About Us


We've been friends since we met on the first day of class at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.  Along with two other girls, we bonded over our shared love of shopping and quickly became a daily part of each other's lives.  ShopGrene is a wonderful chance for us to work together and combine our interest in fashion and the environment.  Our vision is to create a stylish resource for eco-friendly options and to help other fashionistas shop with a conscious.  Eco-fashion is our way to rebel against the fast fashion and celebrity driven trends of the current day.  We want you to shop, we want you to be stylish...just think about the Earth while you're at it! 



Emily S. Heintz

Founder/President

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again,

this time more intelligently.”

~Henry Ford


From Florida to Georgia to Virginia, relocation for Emily Heintz was a form of education outside of the classroom. Scholastically Emily shined as well, obtaining her undergraduate degree on academic scholarship at the prestigious Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia. After graduating, it was no surprise to friends and family that she moved across the country to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the fashion industry.  In the course of her career, Emily has been a buyer for a catalog and swimwear company and got her retail training as a store manager for Lacoste. 


With the goal of opening her own store, Emily enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). Her professional degree in Merchandise Marketing fueled her “passion for fashion” and shortly after graduation, she launched an online shopping network called Label Los Angeles with classmate and friend, Katie Bogue. The business partners built a thriving retail website that focused on Los Angeles based designers and were featured in major fashion publications including California Apparel News, WWD, InStyle and Lucky. Emily was also chosen as a SheBusiness Small Business Institute of Technology Finalist for her entrepreneurship work at Label Los Angeles.  While the partners closed the business in 2006, Katie and Emily remain close and she is consulting on the development of ShopGrene. 


Today, Emily is the Director of Business Development at the California Fashion Association (CFA). The CFA is a non-profit business-to-business organization formed to address issues of concern to the apparel and textile industry in California. Members of the CFA build a collective voice for the industry’s continued growth, prosperity and competitive advantage.  At the CFA, Emily's responsibilities include communicating business issues to members through newsletters, the website and position papers.  She also helps grow the membership by reaching out to some of the nearly 9,600 firms involved in fashion related businesses. 

 

With over 10 years of experience in the retail and fashion industry, Emily launched ShopGrene to help promote and sustain the green fashion movement.  In this venture, she directs her motivation, inspiration and dedication to incorporating her environmental beliefs into her love for shopping and fashion. She recently converted to a vegan diet and has been incorporating eco-friendly practices into her daily life for years. ShopGrene allows her to embrace her inner hippie while still recognizing the importance of style.  She is able to utilize her many years of experience in retail and contacts in the fashion industry to build a business that can really make a difference. Emily hopes that other devoted shoppers will open their eyes to their choices and decide to be green AND fabulous.


Emily's Favorite Ways to Be Grene:


  • Produce at the Farmer's Market - it's cheaper, fresher and usually organic
  • Taking the Bus to Work - The bus stop is only 4 blocks from my house and I get there in 26 minutes. (note to others, L.A. may not be known as the eco-friendly transportation city, but we do have a subway AND a great bus system) 
  • Eating Vegan - It's surprisingly easy, if you cook at home.  I must confess that when I eat out, sometimes I'm forced to be vegetarian! If you have questions or concerns, read the book Skinny Bitch!
  • Second-hand stores - Yey, cheap designer clothes and broken-in jeans...love! L.A. has tons, it's fantastic.  
  • eBay - great for vintage finds and designer deals, even though the shipping isn't eco, I try to combine my purchases.  Warning, this can be addicting!  
  • Earth Hour - When I have people over, I turn off all the lights and use candles for at least an hour (this is usually most effective, AFTER you cook dinner!) 
  • Emergency Bag- I carry a fold up bag in my purse for all my impulse purchases
  • Walking and the Bus - I generally don't drive, but when I do, I get all my errands done at once.  When I can I walk there or take the bus, however, it's pretty hard to walk with a 20 lb bag of kitty litter!
  • Buy in Bulk - Costco is great for this, but I have to be careful to not over-consume and I always recycle the containers. 
  • Paper towels - I'm trying to not use them, I cut up old t-shirts and use those instead.


 

Mailee Creacy

Co-Founder/Vice President


"Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself.  
Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave  
any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into  
unexplored territory." 

--Alan Alda, Actor and Director 


Mailee Creacy cultivated her business experience in advertising through a variety of sales and marketing roles.  Her career started out in newspapers and more traditional media sales which has evolved into online and emerging media expertise over time.  Over the course of nearly ten years in the advertising industry, Mailee has gleaned the necessary skill set to effectively market and promote her clients' products and services.  Her career has taken her from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, on to Atlanta, and finally home to Boulder.  Mailee's love for and interest in fashion inspired her to enroll in a professional designation program at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising which she completed in 2003.  FIDM is also the birthplace of her friendship with Emily Heintz, Founder and President of ShopGrene.

 

Mailee's most recent role has been developing online sales and media strategies for her clients in Boulder, Colorado.  At ShopGrene, Mailee's responsibilities include leading the charge for online advertising sales both for ShopGrene and The WeeklyGrene as well as overall design and strategy of ShopGrene and The WeeklyGrene.  She also writes about her personal experiences in trying out natural beauty products in her blog, ShopGreneBeauty.  Her strengths lie in promotion and marketing, networking and writing all of which she utilizes at ShopGrene, combined with her love of the fashion industry.  Mailee's hope is that ShopGrene will become a trusted resource for fashionistas who genuinely care about making a global impact through their everyday shopping choices. 

 

 Mailee's Favorite Ways to be Green!...

 

  • I always carry a spare shopping tote or a large purse for emergency/spur-of-the-moment impulse purchases (and, believe me, there are many such instances).
  • Airdrying my clothes, sheets, and towels when the weather is nice outside makes them smell amazing.  I have a clothes line in my backyard - how 1950's is that?
  • Washing with warm water saves so much energy and your clothes won't know the difference!
  • Now that the ground has thawed out, I am making my first compost pile (feel free to send suggestions to  mailee@shopgrene.com - I'm a little apprehensive at the thought of throwing my food scraps into a hole in the backyard).
  • I've been trying out new eco-friendly beauty products (you can read about my experiences on my blog: ShopGreneBeauty)
  • When I travel, I try to remember to offset my carbon footprint before I leave but I am a frantic traveler and typically end up doing it when I get back.
  • I live in Boulder, the capital of all things green and eco, so I have fun finding new eco-friendly boutiques, organic and vegan restaurants, and green businesses (if you fit into any of those categories and would like to advertise on ShopGrene or The WeeklyGrene send me an email: mailee@shopgrene.com)
  • I am a vegan - it's one of the greatest ways to do your part for the environment!
  • In the spring, summer, and fall I ride my cruiser bike everywhere.  It is one of my all-time favorite things to do!
  • Public transportation - I admit it, I love riding the bus.  It's always an adventure!
  • Boulder Farmer's Market - I feel so good about buying my veggies from local Colorado farms and the Boulder Farmer's Market is one of the most beautiful outdoor markets I've experienced - plus they sell amazing organic wine!!  (Check it out at www.boulderfarmers.org)