06/20/2026
🥳 HAPPY 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO US 😭💓🙏🏼
What a journey these last 6 years have been in this space. One week after I signed my lease, the pandemic started. I had to continue with my dream to open Hawaii’s first zero waste store even under such difficult circumstances. I had no idea what I was doing but knew I wanted to help my community make a change and produce less waste and plastic.
A zero waste store is not for the faint of heart. There were so many challenges, so many details, so much labor of love but it was all worth it - I truly believe it helped so many people realize a new way of thinking about their own consumption and the difference even just one person can make, better yet an entire community! I’m grateful to every person who supported Protea as a zero waste store.
As that was becoming more difficult to sustain because of high costs and low revenue, I realized I needed to pivot but remain true to my passion, reduce waste. With my love of fashion and thrifting, as well as the success of our free clothing swaps, I realized I could try to start selling second hand clothes.
We started with three racks, then four, then five and I realized there was a huge need and want for second hand clothes. I quickly learned that it was VERY hard running two businesses in one small space, zero waste refills and thrift so I made the hard decision of closing the zero waste side of the shop and fully committing to the thrift boutique. That was not taken lightly, but the courage to follow my heart really paid off.
The store has bloomed beyond my wildest imagination- we went from selling pieces I had to thrift in LA and bring back to the island, to now FULLY supporting our shop through our local buybacks. We went from about 5% local brands to now close to 80% local brands. Im SO GRATEFUL for this community and trusting us with your beautiful clothes. Without that, there would be no Protea Thrift. So every time you say yes to our offer, you are helping sustain our shop.
We have shown how second hand can be high quality, good condition, good brands, affordable and a really enjoyable way to collect pieces for your wardrobe.
Cont in comments.
