Getting Established in Seattle

In the last while I have been reworking things for my business. The first hurdle was to get an employment card in the US so I could legimitely earn money there. It has been a bit of a learning curve sorting out immigration status,fillling out it seems scads of paperwork, filing for a business licence, getting a US social etc. Something the average person doesn't really concern themselves with, though in today's culture is becoming more common. 

A nice view of Seattle from Kerry Park outlook

For the last while I have been continuing with my some of my established clientele in Ontario but customs often throws a hurdle in my way there. When shipping items across country and into a different country, customs and other shipping costs throw a whole new expense into your world. So keeping those relationships viable is sometimes a challenge. I do greatly appreciate my Ontario clientele but we all have to admit I am no longer residing in Canada. Made In Canada has long been one of my selling points and it is no longer true presently. Also Made Locally does not work in that sense anymore. I am a strong supporter of Made Locally so thus while in Seattle, well Seattle is my Made Locally :).

Another focus of my business is ethical/eco fashion and I have very mixed opinions on shipping when I consider this. Are you really maintaining a small carbon footprint when you include all the shipping that is often part of creating and supplying ethical/eco fashion?