Hounds of Vintage – Tantramar Green Shops Profile -Project- CA

Hounds of Vintage – Tantramar Green Shops profile

IN-STORE

Most of the mannequins, clothing racks and furniture is all second-hand. For example, the reception desk/counter is the same one that was used by Pridham’s Studios.

Strapping from a wall in the back room was reused as flooring.

Refurbished materials and fixtures were used for store lighting.

All the lighting in the store is LED and uses less than 200 watts of energy total.

** In case you were wondering, why is second-hand environmentally friendly?**

By using items again, it prevents unnecessary waste and the emissions that are created when new products are made.

PRODUCT

All their stock is sourced from the Maritimes. (Between 50-100 km away)

Hounds of Vintage does not use a dryer to dry clothing after it is washed. All the clothing is washed, and air-dried. Using the dryer also has a huge environmental footprint, because of the amount of energy it uses. Also, using a dryer damages clothing.

HOV does not use plastic tags, they use pieces of paper, that are attached to the clothing with a safety pin and piece of string. They are reused when possible.

Leftover stock is donated to local, non-chain charities that directly support food banks in the area.

HOV has already planted 1,000 trees in Sackville, through Community Forest International and plans to contribute more in the future.

HOV supports local artists.

Derrick bikes to the shop (weather permitting), creating no emissions from his travel to and from work.

HOV uses their social media platform to educate the public on clothing continuing care, including repairs. They want to shift people’s perspective by highlighting the special qualities of items, making them less disposable in people’s minds. Their goal is to make every single item feel special. They also post about the impacts of clothing on the environment. For example, one pair of jeans needs over 7,000 litres of water to create them, and creating a t-shirt uses about half of that. That means, that every time you purchase jeans, or a t-shirt, from Hounds of Vintage, as opposed to purchasing a new item, you are saving that amount of water. Another example is polyester because it is the only fibre that is made without water. Polyester doesn’t fade, compared to other materials, which can extend its life.

FUTURE GOALS 

To transform the shop into a multi-functional space where events can be held.

To use an electric vehicle for travelling to purchase more stock.