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Ann Caverzan and Liz Crocker opened P'lovers Environmental Store in May, 1992. They describe P'lovers as "an environmental department store". In addition to the main store in Park Lane in Halifax, P'lovers also has a store in Mahone Bay (which opened in May, 1995), an on-line catalogue, a North American 1-800 number, and four franchises in Moncton, NB and Stratford, Port Perry, and Bayfield, ON.
As stated in its Mission, P'lovers is dedicated to helping people "live more sensitively with the earth". Some examples will help to illustrate how Ann and Liz have demonstrated their commitment to quality by consistently applying their vision.
Our mission statement outlines our intention for P'lovers and the screening questions that guide our purchasing decisions. While the inclusion of the words "mindful living" in our criteria might be surprising for an environmental store, they are there as we believe those who are taking time to pay attention to their lives also will likely pay attention to and have respect for the world in which they live.
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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever does." - Margaret Mead
P'lovers was created to help people live more sensitively with the earth.
We believe the actions of each and every one of us can positively affect the quality of the world in which we live.
By modifying our lifestyles, using our purchasing power to reflect our values, and supporting activities which respect and protect the diversity of life, we can make a difference.
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(a) In terms of wall-coverings, imaginative use was made of recycled corrugated cardboard and brown paper.
(b) Old furniture has routinely been used to display products rather than buying new store fixtures. For example, the main store counter used to be the store counter in the general store in Blockhouse, NS.
(c) The Halifax store has a floating cork floor - a sustainable substance - the bark of trees which naturally replenishes itself without the tree having to be cut down.
(d) An old telephone pole from the corner of Spring Garden Road and Dresden Row was saved from being landfilled by being claimed by P'lovers to become an occasional in-store "bulletin pole" or a display pole.
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P'lovers' Mission Statement includes the questions that Ann and Liz use to guide their product selection. As a result, a vision-based or criteria-based rationale exists for every product in the store.
These criteria questions have led to some interesting developments in terms of product selection. For example, originally Ann and Liz sourced bat houses (a single bat can eat 1000 mosquitoes a night and so bats can replace the need for toxic insect repellants) from Maine. Because of P'lovers' commitment to try to find products regionally or locally, Ann and Liz approached a local carpenter to make bat houses for them. As a result, the transportation costs associated with this product, both in terms of money and pollution resulting from transportation, have been eliminated. As well, this initiative on the part of Anne and Liz has generated work locally and lowered the price of this product for P'lovers' customers.
Another example reinforces P'lovers' commitment to trying to develop local business opportunities to reduce transportation costs and improve the economy of the region. A customer noted P'lovers' clipboards and binders made from recycled computer circuit boards and indicated her husband had a basement full of old boards. Ann and Liz shared some ideas of what could be made from these old boards and now this couple has started a business making retail products from "waste".
These selection criteria act as quality standards for the businesses that P'lovers' deals with and sometimes isolate good products that will not be carried. By way of example, P'lovers received an initial order for rechargeable flashlights, nightlights and light sensors. The products themselves were good but, in Ann and Liz's estimation, they were over packaged in non-recyclable materials. As a result, Ann and Liz wrote the company saying they would not be able to re-order these products unless the company changed its packaging.
Ann and Liz involve their staff in a number of product selection decisions and everyone at P'lovers is able to explain the selection basis and the environmental attributes and benefits of every product carried by P'lovers.
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When P'lovers first opened in 1992, Ann and Liz hired a full-time manager and a couple of part-time staff. After eight months, their manager moved to Ontario to be with his family.
Ann and Liz realized they had a choice - to hire another full-time manager or to talk with the part-time staff to determine if they wanted to increase their hours and to take on some of the duties that would normally be carried out by a manger.
At a full staff meeting, Ann and Liz discussed the options available with the staff. The staff members indicated that they would like to assume more responsibility for different functions associated with running the business. For example, one person has assumed more responsibility for monitoring and ordering products; another person is quite involved in the financial and systems side of the business; and a third person is involved in display strategies.
In addition to supporting staff members' desire to take more responsibility, it was also agreed that a more horizontal approach to management would be a more ecological approach and therefore consistent with the mission of the store. In other words, in nature, everything is interrelated and everything has an integrated role to play. As well, if tasks and responsibility are more evenly shared, then everyone can "live more sensitively on the earth" in terms of stress levels.
This horizontal approach has been in place for over nine years and is regularly reviewed with staff on an individual basis as well as at staff meetings. Owners and staff both continue to feel it is working well and is to everyone's benefit.
In addition to the day-to-day communication among staff, P'lovers has regular staff meetings during which everyone is encouraged to identify concerns and share ideas. Overall, the P'lovers' management culture is very open and participatory.
Staffing schedules are flexible and designed and modified to meet employees' needs in terms of courses and personal commitments. Ann and Liz realize that happy, involved and educated staff must be at the core of a business that prides itself on knowledgeable and friendly service.
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P'lovers tries to use only non-toxic materials and low-energy equipment for its cleaning needs. For example, P'lovers uses Down East cleaning products and a cloth mop to clean the store. P'lovers only uses a vacuum cleaner in the store as necessary. For in-store signage and window displays, P'lovers tries to uses, as much is possible, "found materials" such as recycled cardboard and paper and items such as twigs and shells found in nature. In terms of shipping materials to fulfill catalogue orders, once again P'lovers reuses shipping materials it has received.
By doing all of the foregoing, P'lovers has been able to limit operational costs and reduce the amount of waste generated by the store.
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In addition to reusing as many materials that it receives as possible, P'lovers also separates its garbage in terms of recyclables (glass, tin, aluminum, waxed, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, newsprint, bond paper, and PET), and miscellaneous waste. Most days, P'lovers has very little garbage to put out and some days none at all.
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All of P'lovers' staff, are continually reading books and journals related to environmental products and issues to try to ensure that their knowledge base is as informed and as current as it can be.
A number of informative books are available to help customers understand how things work and how they relate to issues such as conservation, recycling or appreciation of nature. The store windows are often used to communicate information about environmental sustainable practices. As well, staff can often be found sharing information with customers such as what "organic cotton" is or what the difference is between pre-consumer and post-consumer fibre in paper.
As an extension of the store's commitment to public education, Ann and Liz, as well as some of the staff do occasional presentations at schools, professional in-services and with community groups.
Appearances on Breakfast Television provide additional opportunities to share information about environmental issues with the public.
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In the fall of 1993, in response to a number of requests from customers, Ann and Liz decided that P'lovers should have a mail-order catalogue and a 1-800 number.
As with everything else, environmental considerations affected many of the decisions that were made about the size, content and marketing of the catalogue.
For example, a 5 1/2" by 8" size was chosen for the catalogue because it was an efficient use of ordinary paper size and there would be minimal waste. As well, this size of catalogue does not require an envelope and so waste and costs could be minimized.
As with all of P'lovers' materials, the paper chosen for the catalogue was 100% post-consumer recycled paper which is made in Canada.
Ann and Liz chose to see the catalogue not just as a way of marketing products but also sharing information. As a result, the content was written to include details about the environmental benefits of products as well as some environmental tidbits - "P'lover points"!
Of course, having a catalogue is of almost no use if no one has it. In spite of the value of having a catalogue widely distributed, a conscious decision was made not to buy any mailing lists because it was felt there was a danger of people viewing an un-requested catalogue as "junk mail". As a result, the availability of the catalogue is advertised and people are invited to call their 1-800 number to request a copy.
Now, as we are faced with updating the catalogue, we have decided to only have an on-line version to save all the paper that would be used in printing it. The updated version will be fully ready in May, 2003 and will be updated regularly and new and exciting products arrive.
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When Ann and Liz were establishing P'lovers, they were inspired by the philosophy of "caring capitalism".
Ann and Liz believe that businesses should be involved with their communities and should share their profits with those who are trying to bring about constructive changes within society.
As a result, Ann and Liz regularly donate to local organizations working on environmental issues and helping others. P'lovers donates gift certificates and a number of products for door prizes and auctions to a wide variety of organizations holding conferences or trying to raise funds.
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Ann and Liz believe that businesses have a responsibility to the community beyond the concept of profit sharing outlined above. In the spirit of mentoring, they have responded positively to students who want to interview them and/or study various aspects of the business.
For nine years, Ann and Liz have been invited to speak to combined classes of Dalhousie's School of Resource and Environmental Studies and its Business School. As well, Liz serves on the Board as Treasurer of the Sierra Legal Defense Fund and is a former board member of both the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and the Ecology Action Centre.
Ann and Liz have also taken appropriate opportunities to constructively share their views about issues in the broader community. For example, P'lovers submitted a letter to Price Waterhouse, which was seeking input for their audit of the Nova Scotia Department of Supply and Services. Ann and Liz wrote to suggest the government consider adopting a policy of "principled purchasing".
On behalf of P'lovers, Liz appeared before the Nova Scotia Law Amendments Committee to comment on legislation related to the management of the waste stream which, in Ann and Liz's view, would have been counter-productive to new and emerging developments that constructively reuse and recycle waste.
Ann and Liz made a similar presentation about the negative impact of an incinerator on economic development opportunities to the Environmental Assessment hearings about the incinerator, which is proposed for the metropolitan region.
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P'lovers has increasingly received requests from other stores to wholesale. Where and when warranted, P'lovers is trying to accommodate these requests.
P'lovers is always trying to create products of its own ingenuity - such as a line of hemp clothing (currently dormant because of the lack of suitable fabric), and children's clothes and scarves made from recycled clothing.
P'lovers is also interested in considering additional franchise locations. If any reader is interested in this option, please go to the appropriate spot in this web-site.
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In 1993, P'lovers received a Certificate of Merit under the Nova Scotia Environmental Awards program in the Sustainable Development category for "outstanding service in the protection and preservation of the Nova Scotia environment".
P'lovers has also received national and international attention, having been written up in an environmental magazine in Japan, in "In Business, The Magazine of Environmental Entrepreneuring", in "Earthkeeper", "Canadian House and Home" and "Harrowsmith".
In 1997, Ann and Liz were selected as 'Women of Excellence' by the Halifax Cornwallis Progress Club. As well, Ann and Liz have been regional finalists in both the Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
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Because of their uncompromising commitment to quality in terms of product selection and customer service, Ann and Liz are able to increasingly position P'lovers as a unique business with a comprehensive selection of hard-to-find environmental products.
P'lovers' customers often comment how glad they are that P'lovers exists. It is not uncommon to hear people say things like "I am so impressed with the range of products you have" or "I'm glad someone else cares as much about the environment as I do". As well, customers often praise the helpful information provided by staff as they have asked about items such as worm composting, carbon face masks for those who are sensitive to chemicals, local recycling opportunities, or how to make various cleaning products.
Customers who visit P'lovers from other parts of the world often comment that they have never seen anything like P'lovers and wish they had one where they live. These customers are particularly delighted to learn that P'lovers has an on-line catalogue, a 1-800 number, and other locations.
P'lovers' customer base is constantly growing as is the percentage of repeat customers. Many return specifically to refill their personal care and/or cleaning products which P'lovers has available in bulk quantities which saves customers both money and the nuisance of having containers that cannot be recycled.
Given that P'lovers opened in the middle of a recession, given that many of the environmental products are new to customers, and given that one of the store's basic messages is that everyone should consume less (as opposed to buy more - which is the usual retail message), Ann and Liz believe the store faced a number of challenges from the very beginning.
Nonetheless, P'lovers has been profitable for many years now which enables the store to continue to pursue its environmental mission.
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Ann Caverzan - Ann owned and operated the Cape House Inn in Mahone Bay for a number of years. Before opening P'lovers, she also had a small business devoted to creating and selling decoratively painted furniture.
Liz Crocker - Liz co-founded Woozles Children's Bookstore in 1978. She continues to co-own Woozles with one other partner. Liz also co-founded Frog Hollow Books in 1984 and she and her partner sold it as a successful business in 1987. In 1982, Liz created and produced The Hospital Game which she and a partner marketed under the name of Fantasy International. After the first printing sold out, Liz and her partner sold the production rights to a company in California.
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