THE GOOD PLANET COMPANY
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Hours of Business:
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Main Store: 764 Fort Street; The Good Planet Baby Store: 1005 Broad St.
Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm; Fort St. store: Sun 11-5pm, Baby Store closed Sunday
Main Store: 250-590-3500; Baby Store: 250-477-0146
www.goodplanet.com (shop online too!)
Chosen for:
Organic earth-friendly products
Good prices
Service beyond the expected
On Saturday, February 7th, 2009, 17 Grapeviners gathered without knowing they were about to experience a little deja vu. We led the group west on Broughton and cut through an alley to access Fort Street’s mid-block crosswalk before entering The Good Planet Company.
Grapevine Founders shared hugs with owners Ian Cromack and Alain St. Onge as the signature purple balloons were presented. Ian reminisced back to October 30th, 2004, when he and Alain were new retailers wondering how they were going to pay their store rent due the next day when 26 Grapevine visitors burst through their doors to surprise and honour them. It was our very first “graping” to the business then called Granola Groovy, located on Broad Street.
Owners/managers Ian Cromack and Alain St. Onge offer exceptional service to customers.
All photos by Barbara McDonell
In Ian’s words: “We were proud to be the first ever “grapee”. That first year was a killer and we were wondering whether we’d have to close the business. But that “graping” turned out to be our biggest-till-then retail day and Grapevine word of mouth turned our business around. We can’t speak highly enough about the positive effect it can have on fledgling businesses. Since then, we renamed ourselves The Good Planet Company and now four years and four months later, we have five employees and two stores with four times the retail space.”
Four months ago, The Good Planet Company expanded by opening a new and bigger store in the 700-block of Fort Street. The sunny space came available just as the owners needed to expand and the landlord just happened to be a regular customer at the Broad Street shop.
With employees Monika, Serene, Danielle and Andrea, they focus on natural, organic and earth-friendly products for every room in your house and every family member. Product lines include organic sleep systems that are chemical-free and allergen resistant. The mattresses are made of natural rubber surrounded by cotton and lined with wool, making them incredibly comfortable and durable. This green system assures that you wake up refreshed, restored and rejuvenated.
Sleep comfy in organic beds and bedding
They also sell both cotton and bamboo bedding, bath robes, greeting cards, posters, t-shirts, pet supplies and toys, yoga mats, Camino and Denman Island organic chocolate, incense, essential oils, soaps, jewelry, co-operative games (“play together, not against each other”), battery-free radios and flashlights, organic sprout-growing kits, tree-free paper and more.You spend one-third of your life sleeping, so why not do it in the greatest comfort? Treat yourself to a beautiful bamboo duvet cover for $99, and add an organic cotton sheet set for $159 (twin), $169 (full), $209 (queen) or $225 (king). Top if off with a soft and cuddly bamboo robe for $99.
Be the envy of your yoga classmates with a gorgeous hand-woven mat in a snazzy design for $59.
Colourful dog toys are included in the pets section.
For less than $60 you can replace that ugly plastic composter on your kitchen counter with attractive bamboo, ceramic or stainless steel filtered composting pails that won’t allow smells to permeate the room. Or choose a “Bokashi” system which allows you to compost kitchen waste in your apartment or condo.
For $41-$61, you can take home a brightly coloured fair trade basket hand woven in West Africa.
www.happyfrog.ca quotes a happy Vancouver on-line customer who raves about the “amazing products” and the “amazing service” provided by The Good Planet owners, adding, “pricing of items seems to be lower than many other organic businesses in Vancouver with similar products”.
Ian and Alain are currently developing several new Good Planet-branded products, including their own soy aromatherapy candles, body lotion and a line of cleaning products. As well, more bulk products will soon be available so customers can bring their own bottles for refill.
All products sold are organic and earth-friendly. Ian and Alain have researched the background of the producers of every item they sell in order to ensure that each company is ethical and their produce is truly organic.
Danielle manages the new The Good Planet Baby Store in the original Broad Street location - the only exclusively organic baby store in Victoria. Here are sold baby beds and bedding, baby carriers, strollers, toys, games, and books, as well as soft organic cotton clothing in cute-as-a-bug’s-ear styles, as well as soaps and lotions.
The Baby Shop offers foot, hand or bum castings, as well as organic clothes and toys.
Organic plush toys are priced at $39.99. A “onesie” is $18.99 and a t-shirt is $16.99. The “Safe Sippy” is made of stainless steel to assure no leaching of toxins from a plastic cup. Priced at $19, a soft molded plastic outer sleeve and handles makes it easy for little hands to grasp as they adapt from using a bottle to using a cup.
Note that The Good Planet offers gift certificates and a Gift Registry – particularly handy for someone who is expecting a baby, allowing them to register preferences to make shopping easier for friends and family who will be attending upcoming baby showers.
If being kind to the environment is important to you or someone you want to find a gift for, pop into The Good Planet for a browse. Much of the packaging is recyclable too!