Less Waste and More Fun with Adria Hall
Business Feature: Adria Hall & Koko Shop
Adria Hall is the owner and founder of Koko. This adventure is the result of combining almost ten years of corporate retail and brand experience work with a lifelong love of sustainability (inspired by her mama!) and an entrepreneurial spirit. Adria is a community-builder, educator, storyteller, planet-lover, and leader of a crew of humans working to create a world where there is less waste and more fun.
“We try to make the pursuit of living more sustainably as joyful as possible. Sustainability doesn’t have to be boring. Color? Check. Patterns? Check. Cheeky how-to’s? Check, check! Eco-friendly and personality are not mutually exclusive.”
Hi, Adria! It was a delight to discover your bright shops popping up all over Ohio and beyond. You are celebrating your fourth store opening! Congrats! Can you share more about the shop itself and how you came to be?
Cincinnati was our fourth store and that opened in February of 2020, but we’re actually celebrating our sixth store opening. Our flagship store is in Columbus, Ohio and we’re opening a second location in Columbus this fall. We have shops in Lexington and Louisville, KY and another shop coming soon in a location we’re excited to announce soon. I like to open shops in cities that mean something to me. I live in Columbus, Ohio and went to school in Lexington, KY. Cincinnati and Louisville are both cities that I’ve spent a lot of time in throughout my adult life and are home to many friends and family!
You bring a bright and cheery spin to the zero waste and plastic-free movements, can you share more about your mission and your personal approach to sustainability and eco-friendly living?
Thank you so much for noticing! We try to make the pursuit of living more sustainably as joyful as possible. Sustainability doesn’t have to be boring. We actively seek brands and makers who make sustainability fun! Color? Check. Patterns? Check. Cheeky how-to’s? Check, check! Eco-friendly and personality are not mutually exclusive.
We also want to provide resources and products that will help ALL humans. At Koko, accessibility and inclusivity are non-negotiables. We also know sustainability isn’t one-size-fits all and the thought of going plastic free sounds suuuuper intimidating and just downright unrealistic for many. That’s why we champion *progress over perfection*—less waste is the goal, but the journey will look different for everyone. Our hope is to educate and provide major inspiration to make it as fun and easy as possible for people to do what they can with the resources they have.
“We also know sustainability isn’t one-size-fits all and the thought of going plastic free sounds suuuuper intimidating and just downright unrealistic for many. That’s why we champion *progress over perfection*—less waste is the goal, but the journey will look different for everyone.”
One thing that sets Koko apart is providing customers the ability to shop at a refillery. Can you explain what a refillery is?
That’s exactly right! In addition to a wide selection of planet-lovin’ home, cleaning, personal care and apothecary products, our shops are also home to our refilleries. This is a shopping experience that allows you to fill and refill your favorite products, reducing your single-use packaging waste. You can bring your own bottle or shop from our Bottle Bar, filling up on everything from shampoo to laundry detergent!
Can you share more about your personal journey in building a more sustainable life? Was there a turning point or a-ha moment for you?
My mother has always been a huge influence on me. She instilled sustainable habits – reusing mason jars, limiting paper-towel use, making her own natural cleaning products, etc. – from an early age. However, when I became a mother six years ago I began paying attention to the climate crisis and the world I wanted to leave my boys. While I felt good about finding non-toxic baby products, I cringed about how they were always wrapped in plastic. This was my ah-ha moment. I started to pay more attention to the items I was buying, and while some local stores had great bulk-food options, the options were limited for other items I used in my daily life. And that’s how Koko began – as a solution to a problem: a lack of convenient resources to live a more sustainable lifestyle. When I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to build it myself.
“... Part of what you can control is how the people who are in charge (governments, corporations) make choices for our planet, so ensure you ARE voting and being vocal about the changes you want to see!”
With Koko, you provide a fun approach and vibrant community around building a sustainable lifestyle. What are your favorite tips or swaps for people to start making shifts in their life?
Look at yourself first and don't worry about what might be happening around you: Thinking about the impact of every single unsustainable practice from every single person in the world can cause eco-anxiety or cause you to become overwhelmed with guilt. Focus on controlling what you can control. That being said, part of what you can control is how the people who are in charge (governments, corporations) make choices for our planet, so ensure you ARE voting and being vocal about the changes you want to see!
Do a waste audit: It's really fascinating what you find in your own trash. What do you throw away most? Is it single-use? Pick one tiny area to try to impact, like a New Year's resolution!
Create accountability checks: Start small and in an area that will be the easiest to integrate into your daily life and then hold yourself accountable by sharing what you’re doing with friends and family or on social media.
It's about progress, not perfection: Go easy on yourself. It takes time to form new habits and find products you like. Celebrate the small changes you’re making to live more sustainably.
Think twice or even three times before you buy something: The most sustainable thing you can do is use what you already have. Repair something that’s broken or repurpose what you have for a different use. If you do buy something, think about how you can buy something differently - can you buy in bulk, without a plastic container, or second hand?
What are you favorite parts of running your own business? Are there any challenges that you encounter with running a company grounded in sustainable practices?
My favorite part of running Koko is that every day I get to make choices to create the work environment I want for my crew, and the shopping environment I want for my customers. I have a lot of corporate retail experience in my past, and it’s been really fun and rewarding to do things to take that and turn it into this magical place that is better for the planet, and better for people.
Sometimes it’s a lot of additional work to choose the most sustainable practices or products. Shipping, for example. We reuse shipping materials from the inventory we receive, and that means we have to separate and store everything, as well as figure out how to give customers an exciting brand experience with reused packaging (we use NoIssue tape and stickers for this!). Despite the challenges and additional work, it’s always worth it!
“We have been told over and over again that recycling is the answer, and there is safety and comfort in that thought ... but I also wish there were more open conversations and education around waste disposal for consumers and what ACTUALLY happens to our trash and recycling.”
If you could pick one thing you wish more people were more aware of when it comes to the environmental issues, what would you want to talk more about?
The fact that recycling is not going to be the solution to the overproduction and overconsumption of single-use plastics. We have been told over and over again that recycling is the answer, and there is safety and comfort in that thought. There’s a lot of onus on corporations to change manufacturing and packaging processes, but I also wish there were more open conversations and education around waste disposal for consumers and what ACTUALLY happens to our trash and recycling.
What is inspiring you right now? Any favorite sustainable brands, companies, or organizations we should be following?
A few brands I love carrying in the shop and following online are Stasher (the way they educate and provide multiple use options for their products!), Stojo (they have a GREAT newsletter!), and Upcircle (their ingenuity in repurposing ingredients for their products is so inspiring!). Personal Instagram accounts I draw much inspiration and perspective from Instagrammers: @zerowastechef, @greengirlleah and @intersectionalenvironmentalist. I also love watching what For Days and Girlfriend Collective are doing to change the fashion game!
Knowing that your flagship store is in Columbus, Ohio, are there any other favorite spots you recommend when people visit the city?
Absolutely! To eat, I highly recommend Dough Mama, Akai Hana, Woodhouse, Service Bar, and Comune, coffee from Third Way Cafe, and ice cream at Jeni’s! I love shopping at Cubshrub, Small Talk, Marigold Curated and The Little Light Collective. Definitely grab drinks at Alibi, Lawbird or Bottle Shop. For fun, I recommend the Columbus Flea, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus Museum of Art, or catching a movie at Studio35 or the Drexel. Truly though, my FAVORITE thing to do in Columbus is explore all of the amazing vintage and thrift shops! Finally, if you have kids, don’t miss the Columbus Zoo and Cosi!
What are you most excited about for the future?
We just revealed our new website! The site is providing new opportunities to reach more people as we continue to share information about how living sustainably can be super fun and obtainable.
You can follow the work of Adria and the cheery team over at @kokotheshop. Read up on Sustainability Tips and Tricks from the Koko Crew on their blog. Explore the curation of goods online and stop by one of the many locations.