Kai Kids is the third baby of a Toronto couple with two boys under three who are trying to reduce our footprint on the earth and lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

We’d always been somewhat mindful of our impact on the environment by recycling and reusing, but the birth of our first son Kai (we named our company after him!) in 2005 made us think more about what we put in our bodies and the chemicals that surround us. At that point we switched to organic food and milk, gratefully accepted hand-me-down toys, clothes and baby gear, and changed to earth-friendly cleaning products.

By our second child’s birth two years later we had made more changes: CFL light bulbs, a ban on plastic bags, more thoughtful purchasing decisions and an effort to bring less packaging into our house, natural skincare products and a search for organic cotton and bamboo bedding and clothing.

Even in a large city like Toronto, finding stylish, affordable clothes and bedding made from natural materials wasn’t easy. So we decided to take the jump and open our own online store selling eco-friendly clothes, bedding and products aimed at babies, toddlers and pregnant and nursing mothers. We figured there were other fashion/health/earth-conscious Canadian parents out there who could benefit from our research and might also want to dress their little ones in a way that was healthier for them and better for the environment. We are always on the hunt for stylish, well-made, reasonably-priced organic and non-toxic clothing and accessories.

What we do and how we do it

• We aim to help you dress your children in cute, comfortable clothes made from toxin-free fabrics using low-impact dies and the softest natural fibers including organic cotton, soy and bamboo. *As parents, we’ve tried our wares on our own children. The natural products that we sell are better for the health of your children and the health of the planet in which they will grow.
• We carefully research our suppliers to ensure our clothing is ethically manufactured. When possible, we have sourced our products from Fair Trade suppliers. We’ve also aimed to purchase items from as close to home as is currently available, however our stock comes not only from Canada, but the U.S. and England, and some of our brands are manufactured in India and China.
• In an effort to practice business in as green and sustainable fashion as possible, we have not designed our own packaging but instead mail customers their shipments using reused and recycled boxes, envelopes and parcels. We also take our parcels to our local post office on foot or by stroller :).
• We are dedicated to our community and the environment and in 2008 will be donating 1 % of our sales to onepercentfortheplanet.com to support two amazing Canadian environmental causes: Earth Rangers, a nonprofit group which inspires children to look after the environment through school projects, assemblies, and camps that bring urban children face-to-face with nature and wildlife; and Evergreen, a charity that explores the relationship between nature, culture and community in urban spaces.We are also members of Green Enterprise Toronto.
• As we've evolved, we've also focussed on supporting Canadian parents in business. Many of the unique products in our store are made by mompreneurs here in Canada!

We hope you will enjoy what we have to offer and hope to hear from you with any feedback you may have, from questions to product suggestions!

—Nancy DeHart and Peter Chin