at the Green Store
Published: April 20, 2009
“Keep the environment clean and green” is an everyday slogan that we encounter in campuses, parks, and on several street corners. “Do not pick up the flowers”, “Do not step on the grass”, and a handful of other “do not’s” are the common signs that I can still recall from my elementary textbooks. Ask an eight-year-old girl on how she can save the earth and she would answer you with an introverted smile: “I will throw my litter in the garbage can”. But aside from proper waste management, there are still other things that we can do for our mother earth such as tree planting, recycling, water conservation, and guess what, shopping!
Yes, you read it right. As Earth Day approaches, now is simply the perfect time to support eco-friendly products and go shopping at Environment and Community Hope Organization (ECHO) Store.
ECHO Store was founded by three friends—Pacita “Chit” Juan, Reena Francisco and Jeannie Javelosa—after conceptualizing the business idea over dinner. The group saw the need to provide market access to communities who make baskets out of recycled papers and other homemade goods as a livelihood program. The store opened on September 2008 as it shared space with Kape Isla, a local café under the management of Philippine Coffee Board, at the Ground Level of Serendra Piazza in Taguig City. Since then, it welcomes new items for sale every week.
Everything you will find in ECHO is environment-friendly, natural, and community-based (meaning made by communities such as Gawad Kalinga) and comes from all parts of the country like its fine line of beauty and wellness products—Gandang Kalikasan Beauty Oil, Heaven’s Cure Coco Rub, Ilog Maria Bee Propolis, Lyf Saver, Malunggay Health & Beauty Soap, Organix Solutions’ Coconut of the Body, Z.E.N. Body Scrub, etc. Chit confesses that she is a fan of these healthy body treats. “We don’t want to sell something we don’t use,” she says.
And who wouldn’t want to grab all of them in a shopping cart? Why stick to harsh chemicals when you can go all natural from head to toe—from shampoo and conditioner to foot soak! Show your love to your body and start living healthy with ECHO’s organic line.
Aside from these, the store also offers recycled bags (made by patients of National Mental Health and other foundations), bottled fish, coco bagoong, cleaning products, hampers, shopping baskets (made by inmates of Correctional Institute of Women), sun dried tomatoes, coffee alternatives, and other great buys.
ECHO aims to be known as a social enterprise that primarily helps people. “It’s not always money. We help communities, and we infect people to do the same. We want people to realize that the simple act of buying is already supporting someone. It’s about choosing the products to buy. What we have here might be the same products in any store, but they are helping the environment and the communities. It’s all about making a choice and buying Filipino,” says Reena.
Another project of ECHO Store is the ECHO Design Lab, which provides assistance to communities in the packaging, labeling and other creative outputs for the products they make and sell. The lab is calling on industrial designers, fashion designers, interior designers, writers, photographers, and anyone interested to give out their services for free and share with ECHO’s advocacies.For more information about ECHO Store, 
