Eco-Friendly Style Collaborative
In Mahara Place in the heart of Waikanae township, you will find the Eco-Friendly Style Collaborative . Established by a group of creative Kāpiti women who share the retail space, the Eco-Friendly Style Collaborative focuses on female makers and small businesses run by women and providing them with a platform and space.
Eco-Friendly Style Collaborative showcases local and sustainable products
In Mahara Place in the heart of Waikanae township, you will find the Eco-Friendly Style Collaborative. Established by a group of creative Kāpiti women who share the retail space, the Eco-Friendly Style Collaborative focuses on female makers and small businesses run by women and providing them with a platform and space. Products that are showcased in the shop are made with sustainability in mind and the space is about educating the community on the abundance of sustainable options that are available on the Kāpiti Coast.
Co-founders Juli Hunter and Julia Hickton-Scott chat about how the idea of a shared space came about and the philosophies they embrace in the sustainability space.
“We each bring something creatively unique to the village and all share a passion for being kind to the planet by reusing and re-inventing materials that already exist ... Our aim is to educate our community about becoming more sustainable for a brighter and more balanced future.
“We created the space because we saw a gap in Kāpiti where local artists could come together and sell their products. We wanted a place where the work of local makers can be seen, enjoyed, and they can work together within the community. A beautiful, small-scale ecosystem of like-minded people is what has been established,” says Hunter.
For as long as Juli Hunter can remember she has always made clothing and items out of fabric and her business Juli Hunter Eco Friendly Style is all about ethically made NZ clothing and accessories.
“It was a no-brainer for me to create a business out of my passion for not only for making clothing, but for using what already exists on the planet . It has grown from helping the community to keep clothing going longer by recycling, to mending and upcycling as well as making new garments from recycled or deadstock fabric.
“It has evolved into classes where I teach the community how to sew their own clothing from recycled fabrics. We have seen momentum over the last two years as customers are looking to make sustainable choices when they purchase.
“We don’t view sustainability as an add-on. It is not an optional extra or a box to tick, it's at the core of everything we do. Minimising environmental damage and sharing our passion for sustainability means that we value our planet and the hard-working artists who live and create locally.”
The team say that they are increasingly seeing a trend in people searching out local and sustainable products.
“Customers are starting to understand that purchasing locally reduces transport carbon emissions as well as drives the local economy. For the Kāpiti District we have an opportunity to help show other businesses that sustainability as a core business value is possible.
Our biggest challenge is around valuing our products and not competing with the old-world views of cheap pricing. We encourage our collective members to value what they create and price products accordingly. The Collab is a great space for our members to support and encourage each other as we learn and grow our businesses.”
Visit the Collaborative and connect with the wāhine behind the products at their Mahara Place shop or find out more on [email protected].