Kushtush Organics | Eco Sleep Shop Journal

Cool Quote This Month: “Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Hello, it’s March and absolutely beautiful in the Valley of the Sun! Can’t play outside too much though because we’re busy making changes and trying new ideas to make your customer experience even better.

FIRST … we know there have been problems with the Gift Registry!
We are now implementing an entirely new Eco Gift Registry through MyGiftList.com. Most of the product pages now sport a “Add to My Gift List” floating link to help you add the items on that page to your Eco Gift Registry. We’re not quite finished … almost though … and you can now create an Eco Gift Registry and populate it with your organic bedding and linen selections!

Please do let us know what you think. If the floating “Add to My Gift List” graphic is too annoying, or if it’s an improvement, please let us know!

SECOND … It’s gonna take a bit of time but there are more updates and new organic bedding items we need to add to the online catalog. Shooting for end of April for completion, but we’re making new organic bedding and linen items available as we go, so feel free to browse!

Finally, just a reminder to be sure to visit our Customer Service page, and our Returns and Exchange policy!

Happy Spring, and we hope you like our changes!

Cool Quote this month: “With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation.” ~Edison Haines

We’re a small business still working to build a company that can provide for our family in a meaningful way. We’re in those tough years right now where the work can sometimes seem overwhelming while profits are small. But we keep going because being part of the organic industry means more than just earning a buck. We believe in what we are doing, love organic bedding and textiles, doing the right thing for our customers, plus working with social ethics and responsiblility and toward a cleaner environment.

We are working with an online catalog only so that someday we may open our showrooms. Unfortunately, working strictly on the internet with online customers means occasionally bumping into those who will do all they can to make life difficult for others behind the safety of a computer screen.

We were so lucky to meet hundreds of new customers in 2007. Nonetheless, we did have a couple of rough encounters in the past year.

It’s no secret to anybody, especially bloggers, that the Web is loaded with mean spirited people who are doing serious harm to others. In retail it usually takes the form of customer attempts to force something for nothing, or “breath-holding, never, ever, ever, ever give in until I get my way or you will pay” people. Thankfully these encounters are the exception rather than the rule!

We were taken by surprise and alarmed a couple of times last year, to face not only blatant fraud, but also a couple of very upsetting customer encounters. These included steady streams of threatening and disturbing emails, terrible phone messages, followed by nasty tirades on review sites and a blog, clearly intended to avenge backorder disappointment by harming our sales. While we always understand it can be disappointing when product is temporarily out of stock, the damage that could potentially have been done by attacking our business on the internet was unnecessary, inaccurate, and unacceptable. In fact, one person attacked our business repeatedly using several different names.

Making matters worse, the contracted Phone Support staff was not as expected and we were shocked to hear they were not treating our customers in the most professional manner, to say the least. (Those services were terminated quickly.)

While we would prefer to just let those customers go and review the issues, it sure would be great to have a chance to serve them well again.

Most of our customers are wonderful, and a pleasure to work with. In fact, most customers intuitively grasp that if organic cotton or organic wool materials are in short supply, negative energy and incivility will not make organic materials arrive any sooner - at any decibel level.

Trust me, if there existed any way to make every order deliver an hour after order is placed … and if every order could proceed with error free perfection … well you know.

Encountering occasional cruelty (and fraud) on the Internet has been an eye-opener and a gross disappointment at times, but Kushtush Organics | Eco Sleep Shop will not be discouraged. So many, many, good customers who love natural bedding and textiles as we do, plus the pleasure of participating in the organic movement, make it completely worth it!

Thanks for staying with us, and thanks to those who smile with us as we grow … and sometimes even make mistakes.

SFY

Susan’s Organic Blog January, 2006
“I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion.” …Henry David Thoreau

It appears to be time to reprint our original 2006 Price Statement, which we feel is a very important message to our customers, and to our friends in the organic industry:

We are not in the business of competing for the “LOWEST PRICES ON THE WEB!”. Rather, we are proud to participate in a unique industry that is working to protect the planet and its diverse environments, elevate living conditions around the world with humane Fair Trade practices, and return to more natural, holistic health practices for the benefit of our children.

Cheapened products and “rock bottom” pricing always create poverty. Cheapening organic products with Discount Superstore style pricing is an unethical strategy that damages the great progress already made toward better living standards around the world, and mocks the strong sense of social and environmental responsibility that are hallmarks of the organic industry.

We urge you to avoid such retailers; and to look for symbols of important organic industry associations and socially responsible commitments, like the familiar logos below. Kushtush Organics, like the vast majority of other fine retailers, vendors and friends in the industry, proudly sustains membership in these outstanding organizations.

Organic and Fair Trade Standards are high. We feel statements such as “Lowest Prices on the Web!”, “We beat any price!”, “HUGE Discounts!” …and so on, are inappropriate to the standards of growing organic and Fair Trade initiatives around the world. We feel that somebody must always absorb the losses of downward pricing pressures, and it is almost always the poorest and most helpless among us.

Whenever you purchase organic products from an ethical company at ethical pricing, or bearing the Fair Trade Label, know that thanks to you, somewhere a young family is eating decent meals, resting in decent housing, and getting better health care and education. That truly is priceless.

Therefore, Kushtush Organics will not participate in price wars, and will continue to offer ethical pricing first for our customers, then for our suppliers, manufacturers, and organic family farms and cooperatives everywhere… with respect for a great movement, and hope for the future.

Hello, and thanks so much for visiting! Here are a few Customer Service updates for January:

We have discontinued the outside Order Taking Assistance service, which did not provide the added value for our customers we had hoped for. You are very important to us, and we will continue to respond to online issues via email.

Shortages:

The organic bedding and textiles industry is always vulnerable to often inadequate supplies of raw organic materials to meet escalating consumer demands. Shortages do happen that are out of everbody’s control. Certain products that persistently fail to deliver will be removed from our catalog. (Remember that catalog items can sell out very quickly and without warning!)

We love the organic industry, and sharing ideas with our customers!

We can go green, go organic, and reverse global warming.  But a green earth won’t be worth living on, if we can’t accept civic responsibility for each other and end open hostilities that start very, very close to home.

Civility isn’t possible without empathy, the basis of kindness.  Everything of lasting good in society is based on understanding that the other person deserves to exist.

“A big part of our incivility crisis,” writes Stephen L. Carter in Civility: Manners, Morals and the Etiquette of Democracy, “stems from the sad fact that we do not know each other or even want to try; and, not knowing each other, we seem to think that how we treat each other does not matter.”

The author of Field Notes On The Compassionate Life, Marc Ian Barasch described our social and political climate as “a schoolyard sort of paradigm in which you have some really loud kids taking over the monkey bars and drowning out everyone else.”

Civility, kindness, and community spirit are key character attributes that helped solidify the USA into a virtually impenetrable power.  Incivility, belligerent selfishness, and petty hatred, all promise to turn us into nothing more than an conquerable, third rate state.

Apply that anywhere you like, but bottom line, cruelty and incivility to other people is not acceptable, and we each have the power, and the social responsibility, to make things better.

Small things everyone can do in 2008 to help reduce our environmental footprint:

1. Change your light bulbs: Switch to new ENERGY STAR compliant bulbs that last 7 to 10 years! They may cost a bit more but can save the average household hundreds of dollars over the life of the bulb.According to the Earth Day Foundation, “If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, the cumulative effect is enormous. It would prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that from nearly 800,000 cars. It would also save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes for a year.”And, don’t forget to turn off unused lights after leaving the room!
2. Carpool or use alternate transportation at least once or twice a week. Get the ego out of the vehicle and into environmental responsibility! The Earth Day Foundation says “Drive less. Every year, Americans as a whole drive more miles than they did the year before. Stop this trend. Telecommuting and public transportation are great options. Leaving your car at home two days a week will reduce your CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. Even piling multiple errands into one trip helps and if you can walk instead of drive, even better.”
3. Home Climate Control: Lower that thermostat in winter and raise the A/C temps in summer. Not only will that reduce energy consumption but will cut household costs too.If possible, replace older, inefficient heating/cooling systems.Regularly cleaning vents and replacing filters, and keeping your heating and A/C systems in good repair, can save 5% of your annual energy costs.”Buy a programmable thermostat, which can regulate different temperatures at different times of the day. And if you have one, use it! These thermostats reduce energy use by 5-30 percent and save you $100-$150 in energy costs each year.”
4. Watch the Refrigerator. That appliance consumes a great deal of energy, so anything you can do will definitely lower your annual electricity costs and add to overall reduction in consumption:Of course, lower the thermostat. Turn on the energy saver.Clean the coils.Get rid of that second fridge. If you really could live without it, why waste the energy?
5. More Earth Day ideas: The other big users of energy in your household are your hot water heater, your washer and dryer, and your dishwasher. Each, in its own way, can be inefficient. Here are some things to try:

   Either turn the hot water heater down to 120 degrees, or turn on the “energy conservation” setting. Some manufacturers set water heater thermostats at 140 degrees when most households only require them at 120 or 115 degrees. For each 10 degrees reduction in water temperature, you can save 3-5 percent in energy costs.

   Buy insulation at a local store and insulate your hot water heater and pipes. Install a timer on your water heater to turn off at night and on just before you wake up in the morning.

   When possible, wash a few dishes by hand. Over time, that will save a few loads in the dishwasher, conserving energy. Don’t pre-rinse dishes. Today’s detergents are powerful enough to do the job. Wait until you have a full load to run the dishwasher.

   Wash clothes in warm water, not hot. Ninety percent of the energy used in operating a washing machine goes toward heating the water that washes and rinses the clothes. The clothes will be just as clean, and you’ll cut energy use.

   Don’t over-dry your clothes.

6. Go Organic! Organic foods are filling more and more store shelves every day. Shop fresh produce in season at your community farmers markets.Buy organic bedding made of organic cotton and wool, as well as organic clothing. Chemical free, and naturally allergen free organic fabrics, and natural hemp, are more comfortable, healthful, and last far longer, than chemically saturated conventional bedding and textiles.
7. Buy Recycled whenever possible.

See more Earth Day ideas on our web page 51 Easy, eco-friendly ways you can help sustain planet Earth.

Kushtush Organics | Eco Sleep Shop. has had a growth year in every sense, and we are grateful to all our customers who continue to help us grow!  

While we celebrate our successes, we have also taken stock of issues that have bothered our customers this year.    (Growth can be humbling too!)

Changes are underway to make your customer experience friendlier, smoothe out some rough edges, and implement new processes that specifically address your concerns.  Some changes may not be comfortable at our end, but we are confident you will appreciate our efforts on your behalf, in the coming year.

This new forum gives our customers the chance to let us know how we’re doing; any ideas you feel we should try; or issues you’ve noticed that need attention.   We also welcome requests for additions to our product line [and any compliments too!  :-)  ].  

Thanks so much for visiting, and best wishes to all our customers, guests and friends, for a happy and healthful 2008!