"Just" One Person's Impact

It's a funny thing to bring up on Earth Day, but recently my husband and I were talking about an individual named Thomas Midgley Jr., and ever since I've been thinking a lot about him. 

An engineer, industrial chemist and inventor, Midgley introduced leaded gasoline to the world, fully aware of the dangers posed by lead back in the 1920s. Originally developed to prevent "knocking" in car engines, the discovery of leaded fuel would result in decades of  GM (and Midgley) convincing the public of its safety. That is, until the deaths, hallucinations and insanity of workers; the lead from emissions entering plants, animals and humans and even Midgley's poor health led to its ban in the 1980s. Only then did levels of lead in children's blood become dramatically reduced.

Midgely also invented the compound dichloroflouromethane, the first of the CFCs which became known as Freon. Although an inert gas, it would take several decades before it was discovered that its accumulation in the upper atmosphere resulted in the breakup of the ozone layer. The ozone layer, as we all know, protects the Earth from much of the harmful UV radiation from the sun. The number of cases of skin cancer attributable to the reduced ozone layer has already been estimated to be in the millions. 

According to environmental historian J.R. MacNeill, Midgley "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in the history of life on Earth."

All it took to get us in this mess is one person. 

When I took Climate Smart's program a few years ago, I started to seriously doubt what difference a single household (let alone a single person) could make, given the main sources of emissions that contribute to climate change (industry, construction...). It seemed hopeless, futile. We're taking one step forward and 10 steps back. 

Ironically, reading about Midgley actually inspired me and even renewed my sense of hope in this cause. If it only took one man to start the ball rolling, surely it could take one person to reverse the effects. Maybe. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. I've come to the belief that anything is possible. Especially when I hear my optimistic 11-year old son brainstorming contraptions he could devise to reduce pollution in the air.

As a teen, my husband was jeered by his friends for going out of his way to throw garbage in the bin instead of tossing it on the ground, like every other teen did at the time. What's the point, his friends reasoned, as garbage is everywhere anyway. He converted them all that day, giving them a light bulb moment by responding "Yeah, well, at least I know I didn't contribute to it."  

If we all took that attitude towards the environment, combined with the optimistic hope of what one or more persons could do to reverse the seemingly irreversible, the thriving of future generations will be commensurate with every effort in our power.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi 


@bamboobino

Giveaway to Celebrate 2000 Facebook Fans!

We've just hit a milestone in our Facebook page - 2000 fans! To celebrate, we'll be giving away Bamboobino goodies to 10 lucky fans! All you have to do is message on our wall that you’re entering our 2000 fans contest and you’ll be entered to win one of the following:

After Bath Hat
Beanie Hat
Knotted pixie hat
Socks
Nursing pads
Bath mitt set
Mittens
Tag drool bib
Burp pad
Pocket bib

Contest ends Nov 17 at midnight,
Enter here and good luck!

Sharon
@bamboobino

Nov 18 update - we're extending the contest by 2 days (Nov 19 midnight) and now 12 lucky fans will win! (the last 2 drawn will get to pick one item from the list of goodies)

Celebrating 5 Years - and Our New Office in the Lunaverse!

We're ecstatic to be celebrating our 5th birthday! Looking back, I can't believe how far we have come since our nail-biting start delivering to the first 4 stores in Vancouver who dared to take a chance on us. Now, we have over 140 retailers across North America and beyond, adding new stores each week. 


 Our story is a familiar one with our customers: I'm a mum who had used bamboo for years; and after a year of sourcing, found a supplier for bamboo fabric and created my own line of bamboo baby products to spread the word about bamboo to other parents. 


 Bamboobino took off faster than I imagined. Our extensive media coverage caught me by surprise and thrust me, a mum who would have otherwise been perfectly happy plugging away in the background, into the limelight. However, I was happy to be an ambassador of sorts for bamboo. I am thrilled that bamboo has now become a widely available sustainable choice for families, and that Bamboobino has become a trademarked, nationally recognized brand. Our charity panda bear, Inda, named for my daughter, continues to raise funds for charity every quarter. Our quality products, social responsibility and commitment to sustainability continue to attract media attention but also keeps us in check; and in everything we do, integrity is key. 


 In the last couple of months we have been busy setting up our new office in Vancouver. Our friends and unofficial mentors Madeleine Shaw and Suzanne Siemens from Lunapads had recently moved to a bigger office, and with some extra space, invited me to share their space. I admit I hesitated at first; after all, I had really enjoyed working from home. But I had outgrown my home office, and as Suzanne encouraged me with these words of wisdom, "It is hard to grow if you don't make room for the roots to spread," I took the plunge and replied "Why not!" So, while our office is not quite ready for drop-in shopping, it is available as a local pickup (by appointment, at 3433 Commercial St) if you bought something from our website. 


 With all that's going on, we're featuring a contest on Yoyomama to giveaway $150 of Bamboobino goodies, including several of our newest products. We also have a sale coming up next week! As you may already know our sales are infrequent and unpredictable - well here is your heads up and get ready to stock up! 


 Finally, thank you, to all our wonderful and loyal fans, friends, customers, retail partners and suppliers. Without you, Bamboobino wouldn't be possible.


Blessings,
Sharon