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14-year-old entrepreneur invents ‘Basket Buddy’ to keep you germ-free while you shop

(News Nation/WGNO) — An innovative Texas teenager invented a safety tool to help keep you safe from possible germs while grocery shopping.

14-year-old Tia Madison Page created the “Basket Buddy.” Her company is called “Basket Buddy by TMP.”


Tia hand makes each one; she learned how to sew in her 8th grade Food and Fabrics class. Each ‘Basket Buddy’ takes between 20 and 30 minutes for her to sew.

The teen is originally from New Orleans, but now lives in Houston, Texas.

The “Basket Buddy” acts like a friend, which she created in hopes of make your grocery shopping safer because with her invention you don’t have to touch the shopping carts or baskets.

“This will help protect you. I wanted to create it because there are germs on shopping carts that you don’t know are there. With this you can slip it on, and go around the grocery store without worrying,” she said.

They are re-usable, washable, and removable, and they don’t slip off while you are shopping.

This teen feels like her invention helps make safety go hand in hand.

“I’m really happy because now when I go to the store or when you go to the store you won’t have to worry about touching the baskets,” she said.

A Winn Dixie shopper who bought some said, “I think it is a brilliant idea. It will save me a lot of Clorox wipes right now, because I’m trying to ration them. This is great.”

The ‘Basket Buddy’ comes in a variety of colors and designs. Each one is priced at $15.