About Us
Sustainability for the Culture
EcoKin is a culture-rooted consultancy and lifestyle brand advancing sustainability through equity, environmental justice, and cultural placemaking. From strategic planning with developers and public agencies, to apparel rooted in community identity, to getting people outdoors who've never felt like those spaces were for them — everything we do connects people, nature, and the built environment.
Our Story
Sustainability has a culture problem. The language, the spaces, the products, the people in the room. Too often, none of it reflects the communities doing the most to survive the consequences of environmental neglect.
EcoKin was built to change that. Not by repackaging the same tired green messaging, but by centering the wisdom, creativity, and lived experience of Black, Brown, and underserved communities in every strategy, every space, and every product we put into the world.
"We're not asking communities to adapt to sustainability. We're building sustainability around them."
Today EcoKin works at the intersection of planning, placemaking, and lifestyle — partnering with public agencies, developers, and community organizations to reimagine what equitable, climate-resilient futures look like on the ground. And getting people outside while we're at it.
What We Do
Consulting
Strategy & Placemaking
We partner with agencies, developers, and community organizations to design equitable engagement strategies, place-based programs, and implementation frameworks rooted in justice and cultural identity.
Lifestyle
Apparel & Home
We create eco-conscious apparel and lifestyle goods that make sustainability feel personal — designed for people who see themselves in the culture, not as an afterthought to it.
Community
Good Company Outdoor Series
An outdoor series centering Black queer men and building community in nature with intention. Open to anyone who shows up with care and respect. Because access to the outdoors is a sustainability issue too.
Our Values
EcoKin integrates the four pillars of sustainability — Environmental, Social, Economic, and Cultural — into both place-based strategies and lifestyle expressions.
Environmental
Climate-resilient strategies and environmental justice solutions centered on frontline communities.
Economic
Development that supports local hiring, entrepreneurship, and long-term community wealth-building.
Social
Participatory planning that centers community voice and promotes equitable access to space and infrastructure.
Cultural
Embedding identity and heritage into design so every space reflects and sustains the community's unique story.
Who We Are
Shaquan Smith
Founder & Urban Sustainability Strategist
Shaquan is a planner, strategist, and community advocate with experience spanning nonprofit, public-sector planning, equitable development, and food systems work. He founded EcoKin to bridge the gap between grassroots creativity and systems-level change, building a brand that serves both the boardroom and community. His work is grounded in the belief that the most innovative solutions come from the people closest to the problem.
