This week is Climate Week NYC, marking the 14th year of the event organized and hosted by Climate Group in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly and the City of New York.
In honor of this fact (and recognition of the devastating effects of climate change, particularly the current devastation of Hurricane Fiona and recent, deadly flooding in Pakistan, to name a few), Maison Jar is hosting three free events centered around this year’s Climate Week theme of “Getting It Done.”
Today, September 20, the refillery and grocery store focused on a low-waste shopping experience at 566 Leonard St. is hosting a special watch party for Climate Week’s Women and Climate Speakers panel highlighting the impact of both individual actions and global solutions on climate activism (6 p.m. to 8 p.m., RSVP here). Donations will be accepted to benefit those impacted by flooding in Pakistan.
Events also include kitchen crafting via upcycling led by Local Alchemy Lab (J, who is a frequent Maison Jar customer) to benefit Billion Oyster Project on September 22 and family-friendly coloring (of the children’s book Healthy Earth by Petya Miller and Ivy Vasileva) with a side of sustainability lessons on September 25 and 26.
These events came to be through the power of community connections and shared interest in climate activism. According to owner Larasati Vitoux, event guests and speakers are all New York-based, which align with both the themes of Climate Week NYC and her own goals to create a stronger bond within the neighborhood.
“When I started working on Maison Jar even before it was a store, there were three values that were very important to me. There was obviously the ecological part and fighting single-use packaging. Then there was the quality of the products that I was gonna be selling, focusing on local and organic and sustainable brands,” Vitoux explained.
“But the third pillar that was very important to me was community — really trying to be a staple in the Greenpoint neighborhood and being a place for people that care about low-waste living to be able to gather. We create a bond with our customers, we’re really not here to finger point people that buy their coffee in a plastic cup or shop in regular stores, it’s more about empowering and giving the opportunity to buy your daily needs in reusables.”
And speaking of community, chairs for Maison Jar’s Climate Week events were donated free of charge by Princess Manor.