Browsing Organics & Baby's Archives



Doesn’t Your Baby Deserve Certified Organic Baby Products

One would like to think that a newly born baby is absolutely pure and healthy. After all they have been in the safety of their mother while they prepare to face the world. Recent studies have discovered that analysis of umbilical cord blood from a group of babies born in America found an average of 200 different industrial chemicals and pollutants. These chemicals included herbicides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burnt coal, gasoline, and bulk wastes.

The majority of us grow up to be of good health and our bodies are capable of dealing with many harmfull substances. But the incidences of many health conditions are on the increase.

While we can never protect our babies from all possible contaminants, we can do our best to greatly minimise the chemicals they are exposed to.

Compared to an adult, a young baby’s skin is much more permeable. What this means is more of any topically applied substances can pass through more easily to the bloodstream. So it is particularly important to be using healthy, natural products on your baby.

There are many baby products that are made from synthetic chemicals that are often contaminated with 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde from suttocide, both which are known to be carciongenic.

Even if a chemical doesn’t have any known long-term health issues it can still be an irritant. A Study has found that well over half of babies suffer rashes within the first few months of birth. This is suspected to be caused by synthetic emulsifiers, surfactants, colors and fragrances.

The alternative is to use products made from natural ingredients that are known for their calming and gentle properties, such as chamomile, marshmallow and calendul.

Something to avoid is products that have natural ingredients but also still have synthetic chemicals. Many products have deceptive marketing, called greenwashing, that can make you think a product is all natural when it still contains synthetics.

So what options do you have if you want totally pure and natural products?

The only real guarantee for totally natural products is if it’s certified organic. This means it has been independently certified to meet very strict criteria on quality and contains zero synthetic chemicals.

ONE Group was the very first company to develop a certified organic skin care range called miessence, and more recently have released a range of certified organic baby products. These are the most pure and nuturing products you will ever find for your little bundle of joy. They are so gentle you can even use them on a newborn.

Only the finest organic ingredients are used, like aloe vera gel, coconut oil and yucca juice.

One item in the range is an extra-gentle creamy wash for your baby’s delicate skin that cleanses without drying the skin. Other products include a baby barrier balm for your baby’s sensitive skin.

Give your baby the purest start to life with miessence certified organic baby products.

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8 Oct 2008

Sustainable Parenting With Fleurville Diaper

So what does environmentally-friendly parenting look like on the ground? To begin with, many new parents want to support corporations that are not using poisonous materials. Still others want to make sure that no workers are being exploited to make their consumer goods.

One baby gear company that is leading the way in this regards is Fleurville. In fact, Fleurville bags was recently certified as “San Francisco Bay Area Green Business” by Marin County, California. Not only that, but Fleurville bags has the honor of being one of the first PVC-free corporations. Now is a great time to focus on how Fleurville produces eco-friendly baby products.

First off, PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is a poisonous substance found in many diaper bags and baby products. The reason PVC is dangerous is because it contains chlorine, which produces byproducts that poison plants, animals and eventually humans as it is passed up the foodchain. Many companies continue to use PVC because it is a cheap plastic, but Fleurville bags refuses to be part of this practice. Fleurville decided to use an eco-friendly polyurethane laminate instead, known as Green-LAM™.

Also, Fleurville bags has invested in an innovative nylon fiber that is constructed from recycled plastic water bottles. Known as Re-Run™, this plastic emits less pollutants than new plastic when produced, and also is saving plastic bottles for being added to the landfills.

Lastly, Fleurville donates 3% of its Re-Run products to the Eco-Mom Alliance, which is a educational non-profit dedicating to empowering parents to become conscious consumers. So by purchasing Fleurville products, we are not only supporting eco-parenting, but also showing the world that there is a demand for more green technologies like this.

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7 Oct 2008

Locating The Right Fabric For Your Baby Nursery Bedding

Baby bedding for girls: princesses and fairies. Baby bedding for boys: blue with puppy dogs. Wait - aren’t you forgetting something? You need to choose your baby bedding carefully, because it’s more than just a decoration.

You are aware of your own allergies and avoid any irritants - but what about your new baby? Everyone wants a cute nursery, but it’s important to pick the right bedding material first. Any decent crib bedding will tell you the thread count, cover material, fill material, and fill power (more fill=higher quality). The ensure the comfort of your baby, choose bedding that is breathable and lightweight, but also warm. Research on the Internet is easy, so take advantage of the resource to investigate potential bedding choices.

Organic fabrics are probably better than non-organic, but the most important thing is to avoid synthetics if you want to reduce the risk of allergies. Off-gassing is a concern with sythetic fabrics (this refers to the release of toxic gases that may happen), as well as breathability - most synthetic fabrics will not breathe. If you want to purchase a crib set like the Max crib bedding, which has mostly cotton but some synthetics, then you will need to decide how comfortable you are with synthetic fabrics.

Opinions differ, but many people argue that wool blankets are the softest and most comfortable for a young baby. Wool blankets are fabulous with a cotton flannel backing. Smaller blankets are perfect for swaddling; larger ones are just right for car trips and naptime.

When choosing your baby’s comforter, consider down as a filler. It’s light, warm, and breathable. Down comforters that are dry clean only are not practical, so look for the ones that are machine washable (that’s actually most of them). To ensure that your comforter is hypoallergenic, make sure it has a high cleanliness rating. Filler material is checked for cleanliness using two tests: oxygen and turbidity. Ten is the government standard for the oxygen test, but the numbers can (and should) be lower for quality comforters. 550 is approximately the top of the turbidity scale. Lower numbers mean more organic material and dirt has been left in the down.

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5 Oct 2008

Best Baby Skin Care - What Are They?

Many products are available and advertised in the market today as the best baby skin care for babies. However, there are certain problems with these advertisements for the best baby skin care since many of these claims are unfounded, and their advertisements of having the best baby skin care actually falls short. The fact is sometimes, your baby actually ends up suffering from skin irritations because of the chemicals and other irritants that are found in these baby skin care products. If you really want to have the best baby health care products for you new baby, then you have to ensure that the products you buy do not contain any products that would irritate their skin. You can start by avoiding products that have chemicals and opt instead for products with natural ingredients.

Go Back To Using The Basics

The best way to go when looking for the best baby skin care products is the natural way. Any product that contains petrochemicals in any amount must be avoided. Petrochemicals tend to be present in a variety of products such as lotions and moisturisers and thus these need to be scratched from your list of things to buy. Products such as petroleum jelly should also be taken of your list when you are purchasing best baby skin care items.

Baby lotion made from natural oils and ingredients are a great way to keep your baby’s skin smooth and soft. Aloe in moisturiser is a key ingredient and a great way to beat irritation. Chamomile can also be very soothing when applied typically to the skin. Be careful with essential oils and talk to your pediatrician if you are in doubt about any products.

You don’t have to break the back to be able to buy the best baby skin care products, as there are a large variety of products that can quite easily fit into your budget and still be able to protect your baby’s health. The easiest way for you to find the best baby skin care product is to have a look in your local health food store as they are more than likely to have the products you need.

You may be able to find the best baby skin care from smaller companies. Smaller companies usually have a bigger commitment to making sure that you get products that are high quality and have a high concentration of all the right ingredients. Supporting a local company could be the best thing as you are more likely to know where the ingredients come from.

If you’re still in doubt as to which are the best baby skin care products out there look for a board or guide that ranks organic and natural products. Make sure to read the labels and look for products that are fragrance and color free. The less synthetic ingredients there are in your baby care products the better.

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1 Oct 2008