If you'd rather bring home a gift that won't add to the plastic pile, Color It Green at 301 Centre Street stocks only earth-friendly goods. A local family opened it in late November 2014. The founder, a graphic designer by trade, writes on the shop's Our Story page that she's been a wildlife-conservation advocate since childhood, and that her husband, Jimmy, built the original displays while their daughters helped hunt for products.
The buying rules are spelled out there too. The shop looks first for goods made ethically in the USA, holds anything sourced overseas to a fair-trade standard, and checks how artisans are paid and treated. Many of the brands donate to environmental, animal or humanitarian causes, and local makers supply handmade jewelry and soaps. On the shelves you'll find:
- Reusables for the kitchen and the lunchbox, plus pottery and home goods
- Bath and body care, candles, diffusers and essential oils
- Ethically made clothing, socks, hats and scarves
- Bags from backpacks and crossbodies to dopp kits
- Baby and kids' items, and a small pet section with leashes, collars and chew toys
Brands named on the site include Farmhouse Fresh, Solmate Socks, Cotopaxi, Boody and Rare Essence. The Happy Sea, a line of greeting cards, art prints, tees and beach tanks, gets its own section, which also holds prints and stickers from Koast's Casa.
The store shares the 300 block with Teak & Ivy and The Spice & Tea Exchange, and Olive Amelia is a block toward the river if you're collecting host gifts in one trip. Store hours and the online shop are at coloritgreengifts.com.