The Eco-Chic Baby

phone disconnected.

2010-01-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Just letting everyone know that in lieu of the store shutting down, we have disconnected our business phone line. If you have any questions or concerns or still want to purchase items from the shop, please email me at theecochicbaby.com@gmail.com. I check this email regularly. Thanks!

Currently Closed

2009-12-21T23:32:00.000-08:00

Just a notification that we are now closed and enjoying our babymoon. Will be opening up again in the near future and will keep you all posted!

not yet, but....

2009-12-06T22:32:00.000-08:00

Baby is officially due in 5 days!! The clearance is still on until everything is GONE and orders will still be processed during this time. However please keep in mind when ordering that any orders
requiring postal service will go out once per week only.
Thank you!

My web designer is working on my new 'eco-chic' project, so stay tuned! :)

Craft Fair!

2009-11-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

Please take a moment and read this announcement for the Coombs Country Craft Fair that a very good friend of mine is organizing. Whenever possible, we love to buy handmade things over mass produced. Support your local artisans!

Hi Everybody,

Just writing to invite you to our first annual Coombs Country Craft Fair. It is on Sunday, Nov.22 10 - 4 at the Coombs Fairgrounds. We have a variety of different vendors joining us this year. Honey, carvings, jewelery, ornaments, and baking are just a few of the wonderful crafts being offered. Admission is free. The craft fair is being held to support the completion of the new Activity Building on the Fairgrounds. So come out and do a little bit of Christmas shopping this Sunday and check out our Fairgrounds. We're just up Ford Road (the road up from the Frontiersman and Coombs General Store)
We're looking forward to seeing you.

also if you could forward this to people you think may be interested, the more people that come, the more successful we will be.

Thanks so much,

Angie Norman

Closing up shop in less than 4 weeks!

2009-11-14T07:28:00.001-08:00

Our baby is due in less than 4 weeks now and i will be taking some time to shut the store during the clearance sale for awhile. I still do have some things available so go to the website (www.theecochicbaby.com) and check out what is left!

I am also working at getting my review blog set up before the new one arrives, so look for that as well. Will keep you updated on the review blog's arrival.

Thank you for your continued support!

Exciting Changes at The Eco-Chic Baby!

2009-10-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

While the retail aspect of The Eco-Chic Baby will no longer be, the trusted name still stands. We have decided to have our website and focus re-designed by my fabulous designer and launch into reviewing all these great products we have come to know and use with our children - plus more!! A review blog if you will.

Where did the idea come from? I wanted to do something that would combine my love for all things eco-friendly and my other love...shopping. The thing about me is that when I am on the hunt for something, I do as much research as possible. I want the best product, the best price. I want to buy something for my me, my family and I want to buy it once and have it work the way I want it to work. Sometimes though, it always doesn't work that way. I still want to help families find the BEST stuff for not only their kiddos, but themselves!

So why didn't I just stay in retail? Time. The Eco-Chic Baby the retail store is a thriving business that requires time, energy, and 110% focus. I applaud anyone that can juggle all of this AND have a family, but this mama cannot and for me, family comes first. I found I WAS putting them on the back burner. I can't have that. With the review blog, I can devote a few hours a week on it rather than hours and hours per day. So while I love love love doing retail and running my shop, I have to say goodbye to it and the clearance has been really successful - thank you everyone!

I am super excited to get the new website and content underway. I'll keep you posted on details. In the meantime, there is still some stock left, so hurry before it sells out!

sale orders

2009-10-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
i am so busy filling orders right now, it's crazy! Please be patient w. me as I can only have so many people pick up orders per day and I can only take so much to the postal office at one time with my toddler in tow. Thanks! :)

Going out of business.

2009-10-03T14:15:00.001-07:00

Important Notice:

After much deliberation, we have decided to close up shop. With a second baby due in December, we will not be able to devote the time needed to properly maintain the shop, fullfill orders, and shipping. We want to thank all our loyal customers for their patronage over the few years that we have been open. We could have not done this without you. We will be clearing out remaining stock at 40-50% off until we are completely out, so please take advantage of this oppurtunity to get some of your favourite brands and great prices!

Thank you! <3

two great women, 2 great causes.

2009-09-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Another great cause to donate to! I am happy to be involved in another fundraiser with some fabulous women, organized by my friend Tammy for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Check out the goodness!

http://hyenacart.com/BellaBeansKnitsnThings/

Goings on.

2009-09-24T07:50:00.002-07:00

There are a couple of cool things going on right now....

1. I am very proud to be part of a fundraiser for a dear friend and her family. Katie's husband John had been in remission w. cancer, and now the dreaded beast is back. Please go check out this special fundraiser w. a group of uber talented women donating their wares to support this cause. Proceeds go directly to Katie and her family.

The Charity Store.

2. This weekend is The Vancouver Island Baby Fair in Victoria!!! We won't be participating this year as an exhibitor, but we will be there for sure. The fair is so much fun, I wouldn't miss it. It's at Pearkes Recreation Centre Saturday-Sunday. Congratulations are in order for Shirley, the fair's organizer, who won the 2009 Savvy Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award! Way to go Shirley, you deserve this!

See you all there! ;)

Phone is back on!

2009-09-24T07:50:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the lack of phone, but it is now working! Please don't hesitate to call me. :)

Phone down at the moment...

2009-09-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry if you have been trying to reach me. We recently moved the office into the downstairs of our home and my husband needs to run the telephone paraphernalia down here. Please use email for the time being at info@theecochicbaby.com. Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience.

More stock in!

2009-08-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Just came -

Prefolds
Thirsties Covers
Fleece Covers
and Bamboo/Wool Nursing Pads from Luxe in both small and large sizes!

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Huggies Organic Cloth Diaper Review

2009-07-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

I came across this review on the new Huggies Organic Disposible Diapers. Interesting - I thought it was a good little read and am passing it along.

_______________________________________________________________

Huggies new “organic” diapers are part of Kimberly-Clark’s latest attempt at convincing moms and dads that disposables are environmentally friendly and chemical-free. Neither is true, and these diapers are likely to confuse a lot of new parents who are unaware that there are much better options. I predict that they will accomplish the main goal of increasing Huggies market share a little. Lest anyone be confused about their motivations, Kimberly-Clark issued a press release quoting Robert Thibault, president of Kimberly-Clark’s North American Infant, Baby & Child Care business ” …We expect the unique attributes this diaper offers will be well-received by moms and our retail customers, and will help drive incremental dollar growth in the category,” said Thibault. (read full release here).

Huggies Organic Diapers

I ordered a free sample pack of 3 “organic” diapers from Huggies. What struck me first was how much packaging these three little diapers came with. Look at this picture of the complete package - including the plastic wet bag they included as a gift. I think the packaging is brilliant. Kudos to their marketing team for making these diapers look so innocent, so pure, so very green. The wet bag is even printed with a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All that packaging for 6 hours worth of diapers!

Now, look at the amount of packaging used for mailing 3 one size cloth diapers. The packaging consists of instuctions for using the diapers, a pro-cloth postcard so people can remember where they bought the diapers, paper belly bands on the Happy Heinys and BumGenius diapers and no packaging for the Tiny Tush diaper. Now, consider that this small amount of packaging carried 3 diapers that will last through 3 diaper changes a day for about 2 years. Those three diapers will have replaced about 2,190 throwaway diapers.

Cloth Diaper Packaging

If you look closely you can see the polybag used for mailing, to help reduce the weight of packages and therefore keeping shipping costs low and reducing the carbon footprint of the package as much as possible. Yes, they are plastic, but there is still no comparison between the level of waste from the disposables.

Adding a little organic cotton makes these diapers marginally more environmentally friendly. Whatever “renewable materials” they are using might make them more environmentally friendly - but there is not enough information in the packaging or on their web site to form a valid conclusion. I will, however, give them kudos for making them fragrance free and using less ink, as both of these are potential causes of allergies (diaper rashes and dye).

The problem is, they are still disposable. Huggies is keeping many pounds of pesticides out of the environment, but they are still creating a disposable product. Does it really make more sense to throw away organic cotton than conventional cotton? They are still made with petroleum based plastics and super polymers. They will still clutter a landfill for hundreds of years, leaching chemicals and human waste into groundwater.

Incremental improvement is better than no improvement, but I am disappointed that this is the best a company the size of Huggies can do. I am particulary disappointed in their marketing practices that make this diaper look so much more environmentally friendly than standard disposable diapers.

You are welcome to reprint only this article on your cloth diaper related sites so long as the following information remains intact.

“Julie Renee Holland is the owner of Little for Now LLC, a cloth diaper and natural parenting store. You can read more of her diaper reviews here www.clothdiaperreviews.com.:

We're Expecting!

2009-06-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

Baby #2 is arriving in December and we could not be more excited! My husband and I are having a hard time trying to pick out possible names that we can both agree on however. Grrr! It was actually very easy to pick a name the first time around...

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and come check us out at the Mother's Unite Sale on June 13th, 2009 at Beban in Nanaimo.

Rump-a-rooz are HERE!!!!!

2009-04-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Just came this morning! Go get em!!

YEAH!

Rump-a-rooz diapers have shipped and are on their way here!!

2009-04-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

I just got notice yesterday that he Rump-a-rooz diapers have shipped and are on their way to me. Usually takes about 2 weeks to get here. I will keep you all posted on when they arrive since I know many of you are waiting for these.

New BECO Butterfly II's are here!!

2009-04-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

They finally arrived on Saturday. Check them out - seriously - there are new spring colours, old favourites and winter prints on SALE!

Also just a head's up - I had to update my shipping polices since I noticed I have been not calculating shipping properly for eastern and northern provinces in Canada. It is more expensive for me to ship to these places rather than in my own western region. The changes reflect this. You can view them in Policies, here. It's a bit of a bummer, but out of my control.

Hope everyone is having a great spring week and happy Easter!

Drybees are Here!

2009-04-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Drybees Night-Time Diapers and WAHMies Diaper Pail Liners are here and updated on the site!

What's New and Coming to The Eco-Chic Baby!

2009-03-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

Just an update on the new products that have arrived in the store and are coming as I write this...

-Rumparooz One-Size Cloth Diapers - in colours AND prints
-Fuzzi Bunz One-Size Cloth Diapers
-New Spring prints for the Beco Butterfly 2 Carriers
-Replenishment of our popular night time diapers (Drybees) and WAHMIES accessories.
-Thirsties Diapers and Accessories
-Organic Bamboo Fleece and Cotton Sleep Sacs (Made in Vancouver, BC!)
-more prefold diapers

AND MORE! Be sure to visit our large and unique selection of wooden and soft toys, clothing, bath and body care, teething bling, and much more.

Also, be sure to check out our Cloth Diaper Test Drive program! Want to try cloth diapering, but unsure of what it's like or where to start? Rent a cloth diaper kit filled with various brands of today's popular cloth diapers for two weeks!! Available for local families only. Hurry and book your two week slot soon, spots are filling up quickly!

Cloth Diaper Test Drive Kits ready!

2009-03-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Eco-Chic Baby's Cloth Diaper Test Drive Kits are ready! I am so excited to be offering this service for families. Please give me a call or an email to pre-book your 2-week slot today! Visit this link for information about the test drive. Happy diapering!

Amazing Portraits.

2009-03-06T23:55:00.000-08:00

You *need* to check out my friend Lindsey's artwork. It is simply amazing and reasonably priced. These would make a great gift for someone special or a stunning piece of artwork for your own household. We are getting one worked up for Anni - I can't wait!

Here's the details -

1 person head and shoulders:
5x7 $100
8x10 $125
11x14 $150
for each extra person add $50

Contact (she's getting busy!) - lindseysart@live.ca

Update on Beco Butterfly II Carriers.

2009-03-06T10:21:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to update everyone on the Becos.

-The Beco carriers in our store are only available to Canadian addresses.
-The MSRP for the Becos has been adjusted to 165.00 CDN to reflect the exchange rate between the CDN and US dollar. All the prices on the site are in Canadian dollars, however I buy them from the US in USD.
-Selected Becos are on SALE for 129.00 CDN!! Go check em out!
-New Prints for Spring are coming...stay tuned.

Pictures of the Booth.

2009-03-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Here it is - here is where I lived for an eve and 2 days. I like this open idea much more than the concept for the first show I did. A HUGE thank you to two people:

1. To my husband Travis who put together 9 shelves for me AND hauled 'em (AND my many boxes of stock) to and from the fair.

2. To my good friend Jaime who helped me with my set up. I could NOT have made it look that great without your input and muscle! I owe you a Starbucks bigtime - maybe a couple.... :-)

Kudos!

2009-03-02T23:09:00.001-08:00

I am just now sitting at my computer after the big weekend of the Baby Fair. It was wonderful! Thank you to Shirley and Mike for doing such a great job on the fair, all the staff for their tireless contributions, and the amazing patrons who came to the event! Thank you all who stopped by my booth - I enjoyed talking with you, sharing my products, and answering your questions. It really is my passion. Thank you as well to my Booth Mates, Nicole from Nicole Williams Photography and Jenny & Warren from Supreme Nannies Canada, and Karin from Bellies in Bloom. It was a pleasure to have worked with you in close proximity! :-)

I have yet to unpack all the stock I had brought with me, and my ballots for the $50.00 GC are still in my ballot box downstairs - in a box. I will draw a name by this week for sure. I also have pictures that I took of my booth which I will post soon.

Goodnight! :-)