Grassroots Store

Profile

The Grassroots Store is Canada’s largest green lifestyle retailer. Grassroots offers environmentally-friendly products that allow its customers to make positive choices for themselves, their communities and the planet. They operate two-store front locations in Toronto and an on-line store.

Social entrepreneur, Rob Grand, opened Grassroots in Toronto in 1994. He recognized from his work at non-profit environmental organizations that very few retailers offered environmentally-friendly products. Rob remains a passionate advocate, spokesperson and educator on green products and environmental issues.

Grassroots offers a wide range of products including personal care, household, gardening, water filtering, alternative power, and office products. They also support a number of small eco-friendly companies by offering their products to consumers. Grassroots carefully sources and investigates products that meet or exceed environmental standards, respecting and observing fair trade, fair labour, and human rights practices, ensuring social benefits are also generated, along with the environmental and financial benefits of each product sale. Grassroots is a good example of a “triple-bottom line” company.

In addition to the benefits associated with the products it sells, Grassroots remains committed to full environmental accountability for its entire business. Some of its initiatives include:
On the last Friday of each month, Grassroots donates 10% of net sales to local or national environmental organizations.
Both Grassroots stores are powered with 100% green electricity provided by Bullfrog Power (another Ontario-based social-purpose business – learn more at www.bullfrogpower.com) who exclusively source from wind and low-impact water power producers.
Grassroots provides carbon neutral shipping to customers who purchase on-line, offsetting carbon emissions for all their deliveries through Zerofootprint.
Grassroots reuses shipping materials from supplier packing materials or uses other recyclable goods.
Grassroots organizes dozens of unique in-store workshops every year that focus on issues of environmental sustainability.

Grassroots was ahead of the times when it set up its first store in Toronto. Over the last decade they have demonstrated an ability to remain fully committed to their environmental mission, yet also compete with other traditional retailers for consumer sales, expand their location and become a successful e-tailer. Grassroots are currently working on a plan that, assuming sufficient and appropriate financing can be raised, will significantly expand their business in Ontario and across Canada, with several new storefront locations.