Green in BKLYN Makes Living Greener Easy
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by Kate Hanley in Hill Top Reviews
Bed-Stuy resident Elissa Olin wanted to make earth-friendly shopping choices but found it hard to do so—one store might have green cleaning supplies but no recycled paper products, while another carried non-toxic hand soap but only conventional, chemical-laden shampoo. “Even though I was committed to living greener, it was a struggle,” she recalls. An event planner, actress, and commercial voiceover artist, Olin was also haunted by the words of Horace Mann, the founder of her alma mater, Antioch College: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind.” Running around town to fulfill her various obligations didn’t exactly feel like fighting the good fight. She (seen below) craved starting a business that served her community and the world at large, and began envisioning a one-stop shop for all things eco-friendly. “I wanted to make it easy, affordable and appealing for my neighbors to buy green products and be of service to my community and the planet,” she recalls.
Elissa Olin
The result of that desire is Green in BKLYN, a well-curated emporium of all things eco-friendly on Myrtle Avenue, between Waverly and Clinton. To dispel the common misconceptions that green products are either expensive or dowdy—appealing only to self-avowed hippies—Olin focuses on offering products that meet a wide range of needs. “I ask myself the following four questions about every product we sell: Is it eco friendly? Is it functional? Is it economical? And is it cute and pretty?”
In addition to a full line of the types of products most frequently associated with eco-f
riendliness–cleaning supplies, paper products, and lightbulbs—Green in BKLYN also carries a wide array of kitchen supplies, kids’ toys and clothes, all-natural skin and hair care, home accents, and even pet supplies. Whenever possible, Olin selects products from local companies—the foldable tote ($8.95) from Brooklyn-based company Baggu fits in a back pocket and can make even the most forgetful person a “bring your own bag” convert.
The store is a great resource for affordable gifts, including soy or beeswax candles (most just under the $20 mark), wallets made out of recycled inner tubes ($31.95), and for the kiddies, a wooden magic wand ($3.95) and organic lollipops ($.25). The shelves are stocked with things you need and things you didn’t know you needed until you saw them: On my last visit, I went to pick up some organic Boo Boo Balm to soothe my toddler’s gigantic mosquito bites and came out with the salve as well as a cute fabric pouch to hold my daughter’s ubiquitous pretzel sticks (thank you, plastic baggies, your services are no longer needed), a bottle of non-toxic silver nail polish for a birthday gift, and a great idea of what to get my husband for Father’s Day (a seltzer-making machine that uses no electricity and produces seltzer for pennies a bottle). When I run out of laundry detergent, I’ll be back to buy one of the bestselling products in the store: Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder. A small canvas bag filled with non-toxic laundry detergent designed for high efficiency washers, the Laundry Powder requires only one tablespoon to clean a load of clothes. “A $13.95 bag washes 80 loads of clothes, making the cost per load only $.17,” Olin points out. The packaging is reusable and compact, further reducing the load on the environment.
Olin also aims to be a hub of information and service for the neighborhood beyond just making sales. She accepts No. 5 plastic (which the city does not recycle) and sends it to a company that turns it in to the toothbrushes, razors, and plastic cups that Olin sells in the store. She will also recycle your empty batteries (at a charge of $.05 a battery to cover shipping). And on her website, greeninbklyn.com, she has a full list of resources on where to recycle almost anything you need to dispose of. “This neighborhood is such a friendly community, it’s fun and rewarding to be a part of,” she says. Stop in for a lesson in how you can green your life, and tell ‘em The Hill sent you.
Green in BKLYN is at 432 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205, between Waverly and Clinton. Open: Tues–Fri, 11am–7pm, Saturday 10am–7pm, Sunday 11am–6pm, Phone: 718-855-4383
