Feature Articles: The Green Scene

In 2006, Artterro founder and CEO Forrest Voedisch was shopping for a craft kit for her young sons. She noticed lots of uninspiring projects, cheap materials and wasteful packaging. She decided to make high-quality, eco-friendly, engaging art kits so that parents would have a convenient way to bring art into the home. Voedisch states, “With the help of my business partner, Jennifer Conn, and the rest of our team in Madison, Wisconsin, the Artterro line now includes 12 kits that make it easy to explore needle felting, decoupage, art journaling and more.” Popular kits include Wire & Bead Art, Bookmaking, Art Dolls, and Wool Felt Jewelry.

While most companies are now making the switch to more eco-friendly products, Babysoy has been environmentally conscious since its inception. Their entire newborn clothing line is made from soybean pulp, adding very minimal impact to the environment when processed. The fabric that’s produced is incredibly soft, breathable, and completely free of chemicals. This isn’t your average all-natural clothing line; it’s the ultimate in sustainable living.

For little ones’ snap suits that bring a smile to the face of everyone who sees them, head straight to The Spunky Stork. This New York and Florida-based company uses only the softest organic cotton to produce snap suits for babies and t-shirts for toddlers — basics with the added punch of entertaining designs. For a cooler-than-cool take-to-the hospital gift, display the snap suit with large blanks to fill in baby’s name, birthdate and other pertinent information.

Tragedy struck the Leonard family in 2005 when Monica endured a stillbirth of her daughter Molly. As a pediatric nurse, she knew she had done “everything right” in her pregnancy. Leonard started to research and found a study done on cord blood which identified over 120 toxins found in newborn baby cord blood. These toxins are passed through several generations and originate in many chemicals found in homes. Leonard said, “It was a starting point for me, I began doing research and finding out what products were safe, and what products were not.” Thus she created Molly’s Suds, an all-natural, toxin-free detergent line.

As children’s spa birthday parties and sleepovers gain popularity, parents are left trying to find affordable but appropriate products for sweet little faces. Sweet Dream Girlz founders Brea and Halle Holmes turned that frustration into an emerging business. At the young ages of 16 and 10 years old, these tween/teen sisters created a line of natural skincare products for at-home spa treatments. Just three years later, the brand has expanded to natural skincare that smells good enough to eat.

Be prepared to sweetly surrender to Sweet Bamboo. Forget everything you once thought true about eco-friendly –– the boring beige, the thick inflexible fabric, the utter blah of the whole thing. Designer Wendy Besio created Sweet Bamboo to add luscious luxury to ecological friendliness. With the holidays quickly approaching, customers will flip for the soft fabrics of Sweet Bamboo. Before or after wee ones leave the womb, the Newborn Essentials collection will wow. The perfect going-home outfit, the Receiving Gown is a limited edition garment made with super soft antimicrobial bamboo.

Beautiful fabric, internationally inspired design, and eco-friendly clothing create the perfect blend of quality children’s clothing. Paper Cloudz is the model place for retailers to stock their shelves year-round with products that have a positive impact on consumers. Lively prints and durable, soft fabrics help children forget about their wardrobe and focus on being a kid. All materials and processes are chosen for less global impact, from the cotton and bamboo plants to the final product. Every sale earns a donation to a charity for causes in need of funding, making Paper Cloudz a leader in globally-aware fashion.

Turkish towels have long been a staple in the most well-appointed homes and hotels. Turkey’s long history of loom-woven textiles, combined with its history of luxurious bath houses make it the perfect birthplace for towels that are soft, absorbent, and beautiful. The best-known type of Turkish towel, the pestemel, was a favorite that, along with other towel styles, made its way from the baths of Istanbul to the bathrooms of millions of Americans in the last century. Today, the Turkish textile legacy carries on to the next generation in towels, clothing and other materials made by Little Ashkim.

Finding an inviting place to get away from it all can be as close as one’s back yard – if that back yard comes equipped with hammocks where you can read and relax. La Siesta not only provides this luxury for adults, but has a line for children and babies as well. These quality products are sustainably made with only the finest materials. Hammocks for children may be just the unusual, novelty item your customers would love to see in your store.

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