"How was your wonderful day?​"

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I was startled by the profound simplicity of the question. No-one had ever asked me this before. I looked at the little person who had posed it so sincerely: my 2-year-old, Midori, who was expectantly awaiting my response...and who would genuinely care about my answer. The standard "Fine, thanks, how was yours?" auto-reply would certainly not do. This deserved some reflection.

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My CoCoDot co-mom and I, both educators by profession, already had three little girls between us. For us, CoCoDot Affection was an unplanned pregnancy. Mothers first, accidental entrepreneurs second, we were committed to teaching our daughters to make smart, healthy choices. The challenge we found was that there were too few safe and natural products for them to choose from. We set out to develop a line of practical and green solutions to suit the busy family's lifestyle. 

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Between school drop-offs and pickups, Yvonne and I played dress-up in more hats than we could imagine. We studied industry standards and set our bar higher. We worked with a team of scientists to formulate our products and have them tested and retested for safety, efficacy, and stability. We took field trips to the local, environmentally-responsible facility to whom we had entrusted the manufacturing process. We earned the Certclean stamp of approval for proving our products are plant-based, petroleum-free, and contain no harmful toxins. We - and our families - were the guinea pigs for everything. Disclaimer: Much as I would have been confident including our family dog Bossy in our trials, we never test on animals!

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And it was fun. 

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I thought about Midori's spirited older sister, Maya, and how, at three, she had coined the word "CoCoDot" (a fusion of "coconut" and "polka dot") when nothing in my adult vocabulary could inspire a name for our brand. I thought about how the rhyme game she loved to play had completed our identity: "Collection...Connection... Affection..." The grown-up in me had laughed and almost dismissed that one before realizing it was perfect.

  

I thought about how our products are proudly made in Canada, a country where women, as entrepreneurs - even minorities like Yvonne and myself! - can create a legacy of positive change, where mothers can empower their children every day to be great...and where the buoyancy of a child who feels loved can take our breath away: "Today, I don't want to be great. I want to be better!" 

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These are the beings that CoCoDot Affection must answer to. Our children, and yours. From our formulas to our packaging, we embrace imagination, creativity, and thinking outside the box. We believe in giving little ones the outlines for a safe and healthy world, then letting them choose their own palette and colour outside the lines as they learn that being unique is simple but complex. Perfect in their imperfection, they ground us and inspire us.

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"How was your wonderful day?"

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My day was wonderful, thanks. And I hope CoCoDot helped make yours wonderful, too. 

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With Affection always,

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Tammy