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International retailer, Cariloha, opened its doors in the National Harbor shopping center, selling exclusively clothing, bedding and bath goods made from bamboo.
Cariloha announced the opening of its first store in the National Harbor shopping center at 160 American Way in Oxon Hills, Maryland about five minutes from downtown Washington, D.C. The new store is approximately 700 square feet and is the only retail store in the District of Columbia selling exclusively clothing, bedding, fitness wear and bath goods made from eco-friendly bamboo. The Cariloha store is located next door to sister brand, Del Sol, which is a separate retailer selling clothing and accessories that change colors with sunlight.
Cariloha has been rapidly expanding its international and domestic presence for the past six years now with 13 corporately owned and 32 independently owned stores in 13 countries. Cariloha stores are found in Mexico, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Barbados, Aruba, Curacao, Honduras, St. Maarten, Bahamas, Antigua, Bonaire and various cities throughout the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.
Additional Cariloha store openings are planned in 2014 in Salt Lake City, Kauai Anchor Cove, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and many more. The independently owned stores will be operated by licensed, contracted partners of Cariloha, LLC.
Cariloha Washington, D.C. store owners, Paul and Catherine Haddock, first discovered Cariloha while on vacation and wanted to open a store near where they lived. They see opening this store in the National Harbor as a natural draw for tourists and families looking for a good time in the DC area.
Being retired military themselves, the Haddocks are providing military, first responders and educators with in-store discounts, along with all tenants in the Harbor who will receive the same.
“Shopping, the children’s museum and fine dining are the typical allure of the National Harbor,” said Paul. “The Harbor is home to the Capital Observation Ferris Wheel, Cirque du Soleil, and ICE and is a short trip to downtown DC, the national monuments, and Fed-Ex Field, and we’re looking forward to attracting these thousands of customers to our bamboo store.”
All Cariloha guests receive a free bamboo lei (necklace) just for stopping by the store, which helps proliferate the bamboo, eco-friendly attitude even more. Cariloha staffers encourage visitors to touch and feel the bamboo-soft difference of their shirts, bed sheets, towels, and hand bags for themselves.
Bamboo apparel contains several qualities that are much better than other fabrics. Bamboo is twice as soft to the touch as cotton; it keeps you up to 3 degrees cooler than cotton; bamboo is naturally antibacterial, hypoallergenic and repels odor, which comes in really handy on a hot day.