A Special Shade of Green

From our fabrics to our display fixtures, being green is an important part of our business philosophy. Keep reading to find out how we’ve greened our business (and what we have planned for the future!).

When you take a look around our gallery, you’ll see a space that balances art with sustainability. We’ve re-used the original carpeting and air conditioning unit, along with the décor in the backroom and bathroom. To set the feel for the store while maintaining healthy indoor air quality, we painted over the existing wallpaper with a low VOC paint. By re-using and repurposing everything possible, we’ve lowered our impact on the environment while creating a superior space to showcase our apparel.

Display Fixtures
All of the display fixtures and cases throughout our space were donated to us by another store. Our apparel is presented in recycled orchard baskets with Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) wood dividers, and the display cases are made of reclaimed wood. By diverting these materials from the landfill, we avoided new natural resources from being used, while saving energy and money.

Lighting
When it comes to your gallery experience, we know the importance of inspiring lighting. That’s why we are proud to be using state of the art LED lighting technology to create a low-profile, highly-efficient and aesthetically-pleasing environment. We chose LEDs because they have a lifespan of 50,000 hours, they emit less heat, contain no mercury or other toxic materials, and are overall safe and cost effective. In addition, we have recycled existing lighting and installed compact fluorescent bulbs wherever possible.

Our Fabrics, Dyes & Tags
What’s different about our fabrics? We use only the highest quality sustainable fibers in our clothing, including organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp. Each of these fabrics is grown using methods and materials that have a lower impact on the environment, and are healthier for your body. You can feel good that your purchases are supporting socially responsible businesses around the world.

Organic Cotton:
While we all love cotton for its softness, comfort, and durability, there are plenty of reasons to love organic cotton even more. Conventional cotton is grown using large amounts of toxic pesticides and fertilizers that degrade the quality of our soil, water and air. Organic cotton farming uses no toxic pesticides and fertilizers, it takes much less water to grow, and it replenishes soil fertility for generations to come. Organic cotton is also perfect for people with sensitive skin, allergies or irritations.

Bamboo: As one of the fastest growing crops on earth, bamboo is known as a sustainable fiber that can be grown across the world. It’s one of the softest fabrics available, and feels like a blend of cashmere and silk against your skin. Many people who experience allergic reactions to other natural fibers can wear bamboo comfortably. Bamboo fabric also has insulating properties and will help to keep you cool in the summer, and warm in the winter. While there is some controversy over the eco-friendliness of the processing of bamboo into clothing, it is still a great alternative to conventional fabrics.

Hemp: There’s a reason that hemp has been used for thousands of years to make clothing. The crops are naturally resistant to insects and disease, which eliminates the need for using chemical pesticides. Hemp fabric is breathable, has anti-microbial properties, provides UV protection for your skin, and is up to four times stronger than cotton. Even better, the fabric gets softer as you wash it, and the drape is often compared to linen.

Dyes: We use eco-friendly dyes with no heavy metal components on our garments whenever possible. The dyes are water-based, and unlike some vegetable-based dyes, they do not lose their color over time.

Plantable Tags:
Our product hang tags are Grow A Note® plantable handmade paper. They are made from a custom blended wildflower seed mixture, along with catnip, miniature sunflowers, and custom infusions of forget-me-nots and vegetables.

Our Green Future
We know that running a green business is about making continuous improvements to become more sustainable. As our business grows, we will always be pursuing new ways to bring you the highest quality wearable art with the smallest environmental footprint.

Feel great knowing that when you buy our wearable art, it’s better for you and the planet. And always remember – your choices have the power to change the world.

If you would like to learn more about greening your business like we did, please contact Green Coach Jess Drenth for more information: 612-619-3127 or jess@greencoach.com.

Updating...