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The Green Store is an ASSU service initiative that strives to make eco-friendly goods more accessible to Stanford students by offering them at a break-even cost. In order to promote sustainable living on campus, we offer three green products: cups, power strips, and laundry detergent. Each of these products is used regularly by all students, so do your part to help the environment and try these alternatives! :) Read more about our products under the separate tabs (The Green Cup, Smart Strip, Ecos Detergent)! Order products online: The money from these bracelets will support programs in East Palo Alto and Lima, Peru. Each bracelet costs $2, and bracelets will be delivered to your door when you fill out the Google Document (click the link below). Thanks for your support! Delivery Policy For special delivery circumstances or general questions/comments, contact Susie Choi at susiec at stanford.edu Product Information Pricing:
**You can also purchase Green Store cups at the Stanford Store ($5.60 / pack of 50 cups)! Just ask for them at the counter. The Stanford Store is located on the 1st floor of Tressider Union between Tressider Fitness and the Treehouse. It is open 10 AM - 7 PM daily. We recommend the biocompostables retailer World Centric if: Delivery Policy For special delivery circumstances or general questions/comments, contact Susie Choi at susiec at stanford.edu Product Information Smart Strips are power strips that save energy by automatically shutting off power when devices plugged into the outlet are not in use. The Green Store offers both 7-outlet and 10-outlet Smart Strips! When you order a Smart Strip, we will provide instructions and tips for using your power strip. If you have any questions, contact Susie Choi at susiec at stanford.edu Pricing: 7-outlet Smart Strip: $19.19 Delivery Policy For special delivery circumstances or general questions/comments, contact Susie Choi at susiec at stanford.edu Product Information Ecos comes in four scents: Pricing:
The Green Store was founded by Elaine Albertson (2008-09 ASSU Sustainability Chair) and her sustainability team under Jonny Dorsey and Fagan Harris. We are now a part of the nonprofit ASSU Student Services Division! Green Store Leadership 2009-10: Susie Choi - Director / Financial Officer Quick Links: >>Add us on Facebook and keep up with Green Store updates! >>Check out the Student's Guide to Sustainable Living at Stanford >>Try to follow the tips listed on this Green Event Guidelines PDF flyer >>Learn the basics about sustainability here >>See what you can do on campus through Students for A Sustainable Stanford >>If you're interested in compostables, try World Centric, a biocompostables retailer that seeks to reduce economic injustice and environmental degradation through education, community networks, and sustainable enterprises The idea of the Stanford Green Store is to provide a "break-even," nonprofit service to the students of Stanford University by increasing student access to environmentally-friendly products. We aim to render Stanford's parties, events, and student life more sustainable. Your goals and ideas may be different from ours, but here is a framework you can use to begin. How to start a "Green Store" on your campus in 10 easy steps: 1). Find some excited people Students, administrators, activists, pacifists -- it doesn't matter as long as they're committed. Find people who are passionate about environmental sustainability and who are willing to support your Green Store with ideas, skills, optimism, and most importantly, time. Put them on an e-mail list. Stay connected. Meet regularly. 2). Find money Whether your store is break-even, for-profit, or somewhere in-between, it will benefit from funding. Funds can be used for advertising, stocking up on products, paying employees, renting space, and anything else you need. Look to your student government, academic departments, private funding sources, or even off-campus organizations. If someone offers you money, take it. 3). Find a product Figure out what you're selling. We piloted the Green Store with just one product (recyclable cups) and are expanding our product line. Think about the sustainability issue you are targeting when you choose your product. Will you go with something recyclable? Compostable? Reusable? Why? Will your target consumer be able to dispose of the item properly (e.g. we chose recyclables because not enough people know how to compost correctly on our campus yet)? Make sure that your product is truly eco-friendly, that it will honestly contribute to the sustainability of the world, and that it is not just a fad. 4). Find a vendor You will need to order products from somewhere. Consider partnering with your school's dining service or setting up your own account with a broadline distributor, like SYSCO or U.S. Foodservice. If you prefer going local, talk to students and community-members who make "sustainable" crafts (e.g. notebooks made out of old cereal boxes). 5). Find a space Small or large, you will need a space where you can operate. This might be anything from a desk to a room to a building. Look to student groups, your vendor (we keep our cups stocked in our dining hall's basement), student stores, residences, and beyond. You might sell your product directly from this space, or you may choose to sell online and arrange a delivery service. You also might keep materials (like boxes to deliver products in) in your space, which can serve as a storage room for products. 6). Find a venue If you haven't already, figure out where you will sell your products. Consider creating a website where customers can make secure online purchases (e.g. with PayPal). 7). Open Let the sustaining begin! Open your store to the public. Make sure all logistical (physical, financial, etc.) details are hammered out beforehand. 8). Advertise Tell people what you have created, and more importantly, tell them how they can utilize it. Make it simple and accessible. Consider how the medium and strategy of your advertising relates to your target audience and your goal. For example, we want to decrease "red cup" use at parties by selling recyclable alternatives. Therefore, we worked with our Office of Student Activities to increase sustainability education for party planners, and we directly contacted people who throw a lot of parties (e.g. fraternities, sororities, social managers). 9). Institutionalize Most of us are only in college for a few years. Make sure that your Green Store sticks around long after you've gone. Come up with creative ways to make sure it continues robustly. Consider integrating your store into your student government or into a currently existing store on campus. This is a crucial step. 10). Expand Once you have a comfortable operation going, make plans for the future. Will you expand the product line? Hire employees? Launch an educational campaign about sustainability? Make a timeline, draft a budget, and stick to it. Good luck! :) Feel free to contact susiec at stanford.edu with any questions. |
