| Organic Oscars Fills Void |
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The three-month-old business, tucked into a storefront right across from the London Public Library on Dundas Street, the store and yoga business is owned by Ekaterina Nikiforova, who bought the building and found a niche market that was missing in London. Doing research for the shop, she said she was surprised to find out how much pesticides are used in growing cotton and how many carcinogens go into products we use every day. "My vision is to educate people that come in here as well. When people think organics, they think food, but that's not all it's about," she said. "When I first started reading about it, I didn't know that 25 pounds of pesticides go into making one cotton shirt." The Organic Oscars, an organic and eco-friendly store, sells everything from bamboo bathrobes, linens and clothing to hemp pants, a whole line of clothing made from recycled products like bottle caps and organic baby shampoos, sheets and towels. There are buckwheat pillows, natural toothpastes and eco-friendly yoga mats -- the regular ones aren't biodegradable. "Most people know to reuse and recycle, but they don't know that just cotton alone uses one billion pounds of toxic chemicals." The store also sells natural candles, deodorants and incense. Being downtown was a natural fit for the new store, Nikiforova said. "I see the downtown as changing and we decided to take a risk. We will see the benefits of the change, and help with the changes, too." The second part of the business is the Downtown Yoga Holistic Centre, which includes three studios in the building -- one of which is wheelchair accessible. One of the yoga classes offered is chair yoga. The studios have heated bamboo floors and are environmentally friendly. There are 16 classes daily, ranging from several kinds of yoga, to Pilates, meditation and Nia. Nikiforova also welcomes exhibits in the studios -- art work by Lucas secondary school students is displayed in parts of the building. More information about the business can be found at www.downtownlondonyoga.ca or www.theorganicoscars.ca. |
Downtown London: Organic Oscars Fills Void