A Sustainable Shopping Guide for Climate Week NYC

September 17-24 marks the 15th annual Climate Week NYC! One of our core values here at Smoochie Baby is sustainability. We try to approach a business model that keeps an eco conscious mindset through every step of the way whether it is picking out the brands we sell, the supplies we use in the store, or recycling and repurposing whatever materials we can. With that being said, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight some brands that share the same value of sustainability as us in this blog post. So without further ado…

CarlijnQ

CarlijnQ is a colorful, funky brand from the Netherlands that seems to do the most when it comes to sustainability. With production sites in places like Turkey and Portugal, they make sure that all employees have fair living wages, conditions, and benefits. Not only that, but CarlijnQ only uses the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) when producing collections. The GOTS has a strict eco-friendly standard ranging from fabrics to dyes and everything in between. CarlijnQ mainly produces garments using Modal fabrics, which are made using sustainably harvested beech trees. This material performs like cotton, but is much better for the environment. Also, CarlijnQ’s backpacks and winter sets are made from recycled polyester. Even more, their swimwear is made from recycled plastic bottles! To top this all off, CarlijnQ has recently started an initiative to plant trees in Ghana… As I said, this brand really does the most when it comes to minding their carbon footprint! 

Mini Melissa

Mini Melissa is a tried and true shoe brand from Brazil that we love here at Smoochie Baby. With colorful styles for all genders, they bring joy to any outfit! Boasting a vegan and cruelty free company since 2017, Mini Melissa uses zero animal testing and no components that contain animal byproducts in their shoes. Some of the shoes they produced even use bio-based materials, which are made out of cane sugar and vegetable oils. We all know that water is wasted like crazy in the fashion industry, so to hear that 86% of Mini Melissa’s water is reused is amazing! This is possible because they treat their wastewater sustainably, making it safe to reuse for shoe production. Additionally, Mini Melissa factories have been powered using 100% renewable energy since 2018. They are even working to install solar panels at factories in Sobral and Crato. A final exciting fact about Mini Melissa? In 2022, 90% of plastic waste from shoe production was reused into new shoes. That’s a lot of plastic! You can tell why we love this company so much… Fashion and sustainability don't have to be mutually exclusive!

LouLou Lollipop

LouLou Lollipop is an adorable baby brand with amazing swaddles, bath toys, onesies, and so much more. Not only are all of their products oh so soft, but oh so sustainable! Workers are also treated well with fair wages and ethical business practices. LouLou Lollipop’s factories also have high health and safety standards which is not only good for factory workers, but their customers too! Most of LouLou Lollipop’s products feature earth-friendly and non toxic materials such as tencel, muslin, and silicone. Tencel is widely known as one of the most sustainable materials on the planet. It is hypoallergenic, antibacterial, super soft, and wrinkle resistant! The process for producing tencel is also carbon neutral, and the material itself captures and reuses 99.5% of water and solvent. Silicone is a material that is derived from sand and is also BPA free and food-grade safe for chewing and teething babies! Silicone also does not break down into microplastics or have harmful byproducts. Finally, muslin is a soft, breathable fabric made from a bamboo and cotton blend. It is also hypoallergenic, which is amazing for babies!

Here at Smoochie Baby, we really care about our planet, and we hope you do too! A focus on sustainability is an integral part of our mission to keep our children safe and ensure the next generation of smoochers have a home that they are proud to be a part of. We hope we have inspired you to shop more sustainably with this article and have a great Climate Week 2023!