Eco retailer: Atlanta’s Eco-bella

“Be the change we wish to see in the world” are the words of Ghandi that Atlanta’s Eco-bella was founded on in 2005 and continues to live by today. There story is simple, authentic, and true- 5 moms out to drive change by enabling consumers like them to find quality, cost effective, safe, environmentally sound products.  They are a nurse, a writer, a corporate executive and 2 lawyers. They are the room mother like you will be one day. They are dashing into Whole Foods to get a gallon of milk like you do now. They are dealing with the terrible two’s and fretting over a pending new driver in the family, like your mom did for you and like you will do one day. 

Eco-bella is a lifestyle boutique located in the heart of Atlanta’s trendy Virginia-Highlands neighborhood. The owners are committed to our social and environmental responsibility.  They carefully research all vendors and all of product aspects before carrying any product. Their doors and hearts are open for the novice and beyond.  

Green Registry

For the green bride, Eco-bella is terrific registry source for a range of natural home products including towels, linens, and bedding. The Akhara and Savari towel lines are the perfect solution for any wedding registry- green or traditional.  These lines come in a range of beautiful colors and all sizes. They are also wonderfully soft, the color holds true after years, and they are extremely durable.  

Eco-bella creates a fun, effortless registry process for any couple by providing you with a personal touch and professional expertise in a low pressure environment.  

Looking and feeling great on your wedding day

There is no more critical day in any woman’s life that her makeup look perfect than on her wedding day. Eco-bella carries a full line of Dr. Hauschka’s organic beauty and skin care- a luxurious line on par with any department store brand. What is super cool is that this line carries none of the horrible toxins of most mainstream lines.  

Also, consider the aromatherapy bath kit and daily facial starter kit for hostess gifts for your loved ones throwing your showers and parties.  Trust me; they will light up when they receive such a treat! 

Finding the perfect gift for the special people in your life

Wedding planning is hectic enough and the bride still has to keep up with everything from your friends’ weddings and baby showers to your mom’s 60^th birthday. Somehow it seems more important to do something special for these people because of all that they are doing to make your wedding special.   

Eco-bella is a wonderful resource for any occasion and any person. When registering for yourself, look out for the perfect baby blanket or onesie for the next baby shower or pick up a comfy spa robe for your mom.  

Living by Example

Not only did Eco-bella undergo a green renovation but the store has also been certified to be Carbon Neutral. Under the leadership of Eco-bella owner Antje Kingma, the Virginia Highland’s business district and Eco Bella became the first carbon neutral zone in the US. According to Antje, “Verus Carbon Neutral allowed us to do to neutralize the environmental damage created by our daily necessities. The Verus Carbon Neutral Partnership is a credible, transparent and professional carbon footprint auditor. Each business at the Corner opened their books to a carbon emissions audit. Upon completion of each company audit, Verus Carbon Neutral purchased carbon offsets from the highly respected Chicago Climate Exchange. For The Corner-Virginia Highland Businesses, the offsets were bought to promote reforestation and wind energy.” 

Contact information: Eco-bella, 1046 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306, 404-815-4280, www.eco-bella.com

Visit the Eco-bella Online store

For more about the Virginia Highland’s Carbon Neutral Zone Click Here

Step by Step Guide to Greening a Traditional Registry

 

Looking to give your registry a green hue?  Great decision!  Here are the steps we developed from our experiance greening our registry.

1.       Take stock of what you need. Books like The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day or stores like Williams Sonoma offer a great checklist of a typical registry.  We were able to go through the list and decide what we did and didn’t need.

2.       Evaluate your options.  We are dedicated to not only going for the green option but also to supporting small, local businesses. We investigated our local retail options and online resources.  We included traditional retail outlets in our survey and were pleasantly surprised to find many are now offering green product lines.

3.       Set and order your priorities:  Style, price, durability, usability, level of green, and sourcing were all important to us but we were not aligned on the order of priority.  Mandy set green above all others while Sean brought the more practical issues like durability and usability. For example, Mandy fell in love with a recycled glass artisan dish set for their everyday wear. It didn’t make the registry because it was not microwaveable.  We found another recycled glass set through Vivaterra that was.

4.       Test your products before committing to them:   Many of the green products are only available online.  It was important to us to ensure that the products lived up to their marketing.  For example, we bought samples of several styles of bath towels before committing to one. We wanted to see what held its color and we enjoyed the most. Similarly, we bought a couple samples of our everyday wear to test it out.

5.       Register at multiple places:  We were not able to find a way to aggregate our registry in one place. 

6.       Explain to your guests what you’re doing and why you are doing it:  The registry is a wonderful way for your guests to take part in your adventure.  You can expose them to fun, new resources that they will hopefully use beyond your wedding.  Consider taking time to explain to your guests why you chose the products and retailers. 

7.       Reduce and recycle the packaging material: 

a.       Reduce:  We eliminated wasteful shipping by arranging to have our local retailers hold our gifts so that we could pick up them up at one time. This also allowed us to cut out packaging materials. 

b.      Recycle:  We recycled the cardboard and other paper packing materials with our regular recycling.  We returned the packing peanuts to our local UPS store.

c.       Compost:  Tissue paper and wax coated paper are great additives to your compost pile. 

Sustainable Registry Guide

The registry is a tough yet critical component to greening your wedding. You are voting with your pocketbook and asking your guests to do the same.  By giving your guests green registry options you are involving them in your adventure.  Additionally, you and your guests will be exposed to fun, new resources that hopefully will be used beyond your wedding.  

Reminder to the bride:  People will always give you a gift even if you go the charity route or ask for no gifts. By creating a green registry you are empowering your gifts to fulfill your wishes.

Suggestion to the guest:  Stick to the registry. Chances are that the couple has gone to great lengths to put together their registry.  If you find something green not on the list or from one of their preferred retailers, reach out to the couple before you make the purchase. There’s nothing worse than a green gift that is not used!

Green Product Features to Consider

Not sure what to look for in green products?  Afraid you’ll fall victim to green washing?  Here are a few key product aspects to look out for.

•          Bamboo:  Bamboo is alternative to cotton because it fast growing plant that does not require intense amounts of water and chemicals like cotton.  It has come under criticism because increase bamboo demand is causing increased deforestation in parts of the world like China.  For more information about bamboo, click here.
•          Carbon Neutral:   Scientists believe that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources are the culprits behind global warming (aka climate change).  Individuals, businesses, and governments are taking action to reducing their greenhouse emissions and becoming “carbon neutral”.  Carbon neutral means that a business or individual has taken action to not emit additional greenhouse gases in their operation.  Neutrality is achieved through a variety of steps including reducing electricity use, sourcing locally, and purchasing carbon offsets.  For more about climate change or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, visit Conservation International.
•          End Run or Scrap Material:  Sometimes factories will have scrap material after production. (Think left over scraps of dough when cutting out cookies.) Like reclaimed material, artists will use the scraps to create a new product.  A fun example is Vivaterra’s Flip Flop Door Mat.
•          Fair Trade:  According to the International Fair Trade Association, “fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South.” Click here to learn more about fair trade.
•          Green Business:  Business like Eco Bella and Viva Terra are green through the product lines they offer and the way in which they operate their business. For instance, Eco Bella’s owners carefully research all vendors and products to ensure they are green before carrying them. They also live by example. Not only was the store a green renovation but the store has also been certified to be Carbon Neutral.
•          Local Business:  Small businesses are the backbone of a strong local economy. Collectively, they employ the largest number of people in our country. More importantly, local businesses keep the wealth in your community. For more about the value of supporting local economies, visit the EF Schumacher Society.
•          Low VOC or No VOC: VOC stand for Volatile Organic Compounds. VOC’s are the beloved new car scent and the annoying smell of wet paint.  Have you ever gotten a headache from a room that’s recently been painted?  It’s because VOC’s are not good for us (i.e. they are toxic). A growing number of people are developing an acute sensitivity to VOC’s due to repeat exposure.  This is known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.  People with this disorder suffer from symptoms including headaches, skin irritation, and muscle pain.  Green product lines are emerging to offer low or no VOC products.  They are quickly becoming the standard because they offer the same quality at the same cost without the harmful side effects.  For more information, click here.
•          Organic Cotton:  Eco Bella explains it best:
  • Certified organic cotton is free from toxic pesticides and insecticides or other toxic chemicals.
  • Certified organic cotton production is highly regulated and sweat-shop and child-labor free.
  • Certified organic cotton is free from formaldehyde, toxic dyes and silicone which harm the earth, its soil, and its water supply.

•          Reclaimed or Discarded Material: Similar to recycled materials, many artists bring a second life to items that they find and repurpose. Great examples are Vivaterra’s Vintage Ruler Chair made from old yard stick rulers or the Root of the Earth Bowl from discarded tree roots.
•          Recycled Materials: 
  • Metal: Aluminum and steel are durable and sustainable metals if we reuse and recycle them optimally. According to Earth911, “making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy and 20 recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore.” (Source)
  • Glass: Unlike plastic, glass never wears out.  A ton of recycled glass saves 1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone, and 151 pounds of feldspar. (Source)