Not hippie, just hip
A new boutique goes green and stays stylish
The launch of an eco-conscious clothing boutique on Newbury Street could have been the most dreadful of propositions, a lethal blend of doctrine and pretension.
Instead, Callie Smith and Ursula Stahl, the genial and stylish co-owners of Envi, have crafted a green shopping venue that is hip yet accessible, socially conscious yet dogma-free.
"We don't by any means want someone to come in and say, 'Oh, my clothes aren't right.' We don't want them feeling negatively about fashion," said Smith, 25, who along with Stahl graduated from Tufts in 2003 with a degree in economics. "Fashion is fun. We want to show people that eco-fashion is fun, too."
The concept for Envi -- the name borrows from the words "green with envy" and "environment" -- began germinating several years ago when Smith, who was working retail in Boston, began researching the conditions and environmental impact of sweatshops. Determined to meld fashion and environmental awareness, she moved back to her home state of Vermont, opened Envi outside of Burlington, and tested the eco-boutique concept online as well.
Meanwhile, Stahl, 25, was tiring of her job in advertising and marketing for New Balance.
"I thought I needed the corporate career for a while and gave it a try," she said. When Smith kept pitching the eco-boutique idea, Stahl eventually gave in. "We decided that we would make a good partnership and bring good skills together," Stahl said.
They decided to relaunch Envi in Boston. After finding the Newbury Street storefront in January, they spent several months revamping the dark, cluttered space into a airy, urban alcove. The renovation was eco-conscious top to bottom: bamboo floors, non-toxic paint, vintage furniture, and, in their greatest coup, clothes hangers made from 100 percent recycled paper, ordered online at the 11th hour.
Nature-themed touches abound: a moat of polished stones borders the walls, and a chandelier designed to look like a bird's nest adorns the entry.
Expanding their clothing stock was a greater challenge. Eco-conscious clothing lines are still fairly hard to come by.
"At the New York shows, probably 5 percent of the designers are eco-friendly," said Smith. So Stahl and Smith spent countless hours locating their stock online and establishing contacts with eco-clothing purveyors on the West Coast and in Canada.
The result is a selection of chic basics and more unusual pieces. There are organic cotton twill slim-fit black pants from the Montreal-based Grace & Cello , jeans from green companies Loomstate and Edun (Bono's line with wife, Ali Hewson ), and feather-soft organic tees from Stewart & Brown .
Among the standouts: a reversible, asymmetric bamboo cotton blend shirt with coconut shell buttons from the Canada-based Covet , and tanks from the New York-based Moral Fervor made of 100 percent Ingeo, a sustainable synthetic derived from fermented corn.
Across the board, the companies represented not only use organic and often sustainable materials, but produce the clothing without using sweatshop labor. The pieces range mostly from $50 to $200, and in keeping with the store's "not hippie -- just hip" mantra, there's nary a Birkenstock or hemp skirt in sight.
Locating in the tony Back Bay rather than, say, crunchy Cambridge, may seem an odd choice, but the duo saw it as an opportunity.
"It would make sense to be in a place like Cambridge, because people are very conscious of that kind of lifestyle, but we also feel like [being on] Newbury Street is a chance to educate people about the lifestyle," said Stahl. "We want people to come in and learn something and not be able to leave without understanding what we're about ."
Envi, 164 Newbury St., 617-267-3684 . shopenvi.com. 