‘Mompreneur’ Finds Online Niche

Canwest News Service:

For Julie Jonas of Beaconsfield, Que., motherhood has been the mother of invention.

It’s because of her daughter that Ms. Jonas has created Zia and Tia Pure Luxury Organics, an e-commerce company that sells an array of organic products ranging from baby clothes and bedding to toys and toiletries.

“The idea came to me a year after we got Zia,” says Ms. Jonas, referring to her 3½-year-old child whom she and her husband, Danny Roberge, adopted from northern China.

“A neighbour gave me an article about a company selling organic cotton baby clothes. After I read it, I realized there were a lot of awesome products made from organic fibres. Being in the organic food business, I was drawn into it. It was the catalyst that pushed me in this direction.”

Ms. Jonas and Mr. Roberge had long been vegans and were sleeping on a mattress made of organic rubber. And they wanted their child to have clothing and bedding made of organic fibres.

Becoming a parent had shifted her world view, too. The adoption experience made her aware of the plight of orphans around the world.

Zia and Tia launched this past October, offers about 450 products, all of them organic and produced by socially responsible companies. “I stock some of the products myself and ship them, but most of them are drop-shipped,” she explained. “We order them from the manufacturer on behalf of our clients and they’re shipped directly.” Drop-shipping reduces the production of greenhouse gases, she says, by reducing the amount of transportation required.

Ms. Jonas says being a “mompreneur” lets her focus on being a stay-at-home mother while she builds a socially responsible business.

Photo by John Mahoney.

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