MNN - Mother Nature Network

If you take a walk anywhere in NYC, you are bound to find a frozen yogurt dessert shop.  Pinkberry, Red Mango, Yogo Monster and Tasti-D-Lite are only a handful of frozen yogurt dessert companies that sprinkle the city.  But now there is another trendy dessert boutique located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, called Oko.  Oko is not your ordinary frozen yogurt dessert shop.

 

Oko is the only one of the millions of frozen dessert chains to actually recognize what the people want: sustainability.  Oko is the most sustainable, eco-friendly, "green," planet-loving, (and what ever else you want to call it) dessert company in the city. Oko recognizes that "It's pretty close to impossible to be completely eco-friendly all the time in every aspect of your life," but they want to do "[their] part while being a realistic business model."  

 

The frozen yogurt is amazing -- it doesn't even taste like yogurt! With ample amounts of fruit toppings, you can't go wrong.  Eating your swirl of goodness tastes and feels even better while eating it in a cup made of corn plastic and with a spoon made of potato plastic.  You're staying healthy, and you're keeping the planet healthy at the same time. Oko didn't just "green" their cups and spoons, they went the extra mile -- or two.  They recycle almost everything because all of their products are 100 percent biodegradable.  Oko uses locally grown and organic produce along with their frozen yogurt, which is made by a local NYC family.  

 

The shop's walls are made of bamboo, the countertops from sunflower seeds, and the floor from linseed oil. All are biodegradable.  The lighting is produced from energy-saving bulbs, and Oko has attached solar panels to their awning so they can get a small portion of their energy from the sun! And you shouldn't even feel guilty by asking to use their low-flush, water saving toilets!

 

Oko has recently expanded into more than a frozen yogurt shop.  Oko is expanding their outreach with all organic foods -- now they offer teas, coffee and even food.  Oko has only one location at the moment in Park Slope on Fifth Avenue, but be sure to look for their new shop in the East Village coming in May.  Hopefully, we will see more places like Oko that not only care so much about their customers, but the planet as well.  

 

And just in case you were curious, "Oko" means "Eco" in many European languages.

 

For more info on Oko visit their website. 

 

Photos: www.okoyogurt.com 

            New York Magazine