CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Angie MacDonald is trying to save the world one organic shirt at a time.
Actually, the co-owner of eco*spirit in the Confederation Court Mall in Charlottetown has a whole lot more than just organic shirts.
In fact, it’s a one-stop-shopping spot for anyone interested in helping out the environment while buying men’s and women’s clothes, footwear, teas, organic chocolate, skin care products, and the list goes on.
The store sells clothing for men and women made from 100 per cent natural materials. MacDonald talks about hemp and bamboo, organic cotton and silk, and she even has pants made from 100 per cent recyclable plastic bottles that look like anything sold in a fine women’s clothing store.
MacDonald opened the store on July 1 with her business partner Kimberly Milette. Milette is the co-founder of Naturally Canada Marketplace and, MacDonald says, has been running things on the website naturallycanada.com for the past few years.
“Everything in here has to be natural, non-harmful, non-toxic, non-chemical. This is a passion for my business partner and myself. If we can even have one person stop throwing plastics into a landfill or stop buying clothes . . . washing them twice, getting a hole and throwing them away . . . clothing is the second largest pollutant in the world.’’
- Angie MacDonald
“We are a sustainable, naturally organic store,’’ MacDonald said of eco*spirit, located directly next to the Kent Street Market off the Kent Street entrance to the mall. “We are the only one in the Maritimes. We are about 98 per cent Canadian so we specialize in supporting our own country.’’
They sell organic fabric brought in from Toronto because it’s hard to source here on P.E.I.
She raves about the hemp shirts.
“Hemp is the strongest fabric in the world,’’ MacDonald said. “If you have anything hemp it’s going to last you 15 to 25 years.’’
Price wise, MacDonald said her products range about the same as Michael’s or Winners.
“We’re priced right around the mid-section so we’re not expensive but we’re also not Walmart cheap. Our average prices are between $80 and $110. Our shirts run about $20 to $30 so we’re right in that mid-range. But our (products) are going to last you years; never fade; never fall apart and never shrink; bonus for men.’’
MacDonald said business has been good, with Islanders becoming more interested in reducing waste.
“Everything in here has to be natural, non-harmful, non-toxic, non-chemical. This is a passion for my business partner and myself. If we can even have one person stop throwing plastics into a landfill or stop buying clothes . . . washing them twice, getting a hole and throwing them away . . . clothing is the second largest pollutant in the world.’’
