What: Organic nap mats
Features: Handmade comfy nap mats in fun, hip patterns. They’re on the pricey side but miles better (read: non-toxic) than what you’d get for $20 at Walmart.
Green Factor: Made with natural and organic materials, PVC-free.
Bonus: These fold up to keep the clean side in and the seller will embroider your child’s name on the underside so it shows when it’s folded up.
Find It Here: SewnNatural
What: Funky, modern room decor by children’s artist, Lorena Siminovich
Features: From the non-profit, Petit Collage, these adorable owls are laser cut from bamboo plywood and handcrafted by adults with disabilities in San Francisco.
Green Factor: Made from sustainably harvested bamboo.
Bonus: These come in several motifs such as zoo, jungle and forest animals, elephant family and retro-style birdies.
Find It Here: Amazon.com or Jillybean Green
What: Tutorial for making your own upcycled sweater boots
Features: With a big bulky sweater, some cheap flat shoes, a hot glue gun, some buttons, a sewing machine and a needle and thread you can make your own super stylin’ sweater boots.
Green Factor: You’re recycling old stuff into something new!
Bonus: While these won’t be truly winter-worthy (i.e. snow, sleet, rain), they’ll be adorable for all those cool days between fall and spring and your only limit is your imagination. See other examples here and here.
Find It Here: Instructables
Greener Lunch
Greener Transport
Greener Waste
Greener Supplies
Greener Education
Thanks to The Rainforest Alliance for kindly providing these tips (I added a few of my own)
It’s back-to-school time and for us, that means it’s also time to get more school uniforms. Unfortunately, for the past few years, I’ve been coming across more and more brands of uniforms that are treated with anti-stain chemicals.
While the old formulation of Scotchgard stain repellent was discontinued because it was found to be bio-accumulative, persistent and basically unsafe for living things (as were other similar perfluorochemicals such as Teflon) there is a whole new crop of stain-resistance chemicals that are supposed to be safer. Why? Because they stay in the body for less time—and while it’s great that they stay in your body for less time, it’s still my preference that they not be in my body or the bodies of my children at all.
With that in mind, I always avoid clothing (as well as furniture and housewares) that touts it’s resistance to stains but it still concerns me that a lot of people don’t realize this isn’t necessarily the bonus it’s advertised to be. It’s a chemical that’s not really been proven 100% safe and it will be on your child’s skin five days a week for an entire school year.
Thanks but no thanks…
There are many brands of uniforms out there and I’ve definitely not researched them all but these are the brands I’ve opted not to buy because they have been treated with stain resistant chemicals:
Land’s End
Cherokee (Target)
George (WalMart)
Dickies
Classroom
These are the brands that do not, as far as I can tell, use stain-resistant chemicals:
Old Navy
Izod
Dockers
French Toast (I saw one pair of French Toast pants being sold by an online uniform store that were treated with Scotchgard but none of the French Toast items I saw in stores or on the French Toast web site indicate any stain resistance treatment)
Recycle Those Uniforms
This spring, once it got warm, I took all my daughter’s winter khaki uniform pants and cut them into shorts and hemmed them with my sewing machine. I knew by the following winter they would be too short for her so this was an easy way to get more wear out of them. If you don’t sew, you can probably find an alteration shop that will do it for just a few dollars per pair.
I also look in consignment shops and thrift stores for gently worn khaki and navy pants and shorts for both kids and when the school has uniform swaps, I bring our too small stuff and trade up for bigger sizes.
While these things all save me money, they also conserve resources by employing the three R’s —reducing, reusing and recycling.
Happy non-toxic back to school!
On Wednesday, August 3, the nonprofit Ecology Center will be releasing it’s fourth report on toxic chemicals in children’s car seats at HealthyStuff.org. Research shows that many of these products are made with dangerous chemicals that can pose serious health risks for children.
Chemicals tested for include bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants), chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC and plasticizers), lead, and heavy metal allergens. Such chemicals have been linked to major health problems such as liver, thyroid and developmental problems in children. Babies are the most vulnerable population in terms of exposure to chemical-laden dust and inhaling toxic fumes, since their systems are still developing.
The Ecology Center tested over 150 infant, convertible and booster car seats (including brands such as Graco, Fisher Price, Britax, Evenflo, Peg Perego and more) and found that while some are virtually free of the most dangerous chemicals, others are saturated. To sample the car seats they used a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, which identifies the elemental composition of any material in less than 60 seconds.
Be sure to check HealthyStuff.org on August 3rd for this critical safety information.
What: Children’s table and chairs (comes in white and multi-colors)
Features: Sustainably made from zBoard recycled paper, each piece is sturdy yet super lightweight—62% lighter than particleboard furniture. It’s also water resistant and sets up in minutes without tools (looking at you, IKEA!)
Green Factor: Unlike particleboard, which is what most commonly available non-plastic children’s table sets are made of, zBoard is toxin, VOC and formaldehyde-free and uses environmentally friendly and recyclable water-based glues so there is no chemical outgassing in your home.
Additionally, zBoards are made almost entirely (99%) from post-consumer recycled paper and do not consume additional trees and the enormous amounts of water needed to make virgin paper. Way’s zBoard furniture is 100% recyclable
Bonus: Way is a carbon neutral company and a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. In addition to table sets, they make really cool bookshelves and modular cube storage systems.
Find It Here: Buy directly from Way Basics or buy from Amazon and get free shipping when you spend over $25
All across America, artificial food dyes can be found in everything from packaged macaroni and cheese to breakfast cereal and practically every processed food product in existence.
Artificial food dyes have been linked to cancer, ADHD (hyperactivity) in kids and serious food allergies and in response to enormous consumer pressure, multinational manufacturers like Kraft Foods voluntarily removed these artificial food dyes from products they sell in OTHER COUNTRIES, but not from the same products they sell in the US. Read the rest of this entry »
What: Set of four postcards presented in a matchbook-style cover with a handy pencil
Features: Each postcard bears a hand-rendered cultural object of days gone by— a cassette tape, a film-based camera, a rotary phone, and a typewriter.
Green Factor: Screenprinted with eco-friendly inks on 100% recycled paper stock.
Bonus: Made in San Francisco, USA
Find It Here: Branch Home
Most Americans assume that chemicals used to make ordinary products are tested for safety…but guess what? They’re not. Since 1950, over 70,000 new chemical compounds have been introduced into our environment—less than TWO PERCENT have ever been tested for human safety.
Over 150 chemicals commonly found in homes have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological/neurological abnormalities and the EPA has reported that nearly 30 cancer-causing chemicals were detectable in the fat tissues of literally every American today. Even more shocking (and morally unacceptable), innocent babies are now born with as many as 200 different chemicals and industrial pollutants IN THEIR CORD BLOOD.
From baby bottles made with bisphenol-A (BPA) to carpets containing formaldehyde, these dangerous chemicals are everywhere—in our homes, places of work, and the products we use every day. With each new scientific report linking toxic chemical exposure to a serious health problem, it becomes more apparent that the law intended to keep harmful chemicals in check—the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 is outdated and simply NOT working.
Right now, we have the chance to fix this problem—and to protect future generations from serious harm. By updating TSCA, Congress can create the foundation for a sound chemicals policy that protects public health and the environment. To be effective, TSCA reform should:
The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 can be the change we need, but without your support; without making YOUR voice heard, industry influence will very likely weaken these regulations and put us right back where we started, if not further behind and further endangering ALL citizens.
Senator Frank Lautenberg has introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, which would be the first major overhaul of America’s dangerously weak toxic chemicals law.
We need YOUR help to make this happen. Please take a moment to let your voice be heard by following the link below.
Take Action: Urge your Senators to cosponsor the Safe Chemicals Act
If you need more convincing, this video by The Environmental Working Group is extremely informative.
What: Fruit blends in a pouch
Features: Crushed fruits with no added water, sugars, concentrates or preservatives and free of dairy and gluten.. They come in a pouch so they can be packed in lunch boxes and diaper bags when you don’t have fresh organic fruit available.
Green Factor: Ella’s Kitchen Organic Smoothie Fruits are made with 100% organic fruits.
Bonus: Smoothie Fruits can also be used for cooking!
Find It Here: Amazon
Did you know that genetically engineered food crops actually require more pesticides and herbicides than non-genetically modified food crops? This means we’re ingesting more toxic chemicals on genetically engineered or modified (GE/GMO) foods, which, incidentally, have never been proven safe for the environment OR human consumption. It’s also not labeled as GE/GMO so we can’t even avoid it just by reading the ingredients. This is why the True Food Network’s True Food Shoppers Guide to Avoiding GE Foods was created — because you have the right to know what’s in your food!
The list, compiled primarily from direct communications with food producers, focuses on foods made with ingredients that are commonly derived from GE/GMO crops — the most widely grown being corn, soy, canola and cotton. The list also contains companies that have made a concerted effort to avoid GE/GMO ingredients and have company policies asserting their position on avoiding GE/GMO foods.
Download the list, print it out and keep it handy for when you’re grocery shopping or get the mobile app for your phone.* According to the New York Times, more than 70 percent of car buyers do some research before making a purchase. Shouldn’t we put at least that much effort into learning more about the food we eat?
*Get the mobile app for free on iTunes (for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) or Android Market by searching for “True Food.”
For more info on avoiding GMO’s, please read this article from Healthy Child, Healthy World.
Find It Here: The True Food Network
© Copyright 2007-2011 • The Green Mom Review™ • All Rights Reserved