I had the chance to have a sit down interview with one of the co-owners of Keep It Simple, Hunter. She was incredibly nice. I asked her a few questions about her store and some tips she would have for people who are beginners to the sustainability lifestyle. I also had a chance to look at some of the items that are available in the shop, run by herself and the other co-owner, Jill, for purchase. I have also been a customer at their store and purchased some of the hair and facial care products. It never fails to amaze me how good they smell!
The first question I asked Hunter was about the location of the store. Keep It Simple is located really close to campus, and I wondered if proximity to campus was a factor in deciding the location. Hunter then told me more about her and her business partner’s story. She and Jillboth attended Shidler Business School at UH Mānoa and they had come up with a business plan for a shop for a business contest. Unfortunately, it got voted out really early on in the competition because people didn’t think that it was practical to ask customers to bring their own bottle to buy products. However, as the sustainability lifestyle became more popular, their dream became a reality, and they opened up a shop to give back to their community. She said, “We both wanted a store like this. We both wanted a way to get our products without packaging, without plastic, and without pollution”.
The next question I asked was why they decided to give a 10% discount to UH Manoa students on Thursdays because I was extremely curious about their thinking behind that. She responded with, “we were both broke students when we were going to UH, so we thought it would just be a really good way to give back to people who were just like us”. I thought this was such a sweet answer because it really shows that UH students are valued members of the community and that we, as students, are cared for by our community. It gives me so much genuine joy because, before today, I had never seen what it was like to be valued as a UH student outside of UH’s campus.
After Hunter warmed my heart with her last answer, I decided to ask her what tips she would give people who are beginning to switch to being more environmentally friendly.. She first said, “that [it was] about tiny habit shifts”. Then she started listing off so many great tips, such as making small changes in the beginning, starting to refill your dish soap and laundry detergent, and making a goal to recycle your tin cans. Some of the ways I personally have become more sustainable include giving my friends and family things that I don’t want that they could use, as well as using bars of soap for shampoo and conditioner versus using the ones in plastic bottles.
The last question I asked her was what her favorite part of Earth Day was. She responded that “people who don’t really know too much about sustainability or aren’t really exposed to it that much in their daily lives start to get exposed to it”. I thought that this was so true because I know that when I lived on the mainland, I didn’t know what an environmentally friendly life would look like. When I came to Hawaii, I felt like it was talked about so much more here because of how much beautiful nature we are exposed to living in Hawaii. It was a big shift in my life.
The last part of this article that I want to talk about is all the different products that you can get from Hunter and Jill’s store. I had the privilege of walking around their store after interviewing Hunter, and they had sustainable makeup products, facial care products, hair care products for every hair type, and even some adorable little dryer balls to make your clothes smell amazing. Another product that should be mentioned to all my coffee-loving readers is that they sell coffee from local farms. The products that I am personally interested in trying out in their store at the moment are the adorable Papa Abbey woven hats and their reusable pads that are better for your body and the environment.