Little Smudgeez, a fast-growing Fallon company created by a mother-and-daughter team to make eco-friendly cloth diapers, took top honors in the InnovateHER Challenge in Reno.
The competition is part of the Small Business Administration 2015 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge, a series of nationwide events to showcase products and services that impact women and families.
Ten finalists nationwide will be selected in regional competitions. Finalists will be recognized in Washington, D.C., during National Small Business Week, May 4-8. They’ll make a live marketing pitch to a panel of judges, and the three top finishers will share $30,000 in cash prizes.
The InnovateHER Challenge was sponsored by The CUBE at Midtown, a business incubator that fosters the creation, development and growth of new businesses.
Adrienne Snow and her mother, Rebecca Pleasants, launched Little Smudgeez to manufacture modern cloth diapers from natural fibers.
Snow told the InnovateHER judging panel that the Little Smudgeez diapers provide a healthier alternative to disposable diapers, save families thousands of dollars that otherwise would be spent on disposables and dramatically reduce the flow of trash into landfills.
The company, the first of its kind in Nevada, has relationships with customers worldwide through its Web site and has supported the creation of flourishing small firms that provide diaper service in the Reno and Las Vegas areas.
The bamboo-cloth diapers and accessories that are the keystone of its product line are made by workers in Nevada — including, even today, Pleasants and Snow — while a lower-priced line is manufactured in China.
“Little Smudgeez is a young company that brings pride to northern Nevada,” said Eric Madison, executive director of The CUBE at Midtown. “It’s serving mothers, children and families, it’s making a significant contribution to improvement of the environment, and it’s bringing economic strength to a rural community.”
