Jacquelyn Corbett, who heads Mini Mioche, says they manufacture their products in Canada to support the local economy, and to be more sustainable in their practices.Jennifer Roberts/The Globe and Mail
What do UPPAbaby, Frida Baby and Carter’s have in common? They’re some of the brands that top baby registries for expecting parents in Canada – and they are all U.S. brands.
The sheen of Buy American has faded in the wake of a weak Canadian dollar, as well as the threat of tariffs on Canadian exports, which could greatly harm Canadian brands, and retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, which could increase the price of American-made products significantly.
Small businesses like B.C.-based Beluga Baby, which makes baby carriers, have noted how the tariffs could be a nail in the coffin for Canadian-made brands. And while the tariff decision has been delayed until next month, it has sparked a Buy Canadian sentiment.
As someone who lives in a rural area powered by small businesses, and as a small-business owner myself, buying local has become an imperative for me for everything from coffee to groceries to gifts.
As a parent though, I’ll admit that checking the origin of an item hasn’t always been top of my list when vetting or selecting a product, and that sometimes I have prioritized cost and/or convenience – ordering Play-Doh with Amazon Prime delivery is sometimes the only thing I have the capacity for in advance of a toddler birthday party. But like many other parents, I’m now examining how I can be more intentional about spending on Canadian-made products for my kids.
One of those brands is kids clothing maker mini mioche. Toronto-based Jacquelyn Corbett, who heads the company, says they manufacture their products in Canada to support the local economy, and to be more sustainable in their practices.
If the tariffs go through, she says there could be a large negative impact on the business – almost half of their sales stem from the U.S. market; they have a trade show booked in February; and since they custom knit their own textiles, they have already ordered and produced much of their fabric for the coming season.
“Being a product business, our margins are slim – there was no way we would make it with a 25-per-cent additional cost of goods on half of our sales without some real change in the market,” Ms. Corbett said in an e-mail interview.
In response to the proposed tariffs, she created the Well Made in Canada directory, to identify not just Canadian-owned brands, but Canadian-made products like hers.
Since she shared the site in early February, dozens of brands across a variety of categories have signed up to be listed, including kids brands like Barumba Play, which makes play couches, and cold-weather clothing brand KLOK Kids. Ms. Corbett plans to launch Well Made in Canada stickers and other resources that brands can use to identity the origins of their products.
Her initiative is a reminder that regardless of which baby or kids product you’re looking for, there’s likely a Canadian brand you can choose, including some of my favourites like Perlimpinpin for soft sleep sacks; Pehr for beautiful clothing and pyjamas; Bird & Be for prenatal supplements; and Love Child Organics’ for kids’ snacks, including Oaty Chomps bars, which are a huge hit in our house.
I had dozens of other Canadian-made kids brands highlighted in my Instagram DMs, and what I’ve learned is: When I need to buy something, I can use ChatGPT or my peer network to figure out how to choose Canadian. There’s likely a Canadian option out there.
On the topic of cost, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that shopping local or Canadian-made can mean paying a premium. You may always be able to find a less expensive version of an item produced overseas, but part of buying Canadian is being more intentional about how and where you spend your money.
“When we look at our kids’ tees – which are priced at $32 – people can read that as way too expensive. But they average 8 cents per wear, with that lifetime of use, kid after kid. A $15 fast-fashion kids’ tee that lasts a season, alternatively, ends up at $1.25 per wear,” says mini mioche’s Ms. Corbett.
You can still save money while choosing Canadian by buying fewer but higher-quality items, purchasing secondhand goods, shopping sales, and adding Canadian items to wish lists. And you can support Canadian brands in lots of ways beyond just buying their products for your kids – follow them on social media and share their content, direct your company’s gift or swag budgets to them, and buy them as gifts for family and friends.
Erin Bury is the co-founder and chief executive officer of online estate planning platform Willful.co. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband and two young children.
