The Eco Location is a haven for eco-friendly products and mending classes promoting conscious consumerism in Northern Utah.

Sylvana Lopez and Dave Richards showcase their eco-friendly products Farmers Market Ogden. Photos by Rebecca Ory-Hernandez

Ogden, UT — Handmade and sustainable products with clean, simple ingredients are at the heart of Sylvana Lopez and partner Dave Richards’ new business, The Eco Location, located in The Monarch, Studio 10 at 455 25th Street in Ogden. 

The Eco Location offers a local source for eco-friendly home and personal products. Customers can purchase toxin-free items and refill, reuse, and recycle containers.

And if you always wanted to take home economics in high school but didn’t have the chance, The Eco Location has you covered. Lopez offers mending workshops to extend the life of your clothes and reduce landfill waste.

The couple decided to jump into the eco-conscious/sustainability consumer market after identifying a lack of access to sustainable products in their neighborhood shops. Lopez was interested in products made with care regarding the environment that carry the ”Made Safe Certified” label while caring for their young family of four. 

Conscious consumerism became part of the mission of The Eco Location after their children experienced skin rashes and eczema, along with allergies stemming from the chemicals in big box store’s home, hygiene, and laundry products. Lopez sought affordable, environmentally friendly alternatives. She figured other parents might be experiencing similar challenges and dove into the research with Richards. 

Lopez’s research and her passion for protecting the earth led to a business that complements her love of mending and sewing beautiful things out of eco-safe and natural fibers. The Eco Location was born a few months ago and recently appeared at Farmers Market Odgen.

Lopez obtained advanced sewing skills through the local "Give Me a Chance" nonprofit in Ogden where she continued to learn how to extend the life of her family's clothing. 

"If there's a small hole or tear in something that I really enjoyed wearing, why throw it out? I can just create something fresh by using my stitches or create a unique repair so that I might be able to enjoy that piece of clothing and give it a new life,” Lopez said. “So much textile waste ends up in the landfill from our clothing alone." 

Lopez now uses her skills to create reusable washcloths and other textiles that are alternatives to disposable face wipes, chemically-laden paper towels, ziplock plastic bags, and even lunch bags. 

Lopez and Richards promote "conscious consumerism,” encouraging efforts to “try to buy only what you need” and “rethink your consumption” lifestyle. This can be done by switching to eco-friendly, refillable, and reusable containers.

According to research from the EPA and Greenpeace, the overabundance of microplastics in fast fashion and plastic-containing household products cannot be recycled, harming oceans and health.

Companies create more clothes than we need or want that can’t be disposed of safely. Because so much is sold cheaply, clothing is easy to buy and discard quickly. Microplastic waste leaches into our food and water supply posing a serious health crisis.

Refilling containers with products free of toxic chemicals and synthetic fragrances and mending clothes can reduce waste from excess packaging and shipping supplies. Consumers can reduce their consumption footprint while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing home.

Soaps and washes are sold by ounce (laundry detergent costs .50/wash cycle). Lopez and Richards encourage customers to bring their containers to refill, eliminating the need to purchase plastic bottles. 

The Eco Location benefits the community by offering safe home and hygiene products and teaching “visual mending” workshops.

Class #1 Visible Mending Class Series 

The four-part workshop series begins Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m., Studio 10 at The Monarch, 455 25th Street in Ogden. The cost is $40 for a 4-week course. Participants will master three key stitches to attach repair patches, receive a gift, create a mending kit, and learn to extend the life of their clothes.

Products

“Made Safe Certified” means the product meets the strictest ingredient screening in the industry and is not known to harm the ecosystem, animals, aquatic life, or human health. It confirms the product was made without using ingredients known to be endocrine disruptors or containing heavy metals, reproductive toxins, carcinogens, and much more. 

Meliora soap, popular for people with eczema and other skin disorders, is a gentle alternative to the big box brands and great for folks with sensitive skin. Reusable face wipes and washcloths made of 100% cotton are a great alternative to disposable wipes.

Essential oil-based scents include lavender, spearmint, mandarin, and more.

The Eco Location is open inside The Monarch, 455 25th Street, in Studio 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and by appointment. More information is available on Instagram @theecolocation.