Sponsored Content: Cute, Sustainable Kids’ Basics — With Middlebury Roots

I love how MiniBury brings people together. Last month, I got a response to the newsletter from reader Stefanie Schmidt, a mom of three who recently left a successful career as a lawyer to start her own organic children’s clothing company, Fig For Kids. 

She and her family live in New York City, but her Middlebury roots go deep: Born at Porter Hospital, she graduated from Middlebury Union High School (’98) and Middlebury College (’02). These days she’s often back in the shiretown visiting her parents.

Stefanie is spreading the word about her ethically made, organic cotton undies and tees, and she offered a special discount code for MiniBury readers: Vermont20 gets you 20 percent off at checkout. And here’s another sweet local connection: Fig For Kids is a member of Burlington-based 1% for the Planet and makes its annual charitable contribution to Middlebury Area Land Trust.

Stefanie shares her story below. Follow Fig For Kids on Instagram here.                                                                                                                             

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It seems like just yesterday that I walked the halls of Mary Hogan Elementary School. It certainly doesn’t feel like two decades ago that I left Vermont to chase my dreams in New York City. Yet these days, I feel closer to my childhood in Middlebury than ever.

I graduated from MUHS planning to pursue a career in law, thanks to Peter Langrock and Beth Robinson who mentored me senior year and taught me that the strongest advocates are those that defend from the heart. Two years later, I worked for Senator Leahy on the Judiciary Committee in his Washington, D.C. office. Twenty years later, I had a corner office in one of Manhattan’s most prestigious law firms and went on to work as the General Counsel for several multinational corporations. 

So when I tell people that I left my legal career recently to start a children’s clothing company they naturally want to understand, why?

The idea for Fig For Kids didn’t come to me overnight. It took me years to decide to move ahead with the concept. I credit my three children — Max (12), Sofia (10) and Lara (6) — for motivating me to finally take the leap; nothing prepares you for the impact that children will have on your life, and lucky for me, mine are showing great promise in being their own best advocates. 

When Max was born, I was living in New York City with my husband, Brian (also a lawyer), reading every label and doing what new moms do best: obsessing over every detail to make sure we got things “just right” for him. Organic food was something I paid special attention to, knowing how much nutrition impacts our health. Max proudly rocked a Middlebury Co-Op onesie in the early days. I leaned into everything I had learned growing up around a non-toxic, environmentally friendly lifestyle in Vermont.

I stayed the course when Sofia was born, and by the time Lara was born I felt I had my bases covered, providing a healthy all-around lifestyle for our family. 

And then my mom was diagnosed with cancer. 

A cancer diagnosis in the family reframes everything. Life takes on a different form and decisions are uniquely driven by trying to protect everyone and making the most of each and every day. 

I learned so much from having a loved one’s health compromised. I was shocked to learn how toxic a lot of things are that we consume every single day. Alarmingly, I discovered that our clothes often contain a lot of harmful chemicals that are known to be bad for our health and our environment (including things like cancer-causing dyes, heavy metals, formaldehyde, forever chemicals and phthalates). I wanted better for my kids and their growing bodies. I want better for all our kids and their planet.

The genesis story of Fig For Kids involves so much more detail and complexity, and I recently talked a bit more about it on a podcast that you can listen to here. Suffice it to say, it has felt like a homecoming for me to take on the challenge of greening-up the fashion industry. In so many ways, I was primed for this all along.

Follow Fig For Kids on Instagram here.