“Sustainability is treating ourselves and our environment as if we are to live on this earth forever.” – Aaron Wood.
In Gastown, we love the planet we occupy. And if we had the option to live on this Earth forever, this is the place that we would like to be.
From organic, fair trade food and beverages, to consigned, vintage, small batch, and slow fashion, plant shops, hyper-local shops, and b-corp businesses, here is how you can join us in making planet Earth number one this Earth Day (and every day). Besides, this planet is pretty damn fantastic.
1. Attend the Gastown Cleanup Party
When: Friday, April 21, 3-5pm
Where: Meet at Maple Tree Square
We’re celebrating this wonderful planet and our community with a good-old-fashioned neighbourhood cleanup this Friday afternoon.
Grab your coworkers, friends, and neighbours, and join us for an afternoon of deep cleaning with DJ Joe Pound live on the streets.
Be a part of the change. RSVP to the cleanup HERE.
2. Shop Vintage & Mindfully Made
Vintage Hotspot
The fast fashion industry generates 100 billion garments each year and is one of the most polluting industries in the world. While some retailers are making the effort to lower their carbon footprint, one of the best ways to shop sustainably is to shop second hand. Gastown has you covered with vintage shops carefully curated to suit any style.
Our Community Thrift & Vintage
Founded in 2011, Community Thrift & Vintage is a social enterprise, that sells a tightly edited collection of recycled fashion. They support at-risk people through their compassionate and supportive work training program, and all of their profits are donated to the PHS Community Services Society.
Hey Jude
Hey Jude (a Gastown neighbour) is a design-inspired vintage clothing shop that specializes in contemporary-style pieces that have been hand-picked and edited into seasonal collections. With a high emphasis on natural fibres, clean cuts and shapes and cohesiveness, each collection is curated by founders, Lauren Clark and Lyndsey Chow.
Kamuy Vintage
Nestled in the basement of the Le Magasin shopping arcade, lies one of Vancouver’s best vintage clothing stores. This Underground treasure trove has unique items for the whole family. Thrifters will be delighted with the vast collection.
Uniques
A treasure trove located right on West Cordova Street, Uniques is just as its names suggests! Find valued antique items that will breathe new life into any space.
Far Out Vintage
Landing Soon. Stay tuned.
Nettles Tale
Another West Cordova must stop! While Nettles Tale mostly focuses on well crafted, slow fashion items (to-die-for bathing suits), they also have a couple racks of vintage pieces to fit any trend cycle. A place that truly values local and ethical manufacturing, inclusive sizing, quality, and thoughtful design.
Mindfully Made
With an overarching collective value of timeless quality, a remarkable amount of goods and services in Gastown are produced with a future in mind. Although aware of trends and fashion, many local makers and shop owners find inspiration in the longevity of our planet and prefer to source small batch, consciously produced and carefully sourced pieces.
Make Gastown
Experience and shop tentree® Apparel (one of Canada’s most sustainable brands) exclusively at Make Gastown. When you purchase a tentree item, they plant ten trees. Plus on Saturday, April 22, the first 100 customers at Make Gastown will recieve free saplings.
Makers Gastown (previously the Nooks)
Committed to going above and beyond to create a supportive community, Makers only stocks artisan food from local creators! Their vision is simple: We want to empower, educate, and help Canadian makers become successful.
Native Shoes
From innovating bio-based materials like Bloom and Sugarlite™ and animal-free designs, Native Shoes has ambitious SBTi-approved science-based targets to reduce their climate impact. With initiatives like recycling well-loved shoes via the Native Shoes Remix™ Project.
Fable Home Goods
At Fable, everything is designed and crafted with sustainability in mind. They make beautiful kitchen and tableware meant for any home.
And this is only the start. View a full list of independent, innovative, retailers in Gastown HERE.
3. Dine Consciously
MeeT in Gastown
MeeT provides those satisfying dishes with sustainability in mind. Their mission is to help transition the mainstream to eating more plant-based foods in a friendly, accepting and engaging venue. It helps that they make a mean (and 100% plant-based) burger. Don’t let the name fool ya – It’s MeeT, not Meat.
Trees Organic Coffee
It’s all in the name. Trees Organic Coffee and Roasting House serves up the finest ingredients (and tastiest cheesecake – mark our word). With a focus on fair trade, single-origin, and providing women coffee farmers with social and economic programs in their communities, Trees does it right.
East Van Roasters
EVR roasts specialty coffee and makes bean-to-bar chocolate using single-origin, direct and fair trade beans. They are also a social enterprise program that was founded by PHS Community Services Society, providing housing, healthcare, harm reduction and health promotion for some of the most vulnerable and under-served people in Vancouver and Victoria. EVR is now owned and operated by Atira.
Shout out to our neighbours – Nuba Gastown (authentic, healthy Lebanese cuisine) who seek out the freshest ingredients—organic and local—and handpick them daily.
4. Plant-Based Design
Plants over Plastic
Freshen up your home with some clean air! Not only do indoor plants enhance the overall appearance of a space, but they’ve been shown to boost moods, increase creativity, reduce stress, and eliminate air pollutants—making for a healthier, happier you.
Floba Flower Boutique
Always conscious of the environment, Floba offers delivery by scooter and environmentally responsible recycled product options. Community giving is also a priority at Floba.
Avelyn Florist
Avelyn serves the Gastown and greater Vancouver community. According to Avelyn, flowers are more than a mere gift. They have a deep and profound meaning.
In addition to our fabulous florists, many of our independent shops sell a wide-array of plants, including Out and About and Old Faithful Shop.
5. Support Businesses Supporting the Earth
Certified B Corp Status
B Corporation is a third-party certification of a company’s commitment to social change, earned by businesses that are focused on the big picture, factoring people and the planet into their business decisions, alongside profit. Gastown has several businesses that have earned this status, which is something to be extremely proud of.
Yulu PR
Yulu PR is an award-winning social and environmental impact communications firm. They were also Canada’s first communications agency to become B Corp certified, and recognized by B Lab with the honorary agency title of “Best For The World: Changemaker.”
Junxion Strategy
Junxion advises on strategy, sustainability, and social impact for some of the world’s most courageous and generative brands.
President and CEO, Mike Rowlands discusses the importance of having social purpose when it comes to business and the road to recovery. Learn more HERE.
New Market Funds
“We’re taking a different approach to investing. We start with understanding community need and work from there to create new market-based solutions.” – New Market Funds.
Frank & Oak
Committed to selecting better materials, better factories and better shipping methods to maximize the reduction of their carbon emissions. Learn more about what Frank and Oak is doing HERE.
Play Your Part
We can all play our part when it comes to living more sustainably. We are always eager to hear suggestions from our community on how we can make Gastown more green. Have a suggestion? Check out our Urban Design Study: Gastown Tomorrow, and have your voices heard. Besides, the Gastown of tomorrow matters.
Want to learn more? We recommend exploring the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as outlined by the United Nations (UN SDGs).
Happy Earth Day all.
