Ecoexistence

Kym Klopp has always been an environmentalist. “At concerts, I would be picking up other people’s garbage,” she says. But she grew tired of the ever-widening gap between her personal lifestyle and the ways of her workplace. As a women’s accessories wholesaler, she became increasingly concerned about the toxic jewelry imported from China — this was also during a time when there were no regulations on lead. “I was just done with the industry,” she says.

In October 2008 Kym decided to quit her job and open up ecoexistence — an eco-friendly lifestyle product store — on Vaughn road. The week after, the economy crashed. “I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness. It’s over. I’ve made a huge mistake,’ but I came to find that people were all of sudden paying attention to what they spent their money on,” she says. Kym’s clientele became hungry for long-lasting high quality products. And better yet, customers wanted to buy local.

“It was amazing to just watch people turn their houses over,” says Kym. Customers started to replace items in their bedroom, and began moving on to do the same in their kitchen and bathroom. “That to me was a huge success. That I could impact people and offer them alternatives to what was out there,” she adds.