Wednesday, May 23, 2012

WAHM Wednesday: Three Little Birds Design Company

Part of my initial blog focus was on local (budget-friendly) activities here in Phoenix. I soon realized that there are not only great activities around the valley, but great local business as well! 


I stumbled upon Three Little Birds Design Company (3LBDC) on Facebook. The more I looked into their company, the more I just had to try their products. This mom-owned small business began as a solution to the ever-present waste production of a small family on the go. Think about it, reusable shopping bags are becoming so common these days, it just makes sense to consider other reusable everyday bags. 3LBDC not only designs and produces reusable shopping bags but totes, lunch bags, sandwich bags and snack bags. What I love about this company and what makes them standout in the world of reusable bags to me, is the quality of their product. 3LBDC uses Certified Organic Cotton, grown and manufactured in the United States. They source U.S. produced materials and hand-dye the fabrics with low impact dyes. Yes, I said it. U.S. produced materials, organic cotton, AND hand-dyed fabrics.  Talk about sustainability! 

I had the opportunity to review one of their reusable sandwich bags. Being a SAHM, it's important to me to get out of the house. We do play dates, group meetings, run errands, you name it, we do it. Now that B is eating solids, having food on the go is a necessity. Since we do baby-led weaning, see here for a refresher, traveling with kid-snacks is a must. I loved the idea of this sandwich bag because of it's perceived versatility. 

Quick summary: Perception = reality in this case! 


How beautiful is this luxurious orange!
My first impressions of this bag were that it was so thick! I couldn't believe how sturdy this little bag was! The second thing I noticed was there was no liner-something that was present in the other reusable bags I owned. According to 3LBDC :

"Our products are made with 2 layers of high-quality densely woven cotton that keeps food fresh without the need for waterproof liners! Snacks and sandwiches of all types can be safely packed in our baggies (the only items we do not recommend are pears or strawberries). Our densely woven fabric also prevents outside leakage and absorbs any condensation from ice packs without exposing the interior contents to moisture"

The inner organic cotton lining
Whaaa? I had to try it out! I packed a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mustard and set out on my day. Apart from a little lettuce water leakage (which stayed in the bag),the sandwich was perfect and the bag unharmed! The even better part, is these bags are totally machine washable! Any food residue, staining, "leakage" comes right out in the wash! (Washing instructions are included with each bag). One of my other favorite features of these bags compared to others I have purchased, is that they're sealed on 3 sides with a super heavy "velcro-like" closure on the 4th side. No folding a certain way, making sure the edges are tucked so nothing sneaks out, just simply stuff and seal! SO EASY!
Stuffed the bag with a sandwich AND an apple!

Testing the velcro-like closure. Not budging at all!
Overall, I love this product and can't wait to try more. Since my  transition to using less "throw-away" products, I've already noticed a slight dip in my grocery bill from not having to continue buying plastic baggies, but I feel like I'm doing my small part to help the environment with less waste.  With the summer coming up and plenty of road-trips, barbeques, beach days, reusable products are an absolute MUST for traveling!

All of you local mama's have the chance to check out 3LBDC products in town at:
Cameo Candles, Bath & Gifts (Glendale, AZ)
Ecocentricity! (Phoenix, AZ)
Food Conspiracy Co-op (Tucson, AZ)
Phoenix Public Market (Saturdays 8am-1pm, Phoenix, AZ)

And all of you out-of-towners get some love too! 3LBDC is available in select shops in California and New Mexico AND online! Yes, online!

Because 3LBDC is so generous and fantastic, they are offering EVERYONE 15% off at their online store! Simply use the code Kloth2012 and start grabbing some deals! Also, be sure to "like" them on facebook to stay up to date on new products and colors!







**Thank you to 3LBDC for providing the product for review purposes. The experience and opinion is entirely my own and not influenced by 3LBDC**
 

5 comments:

  1. seems like a very good product that came at the right time...thanks for the review!!
    i am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How darling. So cool!!

    Following you now via GFC from Naptime Review Favorite Product blog hop. Hope you'll stop by and follow me too!!

    http://mommieagain.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. New follower from the Naptime Review. I love this idea! As a mother of three who cares about my ecological footprint, these look wonderful! Please stop by www.caveprincess.com :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, I need these so bad. Thanks for sharing! Glad you linked up to product hop! New follower!

    Have a great weekend!

    Julie @ Naptime Review
    http://naptimeshopper.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Kristin! Thanks for checking out my blog and leaving a comment! I just looked at a few of your posts and I love when I see "new" moms jumping in like you are! It's so inspiring =) I am in love with Zoolikins and can never go back to disposables!!!! I'm definitely going to check out 3LBDC! I love the reviews you do and your honest input on your topics!

    ~Dusti
    thelipkinlife.com

    ReplyDelete