Shopping

This Pop-Up Shop in Dupont Circle Is Simplifying Sustainable Shopping

Slow Down Market is a collaboration between three DC-based ethical brands.

Photo courtesy of Slow Down Market.

Finding sustainably-sourced, ethically-made fashion can be a challenge, but retail pop-up Slow Down Market want to simplify the search by bringing products from conscientious brands under one roof. Now open in Dupont Circle, the shop is a collaboration between furniture and homeware retailer Candor Collab, Greek sandal boutique Laiik, and clothing and jewelry brand Tribute Collective—all of which are sustainably-sourced brands.

“[The store] makes people feel good about what they’re looking at, what they’re trying on, [and] what they’re buying,” says Laiik co-founder Nickolas Theros.

Slow Down Market founders Joelle Firzli (Tribute Collective), Sarah Schepker (Candor Collab), and Theros met last year during stints at Concept 31/M, the now-closed “retail lab” in Georgetown that hosted a rotating group of mini-boutiques. The three brands realized they had a shared ethos—and an overlapping group of customers interested in shopping conscientiously-made products.

Photo courtesy of Slow Down Market.
Photo courtesy of Slow Down Market.

The trio decided to open a space that acts as an antidote to fast fashion: Shoppers can enter the store knowing products have been vetted for transparent supply chains and durability. The boutique is stocked with goods from each of the three founders’ groups—including leather footwear, patterned knits, trendy candles—and products from other brands, all aligning with a slow fashion framework.

“It’s a lifestyle, and a way of looking at consumption and fashion with the future in mind, with climate change in mind, with the environment in mind, with the garment workers in mind,” says Firzli of the pop-up’s approach. “It’s not just a place of transaction, it’s a place of conversation.”

Beyond the retail element, the space is also hosting events to bring together like-minded members of the community. There’s a clothing swap with tips for up-cycling on December 17, a holiday trunk show on December 21, and an artists’ exhibition that will run until December 31.

Slow Down Market. 1710 Connecticut Ave., NW. 

Daniella Byck
Lifestyle Editor

Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.