is entered in the Eileen Fisher Women-Owned Business Grant Competition!

about the grant

Annual EILEEN FISHER Business Grant Program for Women Entrepreneurs

The EILEEN FISHER grant program seeks applicants from wholly women-owned businesses that combine the principles of social consciousness, sustainability, and innovation to create new businesses or invigorate existing ones.

Eileen Fisher Inc. will award up to 5 grants of $12,500 to the winners of the annual Business Grant Program for Women. To apply, your business must be:

• Innovative
• 100% women owned
• Produce products or services that foster environmental and economic health in the community.

Two business categories are eligible for this grant: established businesses and start-ups. Your established enterprise will have been in business at least 3 years and ready to develop the next stage of your business plan. Your start up (less than 3 years old) will be considered based on a solid business plan, the ability to show how the grant money will enhance the growth of your business at this time and financial documents which show the current health and future potential of the business.

Only for profit businesses or for profit/non-profit hybrids (social enterprises) are eligible for this grant. Nonprofit organizations may qualify for funding through other programs listed on our grant page.

Annual grant applications are available in early March, with a mid-May deadline.

Here’s part of the application from the executive summary:

Flying Pigs Planet is an eco-friendly company that goes above and beyond to provide children’s toys made from safe, sustainable & biodegradable materials, manufactured in the USA. Our mission-based company aims to bridge the gap between petroleum-based, toxic plastic toys and the eco baby products niche industry by delivering innovative toys for all ages, made from non-toxic, bio-based materials: plant-based polymers and resins, recycled paper and cellulose, earth pigments and natural fibers. We bring sustainability to the specialty toy industry with our innovative toy designs and materials that inspire creativity, imagination and meaningful pretend play. We’re dedicated to offering exclusively non-electronic toys that have the play value of classic toys without the harmful chemicals. Our mission is to be a trusted resource for parents seeking safe toys for kids and for the planet. With our recycled, renewable and recyclable product line, we will raise the bar in the toy industry and strive to make petroleum-based plastics and toxic chemicals in toys a thing of the past.

Plastic causes massive scale environmental pollution of oceans, land & air. The planet’s species are dying at an alarming rate from consuming toxic plastic. The toy industry manufactures billions of PVC plastic toys annually, harming our most vulnerable population: children. Chemicals in PVC toys are linked to 80-90% childhood disease. The lifecycle of PVC uses & releases hazardous chemicals including chlorine gas, vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride, dioxins, furans, mercury, lead, phthalates, cadmium & organotins. US legislation fails to effectively protect us from toxic toys. Currently only a fraction of plastic toys are made from safer alternatives. Even “eco-friendly” plastics can contain toxins, and as “green” becomes a selling point, consumers must watch for “greenwashing” in the toy industry. The bottom line is that toy companies that only consider profit as the benchmark of success have forgotten the original purpose of the industry, which must certainly have been to provide toys for children that enhance childhood. Today’s toy industry has failed children and it’s time for a change.

Starting with only the safest available raw materials, we achieve the desired look, touch & feel of conventional toy materials, without the toxic additives. The result is a range of materials & products that offer all of the benefits of conventional materials, without harming the environment or its inhabitants. We are committed to lowering the carbon footprint of toy manufacturing by using the safest, most environmentally benign raw components, efficient use of natural resources, reclaiming materials to minimize waste for materials & end-products that biodegrade when discarded.

The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest accelerator. CTO provides entrepreneurs and technologists with the resources needed to launch successful cleantech companies. Their mission is to find, fund, and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental, and economic challenges.

About the Accelerator & Competition

The Cleantech Open Accelerator & Competition consists of a number of key activities; extensive mentoring, training, business clinics, access to investors and capital, numerous opportunities to showcase to the media and the public, and the competition itself. Since its inception in 2006, the Cleantech Open has awarded over $5M in cash and services to support cleantech growth companies. The 581 participating companies of the Cleantech Open’s accelerator programs have raised more than $660 million in external capital.

idea on a napkin

When Dennis and I launched into this adventurous journey of creating a company, coming up with a unique, kid-friendly name wasn’t easy. I suggested “Jay & Dee Kids” for Janet & Dennis. We registered the name, tried it out. Some people liked it. Others not so much.

“Easy Keepers” was easy. I came up with the name for my horse toys, and registered the trademark in the mid-1990′s when I first designed the toy. I let it lapse, someone else registered it and also let it lapse, and luckily I registered it last year when I revisited the idea of designing the toys.

We didn’t have a company name that we loved, so Easy Keepers became the name of the LLC, and the search continued.

The company has two main divisions; materials and toys. We’re currently going with “EcosmithToys” for materials and “Flying Pigs Planet” for toys.

A few days ago, we met with a past president of Hasbro. He said “EcosmithToys”? It’s not fun. (I’m thinking, biomaterials aren’t fun. Toys are fun. What do we do?) He suggested a name, and if it’s available, we’ll definitely register it, but getting a trademark is expensive, so choosing wisely is important. “Flying Pigs Planet” was inspired by a LinkedIn group discussion by non-green toy designers. They were talking about the carbon footprint of toys. It ended with one guy making a joke about his toy company making toys that didn’t use batteries, and the response from another member was “when pigs fly!”

EcosmithToys: bio-based materials for toy manufacturing; providing innovative solutions in renewable, recycled and recyclable alternatives to petroleum-based, chemically toxic plastics used in mass-market toy manufacturing.

Flying Pigs Planet: eco-friendly toys that go above and beyond! Safe, bio-based materials + innovative design for creative play.

Easy Keepers(TM): our first toy line. A limited number of Easy Keepers toys are currently being made by hand. Funding for small batch manufacturing is underway. Easy Keepers(TM) are eco-friendly bipedal horses and other hooved animal friends (cow, pig, sheep, goat, donkey, and a few less domesticated creatures; Pegasus, and we’ve had several requests for a Unicorn).

Eco-friendly toys in concept, design & prototype phases:

Bendable Plush Horse Toy–bend and pose this realistic plush toy horse! Ages 3 & up.

Tree Construction Toy–sort of a 3D puzzle, made from recycled paper, cellulose and bio-resin. Ages 3 & up.

Green Meadow Play Rug–comes with woodland animals; frog, toad, turtle, newt, salamander. Ages 3 & up.

Frog Pond Habitat–soft, stretchy frogs in pretend pond toy. Ages 3 & up.

Bunny & Bear Teething Toys–safe, non-toxic toy for infants & toddlers.

Watch for more toy descriptions coming soon! 

Dog Bone Town Music; CD’s & performances for children by Dennis Caraher. Visit www.dogbonetown.com to listen!

The Problem with Petroleum-based Plastic

Plastic in the Pacific Ocean http://science.kqed.org/quest/video/plastic-in-the-pacific/

Impact of Plastic on Humans http://www.sustainableplastics.org/problems/plastics-impact-human-health

http://bizngo.org/pdf/cpa-plastic-principles-bizngo.pdf

http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/default.asp

Bioplastic Alternatives

sustainable biomaterials

http://www.sustainableplastics.org/

Recycled Plastic

http://www.plasticrecycling.com/

Sustainable Product Design

http://www.c2ccertified.org/

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/03/i_got_my_strategy_from_greenpe.html

http://www.ecovativedesign.com/

http://lifewithoutplastic.com/

ELEVATOR PITCH

Billions of toys each year made from petroleum-based plastic & toxic chemicals harm workers, children & the environment. With millions of recalls each year, parents have lost trust in this industry. Kids are inundated with commercialized products that compress childhood and fail to allow kids to develop imagination & creativity. Our company has developed a safe & environmentally friendly alternative to toxic soft plastic, to produce our innovative toys. We make toys kids want & the planet needs.

PROBLEM

Billions of toys are made each year from petroleum-based plastics and toxic chemicals. These toys harm workers, children and the environment, yet the mainstream toy industry promotes their products as safe. Children need imaginative play to develop into innovative thinkers, but the toy industry’s commercialized, media-driven products; electronic, “educational” and “interactive” toys have the opposite effect. This wastes our money & natural resources, & depletes the next generation of innovators.

SOLUTION

We’ve developed proprietary materials that are the best alternative to toxic plastic. Our mission: To have a positive impact on children while helping to improve the health of our planet. Our goal: To lead the way in bringing social responsibility to the toy industry by proving that sustainability is good business. Our promise: To deliver results with multiple innovations in concept, design, & materials. To make a difference in our local economy; create jobs & green manufacturing.

Last week, Dennis dusted off his lawyer hat and now, the official company name:

Thanks, Dennis!

Order your lovable little Easy Keepers toy before Valentine’s Day and we’ll send you a Happy Valentine’s Day e-card (by email) for you to forward to your sweethearts on Valentine’s Day! Please allow 6-8 weeks for toy delivery.