A new
Lawrenceville shop is bringing shopping with a conscience to Pittsburgh.
Equita, which means fairness in Italian, opens Nov. 24 at 100 43rd Street in the Ice House artist studios. Opening festivities will celebrate
National Buy Local Day and will feature tastings of coffee, tea and chocolates from Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Siblings and Pittsburgh natives Sara and Amanda Parks founded the independent business with Amanda’s husband Michael Solano, a Costa Rican native. “Pittsburgh is unique because it’s possible to start something here--people tend to be more supportive,” says Sara.
Targeting ethically-minded consumers, Equita carries
Fair Trade, organic and green products from thirty countries for the body and home. Products are hand-selected from skilled artisans, farmers and cooperatives in developing countries. The shop also features wares made in North America by Native American enterprises and women's initiatives.
After traveling and working in Ecuador, Argentina and Costa Rica, the sisters, who between them have graduate degrees in environmental policy and international development, chose
Lawrenceville, where their grandmother grew up. “It’s a central location. We like the character of the neighborhood and the grassroots development here,” says Sara. Amanda concurs, “Lawrenceville is a working class neighborhood, an enclave for artists and conducive to small business.”
Writer: Jennifer Baron
Sources: Sara and Amanda Parks
Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene