around climate action. An artist’s voice is so powerful to motivate change! We’ve built this program to mentor artists so that they’re fully equipped to make the greatest impact. We can live big and keep the party alive, we just have to learn to do it sustainably and responsibly.”

Divided into four progressive modules, “Climate Change 101,” “In-Power Yourself,” “Tune Your Voice,” and “Tune Your Creativity,” the mentorship program will take place over four-weeks, with two-classes per week. It’s priced at $471 or 399€ and offers networking opportunities, an interactive platform, a resource hub, and various leadership masterclasses led by a panel of industry experts such as Harald Fried, Laura Williams, and BLOND:ISH herself.

“With touring starting up again and festivals reopening, it’s important now, more than ever, to ensure we set ourselves up for success,” BLOND:ISH says. “By providing these tools to artists and industry professionals alike, we are hoping to create solid foundations and a step towards a greener future together.”

For 30% off the Stay’ge Positive mentorship program, just subscribe to XLR8R plus here and email your full name, with “Stay’ge Postive” as the subject to [email protected]. For current XLR8R plus members, simply do the same.