Tuesday, February 19, 2008

local greenie stores

it's so fun driving around new england finding eco-friendly stores, they seem to be just everywhere and they all have their own vibe and all the owners are so different and fantastic. i'm sure you all don't spend your free time checking out these stores so i thought i'd post them here in a condensed list. i am not limiting to stores that carry toby + rei merchandise, that would just be un-american. i am simply listing my massachusetts favorites. i'll do another post that includes the rest of new england soon i promise!

crunchy granola baby - salem ma.
i have so many nice things to say about this store and it's fantastically funny and verbose owner jennie. it's located in witch central, on washington street. this cute little store is jam packed with all things organic. when you walk into the store you feel like you walked right into someones house for coffee and you don't really want to leave. there is a large area in back for toddler art classes and a sitting area for moms to feed their babes. jennie is a big proponent of locally owned businesses, such as toby + rei and buddha belly skincare, but she carries her share of big names too, like under the nile, haba toys, kate quinn organics, bamboosa etc. the store also has lots of super crunchy classes, like natural childbirth classes and make your own cleaning supplies. did i say make your own cleaning supplies? what's crunchier than that? love it. you must go.

hatched - jamaica plain, ma.
this store is so FREAKIN cute! it's literally the size of my bedroom but it is so fun and bright and cheerful. they carry toys, baby clothes galore - including one of my personal fav's nui organics, shoes, eco-friendly diapering options etc. really nice staff and the owner liz is very cool, you would like her and her fantastic store.

greenward- cambridge, ma.
this store is a local media darling. i feel like i can't open a paper lately without seeing some item about greenward. the attention is well deserved. it's located on mass ave near porter square sort of underground (think laverne and shirleys apartment - the apartment before they moved to hollwood). husband and wife scott walker and simone alpen are the owners and they are way cooler than all of us i'm afraid. simone organizes the bizarre bazaar and scott is an urban planner turned retail store operator. they do such a fabulous job buying for this store, they have everything, from eco friendly greeting cards, to jewelry to natural cleaning products. it's everything eco under one very cool roof. check it out, all the local media peeps can't be wrong.

1 comment:

Jill said...

Great post of local faves! Did you see the article on green moms in the NY Times last week? I think it was in Saturday's paper...you might be able to find it archived on-line. Cliff notes version is that green moms are the ones to be marketing to, so you're right on target!