Mar
30
Alternative Teether: Camden Rose Maple Wood
Filed Under Green Mama | 1 Comment
We’ve already determined that there are in fact safe, affordable teethers made without BPA, PVC and phthalates on the market. But there are other alternatives to plastic that are safe and effective as well. A reader brought a teether to 
my attention that I thought was a great addition to the alternative teether category. Camden Rose makes a non-toxic Maple wood teether, created in a smooth ring shape for easy gripping by little hands. The teether is finished with natural beeswax and is made in the USA. Sounds good to me! Where to find it: Shop for it online at either Palumba or Amazon.com
Mar
28
Eden Foods Canned Beans Are BPA Free
Filed Under Bisphenol-A | 2 Comments
I first saw this reported over at ReallyNatural.com that the food company Eden Foods does not line their canned goods with coatings that contain BPA. Instead they’ve changed their packaging to be more environmentally friendly and BPA free materials.
Eden Organic Beans are packed in lead free tin covered steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel lining that does not contain bisphenol A (BPA). (Oleoresin is a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir).
As far as I know, Eden Foods is the only canned food company using this particular BA free costing on their cans. The company is also converting their pasta packaging to all recycled cardboard materials.
Find Eden Foods near you: Eden Foods Store Locater
Mar
26
TruKid Reader Discount
Filed Under Giveaways Coupons, Skin Care | 1 Comment
The great folks over at TruKid have been nice enough to offer up a discount to SafeMama readers. Simply spend $25 or more and receive a 20% discount on your order. Use the code SAFEMAMA20 when you check out. All products are paraben/phthalate and dioxane free. Thanks, TruKid.
Mar
26
Phthalates Ban in Washington on the Horizon
Filed Under Articles, Phthalates Info, Toy Safety | Comments Off
Even though a lot of parents are taking measure’s into their own hands by not buying toys containing PVC and phthalates, this is a time of change and I see it boiling in the wings. Already, California is instituting a ban on phthalates due to take effect next year. Next state in the spotlight is Washington. On March 7th the Children’s Safe Products Act passed the state Senate on a vote of 40-9.
The bill will eliminate three toxic chemicals, lead, cadmium, and phthalates, from toys and other children’s products. It will also require manufacturers to report whether their products contain other chemicals found to be of a concern for children’s health. Washington Toxics Coalition
Toy companies, as you can imagine, are not happy about this new move since Washington makes up about 2% of total U.S. toy sales, which last equaled $23.5 billion in annual revenues last year. It’s no wonder toy companies are scrambling. Representatives from Mattel and Hasbro sat down with the Gov. Chris Gregoire:
In a last-ditch effort to stop the measure, representatives of Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc., the country’s two biggest toy makers, met with Gov. Gregoire March 17, according to people familiar with the matter. At that meeting, and elsewhere, these people say, Mattel has told Washington officials that half of the products made by its Fisher-Price unit, which specializes in products for preschoolers, would be barred from the state if the law is adopted.
Boo Hoo. Way to throw your sucker in the dirt there Mattel. How about making your toys safer instead? There’s a novel idea. Ban on chemicals in toys and kids products is a fight worth fighting and more states are getting on the ban wagon.
Congress is considering new federal lead limits and other toy-safety standards but isn’t moving fast enough for sponsors of bills in 29 state legislatures. Illinois and Michigan have already enacted new lead laws, which aren’t as tough as the Washington bill. A ban on phthalates is due to take effect in California next year. The TIA says it has hired lobbyists to battle legislative proposals in 10 states, including Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Read it all here, great article: The Wall Street Journal: States Alter Rules of Game On Safety for Toy Makers
Mar
24
Green Toys at KangarooBoo!
Filed Under Eco-Mama, Green Mama | 1 Comment
Turn pretend play, planet friendly! One of my favorite online shops KangarooBoo is now selling Green Toys, a line of toy sets made of recycled plastic (like milk jugs). There are 4 cute sets, an Indoor Gardening Set, Cookware and Dining Set, a Tea Set (shipping in April), and a Sand Bucket set. All sets come in cute pastel colors 
without any surface paint (no lead worries!) The toys have all been voluntarily tested and are free of BPA, Phthalates, and have passed all voluntary testing for cadmium and those other nasties. They’ve been approved by the FDA for food contact and are made in the USA which helps reduce the fossil fuel needed to ship overseas! Even the packaging is made with recycled materials. I think these are great gift ideas and I have a set of twins to shop for next month … that tea set is perfect. KangarooBoo has a bevy of other great safe toys too, and they carry the Boon line of dishware. As always, a portion of their sales go towards children’s charities. It’s a win win!
Where to find them: KangarooBoo
Mar
23
Happy Easter from Safe Mama!
Filed Under Website News | Comments Off
Just wanted to wish those of you who celebrate Easter a safe, healthy and happy holiday today. Hope it’s filled with jelly beans, chocolate and some much needed relaxation. I know I could use it! Thanks for reading…
Kathy
Mar
22
Summer is going to be here before we know it and for those of us in the south, nice weather and even some heat has reared it’s head. Warm weather means ice pops. This isn’t high on the reduce, reuse, recycle list but… I need some ice pop molds and I just can’t bring myself to buy the mystery plastic molds at the dollar store (so many recalls come out of these stores) and I’ve yet to find any really decent store bought ice pops that don’t have extra sugar and food coloring. I spotted these on the Crate & Barrel website while perusing for something to use a gift card on. These star shaped ice pop molds are made of polypropylene, a BPA Free plastic, and make 6 3oz ice pops. Totally cute… and on sale for $12.95.
Get them here: Crate & Barrel
Safe Mama’s Banana Papaya Ice Pops
Ingredients:
2 Cups Papaya Nectar (or juice)
2 large ripe bananas
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons plain yogurtInstructions:
In a blender, mix until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze. Voila.
Mar
21
Product Review Series: Erba Organics
Filed Under Product Reviews, Skin Care | 2 Comments
I ran across this line of baby care in the “natural” product aisle at my local Target. It’s safe to say I’ve got a ton of products but when I saw the red price reduction sticker on some Erba Organics Baby Shampoo and a bottle of body wash for $2.98 each as opposed to the usual price of $5.99 I snatched them up for research purposes.
These little gems are Certified Organic and contain 77% organic ingredients, are paraben, sodium laureth sulfate, and phthalate free. I found that the shampoo suds up nicely but I am not overly impressed scent, or lack thereof, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Although compared to some other brands I have tried with similar traits, I was a little “eh” about it all. Had I not gotten the shampoo and body wash on sale I may have skipped it but it was a good deal. Although most baby shampoo is a combination of both shampoo and body wash.. these are sold seperately. I am pretty sure that using the shampoo AS a body wash works just as well. It foams up well and washes clean.
Overall, this is a nice product line, but I wasn’t totally enamored with it. It’s pluses are that it’s available in some Target stores (convenient) and comes in smaller sizes which are slightly more affordable. They have a full line available for baby and a line for Mommy too which is nice. And for those who are sick of the lavender smell, this is a good “unscented” option.
Mar
19
Book Review and Giveaway! The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide
Filed Under Giveaways Coupons, Product Reviews | 31 Comments
Enough of all this dioxane talk for a minute and let’s discuss something a little more fun… and let’s give away some free gifts! I recently had the opportunity to check out The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide written by Heather Maclean and Hollie Schultz, the creators of BabyGizmo.com. This is a hefty book, packed to the gills with tips and buying advice on everything baby related from the basic needs with a newborn to outfitting your preschooler with a potty. They cover the grounds from soup to nuts.
I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when I first got it in my hands. I thought, “Gee another baby gear book… whoopie.” However I soon discovered it’s value over a glass of wine and a quick scour of it’s contents. They really cover a lot of ground without becoming too wordy or opinionated. They guide you towards how to shop most efficiently for your new arrival so you’re not breaking the bank on every baby gadget in the universe. They give you the low-down on what you really need versus what is just an extra perk. From help with buying car seats, strollers, high chairs and more, these gals really give you the insiders edge on buying for your baby.
This book works great as a reference and what I found wonderful was they even covered “safe bottles” and toy safety, and using the CPSC, which as we all know are topics close to my non-toxic heart. They do it all without telling you what exact products to buy, rather they give you the information you need in your back pocket so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your kids.
This book is the perfect gift for a new mom, or even a rookie who is still learning the ropes. I’m no expert with a 2 year old and I already learned a thing or two about what kind of potty to look for. Double thumbs up from this Mom.
Giveaway Time! I’ve got 6 shiny new copies of The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide ready for your reading pleasure.
How to win it: Leave a comment on this entry by5:00pm EST on Thursday March 27, 2008 and you’ll be entered to win your copy. Duplicate comments will disqualify you from the giveaway. For an extra chance to win, send an email to safemama @ gmail.com with the subject “I Need the Baby Gizmo Buying Guide!” and you’ll get an extra entry.
Winners will be announced on Friday March 28th!
Congratulations to Karin, Margaret Cambric, cairomama, Christy, Ester and Melissa Dessaint! You have all won a copy of The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide. Thank you to all who entered!
Mar
18
1, 4-Dioxane in Organic Body Care Products
Filed Under Articles, Skin Care | 4 Comments
It literally pains me to write this post. It seems as though the moment I have everything under control as far as safe products go, something else pops up. And honestly, I try incredibly hard not to make this website feel “alarmist” and “We’re all gonna diiiiiieeee” in it’s tone but this is one of those times where I just can’t help it. I found an article last week about dioxane and tried to ignore it, but then I found a similar one so here’s the reported scoop:
Cancer-causing agent 1, 4-dioxane is known to be present in many conventional personal care products. But a new study released March 14 by the Organic Consumer Association (OCA) shows that the toxin is also present in many leading brands of claimed natural and uncertified organic shampoos, body washes, lotions and other personal care products.
1,4 dioxane is, by definition, used in solvent applications for manufacturing. The chemical is also used as a foaming agent and appears as an accidental byproduct of a process in cosmetics manufacturing. It may contaminate cosmetics and personal care products such as deodorants, shampoos, toothpastes and mouthwashes.
Why should I be concerned? I’ll tell you. Dioxane is a known eye and respiratory irritant and is suspected of causing damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. Accidental exposure to people working with it has been known to cause deaths. Dioxane is classified by the IARC as a Group 2B carcinogen: possibly carcinogenic to humans due to the fact that it is a known carcinogen in animals.
Some of the leading brands that tested positive for 1, 4-dioxane include Jason Pure Natural & Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, Nature’s Gate Organics. Some of the leading brands that did not test positive for the toxin include all USDA Certified brands including Dr. Bronner’s Sensibility Soaps (Nourish), Terressentials and all German Natural “BDIH” Certified brands including Aubrey Organics and Dr. Hauschka.
One of the things that always frustrates me the most about this kind of information is that there is a billion sites telling you why its bad, BAD, BAD! but they never give you the information needed to avoid it.
How to Avoid it:
- Always be weary of products that say they are all natural or organic. Read labels. There is nothing stopping companies from this claim right now.
- Buy products that are certified under the USDA National Organic Program or a similar German Program and products that bear the “USDA Organic” seal.
- Avoid products with synthetic ethoxylated ingredients including those with strange names like myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth and other “eth”, PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol.
- Reference the list of products tested in this FoodConsumer.org article.
Read the full article: FoodConsumer.org
Update: Here is the source list of products tested by the Organic Consumer Association.
US Consumer Product Safety Commission - Recent Child-Related Product Recalls- Children's Jewelry Recalled by Bead Bazaar USA Due to Risk of Lead ExposureThe children?s jewelry could contain high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
- Bayside Furnishings Recalls Youth Bed Toy Chests Sold at Costco After the Death of a 22-Month-Old ChildThe lid supports on the toy chests fail to prevent the lid from closing too quickly, posing an entrapment and strangulation hazard to young children.
- Redcat Racing Recalls Remote Controlled Toy Vehicles Due to Remote Control DefectThe remote control unit can lose its signal, causing the toy vehicle to lose control, posing a risk of injury to the user or bystanders.
- Infant Garments Recalled by Rashti & Rashti Due to Choking HazardThe snaps on these garments can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.
- Children's Jackets and Hoodies with Drawstrings Recalled by Coolibar Inc. Due to Strangulation HazardAn internal electrical component failure can cause overheating of the product posing a risk of burn or fire.
- Children's Jewelry Recalled by Bead Bazaar USA Due to Risk of Lead Exposure
- ConsumerAffairs.Com Recalls and Safety Alerts
- FDA Press Releases
- FDA Requests Boxed Warnings on Fluoroquinolone Antimicrobial Drugs
- FDA Approves New Genetic Test for Patients with Breast Cancer
- FDA Food Protection Plan Shows Significant Progress
- FDA Approves First Generic Risperidone to Treat Psychiatric Conditions
- FDA Requests Seizure of Animal Food Products at PETCO Distribution Center
- EWG: Enviroblog
- Consumer Reports
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