Thank you for taking the time to discover Milkdot!
Hello, my name is Janet Cho, the owner and designer at Milkdot.
Every idea usually starts with a problem. Mine began years ago, when I started looking for a lunch bag for my son but I couldn't find one that was stylish and functional for both kids and adults.
What I did find were inexpensive generic lunch bags in big box stores but those fell apart quickly. I found neoprene ones that smelled toxic (which by the way is off-gassing VOC's or Volatile Organic Compounds). Some lunch bags looked too much like purses. Others were too heavy and bulky. And many were branded with princesses or superheroes.
With a background in graphic design and prior experience running a product design company, I decided to design a lunch bag. During the process, I soon encountered a second problem that I wasn't expecting. I never realized a bag could be a dangerous product because of the materials! Suddenly, I was faced with researching: what is PVC? What is BPA? What are phthalates? What materials contain lead? It was a shocking wake up call that all these toxins could be present in a bag!
I really wanted to design a product that could fulfill the things that I love: minimal design, color and functionality. But, if I was going to do this, I knew that I had to make it my priority to use non-toxic materials.
While thinking about the company name, two simple words came to mind and I thought about what each word meant to me:
milk: children, nourishment for all ages, wholesome, pure, clean
dot: each one of us can make a positive impact by the choices we make every day
milkdot embodies my love for minimal clean design for the young at heart + a deep respect for the world God has given us, with a responsibility to only make what is "good" (products that will always use safe, non-toxic materials).
By purchasing a Milkdot product, I'm forever grateful because your choice says these things are important to you too.