communityspotlight EcoBaby & Home
Leaving a Smaller, Planet-Friendly Footprint by Linda Sechrist
I
n April 2012, Kim Meador, owner of EcoBaby & Home, in Naples, loaned out cloth diapers to local participants
that wanted to take part in the second annual Great Cloth Diaper Change. The grassroots effort was initiated in 2011 by Judy Aagard, a California mom with a desire for a simple way to celebrate Earth Day for her Tiny Tots community of cloth diaper customers. The event quickly morphed into an international Guinness World Record-setting event for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously. On Earth Day 2013, Meador plans to be part of the effort to break the 2012 record of 8,2158, qualifying participants at 189 locations on four continents. “I’m even loaning out pre- folded diapers to those who need them, because I don’t want anyone to miss participating because they don’t know how to fold a cloth diaper,” quips Meador, who plans to bundle her lo- cal event into the inaugural Green Family Expo at the Alliance for the Arts, on April 20, in Fort Myers. “I’m ex- cited because Ina May Gaskin, the mother of midwifery, will be there for the screening of her documentary film, Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin & the Farm Midwives.” Meador, the mother of twins, is passionate about raising awareness of the environmental impact of disposable diapers, citing the U.S. Environmental Protec- tion Agency’s estimate that 20 billion of them are dumped into the nation’s
landfills each year, accounting for more than 3.5 million tons of waste. “By the time our twins were born, I had learned from a friend that cloth diapers weren’t as yucky as I had thought and that they were better for helping to alleviate diaper rash. We used them and discov- ered that they were also better for potty training, because our toddlers could actually feel the wetness of the diaper,” Meador explains. Following the birth of her twins,
Meador was ready for a change of ca- reers. “It was difficult to leave the babies with someone else while I went to work. Also, after working as a membership director in private clubs throughout the Naples area for a number years, my hus- band and I had discussed the possibility of a family business,” she notes. A cloth diaper service was the Meadors’ first choice because when they needed it for the twins, there was nothing available locally. A steady base of loyal customers quickly developed, and the Meadors realized that moms, dads and babies needed more resources than just cloth diapers. “We eventually opened the retail outlet, not only to expand our diaper service and sell diapers and other products, but also be- cause we wanted to give parents a community resource center where they could connect and take classes on subjects such as cloth diapering, breastfeeding, co-sleep- ing, attachment parenting, baby sign language and the benefits of baby wearing
(baby carriers),” Meador advises. Recently, Meador began collaborat-
ing with Terry Foster, owner of The Skinny Pantry, in Fort Myers. “Terry wanted to expand into Naples and I wanted to expand into Fort Myers, so we decided to combine efforts,” says Meador. “She now carries some of my top-selling products, such as detergents, wraps and carriers, as well as teething jewelry. I stock some of her gluten-free and weight-loss foods, local raw honey and supplements in my store. It’s been a win-win for both of us, because we value the same things: a healthy planet populated by healthy and happy families.”
Location: 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Rd., Ste. 150. For more information, call 239-596-2661 or visit EcoBabyAnd-
Home.com. Skinny Pantry location: 11356 S. Cleveland Ave.; 239-935- 5093 or contact Tanya Childress at 239-244-1793. Items are also avail- able the first Thursday of every month at Baby Love Birth Center, 3046 Del Prado Blvd. S., Cape Coral; contact Childress. See ad, page 51.
natural awakenings
April 2013
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