Eco Tips from Sama and Planet Green.Discovery.com April 27, 2010

While on my constant search for eco information and innovation. I stumbled upon both in this amazing article from Planet Green.com.

How to Go Green: Babies

[by Kathreen Ricketson]
A new baby entering your life can create an enormous number of unexpected changes. Along with the little one comes a whole new category of things to purchase — not only the obvious large items like furniture and diapers, but also all the unforeseen extras that seem to accumulate. While having a baby is consumer heaven, the key is to not be gulled into an unnecessary buying frenzy. In truth, a baby has very minimal needs. Although the essentials are important, there is more to a sustainable life with your baby than cloth diapers, organic baby food, and fair-trade clothing.

The article goes on to give GREEN TIPS a couple of our favorite are:

Dress your baby in smart green clothing
All those designer baby clothes are cute and oh so hard to resist in their fruity colors. But be careful. Not only does a baby grow out of clothes amazingly fast, they are constantly sending bodily fluids flying onto those precious outfits. The baby couture might be better replaced with convenient one-piece suits in practical white terry cloth. Choosing organic hemp or cotton, bamboo or wool fabrics made without toxic chemicals are best against a baby’s sensitive skin and last longer with the constant washing. Second-hand clothing is the cheapest and most sustainable option. Get hand-me-downs from friends and family or look in thrift shops, Craigslist, or Freecycle. Also, shop SamaBaby.com for amazing sales!

Lather up with natural skin care
It’s very easy to get sucked into the constant advertising of baby powders, creams, and lotions. But the best baby lotion is plain old olive oil—cheap, natural, and un-perfumed. As for other products, keep it as natural, organic, and fragrance-free as possible. For more on this, take a look at their guides for How to Go Green: Women’s Personal Care and How to Go Green: Natural Skin Care.

To read further click here! And as always visit www.samababy.com and wrap your children in Sama Organic Clothing!!

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, SAMA

EARTH DAY GIVEAWAY- SAMA BABY ORGANIC DENIM! April 22, 2010

Earth Day Giveaway TODAY! Sama Baby Organic Denim- be a winner NOW! In order to win, please re-paste this into your FB status update, Tweet, or LinkedIn Profile:

Earth Day Giveaway-Sama Baby Organic Denim- be a winner NOW! In order to win, please re-paste this into your FB status, Tweet, or Linked in Profile. Let’s go viral for Earth Day! 

If you haven’t heard Sama is Officially launching our NEW organic denim line today for Earth Day! We have been getting great coverage from the media and tremendous support from fans like you! That is why we have decided to do a Denim giveaway!!

Organic Denim is gaining popularity as people realize that you can be both fashionable and eco-conscious at the same time, and Sama Organic is the softest and most affordable on the market! Earth Day is a great time to celebrate the planet and all the great eco-friendly products available on the market that we can choose for our homes and our families. Start with Sama and stock up on our organic denim jeans!  www.samababy.com

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, SAMA

Sama Week Long Earth Day Celebration Continues! April 21, 2010

We are thrilled to announce the OFFICIAL launch of organic denim line for Earth Day! And to celebrate, we want to give you 15% off your entire Sama Baby order starting today! Thats right, stock up on our new organic denim, or any of your other Sama favorites with the code EARTHDAY2010.

🙂 Lets keep our planet green with the new Sama organic denim jean!

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Sama Baby LaunchesDenim Line for Earth Day

HOUSTON, TX – Gearing up for to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, 2010, Sama Baby celebrates their new organic denim line. “Every day is Earth Day here at the Sama Baby office, so when everyone else in the word decides to join in we just get all tickled inside,” explained CEO of Sama Baby, Shivani Gupta.

Sama Baby’s organic denim line will be exploding onto the children’s fashion scene in March 2010 and will be available nationwide just in time for Earth Day, April 22nd, 2010.  Their jeans are high quality, organic, and affordable, much like the rest of their line, and are priced at $40 a pair. “People ask me why we use all-natural products when creating our garments. They say the designs are so adorable they will sell themselves, but that’s not enough for us. Yes, we want to create beautiful garments but not at the expense of our planet. We want to do our part. I know Sama can make a difference,” explained Head Designer Neha Gupta.

Staying true to their heritage, the Gupta’s produce Sama Baby products in India where the family frequently visits their cotton fields and oversees production. All of their products are fair trade and their farmers use organic vegetables as their rotation crop to replenish the soil and feed the cotton farmers. Shivani is proud member of The Organic Trade Association and Co-op America and she also supports a Jacksonville, Florida non-profit called Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies.

For more information please call 888.847.SAMA, or email shivani@samababy.com.

We would love to hear comments about what your personal Earth Day plans are for tomorrow~

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, Sama

Earth Day Giveaway Today! April 20, 2010

Earth Day started as a grass roots movement back in 1970 and has continued to grow with millions of participants worldwide. Since Earth Day is huge around the Sama office, we want to start celebrating early this year!

Sama Baby is at the eco forefront when it comes to organic baby clothing explaining, “There are many steps we can take to improve the way we live, and preserve our planet. Why not start with your children’s clothes?”

We want to spread our eco fashion far and wide! So for today ONLY spread the Sama word in your choice of social media outlet, and you could be chosen to win a green accessory from our Elephant collection. In order to win, please re-paste this into your facebook status update, Tweet, or LinkedIn Profile:

Earth Day Giveaway Today at Sama Baby, Pass it on! Visit https://samababy.wordpress.com for more details!Lets go viral for Earth Day!

Also, leave us a comment, what is your favorite thing about Earth Day? Good Luck Everybody!!

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, SAMA

Recent Facts about Organic Cotton- from the OTA March 22, 2010

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for the organic industry in North America. OTA’s mission is to promote and protect organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public, and the economy. OTA envisions organic products becoming a significant part of everyday life, enhancing people’s lives and the environment.

OTA represents businesses across the organic supply chain and addresses all things organic, including food, fiber/textiles, personal care products, and new sectors as they develop. Over sixty percent of OTA trade members are small businesses, like Sama Baby Organics. OTA is a leader in advocating and protecting organic standards so that consumers can have confidence in certified organic production.

Sama Baby has great respect for the OTA, check out these recent facts about our organic product of choice, organic cotton.

According to the fourth annual Organic Exchange Farm and Fiber Report 2009, organic cotton production grew an impressive 20 percent over 2007/08 to 175,113 metric tons (802,599 bales) grown on 625,000 acres (253,000 hectares). Organic cotton now represents 0.76 percent of global cotton production, wow!

Organic cotton was grown in 22 countries worldwide with the Top Ten producer countries being led by India, where Sama clothing is made,  and including (in order of rank) Turkey, Syria, Tanzania, China, United States, Uganda, Peru, Egypt and Burkina Faso.  Approximately 220,000 farmers grew the fiber.

Apparel companies are developing programs that either use 100 percent organically grown cotton, like Sama does,  or blend small percentages of organic cotton with conventional cotton in their products. There are a number of companies driving the expanded use of domestic and international organic cotton. For a current list of OTA members with fiber products, visit The Organic Pages Online™ at http://www.ota.com/.

As a result of consumer interest, organic cotton fiber is used in everything from personal care items (sanitary products, make-up removal pads, cotton puffs and ear swabs), to home furnishings (towels, bathrobes, sheets, blankets, bedding), children’s products 🙂 (toys, diapers), clothes of all kinds and styles (whether for lounging, sports or the workplace), and even stationery and note cards. In addition, organic cottonseed is used for animal feed, and organic cottonseed oil is used in a variety of food products, including cookies and chips!

Organics cotton is a fast growing industry that is beneficial to the sustainability of our environment. Sama is a proud advocate of doing what it takes to keep our environment clean, and looking fashionable while we do it 🙂 Check out www.SamaBaby.com to dress your little ones in products that you can feel great about, including these denim jeans, available in April.

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, SAMA 

Vice President of Sama Neha Gupta – As Featured in the Alumni Focus of EHS February 12, 2010

Our very own Neha Gupta was featured in her high school paper! They did a spotlight  on her life and success after high school years, her move to New York to work for Coach, and her dedication to Sama Baby Organics. Neha is a strong, inspirational young woman who is a great role model for the current students of ESH.  As head designer of Sama, Neha has been able to follow her dreams and vision of becoming a successful designer.

Read the full article below: Balence, Serenity. Fashion, Sama www.samababy.com

Know More. Worry Less. Live Better. February 10, 2010

With parenthood comes a most spectacular wake-up call.  Are you awake?

For almost 20 years, Healthy Child Healthy World has witnessed the “light-bulb moment” of millions of parents when they learn that their homes, their environments, and their own bodies have been unknowingly contaminated by toxic chemicals. Its unthinkable that the government hasn’t been protecting our families, and that industry has greedily swept aside concern for public health in the face of profit.

Our CEO Shivani Gupta shares this philosophy, and loves their book, Healthy Child Healthy World. Shivani says, “this book is amazing and every single person in the world should read it!”

When parents realize what they are exposing their children to they soon feel betrayed, they feel vulnerable, and they feel alone.

Healthy Child is there to help parents understand this new reality, to teach them how to minimize risk, and to provide the tools so they can do something about it.

But its time to really shake things up, by waking parents up. Please help us send a universal wake-up call to inform parents about the dangers of toxic chemicals in our world, and get a movement of parents activated to do something about it in 2010!

Few of us can afford to be full-time activists. But Sama and  Healthy Child Healthy World share this little mantra: “No one can do everything but everyone can do something.

Here’s what you can do: spread the word and wake-up another parent.Watch and  Share this video with your co-workers, send it to your child’s school community, post it on Facebook and Tweet it to your network.

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, SAMA

Read more: http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/parents_are_you_awake/#ixzz0f98baQyp

Sama Baby is now supporting Kids Against Hunger February 8, 2010

Kids Against Hunger, is a non-profit with a common goal of eradicating world hunger.  Volunteers pack highly nutritious, vitamin-fortified soy-rice casserole meals in locations within the USA and Canada, and distribute those meals to starving children and their families in over 60 countries.  http://www.kidsagainsthunger.org/

The Kids Against Hunger food packaging network consists of the organization’s International Headquarters office located in New Hope, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis), a Division in Mankato, MN, and close to 70 independent non-profit food packaging “satellites” across the U.S. and Canada.

Kids Against Hunger was incorporated in 1999, but the organization’s founder, Richard Proudfit, has been involved with various hunger relief projects for over thirty years. Kids Against Hunger is a nonprofit organization recognized by the IRS for tax-deductible donations.

It is the vision of Richard Proudfit and Kids Against Hunger:

• To continue setting up food packaging satellites in each state of the USA.
• To spearhead community and youth volunteer packaging of Kids Against Hunger’s highly nutritious meals.
• To deliver Kids Against Hunger’s food in the USA and worldwide through partnerships with other humanitarian organization

Through our participation with Jeweles and Pinstripes, we are now supporting this inspiring organization.

We are pleased to share with you the Winter 2010 It’s Fun to be One Birthday Bag gallery page and collage, these bags will be auctioned to benefit Kids Against Hunger.  Please view the links below for more information on each gift bag.

Boy
http://jewelsandpinstripes.com/its-fun-to-be-one-bag-winter-2010-boy.php

Girl
http://jewelsandpinstripes.com/its-fun-to-be-one-bag-winter-2010-girl.php

If you have any questions or would like to know how you can help, please visit Kids Against Hunger

Balance, Serenity, Fashion, SAMA

Do you care about the impact a product makes? October 29, 2009

Organic Cotton? How do you make a garment out of this?

Cotton Fields in India

To this product?

After my travels to India over the past three years and researching at trade shows regarding organic cotton – I have found so many different versions of organic, that I thought I might just let the bloody truth out of the bag.

 

So, what does it mean to go organic when it comes to fabrics? You deserve to hear it from an expert.  Sama Baby has been part of the Organic Exchange and many other certified organic organizations focusing on defining and bringing awareness to organic textiles.

 

1. Did you know that when you take your child to the doctor, for issues regarding eczema, skin rashes, skin diseases, or skin irritations, one of the FIRST things they recommend is switching to organic cotton?  I do not understand, why do they not preach early on as preventative care for babies to wear organic cotton? Why is it always a remedy AFTER the fact?

 

So how do we produce an organic cotton garment at Sama Baby? Well, first of all, Shivani and I go straight to the mouth of where it is being created. India. We go OURSELVES.

 

When we go there, we hand-pick our factories that we work with.  I would say that probably 1 out of 5 of our competitors are as hands-on as we are.  We work so closely with our factories, that we even have a family-owned factory that we produce some of our garments in.  That is the level of quality we expect in every aspect of our lives, and therefore, deliver that level of excellent quality to you.

 

We make sure that our organic cotton is grown in a specific area – away from conventional cotton.  The cotton is then grown with absolutely no pesticides, no chemicals, no fertilizers, nothing. Everything that touches that cotton is organic, water, earth, sun, and happiness!

 

Another aspect to organic cotton – that most people forget, is the dyeing process. People forget that to create a garment, it is not just about the actual fabric, it is about the PROCESS.

 

Then, that cotton is taken to the factory, and spun into threads and weaved into fabric.

 

With our fabrics, we use the highest level of eco-friendly dyes in the market.  These are the most gentle dyes available, so that your baby’s skin is well protected.

 

The fabric is later taken to the factory to create each garment. Our factory has employees of age, pay fair wages, and work in a clean environment.  In addition, some of our workers actually have the opportunity to stay for classes in the evening, and have a safe home near the factory to live, if needed.

Yarns and Weaving

Our factory is also partially powered by wind and solar energy – another little factor that makes Sama Baby organic and green start to finish!

 

So, that is how we make an organic cotton garment at Sama Baby.

 

Remember, it is the journey and process that matters when it comes to creating a product. How much of an impact are we making when creating a Sama Baby product? Who’s lives are we effecting in the process, and the customer?  These are all HUGE questions when you are buying from a small business – and are all integral in the way we work at Sama Baby!

Journey and Process

 

 

Whole Foods Chelsea features Sama Baby! August 26, 2009

We were very excited to stop by Whole Foods Chelsea to see our items hanging beautifully and displayed nicely!

Whole Foods Chelsea is on 27th St and 7th Avenue in the Heart of Chelsea! It is also right next to where both CEO and VP of Sama Baby took classes – the Fashion Institute of Technology!

Whole Foods is such a great store – as the Whole Body of this store is separate than the Whole Foods itself in this area – this store has so many beautiful items, and great choices for every mom that wants to go organic!