Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
If you have rapidly growing kids, you’ll be pleased to discover that you can find affordable clothing – and sell your kids’ outgrown apparel – all in one place in West St. Paul. Eco Chico, now open in Suite #7A at Signal Hills Shopping Center, 1201 S. Robert. St., buys and sells gently used children’s clothing, accessories and equipment. Most items sell for 70% less than retail prices, and those selling to the shop can expect to be in and out with cash in the bank within 20 minutes.
Owner Krystell Escobar-Theisen started the business to provide an economical shopping experience for families and to help save the environment at the same time.
“The carbon impact of the apparel industry is pretty massive,” said Escobar-Theisen. “There’s 12-13 pounds of carbon waste for every garment manufactured, so if you can go to even 30% or 50% of your items purchased thrift then that’s a huge chunk of carbon taken out of the ecosystem.”
The business primarily stocks inventory for newborns through kids size 18, although it has some in-demand items for tweeners as well. Aside from clothing, including swimsuits, shoes and sports gear, you’ll find winter accessories, backpacks, nursing and feeding items, baby carriers and diaper bags. Large baby equipment such as strollers, bouncers and highchairs are also available.
Name-brand items are in demand. Those selling popular brands to the store get a 50% bonus and will score another 20% bonus if they accept payment as store credit rather than through Venmo, CashApp or PayPal. All items must be clean and undamaged, and first-time sellers are required to provide a photo ID. Once selling prices are agreed upon, payment and a receipt is sent on the spot.
“We’re all digital, so we’re cashless,” said Escobar-Theisen. “That not only enhances safety, but it also helps us with being streamlined and truly more eco in many ways.”
Parents looking for hot deals can keep an eye on the Eco Chico website and social media pages, where new high demand items can be purchased before they hit the sales floor.
“We know mom is really busy running around all the time, but if she wants that one item and is on the lookout, then as soon as it comes up [on the website], she can buy it on the spot and just come pick it up at the store at her convenience,” said Escobar-Theisen. “She knows she’s secured the item and doesn’t have to worry about somebody else coming in and snatching it up.”
The website includes the store’s buying guidelines as well.
A former West St. Paulite and current Mendota Heights homeowner, Escobar-Theisen is the mother of three young children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she and husband Benjamin sold their brick-and-mortar insurance agency in West St. Paul and he began running the agency from their home while she stayed home to care for their kids. During this time she began seeing many reports of her once luscious homeland – Tabasco, Mexico, which she and her family emigrated from when she was eight – being swallowed by rising sea levels due to climate change. Inspired to help make a difference, and looking to reinvest in a new business, her journey to opening Eco Chico began.
She considered opening a Once Upon a Child franchise because she liked the business concept and was a regular shopper there after her first child was born. In the end, she opted to go independent so she could streamline operations and cater to busy shoppers. A buying event in early fall brought the store’s inventory to 10,000 items, which was enough to hold a soft opening at the end of October and a grand opening at the end of November.
“Every piece of our inventory has been bought from local families,” she said. “The fact that we can buy so much keeps our inventory very fresh. We’ve already turned around about a quarter of our inventory since our soft opening…. We’ve gotten really tremendous support from the community.”
Eco Chico can buy a lot of items quickly, she said, compared to franchise thrift stores due to their different buying processes. Although Eco Chico may not pay as much for some items, the overall percentage of eligible items it buys is higher because of how quickly it can process them.
Eco Chico is in the space formerly occupied by Lavalash. Escobar-Theisen hired West Side-based Electric Machete Studios to create whimsical murals on the walls to support her environmental theme. Escobar-Theisen is looking for a clothing recycling partner so customers can pay a fee to have ineligible items discarded in a sustainable way. Store hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Saturday. For more information, call 651-300-0684 or visit ecochicoresale.com.