3 New Eco Boutiques: Ethical Shopping Wherever You Are!
I’m an online shopper through and through. There’s something about the ease of shopping at home, the satisfaction of filling-up my cart and clicking “purchase.” However, I spend a lot of time worrying how much of an impact of what I buy has on the environment and the people who make the product. That’s why the below three stores hit such a nerve with me.
Belvele, Seven Sisters PDX, and Everyday Magic all contribute to an ethical fashion experience—whether it’s in how eco-friendly their products are, catering to made in the U.S.A. and/or working with small and independent artists and creators. Trust me it’ll be hard to stop yourself from shopping after scrolling through the below.
According to Belvele’s site, the store is, “a platform for independent designers who represent the brand’s essence: design, craftsmanship, sustainability.” The store was founded in 2015 by Monica Rojas. Rojas has 10 years of experience in the fashion industry but her dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency led her to create Belvele.
On building her store and e-commerce Rojas says:
When selecting items for the store, my main focus is to fit our criteria of what constitutes “good fashion”: design, craftsmanship, sustainability. There might be times when I consider if a piece will translate well if seen only online, versus in person, but that is just an added layer to our curating process. Our goal is to make it easy to find sustainable fashion that you WANT to wear.
Seven Sisters’ Huiple Dress
Seven Sisters hashtag reads: #sharesomethingbeautiful. The hashtag could easily pertain to their beautiful store, located in Portland, Oregon. Everything at Seven Sisters is sourced from North America, from family run businesses with an emphasis on traditional practices.
Photo from Seven Sisters’ Dona Monroe Romper
Everyday Magic’s storefront in Durham, North Carolina
Everyday Magic was founded by Bakara Witner earlier this year. Her store, located in Durham, North Carolina, is bursting with colorful, intentional, and handmade items. Online the experience is much the same. Both storefronts provide an experience unlike any other.
Photo from Everyday Magic’s site featuring a lightweight scarf by Maria Moraca
On her store Witner says:
Curating the objects for Everyday Magic is definitely one of my favorite parts of the job. We have an emphasis on intentionally made goods created by witchy girl bosses (and some boy bosses) from around the world, so selecting items also means meeting incredible people, learning their stories, and basking in their passion for whatever it is they are creating. The natural biproduct of that is I’m excited by the objects we are carrying not only because they are beautifully made, ethically sourced, and lovingly shared, but I have a strong connection with the people who made them and the stories behind them.
I am specifically in love with Bakara and her store after having two rings custom made for myself and a friend. Together with the designer (Nixin), we created a ring from the ground up. I was informed that the diamond was ethically mined, and each part of the ring was handmade with care. The product I received was a creation of my wildest imaginations and it is something I wear everyday with pride.
Ring from Everyday Magic’s shop made by Nixin (similar to my own)
Haley
Haley Sherif holds a B.F.A. in creative nonfiction writing from Emerson College. Born & raised in Manhattan, she's currently living in Brooklyn pursuing her dream to write. As an eager fourteen year old she originally joined the Eco-Chick team as an intern, several years later she's happy to be back. Her writing and design projects can be found on her personal site, haleykamilla.com, as well as on The Culture-ist and later and in Perversion's June, 2016 issue.
