· By Tarleton Walmsley
2024 marks five (!!!) years of adhering to our Equity Initiatives, a set of accountability pillars we adhere to as white people working in the cannabis and cannabis-adjacent industry. These initiatives were first shared with us from Danielle Adams of Hemp Equity NC (currently on hiatus). Danielle created these pillars as a way for us to track how well we were doing in our efforts to be more thoughtful about how we operate within an industry that continues to disproportionately, negatively impact BIPOC communities. We've been sharing the results of our efforts at the end of each year for going on five years now.
HIRE PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF CRIMINAL RECORD:
Garden Party remains committed to hiring individuals regardless of criminal record. We don’t perform background checks on any staff, nor do we check for criminal records at all. We encourage ALL to apply for any open positions we have and ALL are welcome in our space.
SHARE PROFITS WITH COMMUNITIES HARMED BY THE WAR ON DRUGS:
2024 was a tough year for us, for many reasons. The shop’s temporary closure, combined with navigating the impacts of a natural disaster left our budget feeling very thin and compromised.The closure itself resulted in a whopping 60.31% drop in sales for us. That’s a gut punch of a number, and as a result our business was (and is) still vulnerable as we try to recover from such a huge loss of income.
Despite the financial setbacks we endured, I’m pleased to share Garden Party was still able to share a total of $647.16 with our regular non-profit donations. This accounts for about 0.682% of our gross income in 2024. We donated about $100 in product and gift cards to local organizations to help with fundraising efforts, and when the hurricane hit we donated $100 each to Beloved and Pansy Collective. Plus we collected about $500 worth of supplies from friends and family, and our personal savings, to share with our community in the early days of the hurricane’s aftermath. We did not include the hurricane-related donations as part of our regular donation total.
In addition to our non-profit donations, Garden Party continues to remain an active member of Broccoli Magazine’s Floret Coalition, an organization of cannabis and cannabis-adjacent businesses who collectively raise about $10k each month to an organization of the Floret board’s choosing. This commitment means that we donate a minimum of $50 each month, throughout the entire year, no matter what.
AT LEAST 15% OF GOODS SOLD ARE FROM BUSINESS OWNED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR + STRIVE TO WORK WITH BUSINESSES ADHERING TO FAIR LABOR STANDARDS:
As far as our inventory offering goes, Garden Party’s inventory offerings remained about the same as the year before, primarily because we had to keep inventory very lean and were not buying nearly as much as we ordinarily would if the shop were open. We only brought in a handful of new vendors, and yet we tried to maintain relationships with existing partnerships. 18% of our brand offerings were BIPOC-owned businesses, 70% of our brands are woman-owned, and 10% of brands represented are LGBTQIA+.
In addition to that, the vast majority of brands we work with continue to share the same values when it comes to fair labor practices, to the extent that they share them and that we’re aware of. Sometimes it can be tricky getting a reveal behind the curtain with brands, but across the board I’m seeing our vendors expressing similar values and in addition to that, I’ve noticed a lot of brands we work with beginning to set better standards so far as their environmental footprint goes.
OFFER LIVABLE WAGES AS WE GROW:
As of this writing, the 2025 Just Economics Living Wage Rate for Buncombe County has increased to $23.15/hour. We didn’t meet our goal to become Living Wage Certified, and around May of last year I opted not to pay myself from the business at all. As I mentioned, 2024 was a big financial challenge for the business, with complications further compounded by Helene and our delayed reopening. Still, we were able to make one big step in that our current hourly rate went up from $17 to $20 an hour. We inch closer and closer to the certification but until we are fully recovered from the impacts this past year has had, I remain uncertain of when we can fully dive into this commitment.
We have our work cut out for us in 2025, especially as we navigate an unpredictable local economy further compounded with national and global complications. Everyday a beloved small business announces its closure, our government is now run by billionaires, the rights of everyone but white cis males are compromised, and I don’t have much hope at the moment because there are simply too many things vulnerable to power and corruption right now. Still, I remain firmly rooted in the belief that being a small business owner can be my radical act in this life. Sure, it’s retail and capitalism and all that jazz, but if I can continue to operate our small business with values like our equity initiatives and do good things with the money we do have, then let this be our contribution. We will need community care now more than ever and I think small businesses play a vital role. As part of that effort, Garden Party remains rooted in our aim to provide a safe, inclusive space in which to explore a relationship with cannabis. Thank you for being here, and thank you for Garden Partying with us.
