By Jak Burke,
Happy New Year! We hope that the holidays were a fun and restful time for you and your family. What will this year have in store? The trends are still leaning toward more conscious consumerism especially in juvenile markets. And the good news is that more U.S companies than ever are offering affordable and “green” baby products.
Green = sustainable, chemical-free, earth-friendly and naturally sourced products.
Whether you are preparing for a new baby or rethinking the baby products currently on the market (and how chemicals and toxins affect our infant’s growing body) it’s seasonal to stop and reevaluate our consumer habits at the beginning of a new year.
There are basically five areas of our infant’s life that require specific products, and they are:
Feeding
Personal Care Products
Clothing & Diapers
Nursery Items
Cleaning Products
FEEDING
Let’s start with feeding. If you breastfeed or intend to, it’s good to remember that what you consume and are exposed to in your environment will find its way into your breast-milk. Here’s a quote from a full-length article that we wrote on the subject:
“Did you know that 232 toxic chemicals were found in umbilical blood samples? And 12 hormone-disrupting chemicals were found in breast-milk?” Read More Here.
In short, pesticides on conventional fruit and vegetables, the lining of cans, personal care products, household cleaning products, tap water, flame retardant furniture and bedding, and gardening products can all expose a pregnant or lactating mother to an array of toxic chemicals. How to Avoid Chemicals.
Summary. The easiest way to prevent breast milk contamination is to eat organic fruit and vegetables, hormone-free meat and fish, drink filtered water and use cleaning and personal care products that are 100% naturally sourced and chemical free. Need advice on breast-feeding? Read More Here.
What about formula?
For a full round-up of baby formula Read More Here. The bottom line is that some formulas are better than others. If you are vegan and want to source non-animal, protein-based formulas pay close attention to “GMO” or “modified” ingredients. Look out for a Non-GMO label and brand. And it’s good to source a formula that is made predominantly from organic ingredients. Also look out for empty calorie fillers and sweeteners, like high fructose syrup, rice syrup and artificial sweeteners, under the ingredients label as these do not necessarily provide essential nutrients. It’s worth noting that the order an ingredient appears means the percentage the formula contains of it. Be wary of any formula that leads with sugar or another sweetener, for example.
Bottles
Glass bottles are a safer option, even to BPA-free plastic bottles. Here’s a great list of glass bottle manufacturers.
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
These are products are things like: shampoo, baby lotion, powder, diaper cream and bubble bath. Conventional products and even household names contain ingredients that are banned in other countries. These can act as hormone disrupters or lead to developmental issues.
Some great brands to substitute are: Zoe Organics, Meow Meow Tweet, (shampoo) Weleda Calendual Cream (diaper cream), Skincando’s Combat Ready Balm (rash cream), Redmond Clay Baby Powder (powder), Seventh Generation Coconut Care product line: lotion, soap.
What about sunscreens?
Read our three-part guide to the safest sunscreens here: Over-view. Second part of guide. Third part of guide.
CLOTHING AND DIAPERS
When shopping for baby clothing especially intimate items like sleeping sacks and onesies it’s good to avoid products that use chemical dyes, fire retardant chemicals, bleaches and artificial materials. For more about fire-retardant chemicals on clothing go here. Good alternatives would be clothing made from organic hemp, bamboo, unbleached cotton and natural wool blends. For a guide to manufacturers go here.
Diapers are one essential parents cannot do without. Yet we often don’t think too much about them. After all they’re on then off and we can’t get rid of them quick enough. But diapers sit closely to our baby’s intimate parts for hours at a time, and for many months of their early life. And most conventional diapers contain bleach dyes and fillers that are toxic to our infant’s bodies and the land fills they are tipped into in staggering numbers annually. For a guide to biodegradable and cloth diapers go here.
NURSERY ITEMS
When selecting items for your nursery it’s important to consider these three questions:
Do you know what materials and processing were used in the manufacturing of the items?
Does the item comply with U.S safety legislation for juvenile products?
What chemicals were used in the finishing of the items?
In terms of bedding, mattresses, covers, rugs, curtains you will want to watch out for fire retardant chemicals and finishes that may emit toxic odors. There are many organic, chemical-free mattresses and bedding to choose from. Here are some. For a guide to fire retardant chemical exposure go here.
Safer sleeping for your baby?
Read our full guide here.
CLEANING PRODUCTS
Research (read report here) has shown that the chemicals found in regular cleaning products contain a dizzying array of harmful ingredients. These ingredients are particularly harmful to our growing child. So we will want to use naturally sourced products when cleaning our baby’s nursery, bathroom and any area where our baby spends a good deal of time, and for this reason be especially careful of floor cleaners – the natural habitat of a crawling infant. As with our baby’s environment we will want to keep our child’s toys clean as naturally as possible. Here is a guide to safer cleaning products.
What are your #green tips? Do you make #greenbabyproducts? Tell us about it.