Business Profile: Solutions

August/September 2006

On a clear afternoon at Solutions in Arcata, sunshine streams in the windows between dozens of community notices advertising music and political events, benefit dinners and outdoor excursions. The colorful display of community support reflects Solutions’ commitment to encourage all kinds of sustainability – not only social but also environmental and economic. Since 1990, this Arcata-grown business has sought to link local community members to responsible retail items, true “solutions” for our everyday needs.

Kevin Johnson, co-owner with his spouse Lisa Brown, sits in a pool of light just inside the window, ready to assist customers and accept Community Currency. As the first storefront business to join the Humboldt Exchange, Solutions chose to use Community Currency as a discount on No Sweat sneakers, accepting $10 CC towards each pair purchased. No Sweat sneakers, which physically resemble Nike-owned Converse, are produced by union workers in Indonesia who receive a living wage and benefits. In contrast, Converse are assembled in sweatshops under slave-like conditions.

“We thought, well, everyone wears shoes, and No Sweat is an example of how business should be in the future,” Kevin explains. “It was a great way to highlight this product and support the Humboldt Exchange.” Solutions also supports the local economy by offering some Humboldt-hewn underwear from Blue Canoe, locally-made soaps by a number of artists, and hemp skate clothing from the Humboldt-founded company Satori.

Overall, Solutions’ products emphasize alternative materials that are earth-friendly and, like the No Sweat sneakers, people-friendly. Clothing in particular offers a significant opportunity to stand up for the planet. Non-organic-produced cotton receives more pesticides per acre than any other crop in the U.S. besides corn; world-wide, it’s second to none. An organic cotton T-shirt keeps roughly one-third of a pound of pesticides from being released into the environment, protecting people, water, and wildlife from industrial poisons.

Hemp is another great choice for eco-groovy apparel. “We were the first store in the U.S. since 1936 to sell hemp canvass,” Kevin says. “We basically got the first bale off the boat from China.” Now, hemp can be found in paper, lip balm, belts, jeans, and even No Sweat sneakers. Other materials on the shelves at Solutions include tensel, bamboo, and okara, a soy product made from by-products of tofu-making.

“It’s part of our environmental awareness,” notes Kevin, describing the effort he puts into researching not only the materials but also the labor and manufacturing impacts of each product he offers. “We’re sort of like a museum – you can come in here and see what alternatives are out there.”

No such display existed back in 1990 when Solutions was founded in a small space in the Jacoby Storehouse a few blocks south. Kevin was remodeling a cabin, and looking for non-toxic finishes for wood. Through the process of mail-ordering everything he needed to complete the project, he decided that Arcata needed to have environmentally-responsible products on hand. The niche was there. Kevin and Lisa, having spent a few years selling canvass grocery bags, decided to leap into it.

“We really want to offer people solutions,” Kevin says, ringing up a few sheets of tree-free paper for a customer. Now, sixteen years later, many can be found in this tightly-filled store, where non-toxic paints sit near bamboo fiber T-shirts and books about solar-powering your home.

As folks meander in and out through the open door, Kevin greets them and offers to help them. Many stroll slowly past the merchandise, learning as they shop. Education as much as provision is the service that Solutions brings to our Humboldt community. Solutions is a friendly and convenient place to envision a more sustainable life for us all.

Solutions is located at 1063 H Street in Arcata, 822-6972. Open 10am to 5:30pm, Monday through Saturday – in December only, Sunday 10am-5:30pm.

The Humboldt Exchange thanks Kevin for interviewing with us, and for supporting the Humboldt Exchange Community Currency Project!

THE COMMUNITY CURRENCY DIRECTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

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PO Box 858 \| Eureka CA 95502 \| (707) 269-0984 \| info@humboldtexchange.org

Business Profile: Solutions

Click here to submit listings for the next issue!