Tidy Tushees has put their name into the ring to win The SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a readers' choice contest designed to find Canada's top Mom Entrepreneur. The winner will be announced in the fall, and will be rewarded with $15,500 worth of cash and professional services that was designed to help take that business to the next level.

“Winning The SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Contest would allow us to take our business to the next level, expanding throughout the Okanagan Valley to help more families reduce their environmental impact, save money and enabling even more babies to have happy Tushees”.

Throughout the contest period, Savvymom.ca will be hosting a 'Mom Entrepreneurs Gallery' at www.mompentreneuraward.com. Tidy Tushees can be viewed by clicking on this URL: http://momentrepreneuraward.ca/MomBio.aspx?momID=380

Voters are also eligible to win prizes provided by Mabel’s Labels, Starrytime Keepsakes and Joe Fresh Style in the voter sweepstakes that accompanies this award program.

Kelly Paley is the owner of Tidy Tushees Diaper Service, which provides clean, cloth diapers to area moms which saves disposal diapers from landfills. Her online store makes purchasing a wide variety of natural parenting products easy with free local delivery.

Come join over twenty local, family oriented businesses and live performances by Bumbershoot Children’s Theater this weekend at the Mission Community Center in Kelowna.

The event will feature a wide variety of retailers, artisans, fitness professionals, fashion and jewellery designers, interior decorators, baby product specialists, financial strategists and more, all offering original, useful, eco-friendly and handcrafted items, services and resources specifically designed for growing families and their homes.

The event is free and there will be door prize draws for all the parents attending.  Come and find one-of-a-kind gifts, products and services for your family, catch some amazing children's theatre shows, and support local Mompreneurs in the community.

June 13: 11 AM – 7 PM

June 14: 10 AM – 4 PM

Location: Mission Hall - 4409 Lakeshore Drive

To find out more information about the Okanagan Family Showcase event, contact Nicole McNichol at nicolebc1@hotmail.com and to learn more about the Enterprising Moms Network visit EnterprisingMomsNetwork.com

In Part 2 of Greener Clothing, we look at alternative fabrics; some of which requires balancing price with environmental friendliness. The greenest solution though is buying used clothing as it avoids filling up the landfill and requires no new raw materials.

Part 2:

• Organic Cotton - growers don't use pesticides and fertilizers and many stores carry organic clothing. Even name brands like Levi's offers organic options like it's 'eco' jeans.
• Organic Wool - producers don't expose their sheep to hormones or pesticides and only use sustainable grazing practices
• Bamboo - grows really quickly and requires little to no pesticides. Some are certified chemical-free.
• Soy - manufactured from a mixture of left-overs from tofu production and organic compunds so new crops are grown
• Recycled Plastic - plastic bottles are turned into polyester which is then used in clothing
• Hemp - eco-friendly crop that requires little to no pesticides and hemp clothing very durable

Going organic can cost the producers a lot more money and they pass on the costs to the consumers by having more expensive price tags.

Also, a few Bamboo producers in China, with the growing demand for bamboo, have started using more chemicals.

• Other Alternatives - buy less of the new stuff and try out the used and vintage clothing shops. Swapping clothes with friends and relatives is another option and can be lots of fun.

Source: Article by Edward M. Eveld titled "Commit to 'greener' clothing"

Making the switch to eco-friendly clothing may not be easy, considering the lower prices of apparel that may be harmful for the environment.

In Part 1 (of a 2 part series), we outline the environmental problems of producing clothing materials that we take for granted. (In Part 2, we will discuss alternative solutions).

Part 1:
The manufacturing process of conventional fabrics doesn't take into account the harmful effects on the environment.

• Cotton - uses lots and lots of pesticides and fertilizers rich in nitrogen. One cotton t-shirt can use 1/3 of a pound of chemicals
• Synthetics - petroleum-based chemicals are used and a tonne of energy is wasted to produce them
• Wool - livestock may be dipped in pesticides, given hormones and anti-biotics. To clean the wool, harsh detergents may be used
• Rayon - manufacturing process uses lots of water and chemicals and wood pulp is wasted. A product called Tencel is better for the environment
• Dyes - used on garments but contain chemicals and metals that may end up in wastewater

I was looking at getting embroidering and silkscreening of the EscapePollution logo done and I approached Dog's Ear for more information. I spoke with Al who is the franchise owner in Kelowna and he seems to be a very nice guy. He explained the embroidery and silkscreening processes and provided me with a quick qoute. I sent him my logo and he printed off a sample for me to approve. 

I was in the market for various styles and found out that they carried eco-friendly clothing. In particular they carry the Ash City clothing line which uses eco-friendly fabrics and recycled materials.

I ordered a 'his' and 'her' lightweight recycled polyester jackets for my wife and I. The jackets have reflective piping on them which was perfect for my wife who rides a Honda Jazz Scooter.

The embroidering looked great on the jacket and Al worked hard on getting it done quickly for us. We have ordered a few other items and no doubt, we'll be ordering bamboo and/or soybean apparel in the near future.