What is the best way to wash Petit Bateau clothing?
Petit Bateau washing care and instructions…

Petit Bateau creates quality clothing for wearing tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after that and ever after that…To keep your clothes looking good for longer, read Petit Bateau’s guidelines:

The Oeko Tex Label
Petit Bateau’s entire collection is labeled Oeko Tex. This label confirms the non-use of dangerous colorants, pesticides, week-killer, carcinogenic substances and toxic products. This label also guarantees consumers innocuousness toward risks of irritation and allergy.

Natural Colors
Petit Bateau favors natural materials and non-aggressive colorants so that clothes are as gentle on the skin as they are on the enviroment.
Beware of cosmetic products or deodorants, which sometimes attack these olorants and can reduce colors significantly.

Sorting out the washing
Separate light from dark colors to prevent colors from running together.

Buttons, metal snaps and zippers
Remember to fasten buttons, metal snaps, velcro and zippers to help maintain the garments shape.

Cotton
For cotton, favor a wool wash cycle with gentle spin to conserve the shape and softness of your garment.

Always inside out!
Wash your clothes inside out to preserve their prints and their colors.

Loading machine
By not overloading your machine, you will prevent laundry detergent marks.

Use a suitable detergent
Recommended usage of a specific liquid detergent for a brighter wash.

An appropriate amount
Reduce the recommended amount of detergent. Your wash will be just as clean and you will help the enviroment.

Wash Maintenance instructions
Before washing clothes, read the symbols on the labels.
Washing
Do no wash
Hand wash
Maximum water temperature 140F/60C
Use permanent Press/Wrinkle resistant washer setting
Dry Cleaning
Do not dry clean
A-All solvents used in dry cleaning allowed
F- Only solvents allowed: white spirit
P-All solvents except trichloroethylene

Dry Maintenance instructions
Do not tumble dry
Tumble Dry allowed: Set dryer at low heat
Tumble Dry allowed: Set dryer at medium heat

Terry Cloth
For a softer, silkier appearance, place velour and terry cloth items inside out in the dryer.

Ironing Maintenance instructions
Stick to the recommended temperatures.
Do not iron
Low (maximum temperature 230F/110C)
Medium (maximum temperature 302F/150C)
High (maximum temperature 400F/200C)

Buttons and zippers
Avoid ironing buttons, metal snaps and zippers. Ironing might damage them.

Women can also enjoy huge savings and feel cozy in Petit Bateau Women’s tank tops, short sleeve and long sleeve tee shirts.

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“Business just stopped on a dime” 18 months ago, Mr. Buffington says, and he and his wife were unable to renegotiate their $7,000-a-month rent.

Working at home allows the couple to save $12,000 a month in rent and other overhead costs and focus on revamping Eurochild’s Web site to attract new customers. “You don’t have overhead, you don’t have to manage employees, you don’t have to keep the store clean — all the stuff that comes along with running a retail business,” Mr. Buffington says.

But as more small businesses around the country ditch their storefronts and offices to cut expenses during the recession, they’re encountering new hurdles. Many of them have to deal with home-business zoning ordinances and take on new insurance and marketing costs. The Buffingtons, for example, faced $1,200 a year for home-based-business commercial insurance, as well as an expanded online marketing budget.

Eurochild LLC

Kimberly and Brett Buffington closed their La Jolla, Calif., storefront in February to run Eurochild LLC out of their home to cut costs.

Business owners also confront the challenge of making it appear to loyal customers that nothing significant has changed. “Clearly, the biggest mistake is having a huge drop in customer base,” says Larry Cox, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

“You have to have a sense by talking to customers of how attached they are to the locations,” he says. “Will they continue to do business with you with a different model?”

Victoria Rogers of Kingston, N.J., closed her six-year-old ballet-apparel store across from the Princeton University campus last year. Her rent had risen over the years from $3,800 a month when she opened the store to $5,000 a month, and the slack economy was taking a toll. “You can’t sell enough ballet shoes to justify that kind of rent,” she says.

Ms. Rogers was set to reopen her business, Giselle Dancewear LLC, in her home last December, after winning approval from the local zoning board. She had spent a year with planners, engineers and lawyers preparing for the move and had bought a house for $500,000 using her retirement savings. But the Kingston Initiative, a community advocacy group, appealed the zoning ruling, leading town officials to reverse the board’s decision.

Zoning laws vary, but home-based businesses generally operate under the radar unless someone files a complaint. In this case, Karen Linder of the Kingston Initiative argues that Ms. Rogers’s home store violated the master zoning plan of a historic area. The Initiative, she says, was wary that the home-based business would set a dangerous precedent that would make it easier for other commercial businesses to move in.

“It was small-minded,” responds Ms. Rogers. But she recently got a permit to sell pointe shoes, by appointment only, at her home. In addition, the American Repertory Ballet’s Princeton Ballet School, one of her major customers, has allowed her to set up a little store in its lobby.

Billy Carmen, president of Wizard Industries Inc., a catalog-based specialty-tools company, looked for a town friendly to home-based businesses when he moved recently. The economic crunch led him to shed an office-and-warehouse space he had leased in a Los Angeles industrial complex since 2000 and trim his 12 employees to just him and his wife.

Mr. Carmen settled on Sebastopol, Calif. The town lets him put a business sign outside his new home. And he’s able to get packages picked up from his house, rather than having to drive to a nearby mailing facility to drop them off.

When small businesses move home, many of them are returning to their roots. Katheryn Haro co-founded Rutledge Haro Design Inc. in 2000 in the San Diego home of her business partner, Mary Rutledge. When business boomed, they moved the interior-decorating company to a commercial space downtown, eventually expanding to eight employees and $4 million in annual revenue.

But business has deteriorated over the past 18 months as clients have canceled 10 contracts. Three months ago, Haro Design laid off its staff, put the downtown office up for lease and moved back to Ms. Rutledge’s home. They hope that within a year a turnaround will allow them to return to the office space. “We’re just hunkering down,” Ms. Haro says. “But if nothing comes in, this year’s going to be a bad year.”

Despite the move back home, slumping sales have driven EuroChild’s Mr. Buffington to take a second job coaching high school tennis. To keep past customers loyal, he’s also offering free local delivery.

The Buffingtons have also had to rethink some of the basic dynamics of their business. “Before, we could put a sign with ’sale’ on it outside our door, and it would drive traffic directly into our front door,” Mr. Buffington says. “Now, we place ads on other Web sites, and send our email campaigns, and wish on a star that people will click through.”

Write to Raymund Flandez at raymund.flandez@wsj.com

Check out the new Petit Bateau Summer Collection for babies, boys, girls, kids and Women at eurochild.com.

New trendy Summer clothing for boys includes OKKIES, Petit Bateau, Ben Sherman and Quiksilver Kids Clothing!

How feet develop Feet are a very important part of our body. Just think that by the 7th week of pregnancy feet are completely developed, with joints and fingers fully formed. At birth baby’s feet are on average 7.5 cm and reach about 26 cm when fully developed. Baby’s feet are soft a supple. Only a part of the skeleton is calcified, ligaments are loose and muscles fairly weak since feet actually only start functioning normally at about 12 months when baby starts walking. Your baby’s foot arch is not well developed. It develops very slowly and is completely developed only at about the age of 6. During this phase, parents should allow their children to walk as often as possible barefooted outdoors. Just as important are the kids shoes your child wears: these should be the right fit and have all the quality characteristics prescribed by specialist.

As a matter of fact babies really do not need shoes. Walking barefoot outdoors is the most natural way to help feet grow strong and healthy. Foot malformations are rarely found in populations that walk barefooted.

Kids Shoes: Why are kids shoes therefore so important to growing feet?

Kids Shoes protect your child’s feet from harmful external elements such as cold and damp, shock, bruising and injury. This is especially important when your children start walking outdoors at about the age of one. Up to then, feet should simply be kept warm and protected from injuries. A good kids shoe must allow toes to wriggle freely without pinching and toes should not be squashed into an unnatural position. The kids shoe sole unit should be flexible and non-slip and the upper soft and comfortable. Just as important, the forefoot section must be flexible and the back must firmly support and guide the heel.

To choose the right fit when purchasing kids shoes, do not simply press down on the big toe because children tend to pull back their toes. Use a “Foot Measure” to choose the right size making sure that toes can wriggle freely in the kids shoe. Finally, remember that your child should wear a different pair of kids shoes every day.

The right fit for kids shoes Children grow up quickly and, depending on their age, their shoes also increase on average by 2 – 3 sizes each year (one size upgrade corresponds to 6.6 mm). Remember this when buying new kids shoes. Allow an extra 9 – 15 mm in length, according to your child’s age. Check the length of your child’s foot every 2-3 months to ensure that he or she has not outgrown their kids shoes. Children generally do not complain of discomfort when kids shoes are too short or too tight.

Useful recommendations to ensure the best development of your child’s feet and choosing the right kids shoe.

Up to the age o one, leave feet free, and at most allow your child to wear only socks or very soft leather shoes such as Pediped.

To stimulate mobility, lay your child on its back letting him kick freely. Your child can start wearing proper shoes when he starts crawling or takes his first steps. Every 2-3 months, measure the length of your child’s feet to ensure that the kids shoe size is correct. Choose only kids shoes manufactured with top quality materials.

If you have time, take out the insole every night to let it dry. After the age of 2-3, check feet and toenails periodically. Check the way your child walks for deviations of the knee from the longitudinal axis and consult your pediatrician in the case of abnormality. When your child is 3-4 years old, he or she should undergo a complete examination by an orthopedic specialist.

Allow your child to wear non-specific kids training shoes only for sports activities.