Organic children's clothes....

Environmentally-responsible or 'green' companies have been emerging more aggressively in the last few years. While shopping for a handful of items at Costco this afternoon, I stumbled across the most adorable childrens clothing like called Agabang--made completely of 100% organic cotton. The outfits were adorable, so I snatched up several for my sons and daughter and can't wait to put them on them. Interestingly, their website is a bit outdated--like almost a year. For a clothing manufacturer, that is forever, so I'm wondering what happened to this brand, and why the fall-off on a consumer web site?

As a PR person, my suggestion to Agabang in today's highly, socially-networked environment is:

* Keep your web site fresh and ever-changing. This encourages regular visits from your loyal and faithful legions of followers who always want the newest, hippest items and updates.

* Let the drumbeats roll--meaning keep the news cycle filled with interesting updates about new products/collections/lines and interesting philanthropies the company may be involved with--because everyone wants to know!

* Never ever let your website become too outdated--especially if you have a consumer brand. Hire a web guru to do minor updates at least once a month--it doesn't cost too much.

* Consider contributing to a blog or better yet, start one all on your own!

So alas, I'm off to wash and fold my new kids' attire, but will definitely drop the company a note to thank them for some really snazzy outfits for my kids, first.

Welcome back....

For those that drop by this site, you should know that I've been on maternity leave after giving birth to twin boys. That adventure in itself was a wild ride, and opened the door to a new community I'd never even known about--the world of multiples!

As I headed back to my office after eight months of "nothing-but-baby," I found myself wondering if I had the wherewithal to return to the world of PR with the same level of zest I had prior to my birthing departure. My answer came quickly as I dropped onto LinkedIn to check in with my connections and investigate emerging groups of interest. Of course I'm excited to be back in the world of PR! I remain a newshound and cannot get enough local and national news--always finding the 'spun' story amid the straight WYSIWYG pieces.

When studying journalism and PR back in college, I learned, 'if it bleeds, it leads.' A sad state of affairs for news media, but nonethess, an adage that remains true. Front page stories, lead radio and TV pieces all have an element of glitz and tragedy tied together. As a journalist and a PR person, I find the balance fairly unique -- and often practice pitching stories that have said marriage in the hope that it'll get a solid placement!

But, with each keystroke or word uttered, I return to the image of my kids and hope for their sake, that my job will become more than just story placement. I hope one day have a list of clients that aren't just 'cool,' but ones with a mission to improve our world through things like sustainability, green, organic and anything that will reduce the price of gas!!! I may not obtain that client list overnight, but will make it a mission to do so.

I'm inspired by mompreneurs in a way I never imagined I would be. I look at non-profits as a vehicle for continued pro bono work since all of them are worthy of volunteer support. Simply stated, I hope to use the skills I learned in school to accomplish a mission of somehow leveraging my client list to make the world a better place. Each day I go into my office will prove if I have what it takes to keep doing this job, or if it is time to bow out gracefully and head home to play with my three little ones.