Meet the owners

Genevieve founded Eco Collective in the spirit of creating a store centered around low impact living that made sustainability more accessible.  Marimar soon joined, eager to use her skills to expand the reach of such an eco-minded business and help bring the storefront to life.  Shortly after opening our first brick-and-mortar store, Summer joined the partnership. Together, they are building a collective of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts, environmentalists, and lovers of design.

Genevieve

Genevieve Livingston's passion for embodying an eco-friendly lifestyle stems from her years on the water racing sailboats.  She is an environmentalist, an activist, and a competitive sailor.  She lives on a sailboat with her other half, Jarod, and their Labrador, Drifter.  And she's going to make you fall in love with the movement of low impact living.

"I spend my days exploring the Pacific Northwest by boat and by foot, camping under the stars every chance I get.  I run this business as a platform for the beautiful zero waste community, and I delight in promoting environmental companies that offer beautiful, sustainable products.

The day I stepped into myself as an environmentalist was particularly striking. Growing up, I spent my summers on a sailing team in Rhode Island, exploring a windy bay and the beautiful ocean just beyond.  We spent every day on the water.  Halfway through one of the first summers, they brought a specialist in to talk about plastic in the ocean. They took their fancy underwater camera out on our very own beloved wooden dock.  I was shocked to see the camera reveal at least a hundred pieces of trash right beneath our feet.  Plastic straws from the yacht club, hair ties, bits of plastic, even a plastic water bottle.   Suddenly there was a splash to my left, and the next thing I knew, my dear sailing partner's grinning face appeared on the camera as he grabbed the bottle and whatever other trash he could see.  We later conducted a beach cleanup, and I have been chillingly aware of the presence of plastic in the ocean ever since.

"If I care about the ocean this much, I have to take care of the earth."

"I've always sought out natural products, but a few years ago, I started to notice how complex it was to research a product's life cycle or a company's sustainability practices.  I set my mind to making sustainability easier and more accessible to the average consumer... to my hiking, sailing, skiing friends who cared about the environment but didn't have the time or information to vet which products were truly preserving the outdoors they enjoy every day.

Here's to practical and beautiful products, and here's to the growth and delight that comes along the path to living lighter."

 

 

Marimar

Seattle native, Marimar (mar-eee-mar) White-Espin, grew up in an eco-conscious community and has her parents to thank for instilling a desire to leave the world in a better place than when she entered it.

White-Espin’s zero waste journey started when she co-founded her first company and wanted to live a simpler lifestyle and save money. Shopping bulk and second hand, making her own bath and body products, avoiding single use items, plastic packaging, and being mindful of her purchases not only saved her money but made her more aware of how much waste she was eliminating.

“It wasn’t until I was in my early-twenties when I learned about zero waste through Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home blog. I fell in love with her simple and mindful lifestyle and I knew living zero waste was something I wanted to incorporate into my life."

"This journey has not come naturally, it takes a lot of discipline and being vocal (which I have a tough time with) and everywhere you turn there’s plastic trying to make its way into my life!"

"I’m eager to share and promote the low-impact lifestyle through Eco Collective and reach as many individuals and communities as possible.”

  

Summer

Summer Hanson's passion for the environment stems from youth in Bellevue, Washington. She grew an appreciation for nature through running trails as a cross-country and track athlete, camping, and jumping into nearby lakes. 

She studied public policy, environmental studies and visual arts at Princeton University. As a student, she interned for Carbon Washington, to introduce I-732, a carbon tax initiative in Washington State, and for the Princeton Office of Sustainability. 

As a new college graduate in 2016, I-732 failed, and a changing political scene left her wanting a way to take personal action. Zero waste emerged as the empowering outlet she needed, and as a way to connect with like-minded people.

"As I decluttered and stopped making unnecessary purchases and using disposables, I felt lighter and happier. I had extra time on my hands, saved money, ate healthier, and learned how to make things that I used to buy in packaging. Most importantly, I found myself again."

Summer befriended Genevieve and Marimar in December 2017 through the Seattle Zero Waste meet-up group, and became an instant fan of Eco Collective. In November 2018, she joined the team, and brought her experience from her previous work at Amazon Fashion and Emeraldology, an online publication about sustainable living, to help Eco Collective grow.