Green Story

When asked how much of GreenPoma’s inventory can be considered “green”, owner Peter Ellinwood leans back in his chair, and, after no more than a few seconds of thought, responds unequivocally: “I can’t think of anything we have that isn’t green.”

Such is Ellinwood’s confidence in his business, which offers a wide range of lighting products and accessories – everything from LEDs to CFLs to dimmers and switches – that truly run the green gamut. Ellinwood prides himself on working with businesses that not only save on electricity, but make strides to reduce their unnecessary waste and environmental impact as well. This dedication is rooted in a desire Ellinwood has long held to “do something that would benefit from the green movement, yes -- not just because the wind is at our backs, but because I want to leave my four kids a planet cleaner than how we’ve found and made it.”

Ellinwood’s efforts go well beyond his vast and impressive inventory; he’s known to personally visit a customer’s home to help educate them on how to improve the efficiency of their overall lighting system. Such a dedication shows how GreenPoma sets itself apart from most internet-based business in attempting to build a business-next-door-relationship with its customers as well as with its big name suppliers. He always remembers to remind customers that the high levels of mercury found in most CFLs mean the bulbs can’t be thrown away like other, cheaper varieties. To remedy this, Ellinwood has taken to setting up CFL return boxes at a number of Concord locations, where you can drop off your old CFLs and even get a coupon to GreenPoma for doing so.

Ellinwood’s admits the decision to start a green lighting business came about in large part because of a “wind at his back” – the recognition that government, at both the state and federal level, was finally recognizing the importance of incentivizing a societal trending green with considerable subsidies and incentives, both for individuals as well as for small businesses like Elllinwood’s. But Ellinwood also recognizes the economic conditions, and understands more than most the inevitable inflation lying just around the corner. And while this might mean that light bulbs – and by deduction, green light bulbs and lighting products – might be more expensive in the coming years, Ellinwood believes offering better, longer-lasting and more sustainable products will become that much more important to the average consumer.