The Camp Turns Green With Humanitaire
The Camp and The Lab shopping centers in Costa Mesa, Calif., have always banked on providing consumers with the next wave in shopping trends.
For his next act, Shaheen Sadeghi, president and chief executive officer of the two retail centers, is banking on green being consumers’ next obsession.
Sadeghi’s newest tenant at The Camp is Humanitaire, which opened, quite appropriately, on Earth Day, April 22. It will sell slick purses and footwear made out of recycled vinyl—not leather—and makeup that does not contain animal products or has been tested on animals. Eventually, the store will sell contemporary clothes constructed out of organic cotton and sweatshop-free items.
The 820-square-foot store, owned by first-time retailer Lindsey Packer, 24, and her mother, Melanie Packer, is at the crest of the green trend.
“Consumers are very much ready for this product,” Sadeghi said. “You can see it in the demand for organic foodstuffs at Wild Oats and Trader Joe’s. You can see it in the success of the [hybrid car] Prius in the auto industry.”
Lindsey Packer was guided by the same logic. She had an easy time finding restaurants that served vegan food in Southern California. But she and her friends had to travel to the San Francisco Bay Area, New York or London to shop for contemporary clothes because they couldn’t find fashion boutiques that sold contemporary clothes that adhered to vegan standards.
“These boutiques thrived in other places,” Packer said. “Why not in Orange County, where the sport is shopping?”
Consumer demand for more environmentally friendly goods and stores has been growing in the United States, according to the Natural Marketing Institute, a Harleysville, Penn.–based marketing research company. It contends that the buying decisions of 23 percent of American adults are guided by environmental convictions.
Green retail, however, needs time to develop, said Sandra Marquardt, a representative of the Greenfield, Mass.–based Organic Trade Association. “Apparel has moved from hippie to hip,” she said. “But there are not enough [green] stores.”
Retail price points at Humanitaire will range from $15 for a small faux-fur purse to $180 for a pair of boots made of woven synthetic microfibers. Labels featured at the store will be Bellevue, Wash.–based accessories brand Queen Bee Creations; Victoria, B.C.–based Coquette Faux Furriers; and Zuzu Luxe, a Seattle-based beauty company.
A green tide of stores might be rising in Orange County.
Just weeks after the debut of Humanitaire, The Road Less Traveled, another store selling organic and sweatshop-free fashions and housewares, will open in Santa Ana, Calif., in May.
“Green is looking good right now,” said Delilah Snell, owner of The Road Less Traveled. —Andrew Asch
