University Of North Carolina Opens Eco-Friendly Store
Wilmington, NC (AHN) – Being eco-friendly is easier if there is someplace to shop that doesn’t harm the environment and that was the intent behind a new store that opened on the Wilmington campus of the University of North Carolina.
UNCW recently opened its first store dedicated to selling only environmentally friendly products and alternative transportation last October.
School officials say that the store, ECOteal, has been both a success and a learning experience for the students involved in its creation and in the day-to-day operations of the business.
“One hundred percent of the items in the store are sustainable, recyclable or biodegradable,” Rita Gordon, UNC Wilmington director of auxiliary services, said in a statement.
ECOteal is primarily student-run and students select the merchandise. The store provides students, faculty and staff at the university with sustainable alternatives to common items. ECOteal sells items such as organic cotton shirts, water -powered clocks, reusable totes, bicycles and skateboards.
In addition to the sustainability store, the school is reducing its carbon footprint by using an electric truck.
UNCW purchases its first electric truck, dubbed the “ECOtealmobile.” Only five of the state’s universities own electric trucks. UNCW uses its truck to deliver products to the sustainability store and also to stock special vending machines across the campus with healthy food alternatives.