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Founders of the Eco-Friendly Expo (L-R) Miriam Reblim, Mariu Touar and Angela Royo. (Diana Hubert/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—For three New York women, a green dream became a reality this week when the three-day Eco Friendly Expo premiered this Tuesday in Midtown Manhattan.
The founders, three New York mothers, were inspired by their children’s eagerness to recycle.
“They are always telling us: are you recycling this? It’s a different generation, they are taught this in school, we were never taught this,” said co-founder Angela Royo.
Royo said they hope to create a platform for what is going on with green products. “We want to educate people,” she said.
Founders Angela Royo, Mariu Touar and Miriam Reblim have been working for the past year and a half to execute their vision of “bringing green to a different level.”
The cross-industry trade show featured over 50 green exhibitors as well as a series of lectures on topics like "your guide to eco-friendly living in New York City" and "Art in the Green World."
Royo said that planning the expo during a difficult economic time has had its hardships. “We have been creative,” she said. She added that they refused to compromise on quality. “Even if it was small, it’s good as long as it’s quality,” she said.
Royo said the show has helped her and her partners learn many valuable lessons along the way. “We started with reuse, recycle, rethink and we ended up adding learn, inspire, motivate.”
She mentioned that the response to a more personalized, visually appealing green show has been great. “Many people mentioned to us that they haven’t seen a green show in this setting.”
New York-based company Pink Inc.’s Debora Roth sponsored and created the visual setting for the show. Roth’s creative tension fabric structures gave the expo a unique, inviting atmosphere. Her creations have been featured in MoMA exhibitions as well at the Grammy’s.
Pink Inc. uses recyclable aluminum frames and post-consumer recycled fabrics for all its creations. Moreover, the company rents out its installations for different venues so as to reuse the materials.
The designs use a technique called way-finding to make a space flow more smoothly as well as creating a more intimate and inviting space.
Another exhibitor, Ella Vickers, has been making waves recently with her bags and related products made out of recycled boat sails. The company’s products were recently featured on Henri Bendel’s top ten must-haves for the summer.
Ella Vickers, the founder and creative force of the company, was the first mate on the sailing yacht Columbia that won the America’s Cup in 1989. After starting to make bags for herself out of old sails, people became very interested in her designs. “[The bags] started selling off her shoulders,” said Hilary Fox, a sales representative for Vickers. The widely popular bags are now sold around the world.
All products are produced in the United States and are “virtually indestructible and water resistant,” said Fox, which is good for reuse but also means they are not biodegradable. Vickers takes donated sails and transforms them into one of kind chic and multipurpose creations for both men and women.
“People get really excited,” said Fox. “They love that it’s a green, woman-owned company. Rarely do they walk away with just one bag.”