Month: June 2017

Its like every other day, I come into work and am delighted by all my on line orders. But today, I am alerted to a different kind of order. A student needs 12 of our certified organic bottom balm overnight as they are flying out of Australia the next day. There is something else I recognize about the order, the name is Chinese. I immediately understand what is happening as we get these orders regularly. We ship the order express post. Mission accomplished before the flight leaves back to China.

You see, this order was not for the person who purchased it, it is one of the growing number of on line orders we get for students who are visiting Australia for as little as 7 days for a “shopping trip”. They have been paid by a number of Chinese families to pick up organic baby products specificially Made in Australia for their babies that they cannot get easily in China.

Another order comes from New York. I start a chat with this mother as I am intrigued about how she found out about us. I often like to create a conversation with overseas clients as it helps us prevent on line fraud. “I found out about you on instagram” she tells me. “we love the purity of Australian Products” Well there you go! It is very exciting shipping to New York, one of the fashion capitalis of the world and to know that a little bit of Nature’s Child and Byron Bay is being used on little American babies.

Just like China, Americans love Australian made products. China and the USA perceive Australia as having high-quality products and their massive populations create a massive opportunity.

Journalist Charis Chang has been following the shopping trends of the Chinese in Australia. She says that “Businesses are now waking up to the buying power of the Chinese, who tend to shop as a recreational activity and are willing to drop large amounts of money on luxury products”

According to the latest Australian Organic Market Report 2017 new organic categories are driving the 15%+ growth in the $1.72 billion organic industry. The industry was valued at $947 million in 2010

Chairman Andrew Monk says that “For the first time, we asked consumers their reasoning behind choosing organics with 49% of respondents claiming that they first purchased certified organics as they became aware of the impact food, fibre and cosmetics may have on their health. 16% began buying organic specifically because of a health crisis,”

With demand for organics outstripping supply by 40%, the Australian retail market for certified organic products is also expected to continue on this growth path with private label products, certified organic processed foods and greater affordability driving this trajectory.

Meanwhile, on line stores like Nature’s Child are attracting buyers from all Australian states as well as countries like the USA and China.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I imagined all the fun I would have with my children.

I had memories of not having much as a child and I wanted this to be different for my family. More toys, more opportunities, more time with me and more love.

By the time my son was 2 yrs old, I looked around the overcrowded room of toys one day and realised this image did not match my idea of life, not that I had articulated it to myself or anyone else very well previously, I just had one of those life changing moments. I did not want my children growing up thinking it was okay to have all this “stuff” It all had to go!

I organized a huge garage sale and it all went. Anything left over went to the charity shop.

Once it was all gone, the first thing I noticed is how light my head felt and how clear the room looked. Christian came out to play that day and looked around the room for his toys. They werent’ there but he did not cry or seemed concerned. He just looked around the room, touched all the furniture slowly, then went outside.

The next thing that happened was the affirmation I needed that I had done the right thing. He ran to the garden, picked up a small shovel that I had left in our small stash of outside toys, and started digging. I watched him come back in side, find a container from my cupboard and return the garden. The next few hours involved a lot of digging and dirt. There was water, sand, plants and dirt involved and it was the most peaceful playing session I had ever observed.

When we used to play inside with toys, his attention span was never more than 2 minutes. I would continually show him a new toy or game or song, expecting the initial delight to last and feeling disappointed that he did not like it more.

It turns out that I am not the only parent to have discovered this. I discovered a lot of parents talking about Nature Play and Minimalism.

I love this blog by Denhaye Barahona and encourage you to check out her writings.

Canberra is leading the way in Australia for Nature Play Spaces for kids which is so important for their nervous system in this world of high tech.

I love this one in Western Australia too I love this story of how this nature event was an explosive success. Called the Cubby Town event, the nature craft activities are inspirational. Katherine Healy says that they were “We were astounded at the amazing cubby creations we saw on display, from multi-dome buildings draped in netting to form a gauzy ceiling, to structures with rope roof “beams” strung between trees and branches laid along the sides to form a triangular tunnel dwelling, to hanging shades hovering three feet off the ground, suspended from overhead branches, it was a wonder to behold.

Maybe you could consider a Nature Play Place for your town? Discover more at this link http://www.natureplay.org.au