August 11th 2011

Bootyland began in 1995, It has been a hub for creative families. Given that Bootyland has been around for 16 years, you would assume that we would have had a launch party sooner. Yet, with the babies being born, the buying out of the other business owner that Ellie had originally bought the  company with and the tides rolling in, we just haven’t gotten around to the celebration of the wonderful success of Bootyland. Bootyland has been a part of my life, long before I started working here.

I remember the days when I was pregnant and I was super scared (cause I had no idea what I was getting myself into), I would come into Bootyland and sit in the rocking chair reading up on the joys and woes of parenting. I remember I bought my first  parenting book “Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn” and wooden teething ring from Allison! She happens to be the Manager and has worked at the Land of Booty for about 1o years. It’s funny the little things we remember, like the people whom eased  us into parenthood. The nurse whom told us it only gets easier and all the friends whom, literally rolled over with laughter when told that you want them present at the birth.

Throughout all the people that have made my life as parent easier, BOOTYLAND has been the bestfriend, staying up with you when your son spikes a fever, telling you what they recommend you to do to decrease his fever. Or when he gets hives from eating oyster sauce, or his first ear infection, or how the hell do I wrap these f-in diaper covers. BOOTYLAND has been the beacon of all beacons for going through parenting with style as well as ease knowing that whatever you get from Bootyland is safe for the wee babies we cherish from the moment we meet them. AS well as safe for the environment that we live in. So, hats off to bootyland and to all the customers that have made this neighborhood shop,  my and your new family!  So come on down on Thursday, August 11th at 3pm and join in on the festivities as we give a big shout out to all the wonderful customers that have made BOOTYLAND  a success.

Please come celebrate our 11th anniversary with us at our Eleven Party this Thursday, Aug 11th at 3:00. We will have a fashion show, face painting, a DJ, and more. We look forward to seeing you all there for a great time!

“I am so happy to have had a business on capitol Hill for the last 11

years. As the visual landscape shifts we still see inspiring neighbors and

families come through the doors.During the last eleven years I have been able to meet and know so many

inspiring people and and families. From all of the customers, co -crew,
local artists and small businesses. Our memories are flooded with faces
and stories.  After 11 years we still find ourselves saying we are have
the most awesome customers and have had pleasure to see such inspiring
families grow.A few years ago I read an article in the new york times the discussed
how local shops provide more that just goods and services. The small
businesses in an urban environment create places for people to connect. It
is a place where you meet your neighbors or those with common ideals. It
reflects the richness of the culture.”- Ellie Cassidy

Sustainable Urban Fasion: Eco-Friendly Goods for City Living

The sign outside our shop says  Bootyland: Sustainable Urban Fashion, and we’ve been using that as a tagline in our advertisements for years. But what exactly do we mean by “sustainable urban fashion”?

Sustainability has been the guiding principle of everything we do here at Bootyland for over ten years now.  This is the definition we use:

Sustainable: A resource that meets present needs without compromising those of future generations.

Which is great – but we want you all to know how we translate this idea into action.  One major way we practice sustainability is in our vendor and merchandise selection. We made this pie chart to illustrate how our current vendors fit into Bootyland’s sustainability categories.

Look, we made a chart!

As you can see, the majority of the companies we buy from use either Organic Fabrics (like cotton, bamboo and hemp) or other Eco-Friendly Materials (like sustainably harvested wood, natural rubber and non-toxic paints).

We are also committed to supporting local artisans and local economies. 12% of our vendors are local designers, crafters and artists who are producing their merchandise right here in the Pacific Northwest. We feel lucky to be able to showcase so many beautiful, handmade items in our store.

Recycled and Upcycled content is a growing part of our business – 9% of our current vendors are using recycled and upcycled materials.

Flood Hat - made from upcycled materials!

Upcycling is a kind of recycling – designers take gently-used garments apart and use the materials to create something new. Flood Hats and Ricicli Clothing are two examples of designers using upcycled materials.

The final category is small but important. Living in Seattle means needing rain gear, but most raincoats and pants are made from vinyl (PVC).

Vinyl off-gasses toxic fumes, contains endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and is difficult to recycle, so we are excited to be able to offer PVC-free rain coats, pants, hats and mitts that are certified to be free of over 100 harmful chemicals. And they’re comfortable and cute! Our rainboots are also PVC-free and fully recyclable.

The Bootyland Crew scours the world looking for great products that fit our criteria. And we look at the manufacturing process as well as the materials, only purchasing from companies who treat their workers fairly.  We practice sustainability in other ways too – all of the paper products we use are recycled, we use soy based inks in our printing,  eco-friendly lighting in the store and we even clean up with green cleaning products. We want you to have an awesome time while you’re here, and be able to leave with a clear conscience.

So now you know what we mean by Sustainable. In my next post, I’ll talk about “urban fashion” and how you don’t have to sacrifice style to be eco-friendly.

PVC-Free Rain Gear @ Bootyland

It’s that time of year again in Seattle – rainy season. The weather is turning colder and the clouds are back, but the kids still need to go outside and play. We’ve got great options to keep your little ones safe and dry while they have fun splashing in the puddles.

Puddlegear by Abeko is made of a soft, light, tear-resistant fabric called Atek. Atek is a polyurethane-coated stretch fabric that is wind and watertight. It is PVC free and is certified by Oxo-Tex to be free of 100 harmful chemicals. It is light, comfortable and flexible so it’s great for active kids, and it’s easy to launder which is nice for parents.

Why PVC Free?

Lots of kids’ rain gear is made from PVC, so what’s the big deal?

According to the Center for Health Environment and Justice,

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic, commonly referred to as vinyl, is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created.  PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash.

Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats.  When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.

PVC is also full of toxic additives that off-gas or leach out of products. These additives are harmful to our health and they also make it nearly impossible to recycle most PVC products.

Puddlegear by Abeko is a safe alternative to raincoats and pants made from PVC. We have raincoats and pants available now in select colors and sizes, and we are able to special order other colors, sizes and styles as well.

Adorable Alpaca Hand Puppets

If you’ve ever been in Bootyland, you’re probably familiar with the rack of sweet little alpaca wool finger puppets that lives near the cash register. These puppets are so cute and so soft – they’re practically irresistible. Our customers love to play with them while we ring up their purchases…and I’m not talking about the kids.

Now finger puppets are great fun, but sometimes you just gotta have a hand puppet for your puppetry needs. So I’m excited to tell you that we now have four different hand puppets available in the same soft alpaca wool.

Just like the finger puppets, these hand puppets are hand knit by women in the Andes of Peru in an artisan workshop that follows fair trade practices. The yarn is hand spun from organic raw alpaca and is machine washable.

The four hand puppets available are:  Zebra, Dog, Giraffe and Rabbit and they retail for $20.00. They meet or exceed ASTM safety regulations and are for ages 2 and up.

Natural Rubber Baby Teether – Sophie the Giraffe

Sophie the Giraffe

Good news for Seattle’s cranky babies; Bootyland just got in a shipment of Sophie the Giraffe baby teethers.

Sophie is made of 100% natural rubber and colored with food paint, so she is completely safe for babies to chew. She’s soft, light and pliable and shaped just right for little hands to grab – and she gives a cute little squeak when you squeeze her head or belly. Her horns and ears provide the perfect texture to soothe sore, teething gums. Plus, she’s so adorable that she’s sure to be a favorite toy.

French toy company Vulli has been producing Sophie the Giraffe for 46 years. She is made of rubber from the Hevea Tree and is free of BPA and phthalates. Sophie is safe for newborns and older, and is available at Bootyland or on our website: Bootylandkids.com

Vote for Bootyland!

Do you think Bootyland rocks? Are we your favorite kid’s clothing store? Well, now is your chance to let everyone know.

We’ve been nominated for Parent’s Connect’s 2009 Parent’s Picks in the Best Kid’s Clothing Store Category – so please vote for us so we can get some free publicity!

The cool thing about this contest is you don’t have to register for their website to cast your vote. Just click here and you can vote for us. Right now a Bellevue store is winning – so we need Seattleites to represent.

While you’re there, you can register for a $2,000 sweepstakes prize too. Just think of the shopping spree you could go on with that! And click over to the Best Toy Store category and vote for our good friends at Izilla Toys -  because they rock. You can vote once a day until July 15th, and we really appreciate every vote you can send our way.

Bootyland @ Seattle Children’s Boutique Sale

The fabulous Plum Children’s Shoes has once again put together the Seattle Children’s Summer Boutique Sale, Saturday June 13, from 10:00 – 2:00.

Last year’s event was a big success, with tons of great deals to be had from many of Seattle’s favorite kid’s boutiques. This is a great opportunity to shop independent stores from all over the city in one convenient spot. Booths will be set up outside Plum, at 2913 E Madison St.; make sure to get there early for the best finds.

We have some special items just for the sale – including toys from Playful World and Green Toys, organic cotton dresses from Fig (half off!), and an assortment of screenprinted tees and onesies. You never know what you might score, so we hope to see you there.

Prevent Lice Organically

Rosemary Repels Lice

Yesterday we talked about what to do when you find out your kid has lice. Now I want to tell you how to keep the bugs away.

Back when I was in elementary school, kids got sent home if lice were found in their hair. And they weren’t allowed to come back until all the lice and nits were gone. But that’s not the case today in most  schools.

According to Seattle Schools Health Services, “a student who is found with lice may stay in school and in class until the end of the day.” Which is not a big deal really, since lice are not harmful…just really, really, aggravating. Lice don’t jump or fly, so as long as an infested student keeps their head away from other student’s heads, and they don’t share hats, clothing, or brushes…it should be fine. Right.

Sure, that’s great…in theory. But my first-grader can’t help but hug her friends,  they all love to play dress-up and snuggle up together in the “quiet corner” reading books. There’s no way of knowing how many head lice outbreaks occur in a school year, because it’s not a “reportable” situation so no one keeps track. I’ve heard estimates of 6 to 12 million cases per year nationwide though. That’s a lot of nitpicking.

So what can you do to help prevent your child from bringing home the little buggers?

Fairy Tales Hair Care’s Rosemary Repel products contain essential oils that have been shown to repel head lice and other insects. The line is available as a shampoo, creme conditioner, styling gel, and leave-in conditioning spray. I’ve been using the leave-in conditioning spray on my daughter’s hair for the past 8 months, and since then we’ve escaped several school head lice outbreaks.

Bootyland has had lots of great feedback about these products from desperate parents who were at their wit’s end about the whole lice situation. Plus, the products are gentle and leave hair soft and shiny.

Say Goodbye to Lice…Without Pesticides

Lice Good-Bye

So your kid brought home the dreaded “lice letter” from school today, and sure enough, she has lice.  What do you do now?

All the moms at Bootyland have been through this, and we feel for you. We’ve found a great product that will help you eliminate lice and nits (eggs) without harsh chemicals – and it really works.

Fairy Tales Lice Good-Bye is a non-toxic, pesticide-free mousse that uses naturally occurring enzymes to remove lice and their nits from the hair.

If you’ve dealt with head lice in the past, you might be skeptical of this claim. How can it possibly get rid of lice without using poison?

The thing is, killing off the live lice isn’t the major hurdle to getting rid of a lice infestation. The adult lice and their nymphs can be stunned motionless, making them easy to comb out of the hair, but the nits are glued to the hair shaft, making them quite difficult to remove.

This is where the Lice Good-Bye product really shines. The mousse stuns the adult lice and then the enzymes work s to loosen the nits so they can be combed out quite easily. Pesticide-containing lice shampoos can’t do this – even if they do kill the lice, you’re still left with the arduous task of “nit picking.”

Removing all of the nits is the key to getting rid of head lice. Lice Good-Bye helps you accomplish this without exposing your child to toxic chemicals, and is available at Bootyland in Seattle, WA.

Please feel free to contact us with questions at (206) 328-0636, or email us at info@bootylandkids.com

Say No to Bugs

How can you tell if your child has head lice? The most telling symptom is head-scratching, but sometimes kids don’t start itching until the infestation is bad. During the school year, we check our daughter’s head once a week, just to be safe. Check behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. You’re looking for nits – small, grayish-brownish, oval shaped eggs attached to the hair shaft near the scalp. Nits are hard to remove, unlike dandruff flakes. Other signs

This is your enemy - destroy!

are red bite-marks, swollen lymph nodes, and feeling creepy-crawlies on your head. Lice and nits are hard to see, so check in bright (preferably natural) light. I like to just run the lice comb through my kid’s hair when she’s done washing it – it’s easier than trying to see them in her hair.