Here’s another spotlight blog post of our amazing vendor, All Things Preserved. Our marketing director, Jennifer Lyon, sent Susan, founder at All Things Preserved, a few questions about the work she does. Here are her responses!

1. Tell me about your business.

Here’s a shot of Sue winning a 3 month retail contract with Full Circle at our February The Eco Market Pitch Competition!

The mission of my company is to provide people with simple tools to empower themselves to find a kinder way to live on this earth. I do that through workshops on sustainable and wellness topics, and I make and sell upcycled reusable alternatives to single use household items, particularly single use plastics.

2. How does it fit with the Eco Market model? How is it sustainable?

As people learn about more earth-friendly practices and products, they will implement changes in their everyday lives. Being eco-aware improves their lives as well as the health of the community and the planet. Those changes will become habits that individuals will then share with family members, friends, co-workers and the younger generation, making eco-consciousness a sustainable part of all of their lives.

3. Tell me about you. What got you here to a green business? Why?

One of my mottos has always been “something from nothing”. Combine that with my ongoing passion for preserving cultural traditions and homesteading activities, and you have a green business that promotes earth-friendly learning and product creation.

4. What are you up to? Any new events? Products?

I presented a waste reduction project idea at the KW Awesome Foundation Pitch Night on January 30th

I was a finalist at the Eco Market Pitch Competition in February.

I am now offering Trash Audits for families, either in home or virtually. This is to assist people who want to reduce their waste but are not familiar with all the ways they can accomplish this.

I am offering FREE vermicomposting workshops to classrooms in Kitchener, to help raise awareness about composting.

New items since last years Eco Market are reusable produce bags, dry goods bags, beeswax veggie wraps and straw pouches, all made from upcycled and locally-sourced materials.

5. Any highlights to share from the Eco Market 2018 event?

One of the highlights for me was being able to share the fun of creating beeswax food wraps with so many visitors that day. Many people, once they learn this simple skill, then go on to make more on their own and share them with others, thus creating less dependency on single use plastic wrap and snack bags.