Columbus, Ohio USA
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Better Earth: North Market's General Store
June 2007
by Mary Martineau
email mmartineau@northmarket.com

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Dareen Wearstler was a "closet environmentalist"
before opening her store in 1991.

The Better Earth shop at the North Market was spawned from a much bigger idea. In 1990 Dareen Wearstler attended the festivities for the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. Until that point she was a self-described “closet environmentalist.” The Earth Day anniversary sparked her social responsibilities so passionately that she came out of the closet in a big way. The Merck veteran quit her job of 17 years, cashed out her 401K fund and used it to open Better Earth, a total ecology store in May 1991. This 1000-square-foot shop in Clintonville had a mission to bring to the general public environmentally oriented products for home, individual and community. Aerators, composters, organic gardening supplies and rain barrels shared space with recycled paper products, ecological cleaning supplies, natural and organic personal care products and wares by local artists.

Dareen reminisces about weekly trips to market with her grandmother in New Jersey. She knew when she discovered the North Market in Columbus that it would be a good fit for her undertaking. So, a few months after opening the Clintonville “superstore,” Dareen opened a Better Earth satellite shop in the North Market. The market location had a concentrated focus on personal care products, cleaning supplies, aromatherapy items and “a few gifties.” For more than three years as she ran two locations, Dareen noticed the products in the market getting greater attention. So she closed the Clintonville location at the end of 1994, focused her efforts on the market stand and used it to “bring back the other store in the market way.”

In the early ‘90s, purveying natural products required avid salesmanship and consumer education. The general public was not as environmentally aware or socially conscious as they are today. Dareen has worked to make the lines she carries appeal to the average market shopper by making it “no big deal” to patronize her stand. When shopping at Better Earth, Dareen “takes the worry out of social justice” for her customers. They can be assured that items at her shop are created with sustainability, environmental impact and organic standards all taken into consideration.

An overheard lament about the North Market is that “there’s no place to buy toilet paper.” Really? Dareen would rebut that she’s got you covered (all puns intended). In fact she’s got the Seventh Generation recycled paper product line of toilet paper, paper towels and tissues too! She also carries their line of household cleaning products all of which “are designed to work as well as their traditional counterparts, but use renewable, non-toxic, phosphate free and biodegradable ingredients, and are never tested on animals.”

So pick up your socially conscientious dish soap, dishwasher detergent, toilet cleaner, multipurpose cleaner and/or laundry detergents next time you stop in. She stocks a number of other brands with household products as well, including Dr. Bronners and Ecover.

After 16 years in the business, Dareen knows her stuff about organic personal care products and sells only the best at Better Earth, including Tom’s of Maine, Kiss My Face, Jason’s and everybody’s favorite, Burt’s Bees. So the next time you run out of shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste or body lotion and you are feeling ecologically inclined, you know where to shop!

Other things you’ll find include over 40 herbal tea blends, helpful herbal tinctures, an aromatherapy line, basics like batteries and film, Columbus souvenirs and postcards, blown glass by local artist Robert Eickholt, pottery by Linda Schaeffer and seasonal gifts for holidays like Valentine’s Day, Christmas and Hanukkah. Next time you are in the Market, check out what Better Earth has in store!

Better Earth is located at 59 Spruce St. in the North Market. For more information call 614-224-6196 or visit www.betterearthproducts.net or the North Market Web site at www.northmarket.com

©2007 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.