Conscious Choice: Stuff for A Cooler Planet

May 2008 | On Our Radar

Stuff for A Cooler Planet

Not only is your refrigerator packed with organic produce, but you’ve recently swapped all your old light bulbs for CFL bulbs. You reduce, reuse and recycle, and Ed Begley Jr. can be counted amongst your personal heroes. And yet, it’s not enough. You want to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, but still the question remains: what next? Turns out, a recent addition to Chicago may just offer the perfect solution.

A Cooler Planet, 2211 W. Roscoe St., Chicago, the city’s very first eco-lifestyle store, is the brainchild of sisters Heidi Bailey and Krista White. Both know firsthand just how hard it can be to make day-to-day choices that are good for the environment. In fact, this frustration was part of their inspiration for opening the store, after Bailey began to realize just how difficult it was to find information and products while working on her own home. “I had to do a ton of homework and I thought, gosh, wouldn’t people be interested in learning more about this and wouldn’t it be great if there was actually a place you could go and learn and find these products here in the city?”

The result was the creation of a one-stop shop for those looking to make more eco-conscious choices in their own every day lives. Not only does A Cooler Planet serve as a resource for anyone looking for more information, but it provides all the necessary products as well. “What we are trying to do with our store is bring people in who feel like home is where it starts. We can make a difference in our homes and for the planet using more natural, organic, sustainable products and move away from plastics and products filled with chemicals,” Bailey explained.

Supporting manufacturers who are committed to providing sustainable, local, organic and renewable products to their customers, Bailey and White are hoping that A Cooler Planet will help spread the excitement that they themselves share. The process, they admit, has been quite an education in itself. One that they are looking forward to sharing with others, including their new found knowledge on how to make simple, everyday choices that will be, in the long run, better for both their families and the planet. “Part of our theme is morning to night,” White explained of the store’s set up. In keeping with this idea, customers can find everything from organic mattresses and linens to certified organic skincare. Also on the shelves are items for the kitchen, children’s toys, clothes and much more.

Since taking on this project, both sisters have also made a concerted effort to practice what they preach. Whether that means turning down the heat and asking people to wear extra sweaters during wintertime, as they now do, or using a bike rather than a car whenever the weather allows, they try to be more conscious of their actions. This commitment to the environment extended to the building of A Cooler Planet as well. “Everything is reused,” Bailey explained. The build-out of the storefront is made entirely from recycled, sustainable material, the shelving in the store from recycled wood, and even pieces scavenged from the currently under-construction Knickerbocker Hotel have lent a hand in its design and creation. Eventually, the sisters plan to make the store and the items they sell as local as possible. While the majority of their products are already made in the United States, they have plans in the future to bring on more local artists and vendors as well.

But perhaps the most important goal on their list hits closer to home. As mothers, both sisters share a passion for helping to ensure that the planet is still a place worth living on for their children in the future. The creation of A Cooler Planet allows them to place a check next to that goal on their list. Visit itsacoolerplanet.com.

— Christine Mangan

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