We asked our readers to let use know what their favorite local green business is and the overwhelming response was Green Bambino, in Oklahoma City. We had the pleasure of interviewing Morgan Harris, the owner of Green Bambino, to find out more about this store you all love.
Morgan Harris, Owner of Green Bambino
GO: What made you decide to start Green Bambino?
MH: When we chose to cloth diaper our son when he was born, I had to do all my research and purchasing online. My best friend was the only person I knew attempting to cloth diaper when I was, so we felt pretty alone.
About the time our son turned one, we started to talk about opening a cloth diaper store. We couldn’t understand why something like it didn’t already exist in Oklahoma City. I knew how much help I needed and how much I would have enjoyed seeing the diapers before purchasing them, so we thought other people out there would feel the same. I knew I could share the knowledge I had gained since my son was born and show Oklahoma parents how much cloth diapers had changed.
GO: Why is it important to you that your business is eco-friendly?
MH: Since we sell products that help families reduce their environmental impact, it only makes sense that we should run our business with the same values. It’s not hard to make a business greener – we take home paper, plastic and glass to recycle and make regular cardboard recycling runs to Goodwill. We choose recycled paper products wherever possible. Recycled paper gift bags and copier paper don’t cost any more than products that aren’t made from recycled paper. When it comes to the design and furnishing of our store, we have found that reusing things like doors for tables and shelves saved us money over traditional retail fixtures and makes our store unique.
In short, being eco-friendly is a big part of who we are anyway, but there are business advantages to making green choices with our store.
GO: What’s the best advice about going green you have ever gotten?
MH: The best advice is what we tell our customers – going green doesn’t happen overnight and shouldn’t stress you out. Do what you can, when you can. For some people, that means recycling more this month than last. For others it means a 100%-organic diet grown locally. If we all take small steps toward being greener, we’ll make a bigger impact than if a few of us jump in feet first.
GO: If someone was going to try just one of your products which would you recommend?
MH: Charlie’s Soap laundry detergent. Whether you have children in diapers or not, Charlie’s is a much greener alternative to traditional petroleum-based detergents and actually works. We’ve used it for all of our laundry for more than three years.
GO: Why do you feel it’s important to shop locally?
MH: Here’s me getting on a soapbox.
Many people don’t understand that they really do vote with their wallets. When you shop online, every dime you spend goes somewhere else to fund some other town’s schools, streets and police departments. Not a penny stays in Oklahoma. When you shop at locally-owned businesses, almost 70% of your money stays in Oklahoma helping to keep our communities thriving. If you want to learn more about how you impact your local economy, visit http://www.the350project.net/home.html.
When you shop locally, you are telling local business owners “I value what you do for our community and I want you to stay around.”
When was the last time Amazon.com donated something to your child’s school fundraiser?
GO: What is your favorite thing to do in Oklahoma?
MH: If I base my answer on what we do most, it’s eating at locally-owned restaurants. Oklahoma City has so many amazing local restaurants that we refuse to eat at chains. My son would say his favorite thing is to go see Malee, the baby elephant at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
GO: Other than your own business what is your favorite eco-friendly business in Oklahoma?
MH: Green Goodies by Tiffany. Have you tasted her cupcakes and cookies?!?
Hope you enjoyed getting to learn more about Green Bambino and the face behind the business. Be sure to let us know other local green businesses you would like to see featured. Just post in the comments below, on our Facebook page or email us at gogreenokla@gmail.com.
