Puddlegear and Janus Clothing Sale

Since a large part of the Whole Child School curriculum involves being outside, the Exterior Space committee set up a Clothing sub-committee to research how to best outfit our kids to be outside, and to try to make equipping them easier for our parent community. Although we wanted to cover all outdoor clothing that might be needed for the school year, we were only able focus on rain gear, thermal underwear and winter boots.

Here’s what we found out …

Rain Gear


Most rain gear isn’t very durable and contains PVC. One of the problems is that the fabrics do not stretch, so are more likely to rip and constrict movement.

We found Abeko rain gear through their Canadian distributor Puddlegear. It’s 100% waterproof, machine washable, tear resistant, soft and comfortable as well at PVC and pthalate free. Most of the gear is Oko-tex certified, meaning it is manufactured without the use of over 100 chemicals commonly used in the garment industry.

Puddlegear has offered us wholesale pricing for children of WCS families. A 10% markup has been added to the wholesale prices to allow for a small fundraising opportunity for the school. Dressing your children for the outdoors will help support their learning.

Thermal Underwear


There are a lot of options for thermal underwear, including synthetics (polypropylene), silk, wool, cotton and Merino wool. While almost all options work well to keep you warm if you are doing something active outdoors, there is no equal to Merino wool when it comes to keeping you warm when you stop being active but remain out in the cold (which is likely considering what the kids will be up to outside).

Merino continues to insulate when wet, and is the best at wicking moisture away from your body. It is also natural and naturally antimicrobial (smells way way less than the others). Merino wool does not itch for most people, even many who are sensitive to other wools.

We secured a deal on Merino wool thermal underwear by Janus through one of their North American retailers, Skandikids. The deal is a volume discount of between 10 and 20% depending on how much we order. It applies to any Janus products, for kids, youth or adults.

If you know anyone else who might want to make a purchase of Janus product, we can accommodate them through your order. The more we order, the better the deal. Janus fabrics are also Oco-tex certified.

Winter Boots


There are a wide variety of winter boots that work well in the Canadian climate. Our research focussed on easy to put on and take off, warm and durable options. We found that one of the best choices is Bogs Boots.

While we were not able to negotiate any deals on Bogs this year, we have located them at Threads (950/952 Kingston Road), and at Planet Kid and Scooter Girl (both on Roncesvales N. of King). They are very popular, so if you’re interested it is best to act quickly.

If there is interest, we can get a great deal on Bogs for next September (2010) by arranging a volume purchase in November of this year. More details will follow.

How to Order


Last week we provided parents with the opportunity to look at samples and catalogues. You don’t need to have seen them or done anything until now to be able to purchase the clothing though.

Here’s all that needs to be done…

1. There is lots of information on the products on the supplier web pages, visit pubddlegear.com or janus.no
to have a look at what’s available and check the sizing.

We have secured a discount on all the kids rain gear from Puddlegear, and on any of the products from Janus (kids, youth and adults).

2. View the pricelists: janus adult prices, janus kids prices, puddlegear Prices, and then complete the order form.

We don’t necessarily need all orders to be on the order form we created, but it does have spaces for all the information we need. Please either print and fill out the order form or write all the details down. Details required include: item, colour, size, quantity, and price. Make sure you measure your child(ren) and refer to the sizing information provided on the websites to determine the appropriate size.

3. Send the order form along with a cheque for the appropriate amount to school with your child.

The teachers will forward the cheques and forms on to us. Don’t forget to add G.S.T. on all the prices (5%) and P.S.T. on any adult items from Janus (8%). Cheques should be made out to WCS School Council.

All orders are due back to the school by Thursday, October 15th.

We expect we will get the clothes in about two weeks from the date we place the orders. We will confirm orders by e-mail and keep parents up-to-date that way as we learn more about delivery timing.

If you have questions or require any further information, email me at matt.humphries at sympatico.ca.

Offer from Threads to WCS Parents


In building partnerships with the community that surrounds the Whole Child School, we are grateful for the generous support of local businesses.

Some of you met Steve Cross when you came to the first ever WCS curriculum night. Steve is the owner of a local store called Threads Lifestyle located at 950/952 Kingston Road that specializes in outdoor clothing. He has a wealth of knowledge about dressing for the outdoors and we appreciate the time he shared with us.

Additionally, he has made several offers to the WCS community …

” For this season, there is little to no extra product available at wholesale so the only thing I can do is sweeten the Club Threads program, which is the best membership discount program in Canada for the brands we sell:

 

Club Threads
$50 annual membership gets you and your immediate family a discount of 11.5% off all regular price purchases. This wipes out the GST and PST impact and then some. The break point on this program is $400. If you buy less than that, then the membership is not beneficial. For WCS though, I will make the discount 20% for all kids items for this year and the break point on that would be only $250, making Club Threads very worthwhile for most families I would think.

 

Buyback for Kids
Whether you purchase a membership or not, if you register with us as regular customer, we give you an in-store credit on your used/old kids items you bought from us. The credit we give you is equal to 25% of what you paid for it originally. When your child is done with it just wash it and bring it back to us for the credit. This program is for credit only and no refunds are part of it.

 

Looking Ahead to Fall 2010
We will organize better discounts – 30% to 40% off and perhaps even more – for WCS based on parents ordering in November for next fall delivery. More details to follow but this is the way to get the best prices in Canada as I can add the order to my booking and pass on savings. It also better guarantees availability too. We know some sizes ordered will need changing and we have a plan for addressing that; more details to follow once I firm up possibilities with vendors in buying season November.

 

Thanks again, as a small independent retailer we deeply appreciate the local support. It makes a difference.