About Us

The Nurtured Store

Our retail location at 2571 Robie Street, Halifax (at Willow Street, between North and Charles Streets) has been open since April 1, 2009! Visit us in person Monday-Wednesday and Saturday 10-5, Thursday and Friday 10-7 and Sunday 12-5. We also offer phone orders and online shopping for your convenience.

Who We Are and What We Do

Nurtured began as a home-based online business started by April MacKinnon in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. April later opened the retail location on Robie Street in Halifax in early 2009. As a pioneer in promoting the cloth diapering and baby wearing community, her vision has touched many parents who have come to know her and the team at Nurtured. I was very proud to become April's successor and receive her blessing as the new owner of Nurtured on March 2, 2011. Shortly thereafter, it was realized that the store needed additional space to grow. On December 3, 2011, shortly after the birth of our second son, we celebrated our Grand Re-Opening to showcase the renovated space that almost doubled the original size of the store. 

Since the opening of the retail location Nurtured has become more than a store, it has nurtured a community. Customers indicate that Nurtured is a resource and a broader part of the post-partum experience and the child raising years that follow. The motivation of the business is to educate parents and parents-to-be so they can make informed decisions when it comes to the care of their children, the environment, and our shared future.

Becoming a parent changes everything. It is Nurtured's mission to reduce the impact we, as consumers, are having on our environment. We continually search for high-quality products that would last the life of our children and beyond, setting high standards for the products we select. We believe in independent business and the importance of supporting our local economy. As employees, we go out of our way to shop with independent retailers who, like us, believe in developing a relationship with their clients. We strive to provide individualized customer support for our families on an ongoing basis and have earned a respected reputation among the cloth diapering community. We appreciate and encourage your feedback and we have been rated at the Diaper Pin, a public forum providing feedback on customer service and product support in the cloth diapering industry.

Our Buying Policy

Nurtured strives to provide safe, natural, and environmentally sustainable products for families. When selecting products to stock in our store, we first look locally, provincially, and nationally before going abroad. We strive to minimize the transport miles our products have logged before they make it to our shelves.

Preference is given to companies that use organically grown products and to companies that use recycled material and/or packaging and/or are powered by renewable energy sources.

We work with a number of very small businesses - in some cases only one person, to provide our customers with unique products not found elsewhere.

We do not take items on consignment.

No product containing PVC or melamine is sold in our store or on our website. Plastic products are kept to a minimum in the event that plastic cannot be avoided, preference is given to polypropylene (PP #5), a very stable plastic not known to leach toxins or silicon, a naturally occurring mineral (it is not hydrocarbon-based as other plastics are).

Skin care products must not contain parabens or other known estrogen-mimicking chemicals. All skin care products should contain ingredients generally regarded as safe and all products will have been checked against the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep database for potential risks.

All baby carrier and diaper manufacturers are required to carry liability insurance in an amount concurrent with the industry norm.

Our Services

We are proud to offer complete gift registry services – so go ahead and request cloth diapers as your shower gift. Select exactly what you’d like from our shop, or let your guests surprise you – either way, you will build a well-stocked supply of diapers and other items befitting your new arrival. We also offer an array of workshops to connect local families with each other while educating themselves on the topics we deliver.

Above all, we’re here to help. We understand how challenging it can be to navigate the sea of cloth diapering and babywearing choices and many other parenting related topics. Our goal is to provide you with the information, resources, and one-on-one support to help you select the right products for your family. Please feel free to drop us a line any time!

April remarked that she has met so many wonderful families since the humble beginnings of Nurtured in 2006. As the present owner I look forward to meeting both past and future customers of Nurtured while remaining true to April's principal beliefs.

Jolyn Swain
Mom & Owner, Nurtured