Tinok Yarok: Organic Israeli Babies
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 01. 4.08
Within the same week, not one, but two organic baby clothing suppliers entered our radar over here in the Holy Land. The first, who we will feature today, is Tinok Yarok, Hebrew for "green baby." Sophie Ohana, the company's founder dropped us a line about a month ago, calling herself a big fan of TreeHugger.
She now supplies a range of organic cloth nappies, baby clothes, cleaning products and eco-tips for greening your life, in Israel. And here is the story behind Tinok Yarok: Sophie immigrated to Israel in 1997 from England where she grew up all natural and healthy-like on an organic farm and, "in a very ecologically minded household," she writes. The topic of conversation around the dinner table focused on issues, such as CFCs and the environment.
When Sophie became pregnant in 2005 (that's her baby girl modeling for us), she searched for organic cotton products here in Israel and she ended up having to buy them across the pond in England.
The lack of organic options in Israel, helped make up her mind to start her own business. "My dream for the website is to bring all the eco and organic options available here in Israel altogether, so people can see & understand what is available to live a more aware lifestyle. And of course my dream is to expand the collection of organic cotton clothes for babies & children, something I feel very strongly about," she says.
Sophie today lives in Katzir, which is just after the end of Road 6 at the start of Wadi Ara, "on top of a hill, a beautiful place." At the beginning of last year, she started her business with a collection of baby clothes for the first year of a baby's life.
Here's a price range for prospective parents:
Baby body short sleeves NIS 55
Baby body wrap long sleeves NIS 60
Trousers NIS 69
Nightgown NIS 95
Hat NIS 39
(there are about NIS 4 to a US dollar)
All Tinok Yarok clothes are made from 100% organic cotton, manufactured by a company in India, that operates on a unique ecological industrial park in Gujarat. They hold certification for manufacturing by SKAL Europe - EKO Sustainable Textile, and the cotton is also grown in India, reports Sophie.
Tinok Yarok also offers a line of cleaning products by Worx, a Canadian company, and they are imported by Jupiter, which is based in Manof, Misgav. "I wanted to originally work with an Israeli company but it is hard to found companies that meet the standards I feel necessary," says Sophie.
We love her ambition, and hope to report on more products as she opens up the organic shuk ("market"), here in Israel. And if Israeli parents want to know more about greening their kids, then mosey on over to TreeHugger's How to Green Your Baby guide. Parents don't have to stop there. See also our How to Green Your Wardrobe guide.
::Tinok Yarok (order online in English and Hebrew)
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