I just remembered what is so great about bamboo clothes for babies and for all of us - they are naturally antibacterial and have block SPF sun rays.
I'm just so amazed at how great of a fabric bamboo is ... I first fell in love with it for the way it feels, but now it just keeps getting better.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Not What They Seem
It's so frustrating when I read about cosmetic labels and how difficult it can be to trust them. I just read this press release from Organic Consumers and feel so depressed! I naively think of Whole Foods and the products sold there as being "safe" from environmental hazards, but now it looks as if the Avalon Brand (selling the popular "Alba" products, which I have become partial to) and the Whole Foods 365 brand are both under investigation for having carcinogenic contents. Argh! It's not easy being green!
PRESS RELEASE
California Files Lawsuit Against Whole Foods, Avalon, and Others Whose Products Tested Positive for Carcinogenic 1,4-Dioxane in OCA Study
For immediate release
OAKLAND, CA - Reacting in part to a study released by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in March of this year, but also based on their own testing, the Attorney General of California has filed a major lawsuit against body care household-cleaning product companies whose products recently tested highest for the carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane.
FOR MORE, GO HERE
PRESS RELEASE
California Files Lawsuit Against Whole Foods, Avalon, and Others Whose Products Tested Positive for Carcinogenic 1,4-Dioxane in OCA Study
For immediate release
OAKLAND, CA - Reacting in part to a study released by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in March of this year, but also based on their own testing, the Attorney General of California has filed a major lawsuit against body care household-cleaning product companies whose products recently tested highest for the carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane.
FOR MORE, GO HERE
Monday, June 16, 2008
Green Air Ducts
As I write this, a service company is cleaning our air ducts. I think it really needed to be done, and hope that the result is both a cleaner indoor environment and a more efficient heating and cooling system. When I looked at the filter it was really bad - in fact, we have never cleaned our air ducts before, and we have lived here for seven years.
The service companies say that we should 1) change air filters every 4 months; 2) clean ducts every 2 years; and 3) do a massive system clean every 10 years. Since it's been so long, we're doing the massive system clean, which is expensive, but hopefully well worth it.
We're also going with a reusable air filter that we will have to wash every four months and will reduce our waste, as typical air filters are disposable.
The service companies say that we should 1) change air filters every 4 months; 2) clean ducts every 2 years; and 3) do a massive system clean every 10 years. Since it's been so long, we're doing the massive system clean, which is expensive, but hopefully well worth it.
We're also going with a reusable air filter that we will have to wash every four months and will reduce our waste, as typical air filters are disposable.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Overboard or Normal?
The deeper I get into being "green," the harder it is for me to distinguish between reasonable accommodations and overboard ones. In other words, what is "normal" for a greenie like me?
For example, I really hate getting all of those plastic produce bags at the grocery store, so I sewed some little bags out of fabric scraps to use instead. I get really funny looks at the grocery store when I use them, but it doesn't seem that strange to me!
Of course, in addition to many strange looks, I also get at least one person asking me where I got my little bags - they usually express disappointment that I made them myself and thus don't know where to buy them.
For example, I really hate getting all of those plastic produce bags at the grocery store, so I sewed some little bags out of fabric scraps to use instead. I get really funny looks at the grocery store when I use them, but it doesn't seem that strange to me!
Of course, in addition to many strange looks, I also get at least one person asking me where I got my little bags - they usually express disappointment that I made them myself and thus don't know where to buy them.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Farmer's Market
We have a really great farmer's market here in Santa Monica, and I try to go every Sunday. Yesterday while my daughter was sleeping and my husband was working, I took off on my bike to pick up my favorite foods.
I always get two dozen eggs from chickens who live on a nut farm and are raised completely outdoors, eating bugs etc. I also love the grass-fed beef and pork, and an amazing hazelnut whole-grain bread. Two beautiful tomatoes and various greens rounded out my successful shopping expedition.
I always get two dozen eggs from chickens who live on a nut farm and are raised completely outdoors, eating bugs etc. I also love the grass-fed beef and pork, and an amazing hazelnut whole-grain bread. Two beautiful tomatoes and various greens rounded out my successful shopping expedition.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Five Ways to Raise a Green Baby
Environmentalism is an increasingly popular topic of conversation, and much of the reason for “Going Green” is to protect the environment for our children and grandchildren. Luckily, raising a baby “Green” is becoming easier every day, as more products and services become available to us that make it simple to make an impact on the health of your baby today and her hopes of seeing a greener world tomorrow.
There are many reasons for adopting a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, not the least of which is that it is usually healthier for you and your family because most products that are considered “green” contain less chemicals and hormones. On a larger scale, going green can have a significant impact on the health of our World. The world population continues to grow at an alarming rate: 1 billion people in 1800; 2 billion by 1922; and over 6 billion by 2000 are estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is estimated that the population will swell to over 9 billion by 2050.
That means that if we evenly distributed the Earth’s natural resources (which we don’t), the population in 2050 - when your children’s children are growing up - will have only 25% of the resources per capita that we had in 1950. There are a finite number of resources available to the human population, and we are depleting them every day. If we have any desire to leave the world in a state that can sustain our grandchildren, then we simply must preserve resources and become more ecologically-minded.
Going green doesn’t have to be a major ordeal. In fact, one of the best ways to do it is in small stages – one or two steps at a time. The deeper you get into green living the more you will see that there are infinite things that we can do, both big and small, to improve our environment. Try not to become overwhelmed – simply focus on doing as much as you reasonably can at any one time, and know that even a little bit helps!
Here are three small steps that you can take today to raise a green baby:
1. Organic Foods: Thanks to the growing popularity of organic foods, it is increasingly easy to find organic options for your baby. In many supermarkets you can find organic fruits and vegetables, organic cereals, and other baby staples.
2. Household Cleaners: When you have a baby, you start to notice the chemicals in your home. Today’s environmentally-friendly cleaners are just as good as chemical-laden options, and are far better for the Earth and your baby’s skin.
3. Diapers: There are two green options in diapers: cloth and organic/unbleached. Cloth diapers work really well and you can get a service to take care of them so that you don’t have to deal with too much mess, but they are still too much for many people. Luckily, you can now get affordable organic diapers that require fewer chemicals to produce, thus reducing overall stress on the Earth.
4. Milk: If you can, then breast feed your baby. This is the ultimate way to go in terms of environmentalism and economics. Of course, if you cannot breast feed for any reason, then you can still purchase organic baby formula, which will cut down on the chemicals and hormones in your baby's milk while reducing the impact on the environment.
5. Recycle Gift Packaging: Babies bring with them a lot of gifts! Every gift that you receive probably comes wrapped in cardboard, paper and plastic materials that can all be recycled. You can save nice gift bags and ribbons to wrap future presents, and recycle everything else.
As more people adopt a greener lifestyle, we are seeing more and more organic and environmentally-sound products in local supermarkets and even stores like Target and Wal-Mart. Keep your eyes open, and you’ll realize that raising a green baby doesn’t have to be a struggle.
There are many reasons for adopting a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, not the least of which is that it is usually healthier for you and your family because most products that are considered “green” contain less chemicals and hormones. On a larger scale, going green can have a significant impact on the health of our World. The world population continues to grow at an alarming rate: 1 billion people in 1800; 2 billion by 1922; and over 6 billion by 2000 are estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is estimated that the population will swell to over 9 billion by 2050.
That means that if we evenly distributed the Earth’s natural resources (which we don’t), the population in 2050 - when your children’s children are growing up - will have only 25% of the resources per capita that we had in 1950. There are a finite number of resources available to the human population, and we are depleting them every day. If we have any desire to leave the world in a state that can sustain our grandchildren, then we simply must preserve resources and become more ecologically-minded.
Going green doesn’t have to be a major ordeal. In fact, one of the best ways to do it is in small stages – one or two steps at a time. The deeper you get into green living the more you will see that there are infinite things that we can do, both big and small, to improve our environment. Try not to become overwhelmed – simply focus on doing as much as you reasonably can at any one time, and know that even a little bit helps!
Here are three small steps that you can take today to raise a green baby:
1. Organic Foods: Thanks to the growing popularity of organic foods, it is increasingly easy to find organic options for your baby. In many supermarkets you can find organic fruits and vegetables, organic cereals, and other baby staples.
2. Household Cleaners: When you have a baby, you start to notice the chemicals in your home. Today’s environmentally-friendly cleaners are just as good as chemical-laden options, and are far better for the Earth and your baby’s skin.
3. Diapers: There are two green options in diapers: cloth and organic/unbleached. Cloth diapers work really well and you can get a service to take care of them so that you don’t have to deal with too much mess, but they are still too much for many people. Luckily, you can now get affordable organic diapers that require fewer chemicals to produce, thus reducing overall stress on the Earth.
4. Milk: If you can, then breast feed your baby. This is the ultimate way to go in terms of environmentalism and economics. Of course, if you cannot breast feed for any reason, then you can still purchase organic baby formula, which will cut down on the chemicals and hormones in your baby's milk while reducing the impact on the environment.
5. Recycle Gift Packaging: Babies bring with them a lot of gifts! Every gift that you receive probably comes wrapped in cardboard, paper and plastic materials that can all be recycled. You can save nice gift bags and ribbons to wrap future presents, and recycle everything else.
As more people adopt a greener lifestyle, we are seeing more and more organic and environmentally-sound products in local supermarkets and even stores like Target and Wal-Mart. Keep your eyes open, and you’ll realize that raising a green baby doesn’t have to be a struggle.
Here We Go!
I am so excited to be launching my new website this week! Green Baby Gifts is a new concept that I've been working on for a few months, and it's both a relief and really scary to be putting it out there in the market.
Yesterday I finished up all of the photography and web layout, although I have to admit that it's really hard for me to let it be "done!" Now I just have all the rest of the work to do - marketing the darn thing so that it will get out into the world and make a difference.
Here on the home front, last weekend we made the switch to partially-recycled trash bags and fully-recycled doggie-doo bags. They are both a lot more expensive that typical bags, but we're really trying hard to be as green as possible, and plastics are such a challenge for the environment. Now we're looking into a small composter for our back patio, but it's tough because we don't have any Earth (we live in a Townhouse without a yard), so we have to get the "right" type of composter with a crank handle, etc.
Yesterday I finished up all of the photography and web layout, although I have to admit that it's really hard for me to let it be "done!" Now I just have all the rest of the work to do - marketing the darn thing so that it will get out into the world and make a difference.
Here on the home front, last weekend we made the switch to partially-recycled trash bags and fully-recycled doggie-doo bags. They are both a lot more expensive that typical bags, but we're really trying hard to be as green as possible, and plastics are such a challenge for the environment. Now we're looking into a small composter for our back patio, but it's tough because we don't have any Earth (we live in a Townhouse without a yard), so we have to get the "right" type of composter with a crank handle, etc.
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