Eco-friendly baby gear business booms (Denver)

You never know when that business idea of a lifetime will strike. For Robin Morris, it was during four months of bed rest prescribed when she was pregnant. What could have been a boring and stressful ordeal turned out to be the start of a successful and fun business venture.

Now she’s the owner of the Eco-politan retail store, which opened two months ago in Lakewood. The store follows her highly successful 2-year-old website offering a one-stop shop for boutique brands of eco-friendly baby and parenting gear, as well as pet supplies, household cleaners and skin-care products.

The business boasted a 51 percent increase in sales last year despite the recession. This year, Morris expects a 3 percent to 5 percent growth in online sales and a 50 percent increase in sales at the store, based on volume of just the first few weeks.

Morris attributes much of the growth to the trend toward green products as more people seek out everyday items that are environmentally friendly. “Most people can’t afford solar panels or bamboo floors. They can do little things that, at the end of the day, make a huge impact. … It’s doing as much as we can for the environment — and it’s no longer just on Earth Day.”

Read the full story in the Denver Business Journal.