Eco Collective: A Community Zero Waste Store | IFundWomen Skip to main content

Eco Collective: A Community Zero Waste Store

Sustainability made easy.

$3,707
pledged of$3,500 goal
68
0Days Left
Fund it

Project Description

 

Eco Collective's Mission is to help you achieve a zero waste lifestyle so you can simplify your life, reduce your waste, save money, and free your time for the things and people you love. Eco Collective's zero waste store and team of experts offer convenient, accessible, and truly sustainable products.

The Zero waste lifestyle is simplifying your life by reducing your waste and impact on the environment. 

Living a Zero Waste lifestyle can be difficult in modern day life. Most of the items we use everyday are meant to be used once and then thrown away or they're packaged in multiple layers of plastic. Everyday we create waste destined for the landfill, but the zero waste lifestyle offers an alternative. Eco Collective is here to help you move from our current linear economy to a circular economy and achieve a zero waste lifestyle.

By living zero waste we have the power to:

Eliminate over 2000 landfills in the US.

Eliminate 8 million tons of plastic that enters our oceans every year.

Save over 100,000 marine animals that die every year from plastic entanglement and ingestion.

The problem with plastic is this. Plastic does not biodegrade, it lasts forever. After about 700 years it will begin to break-up and "photo-degrade" meaning the plastic will turn into little toxic pieces of what's called "microplastic." These toxic bits are creating a great detriment to our marine ecosystem.

Eco Collective is your trusted zero waste store and community resource. We provide our customers with truly sustainable products, resources, workshops, events, and inspiration. Our goal is to spread the Zero Waste lifestyle inspired by Bea Johnson and help our community navigate the challenges and connect with a like-minded community.

Eco Collective launched in 2017 at Seattle's Sunday Fremont Market. With only a handful of products and a 10x10 booth, founder, Genevieve Livingston started sharing the zero waste movement and learned about the challenges her community faced when trying to live more sustainably. 

Eco Collective became more than just a pop-up and online store; it evolved into a a community resource. Some of the events we've hosted include a zero waste dinner party, a documentary screening about climate change, a Furoshiki gift wrapping workshop, a Zero Waste make-up event, and Introduction to Zero Waste speaking events.

We credit all this growth to our amazing and supportive community we call "The Collective". Our Collective is made up of zero waste experts, local vendors, and our passionate customers and supporters! 

Eco Collective is a platform for sustainable brands and small businesses to connect with eco minded customers. The small businesses we partner with are experts, creatives, and social and environmental advocates. Eco Collective connects our community with eco friendly products we've tested ourselves, so that together we can channel our collective passion and commitment to sustainability into something bigger than we could accomplish alone.

 

We research and use every product we sell so our customers know they are purchasing quality sustainable products. Eco Collective provides as much information as we can to empower our customers purchasing decisions. 

 

Take a look at our process that makes Eco Collective a true "Collective"!

  • Our process starts with a product recommendation from a customer or one of our zero waste veterans, or by connecting with sustainable vendors. 
  • Each product we carry comes from a company that has a holistic approach to sustainability. We work with brands and companies that have a social and/or environmental mission, use natural, organic, and sustainable ingredients. Each product must be ethically manufactured and use minimal packaging. 
  • We share samples with our Collective for unbiased reviews and share our research with our customers. Eco Collective does all the product research so you don't have to! 
  • Our open channels of communication allows Eco Collective to inspire workshops, improve our product offering, and to make sure our products meet the highest quality standards. Any feedback we receive, we share with our vendors to improve our product offering.

Our Collective and customers help Eco Collective maintain integrity in the products we sell and the message we spread. 

Eco Collective is opening our first brick and mortar store this October in Ballard, a popular neighborhood in Seattle, WA. 

5201 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107

This quick sketch gives you a sneak peek of what the store will look like after we bring our vision to life. 

The store will be a hub for customers to connect with zero waste experts, discover hard-to-find sustainable products, and participate in workshops and events.

Eco Collective's store will provide:

1. Truly Sustainable Products

2. Hard to Find Bulk Goods

3. Community Workshops and Events

We're honored to have launched our store in a city that understands the importance of sustainable living, and pioneers sustainable policy changes.

Seattle is the 2nd fastest growing city according to Forbes. More than 1000 people are moving to Seattle each week. Living in a city is the most environmental use of resources, but to keep up with this growth, we have to make sustainable living convenient and educate our residents on the individual impact they can have by reducing their waste.

With the help of our amazing community, we can continue to grow and enter more neighborhoods and cities and spread the zero waste movement.

Eco Collective is self funded. From our humble, once-a-week, 100 sqft booth to opening a 1400 sqft store, we need your continued support to take this next step.

Your contribution will help us purchase displays and bulk dispensers, order new products from local vendors, and help us develop our fall workshops.

Eco Collective was born from community and continues to thrive because of our amazing customers and supporters. We will continue to keep Eco Collective's integrity as a community resource and with your support we can truly call ourselves a Collective!

Check out our perks and share our campaign! Thank you for your support!

Genevieve's passion for embodying an eco-friendly lifestyle stems from her years on the water racing sailboats. She is an environmentalist, an activist, and a competitive sailor. She lives on a sailboat with her other half, Jarod, and their Labrador, Drifter. And she's going to make you fall in love with the movement of Zero Waste living.

"I spend my days exploring the Pacific Northwest by boat and by foot, camping under the stars every chance I get. I run this business as a platform for the beautiful zero waste community, and I delight in promoting environmental companies that offer beautiful, sustainable products.

The day I stepped into myself as an environmentalist was particularly striking. Growing up, I spent my summers on a sailing team in Rhode Island, exploring a windy bay and the beautiful ocean just beyond. We spent every day on the water.  Halfway through one of the first summers, they brought a specialist in to talk about plastic in the ocean. They took their fancy underwater camera out on our very own beloved wooden dock. I was shocked to see the camera reveal at least a hundred pieces of trash right beneath our feet.  Plastic straws from the yacht club, hair ties, bits of plastic, even a plastic water bottle. Suddenly there was a splash to my left, and the next thing I knew, my dear sailing partner's grinning face appeared on the camera as he grabbed the bottle and whatever other trash he could see. We later conducted a beach cleanup, and I have been chillingly aware of the presence of plastic in the ocean ever since.

'If I care about the ocean this much, I have to take care of the earth.'

I've always sought out natural products, but a few years ago, I started to notice how complex it was to research a product's life cycle or a company's sustainability practices. I set my mind to making sustainability easier and more accessible to the average consumer... to my hiking, sailing, skiing friends who cared about the environment but didn't have the time or information to vet which products were truly preserving the outdoors they enjoy every day.

Here's to practical and beautiful products, and here's to the growth and delight that comes along the path to living lighter."

Seattle native, Marimar (mar-eee-mar) White-Espin, grew up in an eco-conscious community and has her parents to thank for instilling a desire to leave the world in a better place than when she entered it.

White-Espin’s zero waste journey started when she co-founded her first company and wanted to live a simpler lifestyle and save money. Shopping bulk and second hand, making her own bath and body products, avoiding single use items, plastic packaging, and being mindful of her purchases not only saved her money but made her more aware of how much waste she was eliminating.

“It wasn’t until I was in my early-twenties when I learned about zero waste through Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home blog. I fell in love with her simple and mindful lifestyle and I knew living zero waste was something I wanted to incorporate into my life."

"This journey has not come naturally, it takes a lot of discipline and being vocal. Everywhere you turn there’s plastic trying to make its way into my life!"

"I’m eager to share and promote the Zero Waste lifestyle through Eco Collective and reach as many individuals and communities as possible.”

Without your support of sharing, donating, commenting, liking, reviewing, and spreading the zero waste lifestyle, we wouldn't be here! Thank you for the support and inspiration!

"A true community is not just about being geographically close to someone or part of the same social web network. It's about feeling connected and responsible for what happens. Humanity is our ultimate community, and everyone plays a crucial role."

-Yehuda Berg
 

The Campaign FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

We'd love to hear your questions! Please email us at [email protected]

 

 

Joe V.
12/10/2018
Become a Named Donor
$5
12/04/2018
Become a Member of Our Collective
$75
Nichole Lyons
11/30/2018
Ticket to 1 of our classes or workshops
$25
Justin
11/30/2018
Stainless steel straw
$10
11/29/2018
Become a Named Donor
$5
Jesse Peck
11/29/2018
Become a Member of Our Collective
$75
Cascadia Climate Action
11/28/2018
Stylish String Bag
$20
Jean Kiel
11/27/2018
Stainless steel straw
$10
Kim
11/27/2018
Ticket to 1 of our classes or workshops
$25
Brandi O’Dell
11/27/2018
Ticket to 1 of our classes or workshops
$25
Monetary Contribution

Thank you so much for your support!

3 Supporters
Select this reward
5.00 USD
Become a Named Donor

We'll list your name alongside our other supporters on a plaque in our new store.  We appreciate your support and loyalty, and we are so grateful to have you as a part of the community we're building.

7 Supporters
Select this reward
10.00 USD
Stainless steel straw

You'll get a chic stainless steel straw!  If you pick it up at our grand opening, you can choose between silver, gold or iridescent or you can opt for the bubble tea size or the curved!  Otherwise we'll mail you a regular size straw in one of the 3 colors.

6 Supporters
Select this reward
20.00 USD
Stylish String Bag

Donate $15 to our campaign and we'll give you one of our popular string bags.  These open weave totes are 100% organic cotton and carry oh-so-much.  Use yours for groceries or beach trips, a farmer's market bag or a weekend catch-all.

4 Supporters
Select this reward
25.00 USD
Ticket to 1 of our classes or workshops

You'll get a ticket to attend one of our many classes and workshops.  Topics include:

  • Repair your clothes and outdoor gear
  • Make your own cleaning supplies
  • Sustainable Makeup
  • Documentary Screenings
  • Zero Waste and Vegan Cooking
  • Build Your Own Vertical Garden
  • Holistic Medicine Cabinet
  • Introduction to the Zero Waste Lifestyle

Must be redeemed in Seattle, Washington

10 Supporters
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Ticket to our Zero Waste Dinner

Get a ticket to one of our illustrious Zero Waste Dinner Parties.  This event series illustrates how to eat seasonally and reduce food waste.  Each season brings to the table a new variety of the bountiful foods grown in the Pacific Northwest.  Our Autumn dinner boasts locally foraged mushrooms and apples, as well as a rainbow of squash (friendsgiving any one?).  Winter features abundant greens and creative ways to use what's in your root cellar, and we'll talk about preserving and canning foods throughout the year.  This would be a fun one for a Valentine date!  The Spring dinner holds fresh herbs and greens and our favorite, rhubarb.  Pick the dinner you'd like to attend and we'll save you a seat.  While we haven't announced the locations of our upcoming Dinners, the dates are expected as follows:

Autumn: November 17th

Winter: February 16th

Spring: May 11th

 

If the dates shift, you may reselect the dinner you'd like to attend.  We can't wait to host you for an evening of learning, lights, laughter, and sparkling conversation.

9 Supporters
Select this reward
100.00 USD
Zero Waste Starter Kit

We'll send you a Zero Waste starter kit for you or a friend.  These essential items will welcome you into the zero waste journey prepared and excited.  With the holidays coming up, this would make the perfect gift for a family member, spouse, or son or daughter who cares about sustainability.

The kit includes:

  • A set of produce bags
  • An Assorted pack of 3 Bee's Wrap beeswax food storage wraps
  • A set of reusable utensils and chopsticks in a compact Togoware carrying case
  • Your very own stainless steel straw
10 Supporters
Select this reward

About the Entrepreneur

Seattle, WA
Created 1 Campaign
Lifestyle

Rewards

Monetary Contribution

Thank you so much for your support!

3 Supporters
Select this reward
5.00 USD
Become a Named Donor

We'll list your name alongside our other supporters on a plaque in our new store.  We appreciate your support and loyalty, and we are so grateful to have you as a part of the community we're building.

7 Supporters
Select this reward
10.00 USD
Stainless steel straw

You'll get a chic stainless steel straw!  If you pick it up at our grand opening, you can choose between silver, gold or iridescent or you can opt for the bubble tea size or the curved!  Otherwise we'll mail you a regular size straw in one of the 3 colors.

6 Supporters
Select this reward
20.00 USD
Stylish String Bag

Donate $15 to our campaign and we'll give you one of our popular string bags.  These open weave totes are 100% organic cotton and carry oh-so-much.  Use yours for groceries or beach trips, a farmer's market bag or a weekend catch-all.

4 Supporters
Select this reward
25.00 USD
Ticket to 1 of our classes or workshops

You'll get a ticket to attend one of our many classes and workshops.  Topics include:

  • Repair your clothes and outdoor gear
  • Make your own cleaning supplies
  • Sustainable Makeup
  • Documentary Screenings
  • Zero Waste and Vegan Cooking
  • Build Your Own Vertical Garden
  • Holistic Medicine Cabinet
  • Introduction to the Zero Waste Lifestyle

Must be redeemed in Seattle, Washington

10 Supporters
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Ticket to our Zero Waste Dinner

Get a ticket to one of our illustrious Zero Waste Dinner Parties.  This event series illustrates how to eat seasonally and reduce food waste.  Each season brings to the table a new variety of the bountiful foods grown in the Pacific Northwest.  Our Autumn dinner boasts locally foraged mushrooms and apples, as well as a rainbow of squash (friendsgiving any one?).  Winter features abundant greens and creative ways to use what's in your root cellar, and we'll talk about preserving and canning foods throughout the year.  This would be a fun one for a Valentine date!  The Spring dinner holds fresh herbs and greens and our favorite, rhubarb.  Pick the dinner you'd like to attend and we'll save you a seat.  While we haven't announced the locations of our upcoming Dinners, the dates are expected as follows:

Autumn: November 17th

Winter: February 16th

Spring: May 11th

 

If the dates shift, you may reselect the dinner you'd like to attend.  We can't wait to host you for an evening of learning, lights, laughter, and sparkling conversation.

9 Supporters
Select this reward
100.00 USD
Zero Waste Starter Kit

We'll send you a Zero Waste starter kit for you or a friend.  These essential items will welcome you into the zero waste journey prepared and excited.  With the holidays coming up, this would make the perfect gift for a family member, spouse, or son or daughter who cares about sustainability.

The kit includes:

  • A set of produce bags
  • An Assorted pack of 3 Bee's Wrap beeswax food storage wraps
  • A set of reusable utensils and chopsticks in a compact Togoware carrying case
  • Your very own stainless steel straw
10 Supporters
Select this reward