Young Entrepreneur with a How Maria Vasco ’20 plans to reduce plastic waste By Vanessa Chatterley
aria Vasco’s ’20 passion for environmental advocacy and sustainability started during her freshman year.
Phillips, the founding director of UMass Boston’s Entrepreneurship Center and an advisor in the Venture Development Center.
And that’s how the idea for Uvida, Boston’s first zero-waste store, was born.
With the guidance of Phillips, a longtime volunteer and supporter of UMass Boston, Vasco launched Uvida online in 2019 with only a few eco-friendly products. It has since exploded, rapidly evolving from online retail into a storefront located in Boston’s North End. Vasco now offers more than 200 plastic-free products catering to the average consumer’s daily life. In addition to offering toiletries, a variety of plants, pet products, and makeup, Vasco also recently opened a room where customers can refill their shampoo bottles.
During her junior year, Vasco received the first-ever UMass Boston Entrepreneur Scholarship. In addition to honoring recipients with $5,000, it includes a mentorship with the scholarship’s founder, Dan
UMass Boston magazine spoke to Vasco to learn about her inspiration for opening Uvida, how UMass Boston played a role in her entrepreneurial success, and her plans for the future.
After enrolling in an environmental studies course and learning about issues that plague the planet, Vasco took action. She switched majors from political science to environmental studies in sustainability, with the mission of tackling the one environmental issue about which she felt most strongly: plastic pollution.
UMass Boston Fall 2021
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