started work said it would take 2 days 5 weeks later still not finished ignoring my calls coving still missing has me and my wife are both in our 80is and disabled my wife has dementia you think thy would treat us better peter read more

Every time I go to Vulcan Video, I see Ecowise. When I see Ecowise, I see their "solar oven," which makes my brain do this *insert noise of brains exploding out of skull*. The solar oven is so cool, I want to buy it and pretend I am on that show Man vs. Nature - you know, the one hosted by that dude named Bear who is always trying to commit natural suicide and named his kid like Apple or Leaf or Praying Mantis or something?!? Anyways, they have all these awesome eco-friendly building materials and books on building eco-friendly. As someone who works in construction and sees the waste generated on a daily basis by the building industry, I am glad to see resources that allow the average Joe to have a different way of doing things. That said, I've bought lots of organic cotton shirts and "hippie" shoes for my sister from Ecowise and I loves it. read more

Any home grown Business in Austin gets five stars from me. I only visit two or three times a year to get the things I need and the service is always acceptable and not over the top. The garlic lemon grass concentrate for mosquitoes has always worked for me and that also gets five stars! read more

Me: Hi, I'm here to pick up a box of stuff I ordered off of the Internet. Dark haired girl reading newspaper behind counter: :::: blink :::: Me: What do you need from me? Dark haired girl glaring: Who are you? Me: The last name is _____ Dark haired girl upping her attitude ante: WHAT IS IT? Me: It's a bunch of things I ordered off of the Internet. Dark haired girl scurrying around to the front of the register where there are 2 (as in 1, 2) bags, as she is touching mine: It's right here She leaves the bag on the floor and scurries back to reading her paper. I then proceeded to ask her about custom paints and each question I asked was met with the same exact answer: as long as it has the paint name and number we can do it here. (Yeah, I think I got that about the 2nd time you said it.) It's a pity that such a wonderful concept as Ecowise, along with a really good (and reasonably priced for what it is) selection is met with the "I can't be bothered" mentality in the store. I think anyone who is on the fence about trying to go Eco will not ever bother with this store again if they encounter Ms Thang. UPDATE: I will not be back after visit number 2. Several people asked me if I needed help and then when I told them what I needed, they walked off - seriously. Then, I get paint all over my hands just from looking at the paint swatches. After spending at least 30 minutes in a 95 degree store (no A/C) to finally pick my color in really bad lighting, I am told they can't make it and that the particular swatch of paint I picked should not have been out to begin with. Well, damn me all to hell - ya know? read more

I want to like this place. Who wouldn't rather patronize a biz like this than the big box stores? But the experience shopping there leaves a lot to be desired. I'm a designer, and while I don't expect businesses like this to roll out the red carpet or anything, I sure don't expect them to be rude to someone who represents many revenue opportunities. But they were. Rude. Okay, whatever, so they've got their quirks... Then one of my contractors told me today that the folks at Eco-wise piddled around for an entire biz week before placing an order for the marmoleum we're installing in a client's kitchen. Not exactly professional practice. I'm not going to go out of my way to shop at a place that is rude to me and screws around with one of my jobs. read more

The man working sold me wood stain that had already been opened and did not produce colors even close to what was advertised. He also tried mansplaining to me how Berkey filters can filter fluoride out of drinking water when every independent study and just good old scientific research proves otherwise. He was so snarky and unprofessional. Don't waste your money unless you know what you're getting works. read more

Ecowise is a sort of wild green hodge-podge of a wide variety of different things: there are environmentally friendly home building and outfitting supplies, clothes, and more. The place is laid out a little like some sort of green-bomb went off here, but the staff seemed affable enough to me when I was in. It would definitely seem at first blush that this is an environment (pun intended, sort of) where being able to find something environmentally sound trumps the convenience of the depth of selection you may find elsewhere. There's a little bit of a green general store meets rummage sale here, and I suppose how you take to that is largely contingent on whether you're an optimist or a pragmatist when it comes to the sustainable movement. I'll be back, and I'm not exactly sure for what. And to me that says a little something. read more

Occasionally, I fill out a survey or a request for feedback: not on Yelp, but rather by way of a quantitative analysis. These surveys contain questions along the lines of "How important is shopping local?" and "Would you pay more for a high quality commodity sold by a small business?" Ecowise has blown up what little hope I had in the little man. This long-standing shop off of South Congress built up a cult-following (in the vein of Austin, as a city, being a cult) for handymen and interior designers alike. Allow me to recount the paint experience in the form of a movie: Young married couple buys new home. Wife, graphic designer, plans to paint cabinets. With an affinity towards health-conscious living, the couple lands on Ecowise to supply a couple cans of paint. Upon opening, the horror sets in. An abundance of chips float in the primer... and the grey paint turns out too light. With a tucked tail, the couple hopes to get a refund or something of the sort--even with the "no-return" policy, we except some compensation. Luckily, a woman working the front desk provides a full-on refund for the primer. And, the owner proceeds to adjust the grey paint. "You should've known the paint sample dries lighter", the owner proclaims. "I'll call you when its done." A call is never made. read more

I really love the concept of this store even though it is a bit chaotic. Everything they carry is environmentally friendly. From household materials like recycled carpet, cork flooring, paint, wood stain, etc. If it wasn't cost prohibited, I would have recycled glass tile all over my kitchen and bathrooms. They also have lots of organic cotton products such as sheets, towels and clothes. And they have a decent baby department for cloth diapers, clothes, toys and what not. I caught myself fascinated by the cloth diapers on a recent trip in with my pregnant friend. Actually I think my reaction was "So when the baby fills this thing with poop, you just throw is your washing machine? Gross." But it turns out that is not the case and cloth diapers are not as disgusting as I had once imagined. There are flushable liners, removable linings and other items that make cloth diapers much more appealing than filling the landfills with disposable diapers. From the looks of it outside, you can also pull your car up to the front and pump it full over biodisel, if you are lucky enough to have a car that runs on that. read more

Got allergies? Get Ecowise. I'm a seriously allergic person. Not the allergic that will send me to the hospital at the sight of a peanut, thank gosh, but the kind of allergic that after I moved into a new apt that had been re carpeted and painted a month previous I had to move out. The same day. Cause I couldn't take the smell...kind of allergic. Its true. I buy all of my flooring and paint supplies from Ecowise. They have things that don't make me feel like a zombie in my home from all the fumes, and they have carpet that has already been "defumed" or whatever you call it. Wanna be healthy and support the environment, or just slightly selfish and care about your own health-- Ecowise. Seriously, y'all. Amazing stuff. Its kind of hidden right off of South Congress in the back of a parking lot. Look closely for it. read more

I am giving this store one star because the owner/operator treated me like dog doo. I visited Eco Wise yesterday to procure materials for a project I am working on for my nonprofit organization installing eco-friendly signs and information boards for our wicking bed gardens to be displayed throughout Austin. I described to him the nature of the project, that it should be creative, made out of repurposed materials and non-damaging to the environment. He suggested that I use plaster, and when I asked him where to get these materials he said "I dunno..." And then I asked him how to use the plaster for the signs and he said "Uhh....get some chicken wire." He then proceeded to walk away without showing me anything in the store that could suit my needs. Bummer... read more

this is a fun little shop tucked away off of South Congress. They seem to have a bit of everything - from eco-mattresses, low flow water contraptions and paints to books and clothing and baby stuff. If you have a hippy or eco-conscious friend, it's a nice place look for a gift. if i had a house, i'm sure i'd stop in even more often, but as it is, i've purchased some organic pants, toothpaste, and household cleaning products. My mom found a book she had long been searching for. read more

The items in this store are so interesting that I frequently go to EcoWise just to browse. And I have found the owner Jim and all of his employees to be very helpful. So I am really suprised by any negative review. I cannot imagine running a store that isn't a chain and providing such a good service for Austin. And because they carry a lit bit of eveything, they are very busy. I have certaintly always gotten more help here than any box store. And they are cool, hip Austin people without an attitude. A great place to shop and at the same time, save our planet. read more

Old-school austin hippy style. Been helping me find Velvit Oil and other eco products for 15 years, and I'm looking forward to 30 more!

Has anybody else seen "An Inconvenient Truth"? It's the movie Al Gore made about how we're increasing climate changes in our planet because we're making the atmosphere thicker with pollution. For you people who don't understand that, a thicker atmosphere will trap more of the sun's heat and the overall temperature will increase. Venus, for example has an extremely thick atmosphere and therefore a runaway greenhouse effect that keeps its temperature hotter than Mercury's, despite being twice as far away from the sun. (That's not in the movie, kids. That's just me showing off.) So what can you and I do before the polar ice caps melt and flood out the Netherlands? We can educate ourselves on the situation and change a few of the products that we use so we're not polluting the air even as we clean our homes. Ecowise stocks these products. They do cost a little bit more, but are very worth it in the grand scheme of things. I would rather spend an extra two bucks now than extra thousands on a gas mask and protective suit 40 years from now. Hopefully there will be more stores like Ecowise soon. read more

Cute organic cotton v-necks for $10! Plus a ton of other eco-friendly products, including household cleaning products, a baby room, bedding, books--a little bit of everything. Located next to Vulcan Video in the Soco district. Friendly staff, great location, fair prices (but slightly more expensive than what you would pay for a similar product somewhere else..being eco-friendly isn't cheap.) read more

You would think a green store like this would be an easy sell in a town like Austin. It seems to have a concept people would be open to and want to support. As a local designer, I spent several visits to check out what they have and how they promote it. But here's the bottom line for me. The people who work there are rude, brash, and unlikable. The odor of attitude they exude it beyond the pale. This, for a set of overpriced (I mean seriously!) products, some of which have questionable "green" qualities. Take for example, their line of flooring and materials for designers which are shipped from all over the world at great fossil fuel costs only for them to RAVE about their "green" materials... "They don't have to cut down the tree because they use the BARK - isn't that awesome"...Um yeah...except it's from a tree on the other side of the world you dingbat! A recent visit we were hounded by a crazy lady with Elaine hair (ala Seinfeld) who persisted in annoying us to no end. Her attitude was something you MIGHT see in a pushy northeastern city like Boston or New York, and most certainly NOT Austin. Clearly she thought her organic poopy tasted like Chai. We thought she was downright silly. Happy Austin shoppers - you would be wise to AVOID eco-wise. It is neither truly eco - nor wise. Just a business destined for failure of the most ironic kind... Right concept and right location, but inconsistent products and bad customer experience. I am not surprised to see the reviews mounting up in the negative category here. Yccch! read more

Many stores are out of Lady Bug John's Recipe fertilizer these days. We called ahead to ask if they had the product in stock. They said yes. Then we went to the store and they didn't actually have it. Dear Ecowise owners, I spent gas and time to go to your store to buy stuff. Please, when I call ahead to see if you have something on the shelf, get off your ... and check the shelf. Is it that hard? read more

The owner (whose name is Jim) is very patronizing and very rude. He really needs to think about whether his lack of interpersonal skills are maiming his business. I'm sorry, but I choose to give you my business, it's not something to which you're entitled. He acted like I knew nothing, was blatantly condescending to my opinions, and acted like he was some high and mighty genius. NOT the way to get customers to come back. Jim really needs to curb his tone and work on his self-awareness. No wonder they don't have a return policy that accepts anything back... people who deal with him directly would want to return everything. read more

I really want to like this place; they carry products I like. But the man (owner?) is a total douche canoe. We went in to make a purchase and as we walked up to the counter to pay, the man yelled at the other worker that she didn't engage the customers enough and he ran out the door after them, leaving us standing at the counter without assistance. I would have felt worse for the employee getting abused if she showed any level of competence, but she also left us standing at the register for several minutes while she vacantly went about whatever she was doing. She never ended up helping us, we had to wait for the guy to check us out, which was extremely awkward, because we really wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Total jerk; won't be back. read more

I'm completely taken aback over the many negative comments made describing Ecowise! I've been a customer to this fabulous local green business for 20 years or better & I have never (not once. Ever.) been treated ugly. In fact, Jim & his employees are super helpful; they acknowledge my coming every time & offer themselves up to answer question or help me locate my treasures... Jim himself won't be sweeping the 'Friendliest guy of the year' award, but that's called having a peculiar personality, certainly not deserving of the above comments. Not all of us find it natural, easy, pleasant, or (insert adjective of choice here) to be outgoing/friendly to strangers, thus, most likely demonstrating more of an eccentric attitude/personality. We are all very different in how we see the world and in my opinion, if humans would stop taking every little thing so personal... Well, we'd definitely be happier. I will always love EW & am intensely grateful for the businesses existence. read more

I really want to like this store. They have excellent products, and are serious about the environment. Unfortunately, the incredibly poor customer customer service makes this place a no-go. read more

we were looking for eco friendly wood stain and found much more at ecowise. They also do custom tinting for their paint which we ended up using. A great find for anyone who wants their home improvement projects to be a greener. read more

Rude, overpriced, unhelpful. What's there to like? If you thought the prices at Treehouse were high, wait until you try here. AFM Safecoat Caulk at Ecowise, $13. At Treehouse, $9. God forbid you have to order something--even if it's a big order, when it doesn't come in on time, they won't call to let you know that it's been delayed, and if you call to inquire about it, the people you deal with will be incompetent, uncaring, or rude, or some combination of the above, even if it's the owner himself you're dealing with. Actually, make that *especially* if it's the owner you're dealing with. There's a reason they have so many 1-star reviews here. And check out their F review on AngiesList, it's a real hoot. read more

Very cool selection. Clothing is what I came here for -- some animal-friendly shoes. But frickin' canvas shoes for almost $90 are ridiculous. A lot of the stuff here seems gimmicky and overpriced, but I like the concept enough to go for four stars for selection. Fun flooring and eco-friendly paint, among other things -- a lot of other things. Oh, and biodiesel, which is kind of fun. read more

I'm a fan, love them, love them. Point off for their high prices on flooring ( I really tried to convince myself to pay the $1-2 more per sqft for 2 different types of flooring I needed) and for their high prices on appliances (not only was it about $150 higher than the internet, which I understand completely because everything seems cheaper on the internet, but then they wanted to charge another $70 shipping on top of it to get it from their supplier). ASIDE: their other merchandise is great and fair priced. And I love their paint and have painted both my home and office with it. read more

Eco-wise has an unmatched selection of environmentally neutral and friendly products that are not available anywhere else in town. I'm not talking about the fake-friendly stuff you find at H-E-B and Home Deopt, you know, where they try to take advantage of well meaning people by putting something nature-y on the label and counting on you not knowing the difference? Well you won't find any of that BS here. Just good products that don't kill us or the planet. That is worth 5-stars. Eco-wise is diligent about researching what they carry in the store. You can feel confident in everything they stock, that there aren't hidden manufacturing pollution nightmares or secret lead paint or other un-named chemicals that will give you cancer and kill your soil. For that - also 5 stars. They don't always have everything, and the person answering the phone doesn't commit the stock levels to memory every day, but I don't understand why some Yelp users crucify them for this - no one has everything in stock all the time. Last time I called Home Depot to ask if they had an item in stock, I couldn't even make it to the right department on the phone, much less find out. I would love it if they had more made in the USA stuff, as almost all of their wooden learning toys are made in China. That's more of a "boo Plan Toys" thing, but still... On the down side, the customer service leaves something to be desired. They are friendly, generally knowledgeable, and great at chatting with you about a variety of important subjects. However, if you're going to special order something, expect to pay in advance and then wait and wait. And you can't always get your questions answered. It depends on who's working. For that I give them 2 stars. On that note, to be honest, I prefer being left alone to browse in a store instead of being pressured every 5 minutes to buy something. In my opinion, what many people call "customer service" is what I call "annoying pushy salespeople". So I don't mind the lackadaisical customer service all that much. read more

the staff is very helpful and knowledgable about their green products, and their baby section rocks. we also got a wool topper for our bed that is super comfy. put your money where your mouth is and shop green at ecowise! read more

This store has awesome products and it's obvious they care about what they are selling to people. Also, the guy who works there with the red beard is awesome, helpful and super hot. read more

DO NOT buy from Ecowise, please! So many issues with them but the biggest was their contracted flooring guy who skipped town and moved to Florida with our money. We got the money back but not due to any help from Jim at Ecowise. I could go on for hours about this place. I can't say one good thing about Ecowise. Horrible customer service, no follow-up, super forgetful, overpriced for cheap materials and rude. Sadly we made a huge order of several thousand dollars before the mess started with them. read more

I am a long time customer of EcoWise and I just wanted to relate my most recent experiences demonstrating that customer service IS still alive in some places in our city. I purchased a whole house water filter from EcoWise over a year ago and had trouble with it that turned out to be an installation issue. EcoWise worked with me then to resolve the issue. Then recently I experienced more trouble due to dirt in the water line after the City opened the main in the street. Again, EcoWise went above and beyond to help remedy the problem. Thanks, EcoWise! read more

I've been a satisfied Ecowise customer for over 15 years. Not only do they have many cool and unique things that you will not find anywhere else, but their expertise is unsurpassed. They have all kinds of green building supplies--flooring, countertops, paint, etc., and they know the product specifications, have recommendations for their use, and can suggest multiple options depending on what you need. They are innovative and very customer-service oriented. I recommend Ecowise to anybody who is looking for unique cards, gifts, clothes, books, housewares, any kind of building supplies, and even tiny houses! read more

The owner, Jim, has a very smart*ss sort of attitude. Very rude. If you try and ask a question they only patronize you. As another review said, they think you owe them, when really its the customers who keep their business around. I would rather pay more at a business who cares about their customers. Obviously this one does not. read more

Ecowise is a great green store. They educate regarding alternative energy, energy conservation, fair trade, recycling, green pest control. They have gifts, cards, items for green building and remodeling. I rent a push lawn mower for $10 for 24 hours. It's such a great go-to, how-to place and the people that work there are everything that Austin aspires to be in business , personality, word and deed. read more

ok, i knew i was going to like this place as soon as we pulled up and they had a filling station for bio diesel fuel. how cool is that!? i liked it even more when we walked inside and it was chock full of just about everything you could think of, all or most of it eco-friendly. clothing, shoes, toys, toiletries, musical instruments, baby stuff, paint, flooring, yeah, just about everything your hippy heart might desire. well, there wasn't any weed or bowls anywhere, but you know, stuff for responsible hippies. everyone working there was super friendly and inviting. read more

Everything is so expensive in this store, but at least they sell some of the ugliest shoes you've ever seen in your life so it was fun to visit. They also sell a chair that could make for an environmentally friendly torture device because it's so uncomfortable and ugly. And actually the only good thing about the store was the cute guy who works there. I swear he was making eyes at me. I know he was. But I wouldn't go back because the store is too expensive and if I'm going to ho it up, I like to do it in a cheap place. read more

Worst customer service ever. If you ever ask about the quality of a product and he (the owner) tells you "nobody has ever brought one back" please know that it's because they don't take anything back! Not even when it's been used or damaged. He even argued with me while simultaneously acknowledging that the product he sold me had been used as a demo. Offered me a very small store credit (a fraction the cost of the item), but would not trade it for a new one. Embarrassingly, this is not the first time I was sold a faulty product by EcoWise, but I wanted to buy local and support a 'green' business. This second time, however, prompted me to write this review, and for the record, I've never written a one-star review for a local biz before because it just doesn't seem right -- but they do not treat their customers right. They're knowledgeable about green technologies, yes, but they don't know a thing about customer service. read more

It seems that my experience with this company is not isolated. I purchased flooring to install in my small kitchen. I figured I would support a place with an admirable cause. Picked up my purchase and happily went on my way dismissing the condescension from the owner as hippie self importance. I began my project and was half way done when I realized that my three remaining boxes were the wrong thickness. I didn't panic because the owners wife had tried to push twice as much product on me as I needed just to get it off their shelves so I called to get it pulled and switched out. Then began the run around that led me to find that she had sold me a product that they didn't have enough of and would never carry again and was not made by anyone else. (The boxes were marked with the minimum of identification and its a wonder they can find anything at all) She told me I should just not use the flooring I had and get new product (from them of course) I had to explain about 10 times that the floor was already glued down and did they suggest I rip it all out and forget about the money and time I spent installing it. My answer was basically yes. They couldn't understand why I was upset and did as little as possible to help fix the problem but aren't these organic cotton onesies adorable. I want to support environmentally sound businesses but working with these backward airheads makes me want to buy a hummer and set fire to a stack of tires. read more

Very cool place but not a lot to choose from. And a bit on the high-priced side, although for all-organic and eco-friendly, I guess I should expect that. My only real complaint is their return policy, posted among seven million posters and bumper stickers and other signs, so you don't see it, then when you return something you find out you can only get store credit. Thanks, ecowise, I guess that was wasted money after all. read more

This is a great store. no pretense, no BS, just honest to goodness great products that are environmentally smart. I get my cleaning products, water filters, house paint, light bulbs, baby gifts, Christmas gifts, shoes, clothes, greeting cards, books....all in one store. Couldn't be better, only bigger!!! read more