Local business reflects Ithaca, NY environmental values

Ithaca local Tamarynde Cacciotti aims to live an environmentally conscious lifestyle. Sustainability within a community is something that Cacciotti cares about deeply.

“I personally feel like people have lost their connection with the earth and the fact that we are a whole and not just ourselves,” says Cacciotti. “I think that's a very good lesson to teach generations. We're all on a big boat together so I think everybody can do their part to make it a better place.”

Though environmental concerns loom overhead, the City of Ithaca has proven its commitment to sustainability over the past years. The city’s website states “The City of Ithaca recognizes its responsibility to protect the health and well-being of its residents and the environment, while supporting a diverse, equitable and vibrant economy.”

Home Green Home, a small business located on The Commons, shares similar values.

Values of Home Green Home

Window Display at Home Green Home | Source: Kathryn Ksiazek for Ithaca Week

Meghan Vidler, owner of Home Green Home since 2019, doesn’t shy away from expressing her passion for sustainability. The local business’s website proclaims it as a place for “healthy furnishings and green living goods.” Vidler shares why having a store in Ithaca that highlights sustainability is important.

“I don't think our current ecological crisis is going to be solved by personal responsibility choices,” said Vidler. “I think that that's going to need to come from the top through regulation and a much bigger sort of thrust of humanities work. But I do think it's important to provide everyday options for your household that are going to lean in a more zero waste and eco-friendly direction.”

Vidler started working at Home Green Home about a decade ago, while the store was still under previous ownership.

She explained that since her start at the store, she’s been working to “lower price points and appeal to a younger, broader audience” in an effort to promote sustainability.

Home Green Home provides a variety of sustainable products, including reusable water bottles, tree-free gift-wrapping paper, reusable straws and more.

Clothes found in the store are made of environmentally conscious materials such as organic cotton or fabric from recycled plastic.

Organic Cotton Clothes in Home Green Home | Source: Kathryn Ksiazek for Ithaca Week

Vidler stated that the issue with polyester clothes is that with every wash, microplastics are released into the waterstream.

“[Microplastics] can't be good for our bodies or for the environment,” said Vidler. “Hopefully we're going to head, at some point, in a natural-fiber direction more widely.”

"Hippies ethos carries forth."

Home Green Home meets a demand for eco-friendly goods in a community that deeply values sustainability.

“Ithacans are definitely at the forefront of caring about the environment,” said Vidler. “And they have always been good supporters of our store. That hippie ethos carries forth.”

Cacciotti, a regular at the store, expressed how she feels the business meets her personal lifestyle goals, as well as a place to purchase equipment for the restaurant she works at.

“I am just fanatical for so many of the things that they have,” said Cacciotti. “I am a chef at a place called The Watershed … and we are a sustainable no-waste bar. We purchased a lot of our stuff that we use for that here. So I just think that [Home Green Home] kind of offers everything we need.”

Cacciotti believes that Home Green Home is a great place to learn about leading an eco-friendly lifestyle as well as shopping for sustainable gifts.

“I think there is a really nice community in Ithaca that is already aware of [eco-friendly] living,” stated Cacciotti. “So I think [Home Green Home] is great for everybody in the community.”