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In this issue Welcome Sonja Sheasley! More about Sonja and Bumboosa! Director of
Corporate Sponsorships Upcoming Meeting in Damyang, Korea Congratulations Winners of the
2012 World Bamboo Day Contest Fwd to a friend
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Thursday 1 11 2012 Welcome Sonja Sheasley!
I've been in need of an assistant here in the office of World Bamboo...someone who can
focus on our mission to bring together progressive corporations focused on doing business
in bamboo. We have tailored the new position of Director of Corporate Sponsorships,
primarily because a very capable and very willing person said they wanted to help! Meet
Sonja Sheasley!
Sonja is perfect for this position as she knows first-hand the trials and tribulations of
owning and managing a successful business dealing in bamboo products. That is no easy
feat during the past few years of financial crisis, and I feel very fortunate to have
someone by my side as talented, dedicated and passionate as Sonja.
The extra special bonus is she lives nearby (10 miles by car), which as you know, for
World Bamboo, is just nextdoor.
Please read about Sonja's company, BumBoosa [http://www.bumboosa.com/]:
Clean and green: Saving the earth one baby bum at a time
By Alison Lee Satake, published in Cape and Plymouth Business magazine, October 2012
[www.capeplymouthbusiness.com]
<It's been a swift ascent for Mashpee-based [Massachusetts USA] natural products
company Bum Boosa, which launched in March 2009 and has garnered local and international
attention since. President Sonja Sheasley founded the company that produces bamboo-based
baby wipes with lavender and sweet orange essential oils, organic aloe vera, vitamin E and
calendula extract, which is an alternative to the majority of tree pulp and plastic-based
baby wipes with harsh chemical preservatives on the market today.
"I think first and foremost for my particular product, being a consumer was the most
important teacher or guide for me, because I wanted to bring a product to market that I
didn't see. I'm obviously in a demographic – my age, my gender – so I really
relied on my instinct," says Sheasley, 41, who has two school-age children. The name
of her company, Bum Boosa, is a play on the Latin name for a common type of bamboo,
Bambusa.The baby wipes hit the market in July 2009. Sheasley added a second product – a
diaper rash ointment with bamboo powder – by the end of 2009. Then, she brought to market
a 100 per- cent bamboo-based toilet paper in 2010.
The company has since received recognition from Canada's 2010 Green Parents' List
Award for Best New Baby Skin Care, was nominated for a 2012 Cribsie Award, was one of the
three winners of the Positively Different Emerging Business Partnership sponsored by
Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod and Cape Cod Young Professionals and was selected to give a
business pitch to investors at Expo East in Baltimore last month.
At the heart of Bum Boosa's mission is to create alternative forms of everyday
products that are less harsh on the body and the environ- ment. On the horizon are more
products such as diapers, paper towels and make-up remover wipes she would like to add to
the company's list of products.
How it began
Sheasley was a young mother with two babies, married to the captain of a large research
vessel at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. "It definitely wasn't easy,"
she says. "My husband is out at sea. I have these two babies, young children. Both of
them are boys [with] high energy. Both were difficult babies. I needed something for
me."
To alleviate stress and to create a more peaceful atmosphere at home, she turned to
diffusing essential oils. She studied aromatherapy at the Sandwich Village
Herb Shop and learned how to make soap, lotion and essential oils from herbs.
"I just started trying to make everything I could and it became an obsession. I would
go into CVS, for example, and try to replicate some products I liked on the shelf in a
natural way in my kitchen," she says. She sold some of her homemade soaps and lotions
at local farmers markets under her brand name of Aroma Waves and began to strategize about
creating a company.
"It was actually important talking directly to customers at farmers markets. I think
I learned a lot talking to customers, seeing what people were looking for and interested
in. Honestly, many people asked me about baby products [and] baby wipes," she says.
Then she began to research, which is a part of the process she says she's good at and
enjoys. As she looked for an eco-friendly, sustainable material that would work as a baby
wipe, bamboo textiles for t-shirts to bed sheets were the new rage. The problem was she
could not find anyone in the U.S. making a non-woven fiber out of bamboo pulp in 2008. So
she began emailing manufacturers in China, where most of the bamboo textiles were being
produced. Three manufacturers responded. She began to work with one. At the same time, she
contacted an organic chemist in China who worked with her to develop the formula.
"It was not easy to come up with the formula because there are some harsh chemical
preservatives in baby wipes for a reason: to have a typical two-year shelf life or longer.
So it was sort of going out on the limb to make a formulation that would make it to the
two-year shelf life [and one] that I was happy with," she says.
She worked swiftly from March to July 2009, when the product hit the market. As sales
began to grow, a few U.S. manufacturers started to call her. She eventually switched to a
manufacturer in Long Island, N.Y., for the bamboo baby wipes.
Once she switched to a U.S. manufacturer at the end of last year, sales grew substantially
from 3,000 packages to 15,000 packages of baby wipes sold per quarter. Sheasley attributes
this to the fact that her customers are conscientious consumers looking for products that
are eco- friendly, which includes a low carbon footprint.
Know your customer
Bum Boosa invests some of its resources into obtaining third-party certification, which
Sheasley sees as a growing trend. In the age of "green washing," where many
products and companies say they are environmentally friendly but are not, she believes the
certification adds legitimacy to her company and products.
"For some of the savvy customers who are looking for products that walk the talk,
those seals of approval matter," she says. The certi- fication seals are a way to
communicate to a customer about the ingredients in a product and a company's values.
Bum Boosa's baby wipes are USDA bio- approved certified. And the company underwent B
Corporation certification, which des- ignates businesses that "meet comprehensive and
transparent social and environmental performance standards," according to the B
Corporation website.
"I do think [third-party certification] is a tool for the consumer to rule out
what's legitimate and what's not. The only problem is those certifications come at
a high price," Sheasley says. The certifications can cost a company between $500 to a
few thousand dollars per year.
A warehouse in Boston stores and ships Bum Boosa's inventory. Its products can be
found at Big Y World Markets in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut as well as
independent natural food stores and baby boutiques through- out the East Coast. A large
portion of sales are conducted through online stores such as Amazon, Drugstore.com,
Ecomom.com, Abe's Marketplace and the Bum Boosa website.
Mommy bloggers have played a significant role in spreading the word about Bum Boosa's
products online, Sheasley says. The baby wipes even caught Hollywood's eye as they
were one of the gift bag items given at the baby shower of actress Tamera Mowry, who stars
with her twin sister in the Style Network reality show, Tia & Tamera. Other
celebrities in Bum Boosa's high-sale regions of New York and Los Angeles have been
loyal customers, Sheasley says. Bum Boosa's baby wipes retail for $5.70 for a pack of
80 wipes on the company's website.
Bum Boosa's next steps include seeking additional capital to buy more inventory and to
pursue more third-party certifications. Sheasley would also like to grow her home-based
business and eventually travel to China to see the bamboo processing facilities. >
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More about Sonja and Bumboosa!
Mashpee startup Bum Boosa brings sustainable approach to baby-care and bathroom products
By ROBERT GOLD in the Cape Cod Times, August 21, 2012.
rgold(a)capecodonline.com
MASHPEE [Massachusetts USA] – Sonja Sheasley started her business at the bottom, quite
literally. And now, she said, things are And now, she said, things are looking up.
Sheasley launched Bum Boosa, a bamboo-derived baby wipe and tissue company, in 2009. Since
then, gross sales have totalled $300,000. "That's not a whole heck of a lot but
for a small company, I'm still proud of it," she said. But Sheasley said the
demand for bamboo-based products should only grow.
"I think bamboo is about to tidal wave," she said, pitching it as an alternative
to tissue that uses plastics or pulp from trees. "We can't keep cutting trees
down because that is not sustainable. We have a huge problem with plastics."
The company sells baby wipes, diaper rash ointment and 100 percent bamboo bathroom
tissue. The baby wipes are made in New York, the ointment in Oregon and the bathroom
tissue in China. The company doesn't sell enough bathroom tissue yet to satisfy order
amounts required by U.S. suppliers, but Sheasley said the company wants to move
production to the U.S. when her company's scope increases.
Sheasley took a class in 2006 on making natural products including insect repellents,
lotions and lip balm started and selling them at farmer markets in 2007. She turned her
attention to bamboo-based products and founded the company in 2009.
The items, marketed as sustainable and renewable, are sold online at bumboosa.com
[http://www.bumboosa.com], Amazon.com and other sites and at small retailers throughout
the United States. It has a small distributor in Canada and the Cayman Islands, and its
products are also sold at a retail chain in Guatemala, Sheasley said.
Cape locations where the products are sold include Cape Cod Children's Museum in
Falmouth, Cotuit Fresh Market and 'g' Green Design Center in Mashpee. Bobby
Pellant, vice president of marketing and organizational development, said the company is
looking to move soon into a new larger Cape office with warehouse space. It currently has
a warehouse in Braintree, but the company, with a staff of three, wants to add more
space.
Sheasley said getting contracts with retailers can be challenging. "There is a whole
heck of a lot of competition out there anyway,"she said. "Sometimes I feel like
it's like winning the lottery or getting a record deal."
But Sheasley said she expects demand for bamboo-based products will grow. "I think it
has to catch on,"she said.
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Director of Corporate Sponsorships
World Bamboo [http://www.worldbamboo.net] is a United States tax-exemt trade association.
It is registered as Reg. 1.501(c)(6)-l [http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopick03.pdf],
which defines us as an association of persons having a common business interest, whose
purpose is to promote the common business interest and not to engage in a regular business
of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit. Its activities are directed to the
improvement of business
conditions of one or more lines of business rather than the performance of particular
services for individual persons.
Existing now since 2004 with this U.S. federal designation, we have considered ourselves
fortunate to have found a few corporate sponsors to help us cover administration costs,
provide a few selected cases of sponsorship for travel to World Bamboo Congresses, etc. We
are ready now to move forward to position WBO as the official association for businesses
in the business of bamboo, and this is where Sonja will be putting her energies.
We are re-defining the benefits of corporate memberships (our sponsors). Stay tuned for
more information. It is our intent that this association will be mutually beneficial for
all member corporations to be a part of WBO, as our combined influence dedicated to
promoting the sustaibable use of bamboo and bamboo products for the sake of the
environment and economy.
At the moment, WBO currently has ten corporate sponsors.... look to see that number grow
as Sonja takes us forward!
Sonja says, " (I'm) Looking forward to this project and meeting more people
across the industry. I really do believe that bamboo is so important and that companies
can help one another in increasing the potential that bamboo has to offer. And I also
think that there are so many small ways that companies can help with very little effort.
We'll explore all those avenues."
If you want to send Sonja a message or any suggestions, you can reach her via email at
< [sonja(a)bumboosa.com]>
Thanks to you for continuing to support WBO.
My best regards, Susanne Lucas
Executive Director, WBO [http://www.worldbamboo.net]
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Upcoming Meeting in Damyang, Korea
WBO President Michel Abadie, 9th WBC Host Jan Oprins and myself will travel to Damyang,
Korea in November to discuss the planning of the 10th World Bamboo Congress
[http://www.worldbamboocongress.org] with officials from the government of Damyang-gun.
We will sign the Operating Agreement and move forward on logistics, theme and program
content, and tour the community in which the event, as well as the facilities of the World
Bamboo Fair, will take place in 2015.
Save the dates! 27 June - 1 July 2015 [http://www.worldbamboocongress.org]
For more info about the 10th WBC in Damyang, please see:
[http://worldbamboo.net/uncategorized/10th-world-bamboo-congress-host-venue-…]
Thanks,
Susanne Lucas, Executive Director
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Congratulations Winners of the 2012 World Bamboo Day Contest
[http://www.worldbambooday.org]
ANNOUNCING THE OFFICIAL WINNERS OF THE 2012 WORLD BAMBOO DAY CONTEST, sponsored by
EcoPlanet Bamboo [http://www.ecoplanetbamboo.com]!
This year's World Bamboo Day - 18 September [http://www.worldbambooday.org] - was
incredibly celebrated by thousands of people around the globe. We here at World Bamboo are
inspired and amazed by the growth and enthusiasm in which this day is evolving, and look
forward with optimism to future celebrations. This year's contest brought a wide array
of people together to promote our common mission of promoting awareness and sustainable
development of bamboo utilization. Twenty-nine groups entered as contestants, vying for
prize moneys in three categories.
We proudly thank all of you out there around the world who celebrated bamboo in honor of
World Bamboo Day! Some of you sat quietly in contemplation under the canopy of bamboo,
while others sang and danced. Some took part in painting competitions, bamboo-shoot
cooking competitions, attended lectures and presentations, or planted bamboo to help the
environment. President Michel Abadie celebrated in Paris (see photo). We salute BAMBOO,
and we salute you!
Congratulations go to the OFFICIAL WINNERS of the 2012 World Bamboo Day Contest:
–> First Place Winner for the "Most Creative World Bamboo Day Event 2012″
$500.(usd)
Name of Group: Bamboo Malaysia, [http://www.bamboomalaysia.com/]
led by Shazila Ghazi <shaz(a)bamboomalaysia.com>
Partners: Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB), Forest Research Institute Malaysia
(FRIM) and others
Location: Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
–> First Place Winner for the "Largest Crowd World Bamboo Day Event 2012"
$250.(usd)
Name of Group: Arellano University,
[http://www.arellano.edu.ph/contactus.php?article_id=293]
led by Ramon Parica, Jr. <mhonparica(a)gmail.com>
Partners: Arellano University, Dept of Environment and Natural Resources Ecosystem
Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB), Kawayan Farm Piliila, Local government unit
of Pangil, Laguna
Location: AU Pasig, Manila, PHILIPPINES
–> Two - First Place Winners in the category "Bamboo is Important because…"
$250.(usd)
1> Name of group: Celebrating World Bamboo Day 2012 Borobudur
http://borobudurwisata.com/a1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article…
[http://borobudurwisata.com/a1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article…]
led by Anto Rimbawanto <anto(a)bambunusaverde.com>
Parnters: Center for Training of Teaching Staff on Arts and Culture, PATRA-PALA Foundation
for Socio Ecology and Ecotourism, Centre for Watershed Management of Serayu Opak Progo,
Borobudur Temple Tourism Park, Sahabat Bambu, Bambu Nusa Verde
Location: Borobudur, Jakarta INDONESIA
2> Name of group: Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute,
[http://www.tbgri.in/]
led by K.C. Koshy <koshykc(a)hotmail.com>
Partners: Botany Graduate students from Iqbal College, Peringammala, Upper primary
Students and teachers from SN UP school, Kollayil, Biodiversity Management Committee of
Peringammala Panchayath (local self Government), Members from Kerala Sastrasahitya
Parishath, Palode, and Fighters Eco-Club, Nanniyode
Location: Palode, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala INDIA
Visit our website, [http://www.worldbambooday.org]/ for more info.
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© 2010 World Bamboo Organization. All Rights Reserved.