“I believe in it, I believe in wearing it, I believe in talking about it”, Kimberley Milette’s passion for all things sustainable was evident as she expressed those words. Her lifelong devotion to maintaining an environmentally conscious lifestyle has played a major role in starting her online clothing business, “Naturally Canada”, and its former bricks and mortar location in Charlottetown, “Eco Spirit Emporium”.

Originally from Montreal, Kimberley’s love for fashion was first ignited during her time as a professional ballet and jazz dancer, where she was constantly surrounded by beautiful costumes and fabrics. Due to an unforeseen dance injury, her journey dramatically shifted away from the arts and towards commerce instead, when she began working for her mother’s business in Toronto recruiting Senior Sales Management and Marketing personnel. However, her passion for clothing and design persisted as she later completed an interior design course, as well as worked in wardrobe through her ex-husband who was in the film industry. Her resulting expertise in both fashion and business came to good use when she opened a few of her own stores before establishing Naturally Canada and Eco Spirit Emporium.

Kimberley was exposed to the low-impact fashion industry quite early on. “Cotton Ginny was a popular chain back then in Quebec and Ontario. They went natural, and it was amazing the success they had” she explained. Feeling inspired to promote the Canadian fashion industry, Milette opened her first online store, Naturally Canada, in 2016. To this day, she sells sustainable Canadian made clothing for both men and women, as well as natural skincare, vintage, and various artisanal pieces. The clothing items are made from a variety of natural fibre materials including hemp, cotton, bamboo, linen, natural wools, and cashmere to name a few. By the time she had opened Naturally Canada, Kimberley had moved to Prince Edward Island, where she soon became aware of the market potential in selling to locals and tourists.  Wanting to expand further, Naturally Canada then paved the way for Kimberley’s physical location in the Confederation Court Mall, Eco-Spirit Emporium, which she established in 2018.

To help get her newly established boutique up and running, she sought out a loan from the CBDC through the Impact Atlantic Program. With this funding, Kimberley was then able to secure inventory for the first fall season at Eco Spirit Emporium, as well as some equipment and display items. According to Milette, this helped enormously in stocking the store and allowed her to source some items from unique artists, such as alpaca capes from a Honduras company and pieces from fellow Canadian designer, April Cornell. Overall, it was a favourable first year in business. Regardless of the store’s financial achievements, Kimberley now feels most successful because she is living her dream. To her, success is “being passionate about what you do…If you have something you believe in or love to do, don’t think about the commerce side. The universe rewards passion” she explained. With a keen desire to contribute positively to the planet and its people, being an earth friendly entrepreneur has allowed her to live out those passions.

Despite the hardships that Eco Spirit Emporium faced around the time of the pandemic, Kimberley’s philosophy has remained true, “when you follow your heart, you open doors”. To adapt to the COVID economy, Milette decided to close the boutique so that more attention could be focused on Naturally Canada. Fortunately, this was a perfect time to transition as her regular customers shifted seamlessly over to online retail. Nonetheless, with this new chapter now comes new dreams for the future of Kimberley’s company. First, she hopes to expand her variety of goods by seeking out like-minded suppliers from outside of Canada. Most importantly though, she wishes to spread awareness on what positive actions can be pursued for a healthier planet. To accomplish this, Milette plans on establishing a subscription article service within the Naturally Canada website, where followers can read articles written by environmental and regenerative experts. Not only will this help support the movement but will also create links between businesses to increase industry exposure as whole. At the end of the day, Kimberley’s greatest wish is to support all sustainable businesses so that both profit and planet can prosper cohesively.