I am so excited to share such a wonderful interview with my readers! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I love finding out the story behind the products I buy! I believe it is very important to know where your products come from, how they are made and the face behind them. I had the honor to interview Ms. Nicki Maynard founder of Planetwise Inc. She is the wet bag guru in my books. Her wetbag is such a great wetbag you would not even know you have dirty diapers in your house!
Interview with Nicki:
Please tell me the birth story of your company, PlanetWise, Inc.
A: (Nicki) I started out as a retailer first that sold baby items including other lines of wet bags. I knew good prints sold well however would often get the complaint of the wet bags wicking. After several years of trial and error and searching high and low for a USA manufacturing facility Planet Wise was born with our patent pending sealed seams for NO wicking. I also knew the importance of good prints and searched everywhere even conducting a worldwide survey to find out what prints consumers wanted. I basically took what wasn’t working for our store on a great product that had potential and fixed the problems. We quickly found that other retailers were looking for the same things.
Q: (Marissa) What is a typical day at work for you?
A: (Nicki) My husband and I mainly work from home while raising our 3 young kids. We have a nanny come into our home several days a week to help but I am always available for my kids if needed including many breastfeeding breaks! We have a warehouse a couple miles from our home with great employees who take care of all the shipping and receiving. On a typical day I get my kids ready and go to my office to answer emails, make phone calls, work with suppliers, touch base with our factory, accounting, marketing, you name it I’ve done it!
Q: (Marissa) What are the most important eco-friendly choices your company makes?
A: (Nicki) To manufacturer our products locally in the USA! We are very proud to provide jobs in our community and to help reduce our environmental impact. We also pride ourselves in creating reusable products to replace commonly used disposable items.
Q: (Marissa) What are the top three things you won’t compromise on/recommend other parents to do/buy?
A: (Nicki)
Won’t Compromise:
1. Quality 2. Affordability 3. USA Made
Parent to Do
1. Follow your heart – you know what is best for your baby!
2. Enjoy the time you have with your kids
3. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on
Parents to Buy
1. Planet Wise Wet Bag!
Q: (Marissa) What is your best washing tip for cloth diapering families?
A: (Nicki) Overall – keep it simple! Make sure you do a good COLD rinse first with NO detergent to wash all the waste away before washing. So many start by washing with detergent first but who wants to wash their cloth diapers with pee and poo?!!
Q: (Marissa) Your wetbags are the best on the market when it comes to cloth diapers, can you give me 10 other uses for your popular wetbags?
A: (Nicki)
1. soiled clothing
2. gym bag3. swimsuits
4. shoes when traveling
5. cosmetic bag
6. potty training
7. reusable mama pads 8. hairspray, shampoo, conditioner, etc when traveling
9. to separate items when traveling
10. diaper bag (wet/dry bag is perfect for this!)
A short biography on Nicki!
I live in New Glarus, WI with my husband and three beautiful children. In my free time I love to run, bike, swim (and most recently completed my first sprint triatholon),
read, crochet little toys for my kids, and love movies if I can stay awake long enough to watch
one! In a nutshell I love my family and have done everything with them in mind to better their lives.
How to enter (please leave a comment for every method of entry)
Mandatory Entry:
Visit Growing Green Bums store and tell me your favorite print by Planetwise, Inc.
For Extra Entries:
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Follow @GrowinGreenBums on Twitter and tweet this Giveaway. Please tweet, Want your diaper stink to go away? Visit @GrowinGreenBums blog & win a Planetwise wet bag package! http://tinyurl.com/34far38 #clothdiapers Leave a comment with your status.
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Giveaway ends on September 10, 2010 12pm EST. (Open to US only).
