A determined young entrepreneur, Maria Vasco is excited to share Uvida Shop’s mission with others.
“I want it to be more of a norm for people to care about the environment in their consumption.” Maria Vasco, the founder and CEO of Uvida Shop, has been living by these words long before opening up Uvida Shop in December 2020. As an undergraduate student she ran an online zero waste store for a few months before having a physical location to sell products and plants and share her enthusiasm for environmentally-friendly products and behaviors with others.
Everything in Maria’s life over the years has pointed her to found Uvida. Born in Cali, Colombia, Maria’s family moved to East Boston when she was four, and has lived there ever since. In 2016 Maria started her journey at UMass Boston where her interest for environmental advocacy began. Originally a Political Science major, she switched to Environmental Studies after being enthralled by the material in her environmental science courses. She was inspired to do something to help remedy the dire environmental problems she was learning about such as agricultural waste, greenhouse gas emissions, sea level rise, and ocean acidification, but the climate change issue she felt most called to was the plastic pollution problem.
She dove headfirst into learning about how to reduce her own plastic waste and wanted to share the amazing products she found with others. The Honors College Dean encouraged her to apply for the UMass Boston’s Entrepreneurship Scholarship her junior year and in her junior year she became the first-ever recipient of the scholarship. Receiving the award motivated her to pursue her dream of opening a Zero Waste store in Boston and. She eventually landed on the name Uvida Shop, because it translates to “U life” which then led to our tagline #yougivelife. As a senior she was a humbled recipient of the “29 Who Shine” award and the John F. Kennedy Award for Academic Excellence. In 2020 she graduated from University of Massachusetts Boston School for the Environment with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability and a minor in Political Science.
The young entrepreneur is always eager to learn more about Zero Waste products and advocate for environmental change.
4 comments
Hello Jeanette, Thanks so much! Yes, we still have our online store so you are more than welcome to place an order online. We would love you to come visit our store! There is nearby parking or you can take the T and enjoy your night out in the North End!
This is exciting news!!! i am hoping this is the way of the future and you are paving it. Thank you.
Do you still have an online shop too? And is there parking where your shop is? I’m out west of Boston,
but will plan a trip to the North End – shopping and dinner!
Thanks Sunny! Our North End store is located at 28 Atlantic Avenue and our hours there are Tuesday-Sunday 11 am-6 pm – hope to see you there soon!
As a decades long environmentalist I am excited to read about you and your store. Will likely become a customer when I learn address. I’ve been a North End resident since 1995 and have some idea where your store is, looking at the picture on line. I know you are a great blessing to this historic neighborhood. Best wishes, Sunny Davidson 🌞