DAISEYE & GREEN 3: Helping People and the Planet
- Posted on
- By Anna Duncan
As many of you know, we recently reopened our storefront in Oshkosh, Wisconsin but some of you may not know that there is actually a second independently owned Green 3 storefront in Princeton Wisconsin on Water Street! We wanted to do a profile on this store and the lovely couple that owns it! What follows is my interview with Jess Greget (owner and merchandiser for the storefront) from earlier this week.
Matt Greget and one of his business partners opened up a retail store called Daiseye in 2002 (the store just celebrated their 16th birthday this month). Their dream for Daiseye was a storefront with exclusively Earth-friendly and fair trade products. The store started out with mostly home decor, toys, as well as a small collection of accessories. After getting married, Jess Greget (Matt’s wife) came in to help run the business six years ago in 2012. She began to incorporate more women’s clothing and accessories than Daiseye previously had. Previous to Daiseye, Jess only had a small amount of retail experience but she loved the artistic, creative side of running a clothing store. She seized the opportunity to expand the Daiseye brand, finding amazing earth friendly and fair trade brands to showcase.
Matt developed his passion for ethical trade and environmental sustainability in college. When Jess and Matt met, Matt opened Jess’s eyes to the supply chain of apparel products and how that supply chain affects people, specifically the people that are working in international factories making apparel. Jess also attended retailer retreats that focused on fair trade and earth friendly education. She developed a passion for helping people and the planet. Jess was very moved by the documentary, “True Cost” available to stream on Netflix. The film speaks to a collapsed Bangladesh factory, why organic cotton is a better choice than conventional cotton and how apparel factory workers are treated overseas. “Part of my due diligence was to not only sell beautiful, ethical, organic products but also offer knowledge to consumers and give them avenues to learn more.”
Around 2014 when the Greget’s youngest was an infant, she had to come to Oshkosh for some of her doctor’s appointments. It was during that time she spotted the Green 3 storefront. She came into the store and purchased a few skirts for herself before she decided she wanted to bring the brand into Daiseye. She left her card after chatting with some ladies working at the store at the time and the next day, Jim Martin reached out about partnering up! There was a vacant building right next door to their Daiseye location, so they tore a hole in the wall, and a month later Matt and Jess were picking up fixtures and products. “It happened so fast. It was almost seamless.”
The Daiseye/Green 3 Apparel partnership was a match made in heaven and checked off everything on Jess and Matt’s list. “Sustainable? Check. Made in the USA? Check. Earth friendly? Check.” When I asked Jess what her favorite aspects of Green 3 were she said, “It’s earth friendly and ethically made. I love that Green 3 works with ASPIRO in Green Bay. The brand is always trying to move forward and opening up to new, trending products like the reversible leggings/skirts made from recycled plastic bottles. Sandy and Jim are always trying to figure out other ways to bring latest and greatest to the forefront. We love that they print their tees with water based inks right down the street in Oshkosh. Their dedication to locally sourced product… Customers often ask about the price of the garment, but the truth is, it is high quality product, locally sourced, and will last you a very long time.”
Some of the best sellers at Daiseye/Green 3 storefront are the tunics and a-line skirts. The customers love the more modest fit of the items especially because we didn’t sacrifice style or fit for modesty! The Over Arm-ers are also starting to become more popular. Jess’s favorite items include the reversible poly skirts and anything space dye.
Daiseye and Green 3 are located in downtown Princeton at 525 W Water St Princeton, WI 54968. Their hours are as follows: Everyday, 7 days a week: Mondays-Saturday 10-5, Sundays 11-3pm. Linked below is their website and social media accounts--head over and check them out!
Instagram: @daiseye.wi
Facebook: @daiseye.princeton