It all started with my daughter. Before, really, but that’s when it hit me - she’s got a million stuffed animals, picked up in a new city here, from the zoo there. And every single one of them means something. Tales of times we went out and did something, and sidekicks to her daily adventures now. It made me think of when I was a kid, with my two favorite stuffies (a brown bear and a leopard)*
*The brown bear I have safely tucked away in a closet but I can’t find the leopard for the life of me after a move and it KILLS me
So I started thinking about what that meant - stuffed animals have always been a source of comfort, especially as a kid, but as an adult too. And the opportunity to create something that can bring such joy to others while creating alongside my threenager daughter seemed too good to pass up. But what to create, and what should these stuffies be?
Well that was the easy part - I have always been wildly obsessed with animals, and primarily animals that flew a little more under-the-radar. As a kid I could recite facts endlessly about various fauna in the mountains, jungles and savannas, regularly visited the San Antonio Zoo with my family, and spent time at the Houston Zoo as a volunteer as an adult. Animals have always been my passion, and ensuring those animals would be around in the future hit that much harder when my daughter was born. We regularly frequent the Houston Zoo still, and it makes my day when my daughter’s eyes light up at the animals, especially since she’s usually most excited about the cheesy popcorn and ice cream.
Giving back to organizations that help these more under-the-radar species is very important to me: protecting wild habitats for animals threatened with deforestation, or providing rehab and vet care to animals in need are no-brainers to me. Animals are vital to their ecosystems and massive collapses can occur when species go missing. Utilizing these stuffed animals in a way that gives back to these organizations and furthers the cause of wildlife conservation was the way I wanted to go. And doing it in a way that was as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible was how I wanted to do it: our stuffed animals don’t come in any extra packaging (you don’t really want that anyway, unless it’s for your cat), they are shipped in recycled and recyclable shipping materials, and each purchase ALSO drives sustainable and eco-friendly projects with Greenspark, such as plastic reclamation from oceans worldwide that is then reprocessed for local economic growth. I wanted to do this, but I also wanted to do this the right way - Snugglebug would only be made if it serves conservation efforts for wildlife, and does so in more earth-friendly ways.
And you know what? We’re doing it. Every product sold aids in wildlife conservation efforts and furthers earth-friendly projects worldwide. Every product brings smiles to the children and adults that receive a Snugglebug. We’re not taking shortcuts, we’re doing it the way we intended, and we’d love if you’d come along on this journey with us!
- Rusty Sugg
Founder and Owner, Snugglebug
