Go Green?

In my last post I wrote about the importance of Made in the USA to my customers. I got some great advice. And I got this suggestion:  you could try adopting some greener practices. So how do I do this? Without going into much detail about our processes, I'm not sure how to go green. We don't have much waste, so aside from recycling the mailing label backs there's not much I can see to do. I don't print out anything I won't use. We turn off the power when we leave. All the material scraps are saved in a basket. 

For a while there I was using 10% recycled paper for my product packaging and biodegradable cellophane but we did away the 3 pack bags and the recycled paper was much more expensive than regular paper. The last thing I want to do is waste money. 

Any suggestions? Can I go green and not break the bank? Why is recycled paper more expensive? Is there a list of standards and practices for going green? Can we get certified? Am I missing something? 

It was bound to happen eventually...

I'm stuck. My elastic supplier is out of pink and my being able to order more depends on a bigger customer of theirs ordering more. It works like this: I can order a smaller wholesale amount of elastic if I buy what they have leftover. If I want a particular color I have to order 10,000 yards, which works out to a minimum of $3,000. Per. Color. 

Using only USA manufacturers to supply us with all of our materials is not only expensive, but it's very hard to do. The little guys (us small businesses) are usually asked to make a huge investment upfront for a business that may or may not make it off the ground. There's only so much we can invest. 

The other day I was a vendor at a baby product show and was asked by a customer if I thought that "Made in the USA" was a big deal to moms who would be buying Dapper Snappers. Honestly, I don't know. I know I'm a mom and it's important to me. Sure part of it is a pride thing. As stated on the label "100% Proudly Made in the USA.". But I'm also supporting the economy (which as of late has been in the crapper) by only using USA manufacturers. And since our lead restrictions (not to worry, there's no lead in what I do anyway) are so much tighter than, let's say China, we don't have to worry about lead in the paint on the snaps. 

So what do you think? Is "Made in the USA" important to you? Enough to forgo a popular color of elastic? 

Naturally

So I took a picture a few weeks ago but couldn't post it until I received my order. And now that I have it, I can make an announcement (I seem to have a lot of those). 

Dapper Snappers are now available in 4 new colors! Here's my favorite:

Jacob sporting Natural; 

one of the newest Dapper Snapper colors available

The other 3 colors are Royal Blue, Kelly Green, and Gray. We opened up our shopping site to custom orders. Customized Dapper Snappers are the same price as Original. So mix and match to your heart's delight!

Goody!!!

Dapper Snappers is being One Goodied again! I should explain that the last time we were scheduled to appear, their server had an unfortunate incident and only one order was able to be placed for the whole weekend. Poor Shane (she's one of the owners). But she's been a great sport about it and even offered to run us again, which happens to be this weekend.

So if you get a chance to head over there make sure to sign up for their daily newsletter. One Goodie every day in your inbox. I'm totally getting the DVD scratch cleaner next time it comes up!

A new season

Good morning! 

I want to make this announcement short and sweet. 10% of Dapper Snapper sales will be donated to a local Food Pantry to feed the hungry. No administrative fees will be deducted. 100% of donated money will go to buy food. 

Now if I could just figure out how to keep a running total on the side of the blog...

Hey Sports Fans!

Boy oh boy have I got something for you!!!

Announcing the Design-Your-Own Dapper Snappers! You can choose your Elastic, Snap, and even Under Component colors all at the same price as the Original Dapper Snappers. Now you can color coordinate with your favorite outfits, sports teams, and schools! How cool is that? 

Here are some we did up for examples

We can't say which famous sports teams colors we are showing here because of licensing issues, but I'm sure if you are knowledgeable about sports or are in Oregon, you know who they are. And all you hockey fans? While we don't have a hockey Snapcessory™ (not for lack of trying but Hubby vetoed the leather puck I made), we can still make these in your favorite team's colors. 

Check out all your options at www.ToddlerTechUSA.com. 

Really I'm not one to break promises...

What I want and what I get are usually 2 different things. I really wanted a new blog look. I even put together a comp of what I wanted. But alas, I do not have the skills to make it happen and I was unsuccessful in getting help with it. Therefore, we will just deal with what we have and move on. I have got too much stuff to tell all of you about to wait any longer.

There is exciting stuff happening here at Dapper Snapper Central! We have had a couple new lines added and are about to add another!!! (I do love my exclamation points) The first new line we added is Snapcessories™. A Snapcessorized™ Dapper Snapper had color coordinating caps and components with an adorable accessory that snaps around the free belt loop not used by the Dapper Snapper. It's the new "must have" accessory for your child's Dapper Snappers! 

The second is Sugared; a classy shimmery pattern added to original Dapper Snappers. 

Both of these additions have given Dapper Snappers the boutique style shoppers have been looking for.  We also now offer customized Dapper Snappers. Currently we carry 11 elastic colors and 22 cap colors, as well as 5 under-component choices. 

I've been busy! Ooooh! And we will have another announcement very soon. It's super cool!

Until then...