We are definitely in the midst of a babywearing revolution in which women feel the need for products that will secure their baby and keep it close, at the same time allowing the mother freedom of movement while promoting parent-child bonding. Anthropological evidence has shown that the human pattern of infant care has long been one of carrying babies. Indigenous cultures wore their babies and babywearing appears to have originated as a part of the nomadic culture of the early Mesolithic hunters and gatherers in Asia. Early Pleistocene migrations probably brought the tradition to North America where the Native American Indians had an infant carrier called a Cradleboard. Yet it is only in recent years that researchers have confirmed the wisdom of this timeless practice and enlightened us with an alternative way of raising children.
Press
ERGObaby carrier > News Room > Press2007 was a fantastic year for ERGObaby! In May, the ERGObaby carrier was named one of Parenting Magazine’s “Top 20 Baby Products of the Last 20 Years”. This issue of Parenting Magazine unveiled the culmination of ten months of research and feedback from hundreds of parents across the country, and our inclusion on the list is truly an honor!
We were consequently featured on “The Today Show” in May as they highlighted some of these top 20 products, and on October 23, Elizabeth Hasselbeck of “The View” named the ERGObaby carrier as one of the “must haves” for new parents. The audience, which was comprised primarily of expecting parents, each received an ERGObaby carrier as a gift for being a part of Hasselbeck’s baby shower celebration.
In September, we attended the ABC Trade Show in Las Vegas, where we launched our new Organic line of babywearing products. These durable, high-quality carriers and accessories offer parents an eco-conscious alternative. Babies love the soft fabric! At the trade show, we also presented our Hawaiian print baby carrier, which features a vintage tropical Hawaiian print on a cream-colored background.
In 2008, we are celebrating our sixth year in operation, and are anticipating more exciting events. We are happy to announce that, after years of pending, we have received our US Patent (# 7,322,498). This coming June, ERGObaby owner and designer Karin Frost is sponsoring the keynote speaker at the 2nd Annual Babywearing Conference in Chicago. The conference will be held June 25 – 28 at the Lincoln Park campus of DePaul University, and will include music, yoga, lectures, and more! In September, we will return to the Industry’s largest Trade Show, the ABC Kid’s EXPO in Las Vegas.
As we continue to grow and evolve, we greatly appreciate all of the word-of-mouth support we receive from the babywearing community. Every day, we receive testimonials from parents praising the ERGObaby’s quality, safety, and style. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional customer service, fulfilling requests and answering questions in a timely, courteous, and professional manner. We look forward to continuing to provide outstanding baby carriers and accessories, enabling parents to incorporate their babies into their lifestyle in the most peaceful, loving, and natural way possible.
“20 best products, 20 years of our best advice”
ERGObaby is extremely pleased to announce that our carrier is one of those 20 products. This is a very special honor for ERGObaby to be chosen as best of its kind as it was only introduced to the market in 2003. Parenting Magazine’s 20th Anniversary Special is devoted to the biggest changes in the past 20 years.
The May issue unveils the culmination of ten months of research and feedback from hundreds of mothers across the country. The results constitute the boldest cover-to-cover evolution in the twenty-year history of the magazine.
We invite you to take a look at page 89 of this issue to see the great picture recognition of the ERGObaby carrier.
In keeping with our Mission to educate parents about baby wearing and related topics, we made the decision that this will be our last Press Release. Instead, the Press Room will now have bulletins concerning current research on a variety of scientific findings. These bulletins will offer parents information they might not otherwise be aware of. This, too, is in keeping with our Mission to improve the way each new generation of babies are introduced to the world. This focus on well-being will be for the benefit of both parent and child. We believe that education is a value added commodity to our superior products, The ERGO and Accessories. We hope to capture some of your precious time.
The ERGO Baby Carrier, Inc. embarks upon our fourth year of business since Karin Frost gave birth to her son, Keala, and set out to design the ideal carrier and to make carrying a baby a pleasure. From that initial carrier, sewn on her own machine, the ERGO is now distributed in sixteen countries and twenty-six states in the United States. The original carrier, “The Classic”, evolved into “The New Generation” that was successfully launched June 6, 2005 along with new accessories. Our company is enjoying a remarkable response from the Baby Wearing and Attachment Parenting communities and we are dedicated to continuing to serve those rapidly expanding movements.
Karin Frost, designer and president of The ERGO Baby Carrier, Inc., discovered after giving birth to her son in 2001 that, "carrying my baby was the ideal way of having him close and remaining productive in my daily life. So I set out to design my ideal carrier." Thus the first prototype of the ERGO was created. The carrier was so successful that mothers who saw her carrying her son asked her to make carriers for them. Within a very short time the demand for the ERGO became a sensation so great that the result is the manufacture of a carrier that is now sold to a worldwide market via the Internet and a network of distributors. Research and development has been and remains Karin's focus. New product designs are launched on a regular basis.
During the first weeks of Hurricane Kartrina we tried to reach the Red Cross, Salvation Army and United Way to find a way to donate carriers to the suffering, displaced parents and children of the disaster. Then on September 15, through the ‘coconut wireless’ (a local Maui term) we received an email from Sandi Degeyter, the Volunteer/Intake Coordinator for Acadiana Outreach Center in Lafayette, LA saying, “we have gotten calls from shelters asking for baby carriers.” “God answers all of our prayers and you have just provided one of them”. We simultaneously located The Star of Hope Women and Family Emergency Shelter in Houston, TX and Agape Warehousing in Kentucky arranged shipping for 252 carriers and 254 carriers were shipped directly from Hawaii. The Agape Service Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps hundreds of thousands people a year and we are very grateful for their assistance.
