Founded by Dechel Mckillian, a celebrity stylist from Los Angeles, Galerie.LA is an eco-friendly marketplace for brands that use sustainable production methods to reduce their environmental footprint. As a student at UCLA majoring in psychobiology, having a career in fashion was the furtherest thing on Mckillian's mind. She soon changed gears after taking a fashion merchandising course at El Camino College in Torrence, CA and fell in love with with it further while traveling across the fashion capitals of the world. Soon thereafter, she began styling music artists, such as Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Lionel Richie and went on tour with the Black Eyed Peas.
McKillian is here to dispel the myth that the Black community does not care about the environment or doesn't believe in eco-friendly practices or products. She believes that everyone should do their part to be more green.
What started off as an eco-conscious fashion blog in 2015—exploring sustainable brands and delving into their practices—soon morphed into an e-commerce site that carries a curated selection of eco-friendly clothing, accessories and beauty products from emerging designers.
"After traveling the world with music artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Lil Wayne, I saw firsthand the negative impact fashion has on our people and planet. I realized women like me all around the world were also waking up to the fact that fast fashion is bad for the environment and that garment workers were dying making our clothing. I wanted to create a platform where people could find sustainable options that were stylish, and easy to find, and the message around sustainability was clear," explains Mckillian.
"Before launching Galerie.LA, I did a lot of research to discover brands and decode their sustainability claims. I found that sustainable brands weren't the first ones to pop up on a Google search so I had to do some digging. I find brands in many ways: in person at trade shows, virtually on Instagram and through word of mouth. I love it when a friend says "I have a new brand you'll want to carry at Galerie.LA," she continues.
Mckillian vets the brands thoroughly to ensure that the products are indeed good for the planet and correspond to the values of her eco-conscious customers.
"The site's sustainable value badge system takes the confusion out of shopping sustainably and guides [folks] through the vetting process," says Mckillian. "We encourage customers to shop their values by choosing to purchase from brands that work with artisans, use eco-friendly fabrics, manufacture locally, use recycled materials and vegan-made products."
Do good for Mother Earth while shopping a few sustainable items from Galerie.LA, below:
Jasmine Dress, $138, galerie.la.com
Mister Men's Jacket Black, $110, galerie.la.com
Malka Ring, $101, galerie.la.com
Noyah Lip Gloss Summertime Peach, $10, galerie.la.com
