Baby Products That Promote Germ-Free Living
I began selling my Clean Shopper shopping cart cover when the thought of germs on shopping carts was non-existent. Being a nail-biter, I've always been aware of the things I touch, because they inevitably end up in my mouth. Shopping carts always gave me the willies, especially after seeing a guy sneeze into his hands and then (without a thought to wiping his hands on his pants - or anything else for that matter) continued to push his shopping cart.
So, I designed the Clean Shopper shopping cart cover to protect babies and toddlers (and, okay, me) from the germs found on shopping carts. When I first started using my own Clean Shopper shopping cart cover (when my son was a baby), I could barely get through a grocery store without being attacked by other mothers who wanted to know where they could buy one.
Initially, when I attempted to get my new baby product shopping cart cover on store shelves, I was practically laughed out of the buyer's office. I ended up selling Clean Shopper shopping cart covers out of my car to demanding mothers who refused to let me go until they had a Clean Shopper of their own. As demand grew for my baby products (primarily through word-of-mouth), I began to market the Clean Shopper more aggressively and I launched a website. At that time (1999), some parents thought the price tag for a Clean Shopper shopping cart cover ($29.95) was high, but said they would rather be safe than sorry. Better to keep their baby safe from germs, than risk ingestion of bad bacteria.
Then research began emerging about the widespread occurrence of e-coli and other dangerous bacteria that could be found on public surfaces. And, a researcher, Dr. Charles Gerba, PhD, at the University of Arizona swabbed 800 public surfaces and found disease-causing germs in tons of places - most notably (to me) was the fact that the 7th most germ-ridden public place was a shopping cart. Next came Inside Edition's ultraviolet light shopping cart scanner, also proving e-coli (among other things) was living on the handlebar areas of shopping carts. Sales of my Clean Shopper shopping cart cover took off and I launched our Clean Diner high chair cover to rave reviews.
Fast forward to 2008 and hundreds of similar shopping cart cover baby products are now on the market, some costing as much as $165! Just about every mom inventor start up on the internet sells "their" version of our shopping cart cover. The demand for stylish germ-fighting baby products is actually growing like crazy. We are even launching our own "high-end" versions to satisfy the growing demand.
When SARS hit two years ago, we fielded calls regarding our Clean Shopper shopping cart covers, and how well they stood up to this new disease. No joke. Then a writer contacted me for information about my Clean Shopper shopping cart cover for a new book. It turns out she was partnering with Dr. Gerba from the University of Arizona to pen a book entitled, The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu. The book is hysterically funny, and informational...and of course, it mentions my Clean Shopper shopping cart cover in the chapter entitled, Attention Shoppers, There's a Special on E-coli in Aisle 3.
These days everyone is concerned about staying healthy. Maybe it's because so many people are without healthcare or maybe they just can't afford time off from work to take care of a sick child or nurse their own bodies back to health. Maybe they get sick too much and just hate the feeling. Regardless of the fear, the demand now widely exists for baby products that promote germ-free living. Our Clean Shopper shopping cart cover, Clean Diner highchair cover and Clean Changer changing pad do just that.
