03. Habitus Living Feature
We recently sat down with Holly from Habitus Living to chat about Good Things Store.
We talk about the catalyst moment behind Good Things, what we hope to achieve, and the importance of voting with your dollar. We've featured a few of the questions below but if you would like to read the full interview, you can here.
When and why did you start Good Things?
Setting up a home for the first time here in Sydney was a real catalyst moment for me. You’re forced to make so many decisions as a consumer, so quickly, and I decided to be really conscious and mindful about those decisions. Sure, heading down to my local Kmart might have seemed easier and quicker, but that ease and speed comes at such a high cost, and it wasn’t one I was willing to pay.
Good Things is honestly the store I wished I’d had in that moment. A curated place, filled with beautiful things, where anyone can shop mindfully.
You’ve mentioned previously you’re personally big on voting with your dollar and supporting local designers and makers. How do you envision Good Things to spread that message? Are you after only conscious consumers or are you hoping to overtly or covertly convert unconscious consumers too?
Every time we buy something from a brand we’re saying ‘Hi there, please make more of this stuff’! I saw it every day when working in the fast fashion industry – companies only make this stuff if they think you’ll buy it. All I want to do with Good Things is make it easier for consumers to say yes to slower, kinder, more sustainable things. There are so many incredible businesses out there making this stuff, my focus is simply on making it easier for people to buy something from them, and as a result step out of that frenetic cycle of consumerism.
Some people buy things from Good Things because they’re sustainable, others simply because they’re beautiful, durable, or just really bloody useful. Whatever their reason for shopping with me, the impact is the same.
What do you hope your user/consumer experience will be?
I never want to make our customers feel like they need more, because the very best thing we can do for our planet is consume less, not more. My hope is that our customers only come to us when they have a real need that we can meet, and when they do buy something from us they find joy not just in the thing they’re buying, but also the knowledge that it’s good for our planet and its people.
If you could achieve just one thing with Good Things Store what would that be?
It would bring me so much joy to see our fast world tilt towards kinder, slower, better ways of consuming. We are starting to see glimpses of it, but it still feels like a bandwagon to jump on, rather than the norm.
I know we can’t change the whole world, but I totally believe as consumers the power is in our hands, and if I can change the way a consumer buys just one thing through Good Things, that’s a vote for change.
Read the full interview at Habitus Living here.