Wacky World of Rubber: Kids, parents are among rubber industry's best ambassadors

Some of the silicone industry's best ambassadors can be found in unlikely places: Playgrounds, school car pool lanes and grocery store check out lines.

That's because few understand how important silicone products are to everyday life like parents. Especially if they have young children. Parents need products that make our lives a little less hectic. We need products that are safe for kids and durable enough to survive being used by kids.

We also need products that keep the plant safe, because we want our little ones to inherit a bountiful, beautiful Earth.

Stacey Feeley and Giuliana Schwab are moms who think exactly the way parents think. And when they needed kid-friendly, eco-friendly products for families, they stopped searching and got to work designing.

Since establishing Traverse City, Mich.-based GoSili Inc. in 2006, Feeley and Schwab have introduced a range of products designed especially for kids and families. From cups and straws to bowls and reusable sandwich bags, each is made from silicone and designed with a parent's mission in mind: Safe for kids. Safe for the planet.

"In 2006, we started GoSili because it was time to do things differently," the co-founders note on gosili.com. "We were tired of not having options other than a plastic cup or disposable straw. Before it was cool, we started making the best silicone stuff on the market—stylish and modern, tough, and 100 percent nontoxic."

Silicone, they noted, was the best option for their products because it's a durable material that can take the worst that everyday life has to throw at it. Plus, they note, the products are recyclable.

"We're looking to stop the endless cycle of buying things that don't last and single use products that spend half a millennia in a landfill," GoSili's site says.

What makes GoSili stand out are products that break the mold. One of my favorite designs is the SiliSkin. The lid slips over the top of any drinking cup or glass much like a silicone sock, turning it into an instant sippy cup. Some have the traditional sippy cup top, others have a pace to insert a straw.

But that's not all GoSili offers. There are silicone cups for adults on the go, and a Drink From Anywhere cup with special lids to help teach toddlers how to drink from an open-top glass.

The silicone bowl that the company offers comes with a small saucer plate that doubles as a lid for the bowl.

To help reduce the prevalence of single-use straws, GoSili offers its own silicone straw. Unlike many reusable straws, though, this one travels well, the company claimed. Because its made of a soft, flexible material, it can fold to fit into a small carrying case that fits in a diaper bag, purse, pocket or glove compartment, so you have it when you need it.

What strikes me about the GoSili is the passion that both Feeley and Schwab show for the industry. In videos on the site and in emails exchanged, you can tell they are proud of the work they do and they are excited to offer products made from silicone.

More than that, the entrepreneurs have big ideas and even bigger plans when it comes to growing their company. A recently established strategic partnership with Evenflo Feeding is proof of that.

GoSili is built on a simple principle: Make good products that are good for families and good for the Earth. It probably should be no surprise that the rubber industry is part of that mission.