Eco-conscious Princeton Entrepreneur has a Design for a Better World

Tim McNulty had a satisfying career in high tech sales in California’s Silicon Valley and he and his wife, Chi Park, had adventures living and working in Amsterdam and Germany.

But after the birth of their two children, now six and four, something seemed to be missing and that was having family nearby. McNulty grew up in Minnesota and his wife grew up outside of Philadelphia—so the couple decided to move east to be closer to family. And since they were making such a big change in where they lived, Tim McNulty decided to make a change in where he worked,

That’s how greendesign came to be just about three-and-a-half-years ago.

“People in northern Europe tend to be very eco-conscious and when you’re going to be parents, you tend to do a lot of research on the best ways of living, what kinds of food you eat and the clothing you wear,” Tim McNulty said. “You also become more aware that you have take better care of the environment to make sure your children have a better future. We were learning a lot and we decided why not get some use out of it and share our knowledge.”

What McNulty learned was that many of the eco-friendly items that he wanted for his own children were readily available on the Internet but not in stores so shoppers could see, touch and feel the product and know what they were buying.  

“That’s the reason to have a brick and mortar store in a local area,” he said. “The idea is to transfer knowledge we have learned and offer it to the people who walk into our store and to offer them a tactile and personal experience.”

Princeton was an obvious choice because McNulty wanted a place where he could run a business and raise a family, and because it reminded him and his wife of Europe which they had grown to love.

“Everyone in Europe walks everywhere, and so we wanted to open a store in Princeton so we wouldn’t have to commute,” he said. “We walk to work and it’s one of the nice things about a town like Princeton. You can do that and at the same time, you have a train station where you can be in New York very quickly. Princeton runs at a very unique pace; it’s incredible."

Princeton also made sense because of residents' heightened awareness of the environment and environmental issues.

”Because of the University and the outstanding school system, the environment is part of the curriculum and people care about the environment and taking care of it for our children and their future,” McNulty said.

greendesign, McNulty's Witherspoon Street store, is a general eco-goods store that carries a wide variety of products including furniture, children’s clothing, sleepwear and personal items like soaps and organic oils. McNulty even sells a natural organic latex mattress under the brand name Savvy Rest.

“Most mattresses have to be sprayed with chemicals so people are sleeping and spending a good chunk of their lives breathing in those chemicals,” he said. “This is an alternative that does not do that, not to mention it’s a comfortable, well-supported mattress that provides better rest.”

The store also sells infant and children’s furniture, including a crib made from sustainably grown wood, which means that when a tree is chopped down, another is planted in its place.

“Young parents respond well to that because it’s the modern aesthetic, the look and design and they’re also interested in the make up of the crib,” said McNulty, a father of two. “They like the idea of a wood-based crib better than plastic. People want to make the right, healthy choices for their children, and they embark upon a huge growth curve. It’s a bigger issue when they are making decisions not just for themselves but also for their children.”

Some of the most popular items in the store are reusable lunch containers that are not thrown away like Styrofoam or plastic.

“As people find out the dangers of plastic in general, including the long-term inability to biodegrade, there’s a lot of interest in moving away from it, especially when it comes to packing healthy lunches at the same time,” McNulty said

McNulty has also developed a working a relationship with Trenton –based Terracycle, a company that takes materials that are not normally recycled, turns them into new products and then works with vendors to sell them. Items like Ziploc bags, plastic pens, potato chip bags, things that normally would go into landfill, are turned into usable items such as tote bags and purses.

The Witherspoon Street store is a collection point for those normally discarded items, and then McNulty passes them on to Terracycle. Like his eco-goods store, McNulty regards that relationship as one more way he is helping to make the earth a better place.

“We are very pleased with the response we’ve gotten from the community,” he said.  “People tell us this is what they wanted; this is what they were looking for. As a dad, it’s fantastic. I feel like I am doing something meaningful for the future of my kids and the world. It’s definitely more important than selling Internet services.”

greendesign is located at 42 Witherspoon Street in Princeton.

Phone: (609)651-4643

www.shopgreendesign.com