Once upon a time in a galaxy far far…pff, no, not really. It was in galaxy close close, obviously.
We started CHANGE like anyone else starts a business, we waited for a worldwide pandemic. To be honest, this version of CHANGE did come out of the pandemic time. But the original version, the one that almost started in the beginning - well, that stalled because we missed out on a contract for a location in early March of 2020.
As you know, hindsight is always 2020, and this could not be more correct! It was divine intervention that a zoning issue stopped the start of 10/90 Community Inc. That was the original name of the store. Our original business plan was a not-for-profit thrift store that donated funds to local charity.
Once the pandemic hit, the thought of opening was a bit scary. Then a lot scary. Then it seemed like a dumb idea; but the idea never went away, it kept tumbling away in my brain.
What was it that we wanted to do?
What was it that we wanted to accomplish?
This led to revisions and thoughts on what to sell and how to sell. It started with the recycling angle, that is what we would be doing from thrift perspective, which led to looking into recycled lines of clothing. Then we pivoted to Canadian-only brands and that led to learning about why companies choose to manufacture with recycled clothing.
THIS created the CHANGE name, the idea that we could CHANGE the way we do things. The idea of CHANGE was that we, as a for-profit retail store, would choose to donate money as part of our company's DNA.
Revenue donated to charity shouldn’t be a token, it should be a commitment. That is how we feel. That is how we want to run our business. To us, that is CHANGE. We were excited again, and on a roll.
Then the 2nd Covid wave began here in Canada. What the…!
More research time.
That’s when we discovered B Corp Certified companies. It was a bunch of companies that were looking to do business different, to really affect change by committing to standards that were good for now and the future. We had found our resting place. All the pieces fit; and that is where we are today.
CHANGE Lifestyle & Apparel is here to sell and promote B Corp companies, so we can support and donate to our local charities. That is our commitment to CHANGE.
- We support local charities, randomly around the community. We aren’t tied to one specific charity because they are all trying to do good things, and we want to be able to support all of them as best we can.
- We do not mark our price up to accommodate our 10% donations, we sell at MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price)
So, yes! We believe a pandemic is the perfect time to start a retail business. Can't wait to see you at CHANGE!
Stay in touch for the latest updates on our charity partners and CHANGE www.changeapparel.ca/pages/contact-us