– Diane Strandberg
Business profile: Every Little bit in Port Moody
Green consumerism is the new ethic as homeowners look for ways to stretch a dollar without bringing harmful chemicals and wasteful products into their homes.
But consumers come in varying shades of green: There’s the lime green shopper who sees the trend but isn’t about to make over their entire lifestyle to save a tree and then there’s the forest green consumer who makes every purchase count toward a greener world.
Most people fit somewhere in the middle. They want to buy green products but don’t know where to look or they are so confused by competing claims they throw up their hands in frustration. “You go into a grocery store and you look at the wall of cleaners and there’s no discretion at all,” agrees Meaghan Relkie.
It should be simple to buy green products but it isn’t unless you have an encyclopedia of information at your fingertips and know what you’re looking for. “How hard can it be?” wondered Relkie, a Port Coquitlam mother with a toddler at home and another baby on the way.
She ran the question by her friend Alison Ferguson, who, like Relkie, is a Coquitlam Soroptimist, with children at home. Ferguson was familiar with Relkie’s dilemma, and while not a complete ‘granola girl”, is a discerning shopper, too.
Hashing out the problem over tea, the two came up with the idea of starting a web-based company, that sources and sells environmentally-friendly products. The products are green-rated depending on several criteria, such as how far they have travelled and what they are made of, and are listed on the website with the information that takes the guess work out of buying green.”
“The world shifts when you have kids”, said Ferguson, describing her motivation behind the new start-up. An entrepreneur with experience in various technology companies, Ferguson admits she’s more of a mainstream shopper than Relkie and feels like a poser when she walks into one of the more earthy stores. “I’m 38 years old. I’m never going to wear tye-die and beige hemp”.
Every Little Bit simplifies life for mainstream shoppers who aren’t fanatic about a green lifestyle but want do their “little bit”, Ferguson says, and its convenient for those who have decided to use their purchasing power to make the world a better place.
“Sometimes being green is totally overwhelming and people aren’t wiling to make that big a commitment. It can be too expensive and too overwhelming. But it’s really about what ever little bit you can do…It doesn’t matter. You can just buy eco friendly cleaner and that one thing is making a difference.”
A LOT OF RESEARCH
It took about eight months form idea to business launch, with months spent researching products and talking to friends and family about ways to make the web-site convenient and useful. The URL they wanted was already taken so the website name is www.everylittlebitgreen.com while the company name is Every Little Bit. The slogan fits right in what the philosophy: Everyday products, conveniently green.
In December, when Relkie and Ferguson launched Every Little Bit on the internet, there were 300 products available on their company website. That number is expected to grow as Relkie, who is responsible for researching the products, finds new items that have a green pedigree.
Some hot sellers so far include Envirosax, fold-up reusable bags that can be conveniently stored in a purse, Kleen Kanteen, stainless steel water bottles, and because a new year lends itself to cleaning, an e-cloth that polishes an scrubs without any cleaners at all is a popular choice.
PROMOTION TRAIL
Relkie and Ferguson plan to spend the next several months promoting their company through education seminars and will do some e-marketing, such as blogging, to raise the profile of Every Little Bit. Some promotions are planned as well. For example, shipping fees will be waived until the end of March for Tri-City shoppers who enter the code “tcnews” in the Redeem Coupon field.
The Tri-City Moms say its been fun to start up a web-based company and they enjoy the flexibility of working from home. What’s more, they now have no excuses for living in a home that isn’t green and clean because they test most of the products they sell.
dstrandberg@tricitynews.com
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