cynthia lu levine, owner
Originally from a small fishing village in Alaska, Cynthia had an early education in the awesome power of nature. As a resourceful jane-of-many-trades, she has since put her energy and versatility to work in several diverse industries. From pastry chef to production coordinator, bed and breakfast manager to project manager, she has lived and worked in San Francisco, Los Angeles, various cities in Mexico, Barcelona, New York and Copenhagen. Throughout her travels, all roads have led back to her favorite city of Seattle.
Goodbye from Echo Road
The shop has officially closed, but we remain enthusiastic about the future of conscientious fashion. We'd also like to extend a hearty thanks to all of our customers for 2 great years!
Going forward, we hope you'll visit our friends at the Greenloop for all of your eco + ethical fashion needs.
A Little Background
Founded by Cynthia Lu Levine in late 2007, Echo Road was an innovative Seattle shop exclusively dedicated to socially and environmentally advanced fashion. The year prior, Cynthia left a corporate career to research and potentially plan the business. The information she uncovered was staggering, so Echo Road was formed as an alternative to traditional retail therapy.
Echo Road offered fashionable, functional styles from companies that produce sweatshop-free, sustainable fiber, low-impact dyed clothing. Our hope was that our customers would fall in love with a few pieces and wear them for years to come.
Fashion Philosophy
Love super soft tees, sassy summer dresses, warm layering pieces and other special fabric finds? Looking for styles to add to your closet that aren't laden with toxic dyes, mass-produced or more importantly, made by someone working 18 hours a day for only pennies? Echo Road can help you find both...
As with many products and services, the way one chooses to dress is an opportunity to express not only one's sense of style, but also one's values. That's why when you shop with Echo Road, you'll find well-researched fashion from companies that are different by design.
Whether it's a tailored hoodie trench made and dyed right here in Seattle, a certified organic cotton tee made just down the way in San Francisco, or a vintage silk one-of-a-kind halter made in NYC, we've got the widest selection of progressive independent fashion in Seattle... all made with respect for labor and the planet.
Yet having a more sustainable closet isn't only about where and how it's made. It's equally as important to find styles that you absolutely adore, styles that fit you and your lifestyle perfectly. Echo Road's mission is to help you find these styles, be it in our collection or somewhere else. If we don't have what you're looking for, we're happy to recommend some other options.
Cynthia likes to say that the most sustainable closet is the one you already have. And when it's time to find a new top to go with your favorite pair of jeans (or if you need a new favorite pair of jeans) we hope you'll come to us first.
Business Philosophy
The welfare of a community relies on the health of the local economy. By buying and partnering locally, you can help keep your money within your community, reduce demand on environmental resources, and preserve community character. The vitality of local economies is derived from living people, communities and ecosystems.
Echo Road uses an ecological philosophy to guide our business decisions. In fact, we don't see any other way to do business. Humans are inherently a part of the global environment, not separate from it. Who would choose to get cancer from the pesticides used on cotton? Who would choose to drink the water polluted by dye house run-off? The more business starts to act for good, and not just for the bottom line, the better off we'll all be. For, as David Brower stated so succinctly, "there is no business to be done on a dead planet."
This philosophy has helped us in our day-to-day decision making. No matter where it occurs, dirty manufacturing practices and excessive transportation of goods play a major role in the pollution of the planet that we all share. That's why we do extra leg work when it comes to researching where, how and by whom our products are made. For example, at Echo Road, we look not only at where the actual garment is made, but where the fabric is made as well.
The US has lost the majority of its textile production, but there are a few new sources on the rise. Even with the scarcity, many designers that we carry are sourcing fabrics made in the US and Canada. And instead of importing items from countries with poorly regulated labor and environmental laws, we focus on production as close to Seattle as possible.
Essentially, we believe it is possible to live in abundance without dumping industrial waste, polluting our air, or abusing manual laborers. To that end, Echo Road exclusively sources high quality designs that are mindful and intentional. We are human and it's in our nature to trade, but given global warming and excessive resource consumption, international cooperation and local trade economies are vital for our future.
What Sets Us Apart
In addition to sourcing the most sustainable fashion available, here are just a few of the things we do at Echo Road to decrease our operational footprint:
By choosing to run the boutique out of our home, we're saving the energy that would have been used by a brick and mortar retail space. And every month, we pay a little extra to Seattle City Light's Green Power program.
When not working out of the home studio, Cynthia is a dedicated bike commuter and often cycles to meetings and events. When we're not on foot, bike, or bus, Echo Road has a Jetta TDI that gets 46 on the highway and 35 in city and is powered exclusively by Dr. Dan's Biodiesel.
In all aspects of our business, we try to minimize the use of new materials and maximize re-use whenever possible. All of our mannequins, garment racks and mirrors were found on Craigslist. We try to keep our paper use to a minimum, but when we do print, it’s on 100% post-consumer recycled paper made locally in Grays Harbor, WA. Even our hangtags are made from reclaimed magazine paper.
These are just a few simple ways that we have found to meet our business needs in a manner that is fun and friendly to future generations.