Monday, April 30, 2007

Mabel's Labels

So far in his school career, shmoo has misplaced four lunch containers, two container lids, several cloth napkins, and at least a dozen spoons (I've restocked the spoon drawer twice!)

So when Linda from Mabel's Labels offered to send some labels for shmoo, I was delighted. Now, as you can see, all shmoo's containers have his name and a cute little cat on them. Shmoo even got to pick out the color scheme and picture himself. And now when he forgets his lunch things they will at least have a bit better chance of making their way back to him.

My big question about the labels was how well they hold up to repeated washing. This picture was taken after lunch, when the containers had been washed with warm soapy water and air dried. The labels showed absolutely no sign of wear. I asked Linda about durability and received this response: "I personally have labels that have been on for over 2 years - the life expectancy of our labels is LONG!"

I love the labels, but here's what I really wanted to share, especially for those of you dealing with food allergies: Mabel's also sells Allergy Labels. How cool is that? You can detail what your child is allergic to and put it on everything they will eat and drink from during the day.

Hmm, I wonder if you could even change the wording from "I am allergic to:" to "I am vegan, I don't eat:"? Just a thought.

Thanks, Linda!

19 comments:

Mer (Lulu's Mommy) said...

You probably COULD change the wording, but so you really want to? Do you want some "Know it All" thinking it is funny to ingest your child with animal matter because it doesn't matter becasue they are not allergic to it?

Aunt Sweetie
www.BringHomeLulu.com
(aunt to Thayer - allergic to soy, eggs, gluten, casein, peanuts, corn, and many other things)

SallyT said...

Gee I thought it was just MY daughter who could manage to get her lunch containers home. I guess she's in good company.

Autumn said...

ooo i need some vegan labels like that for my son's preschool! i don't know how many times i have repeated myself "it's ok to give him fruit or veggies (minus the butter)" it's like they're terrified to give him anything i don't pack. am i that big of a vegan nazi? ha ha. oh no, here comes the vegan mom!

Linda L. said...

Hello, yes I am Linda from Mabel's Labels. I think the idea of vegan "alert" labels is brilliant. (I am just a sales person, not the actual product design team but I have forwarded Jennifer's suggestion.) My journey along the path to better nutrition is still pretty new so I need to ask - is there only one kind of veganism? I realize vegetarians may eat dairy and egg products but are most vegans simply "no animal products of any kind?"

Water Sauce said...

I've been using Mabel's Labels for about 6 weeks. They are on all my baby's bottles and food containers. I had wash the bottles everyday and then they go in a microwave steam sterilizer. Anyway, they have held up very well!

We have the smallest size, which is pretty small. If you were to do a "vegan" alert -- I suggest getting the larger size -- more visable.

Jennifershmoo said...

>>is there only one kind of veganism? I realize vegetarians may eat dairy and egg products but are most vegans simply "no animal products of any kind?"

Well, that is the definition, but in practice I know some "vegans" who eat fish, some who eat honey, some who won't eat any white sugar while others do, etc. I also know "vegetarians" who eat chicken, or who don't do dairy, etc. So I think allowing people to be as specific as they wish would be helpful.

Nowheymama said...

Thanks for the tip on the allergy labels! Those are just the thing we need for kindergarten in the fall!

Gosling said...

Off-topic: Just looked at the new Vegetarian Times I received today and THERE YOU ARE! A full page with high praise. Congrats!

Jennifershmoo said...

Oh, wow! I'll have to run out and get a copy!! Thanks for letting me know!

Pig in the Kitchen said...

I wonder if I can get these labels in Europe? My oldest and youngest piglets are allergic to various bits and pieces...I would love some labels like this!

http://piginthekitchen.blogspot.com/
Pigx

Anonymous said...

Jennifer,
I love you and I love your site - but I have to say that printing and selling labels that say things like 'I'm vegetarian, I only eat chicken' is a bad idea. It allows people to perpetuate these complete falsehoods and further confuses us to the carnivore world. I already have too many people I have to provide clarification to when they say 'My friend Susan is a vegetarian, she only eats fish' or 'I know you're a vegetarian, but you can eat this chicken soup, right?'. I don't want them to have some kind of "proof" in writing! I totally agree that each person can take their veg lifestyle to whatever level suits them at the time, but allowing people who eat flesh to identify as veg is incorrect by definition. I can say my haircolor is called blonde all day long, but I'll still be a brunette. : )

Linda L. said...

Hello, Pig in the Kitchen! We ship Mabel's Labels worldwide. They are small and flat so they don't cost much to ship! www.linda.mabel.ca

High Power Rocketry said...

Cool little item, in a store near me?

Marathon Maritza said...

Absolutely LOVE your blog. I'm ordering my lunch box today! (How nifty!)

The Veggie Queen said...

I'd like to contact you about my pressure cooking DVD and linking to your blog. It's great. My son is 14 years old now and it's a completely different story.
Jill Nussinow, MS, RD
The Veggie Queen
www.theveggiequeen.com

Cris said...

Allergy labels are a wonderful idea, but vegan/vegetarian diets are a lifestyle choice. It seems a terribly dictatorial thing for a parent to impose on a child, this plastering of labels determining what types of food the child can have. Maybe it's fine if it prevents people from pestering the child about their decision not to eat animal products, however.

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

The labels you were given look really good! I had some p>picture labels printed by a british labels company a while back they were really good quality and didn't cost too much either.

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It seems a terribly dictatorial thing for a parent to impose on a child, this plastering of labels determining what types of food the child can have. Maybe it's fine if it prevents people from pestering the child about their decision not to eat animal products, however.





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