This past week’s event was in Washington DC where Carla, our all time fave Top Chef Contestant, was the star of the show:

Carla LOVED our line and was devastated the Be True to Ewe teee didn’t come in grown-up sizes. We’ll get cracking on that Carla!

Along side her was another amazing woman - Chancellor of DC Schools, Michelle Rhee.

Rhee is the most watched woman in the world of education right now and was rumored to be Obama’s first choice for Secretary of Education because of her commitment to saving kids, even at the expense of tenured faculty and union support. She’s not always popular but her record of taking kids to the top is unmatched. Very interesting and committed woman. Here’s a shot of her little girl holding our Giving Tee:

We are so honored to be partnering with True Child - their work to make schools a happier, healthier place for all our kids is truly critical and inspiring.

Here’s a sneak peak at one of my faves:

At this important time when little brains and organs are growing, pound for pound children are more vulnerable to higher concentrations of pesticides than adults. That is why all Jack’s Harvest baby foods are made from the best quality certified organic produce, herbs and spices. And because organic farming is more environmentally friendly, you’re promoting both a healthier lifestyle and a better world for your baby’s future.

Yeah, so basically if you’re not feeding your baby organic products you’re going to hell in a hand basket or, at least, you’re being more than a wee irresponsible. There are so many great organic baby food options now that there’s really no excuse - even Toys R Us has an organic food aisle that’s actually pretty awesome. Yeah, once Toys R Us is carrying organic food you know the band wagon is on the move so hop on!

Embrace organic options - yes, they’re a bit more expensive but instead of spending $30 on some lump of mechanized plastic crap that your kid will get sick of in 10 minutes, spend the extra cash on the stuff that goes in their body - the stuff that matters. No, they won’t jump up and down with glee because you gave them organic pureed Mangoes but that’s not how we make parenting choices. If that was the case, we’d just feed them gummy worms and Dr. Pepper for every meal and let them play with matches all day.

So, in sum, choose organic options for your kids whenever possible and don’t let the pressure for purity make you feel paralyzed. Do what you can . . . buy an organic tee or two instead of the mass-produced stuff from Target and if you can replace 50% of your kids’ diet with organic options, that’s great! That’s a lot more than most parents are doing right now and c’mon, is there anything more satisfying than feeling superior to other parents? Nah! Bon Appetit! :)

You can check out the process for printing all our tees by watching the video for our Peace tee.

Be True to Ewe Video from Tiny Revolutionary on Vimeo.

$5 from the sale of each tee goes directly to TrueChild to fund their work to make the world a place where kids are free to be their TRUE selves!

The winning Eco-Cutey will be featured on Inhabitots and Inhabitat, and will receive an Inhabitat shirt and a $50 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop!

http://www.inhabitots.com/2009/06/08/eco-cutey-photo-contest/

$5 From the Sale of Each Tee goes to True Child

Every day, 160,000 kids stay home from school. Not because they’re sick or forgot to do their homework, but because they are afraid . . . afraid of being bullied. Kids who are bullied are generally identified by their peers as “different” and this is the root issue. If we teach kids from a young age that being different is ok, COOL even, then we can dismantle the bullying process. There will always be kids and adults who want to exert control over those who are weaker but if we can make spaces in school for kids to be their true, unique selves, then we can surely diminish the loneliness for kids who march to the beat of their own drummer. And most optimistically, if we can make being different cool, then we are well on our way to making our entire world a better place because the truth is, we are all different. We are all unique, but from a young age, may of us are taught to hide our true colors and follow the herd. What a shame. As the luminous Judy Garland once said, “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

She wrote the “The Mothers’ Day Proclomation of 1870″ and I’m pretty sure after you read it, you’ll be inspired but also a little annoyed that this origins story isn’t more prominent in our discussions of Mother’s Day today:

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise all women who have hearts,
Whether your baptism be that of water or of tears
Say firmly:

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions.
The great and general interests of peace.

Thanks to Jarod Jones for pointing this out - as a Women’s Studies Major, I am particularly unnerved never to have heard this narrative. What a shame that even academic institutions do not give this woman and her incredible proclamation their due.