The first question posed to 1st Look Exteriors CEO Greg Lee—“How’s business, being so far from Honolulu?”—was met with a smirk.

“They just broke ground on 20,000 new homes on the ridge line across the street, less than three miles from here,” Lee says confidently. “Still think we’re isolated?”

Located less than 20 miles from downtown Honolulu, Lee’s Waipahu design shop utilizes all 2,800 sq. ft. of space with the latest in “green” exterior furnishings. Yet the road that led to this prime retail space (which opened last fall), started with humble beginnings. Lee founded Landscape Design Build Co. in 1991. His services topped out with introducing native Hawaiian species to residential and commercial gardens. Most work was done from a client’s yard, while Lee’s most passionate task was the work he did with kids. In 1994 he launched a program with various local Oahu schools (including the prestigious Kamehameha Schools)—teaching landscape horticulture and design.

“You can’t go exposing kids to toxic fertilizers,” he points out. “So we learned real early on—way before everyone was talking about ‘green’—that you have to use as much natural product as you can.” This manner of thinking led Lee to become the first landscape architect in the State of Hawaii to win an environmental award from the Building Industry of Hawaii.

In 2003, Lee opened 1st Look Exteriors. His goal was to sell fixtures and furniture for homes and businesses, focusing on moving as many units as possible that met his high standards for sustainability. In addition, the new business became the perfect vehicle for Lee and his wife Terri to showcase their functional fixtures made from recycled materials.

Lee would take recycled glass and make outdoor LED light fixture covers, lanterns and planters. His wife made copper sculptures from live, local flora (such as ferns, hibiscus and plumeria flowers). The couple began showing their functional, sustainable, artistic wares at mainland expos; they now sell to a number of mainland suppliers.

“It turned out we were far ahead of everyone in terms of ‘green,’” said Lee. “We were taking dying flowers from leis, crushed glass from recycle bins and so on, and making these products that people genuinely wanted to put in their gardens or homes. You can’t beat it.”

Recently, another honor was bestowed upon the couple: their homemade fixtures were awarded the “Made in Hawaii” certification—a difficult title to attain in the Aloha State—by the Department of Agriculture.

Yet it isn’t all art and fixtures at 1st Look; in fact, upon walking into the shop, it feels more like a drop down Alice’s rabbit hole. Large, looming outdoor furniture pieces occupy most of the free space. A fountain trickles water into a six-foot high ceramic floor vase from copper piping 40 feet above. Picnic tables made from recycled plastics are outfitted with umbrellas that feature solar panels in order to provide LED lighting. An outdoor couch is made from woven plastic to mimic classic Hawaiian rattan, except this one will never dry up and break, or mold. A woven basket-type lounge chair looks oddly like the orb that Robin Williams descended from in the late 1970s television show, Mork and Mindy. 1st Look is a glimpse into the future of outdoor furnishings.

“We like clean lines and a mid-century, modern feel,” says Lee. “It works so well in Hawaii, now. We don’t want to attempt to do or sell the Bali thing. It’s so tired.”

Brands that Lee heartily endorses include Loll Designs (Minnesota), Seaside Casual (Rhode Island) and Modern Outdoor (California). Products include zero waste lanterns from KnoEnd (California) that use the entire package as part of the functioning lamp; Skyline (Florida) makes outdoor wicker furniture that is actually woven, recycled plastic; and In Modern’s (California) non-toxic stained, recycled tables.

All brands selected by 1st Look must meet two criteria. First, the aesthetics cannot be compromised. Second, the supplier has to provide full documentation of eco-friendly materials and/or manufacturing. Goods must not only be made of sustainable materials, but acquired from a green source and harvested in a sustainable fashion.

“No green-washing!” as Lee puts it.

Aware that green products offer different levels of pristine or eco-friendly elements, Lee came up with a tagging method for the shop. Green tags are the utmost in green-designed furniture or fixtures. Brown tags are “less green.” Each set of tags explains the nature of the product.

A recently completed project on the store’s rooftop spotlights Lee’s commitment to beautifying outdoor space in ecology-conscious ways. He turned the roof into a garden of varied plant life, all of which was set in pulp made from recycled Yellow Pages. The fertilizer, which is sprayed in layers, aids in the growing and setting of grass.

“We’ve been using this product since the mid-1990s,” says Lee. “We used it at schools, and have talked about it to larger companies at trade shows for over a decade. It’s just now catching how beneficial it is, both as a great product and a solution to a major source of landfill material.”

Lee hopes his new roof garden concept will catch on with homeowners as well as local businesses, as it creates a far more pleasant work environment while adding height and perspective to building design.

Another item of interest on the rooftop is rather organic-looking planters. Lee informs that they are indeed made from brown rice stock, and will begin structural decomposition in five years. “Less garbage for the landfills,” Lee points out. “And they look pretty cool too.”