Ok, so the shop has been open since June, 2020, but today just felt like the right day to start a blog and share a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes here at Ethos Kolekto.

If you’ve been around since the beginning (thank you) or if you’ve been a follower of my sustainable lifestyle influencer blog (again, thank you), you’ll know that I’ve had a bit of a weird adventure in the world of fashion.

In high school, I was convinced that I’d go to college for fashion design, would move to NYC or LA and become a very famous and very wealthy actress/model/fashion designer right off the bat. Nevermind the fact that I’d never acted in anything in my life and that I was only 5’4”. I did go to college for fashion design and merchandising and I did move to NYC, where I interned at a large online retailer, but I’d had a bit of an epiphany towards the end of my college career that followed me to NYC and it left me largely disillusioned with the world of fashion.

Largely, because I was broke during and after college, I drifted towards a lifestyle where doing things like turning off lights and water when they weren’t in use not only saved money, but also helped the planet. The more I realized that living sustainably was actually two-fold, the more I drifted away from the glamorous life that I’d envisioned myself living when I was a very young adult. I discovered organic cotton and though it still took me several more years to even hear the term “fair trade,” I knew that fast fashion was pretty uncool. This all happened in 2008-2009.

Fast forward to 2012, and I’d left my life of fast fashion behind… or so I thought. I was finishing up a master’s degree in special education, because doesn’t everyone transition from apparel merchandising to special education?

I found myself missing playing in my closet, putting together fun outfits, and exploring the world. I did what everyone logically did in 2012, and I started a blog to post my OOTDs. It took about a year, but I suddenly found myself receiving email after email from Asian wholesalers offering me free clothes in exchange for posts. Boy, did I sink back into that world quickly. At this point, I was living in Germany and working on an Air Force base. I discovered that I could maximize my free money from the wholesalers by picking their cheapest garments, wearing them once, and then selling them on base for roughly what the websites charged because I was there and could hand the goods over without my buyers needing to pay for shipping.

When I got back to the US in 2016, my overseas side gig had definitely financed quite a bit of international travel and enabled me to pay off my college loans, but I ended up feeling a sort of reverse culture shock. I’d been a HUGE consumer (of free stuff, but of stuff nonetheless) while I lived overseas, but I’d also been surrounded by a sustainable German community. When I got back to the US, I was truly flabbergasted by the rampant consumerism and lack of sustainability.

I fully committed my blog, then re-branded as Green Chic Life, to focus on sustainable living, fair trade and ethical fashion, and connections to non-profit organizations that could do good for the world. I was also working full-time as a special education teacher in a Title 1 school and was living on my own for the first time in my life. I was able to make some really positive changes in my lifestyle and I connected with lots and lots of brands that aligned with my new code of ethics.

… I also still really wanted to make a big impact and I wanted to do something fun for myself.

Fast forward once more to the spring of 2020. I’d just returned to work after the birth of my son, but alas, a pandemic had swept across the world. My husband, also a big dreamer, had by this time heard me talk about my desire to one day start a small business that allowed me to connect some of my blog connections with consumers and when our first COVID relief check came along, he encouraged me to use some of this stipend to get my dream going.

With $2000 in a brand new bank account, I finally took the plunge. It’s been a bit of an uphill battle. To be completely transparent, I’ve still not technically broken even (though I’m only a few sales away). I’ve yet to actually pay myself a single cent, as I’ve re-invested every penny I’ve earned back to the artisans who craft the very products I’ve curated for sale here.

Someday, and hopefully someday very, very soon, I hope to break even and start to turn a true profit. From this, I plan to take a very small wage, to invest into new brands to support other artisan cooperatives, and to donate to non-profits and to invest in Microfinance loans so that women around the world can gain the capital that they need to start their own businesses and support their families.

I’ve recently started a book club to help other like-minded individuals find a community and a place to read, learn, and grow.

Ethos Kolekto is super grassroots, but I’ve got big dreams! Stay tuned for more, and if you’d like to be a part of the journey, I’d be honored if you maybe made a purchase from the shop, joined the book club, or simply followed our social media accounts and share a post once in a while (if it grabs your attention)!

Asante!