New Chic Organic E-Store Opens

Ottawa, Ontario - Lilou Organics, a sleek and modern e-store, opened its virtual doors to the public on August 15th, 2006. Lilou Organics offers fourteen product lines from around the world to meet the needs of women, men, tweens, babies, mom’s-to-be, and new moms.

Lilou Organics was founded by high school teacher Lisa Schmidt after the birth of her first child. After looking at the ingredients on a bottle of name-brand baby wash and realizing it was full of chemicals and possible carcinogens, she started to search for gentle non-toxic products for her little one.

After many trips to local health food stores and a lot of ingredient researching, she realized that the word ‘natural’ on a product didn’t mean much at all. Many products she found in stores that were touted as ‘natural’ or even ‘organic’ still had a variety of harmful chemicals in them such as parabens (hormone disrupter) and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (suspected carcinogen). Her determination to find better products led her to research hundreds of companies’ ingredients, and after finding some that met her standards, she began to realize that others may be looking for such products as well (see www.lilou-organics.com for full details).

Not finding a store where she could find everything she wanted, she started to build her on-line business. Her vision was to build a one-stop shop where people could buy a variety of products for each member of the family. Lisa’s criteria also included offering a variety of price points, carrying only products that are both organic and non-toxic, and making sure that all the product lines are aesthetically appealing. As a consummate shopper and unapologetic ‘material girl’, she felt it was important to offer quality natural products that ‘had a certain image appeal as well… the new organic is chic and stylish’.

Although she battled many unexpected turns in her new venture – returning to work after maternity leave and starting the new business at the same time, getting pregnant again, husband undergoing back surgery, and baby daughter breaking her leg – she still managed to open on-time and create a company she’s very proud of.

Lisa wanted Lilou Organics to also focus on gifts and gift packaging, “People love to get beautifully packaged gifts in the mail, and it’s nice to get something that isn’t just put in a standard company box.” The store offers free gift wrapping and funky greeting cards with the purchase of any prepackaged gift items; there are a variety of choices for these purchases, including a Christmas gift-wrap option coming up in the fall.

She is especially excited to bring to Canada three popular American lines, Suki (a Hollywood favourite), Peacekeeper (cosmetics line in which all proceeds support Women’s Advocacy/ Human Rights Groups), and TweenBeauty (funky line for young girls).

For additional information on Lilou Organics, contact Lisa or Brian Schmidt at 613-601-5701, or visit www.lilou-organics.com.
Brian Schmidt, public relations Lilou Organics 613-601-5701 info@lilou-organics.com www.lilou-organics.com