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Nov

10

Dear SafeMama: What’s TPR and Is It Safe? Answer from The Soft Landing!

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, PVC Free, Product Safety | Comments Off

Question: Do you know the identity of the soft, non-skid “rubbery” parts that are often included on Sassy or Munchkin products? These seem a lot like PVC to me, but might be silicone. I know they are BPA free and SAY they are PVC free, but then what exactly is the material and is it safe?

Answer: It’s a pain not knowing what’s what, so we reached out to our favorite expert Alicia from The Soft Landing to get the skinny on this mystery material so often found on baby toys and teethers. She knew exactly what it was of course! Here’s what she had to say:

“While PVC is sometimes used in various parts of teethers, the dense “rubbery” areas on teethers (and even non-skid bowls and such) are usually made from either silicone or thermoplasticized rubber (TPR). TPR is a great choice because it doesn’t require the use of BPA and is made without PVC (and thus phthalates). Thermos uses it for their Foogo sippy spouts. PVC is typically found in hollow, squeeky bath toys or dense, plastic baby dolls with a harder feel (less rubbery) and is hardly ever used in eating gear. Silicone and TPR are both usually BPA-free, because they simply don’t require the use of a hardening/strengthening agent like polycarbonate plastic does.

If a manufacturer goes the extra trouble of actually labeling a product as BPA or PVC-free, you can usually assume that it’s true. They are not required by law to label their products with materials used (or not used in some cases), so if they do, they are laying their reputation on the line.”

Thanks Alicia! As always, if you’re ever in doubt about a product or material… do your shopping at The Soft Landing. There you are sure to get non-toxic safe feeding and baby gear. Be sure to check out her great holiday specials too! Alicia also runs the The Soft Landing Blog where you can find great information on a bevy of other children’s feeding and toy gear… check it out!

Jul

14

Dear SafeMama: Disposables edition

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, Product Reviews | 3 Comments

Dear SafeMama,

How safe are the new Earth’s Best diapers/ new Huggies Pure and Natural diapers?

We get these two questions a lot. I’m pretty much a devout Seventh Generation user when I do use disposables, because they work well for us (and lately, with a newborn, I’ve been using them more, just because getting around to doing more laundry isn’t really happening at this point). As a sidenote, a SafeMama reader wrote in about Seventh Generation going back to using SLS’s in their products. I just want to clarify, that this is only in cleaning products, not diapers.

Anyway, in the interest of research, I thought I would buy a package of both, and put them to the test.

Earth’s Best Chlorine Free Diapers: Truthfully, I was forced to pick these up, becuase the store didn’t have my son’s size in stock. I had read that they were softer than Seventh Generation’s diapers, and that’s probably my only beef with chlorine free diapers, is that they’re not as soft as your standard Pampers and the like. The diapers themselves work pretty well. They’re also very generously sized, to the point of running on the larger size. I have dubbed these the “granny panties” of the diaper world, because they are so large that they go halfway up my son’s back. The other thing that I don’t like, is the giant Earth’s Best label across the front. I’m not one for silly characters, or even a label, plain diapers suffice just fine, but overall, it’s not a huge deal breaker. They work well, and they’re the same price as the other diapers in the same class. Overall, great safer disposable alternative.

Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers: We get a lot of questions about these diapers, and I hate to have to be the one to be the bearer of bad news, but these are not really a natural alternative, but more Huggies greenwashing the public to make them believe. Basically, the outer part of the diaper is made with organic cotton, which is great, but the rest of the diaper is no different than a conventional disposable. They’re bleached with dioxins, and as for the organic cotton outer, there’s no law that mandates exactly how much the product has to be organic in order to label it as such. So the diaper could be made from 100% organic materials, or 10% organic materials. I picked up the newborn size for my daughter in the interest of seeing what the hype was all about, and also because they had a cord cut out (something Seventh Generation doesn’t have). However, greenwashing aside, I found the diaper to be sub par and 99% of the time it leaked. SafeMama gives this diaper a thumbs down.

So what are our top picks for disposables? Seventh Generation, Nature Babycare, Earth’s Best and Tushies. There’s also the little g hybrid diaper, which could be considered disposable, however, they’re a more expensive option.

Jun

5

Dear SafeMama: Summer Series – Baby Pools

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, PVC Free | 1 Comment

Q: Do you know of any baby/wading pools that are safe from phthalates/pvc/bpa? I really want to get one for play at home with my 9 month old but am concerned they will leach chemicals. Thanks.

I get this question a lot and really wish I had a better answer. Hopefully in the next few years there will be better options available but for now we’re pretty limited when it comes to water toys and the use of vinyl or PVC. Most mainstream blow up style pools are made with vinyl because of its water resistant nature and its ability (through the use of phthalates) to be flexible. Same with beach balls, slip n slides and all those fun outdoor water toys. I’ll admit all those vinyl pools look like a LOT more fun, but if you’re worried about using PVC then unfortunately there aren’t a ton of options in this area but I have but one answer for right now:

Molded Pools. From what I’ve gathered, the majority of molded kid pools are made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene or #4 on the recycling scale). These are available many times out front at the grocery store. You’ve seen them propped up by the door sometimes in 2 sizes with weird fish all over them. Toys R Us carries a couple molded pools made of #4 plastic as well.

Many of the molded pools I’ve found have a recycling mark on them somewhere but I have seen some that were not marked with recycling codes. However my best guess is that most molded pools are not made of PVC. (But don’t quote me on that – there is always the exception). If anyone has ideas I’m happy to add reader feedback!

Apr

29

Dear SafeMama: Lawn Care

Filed Under Dear SafeMama | 9 Comments

My daughter-in-law is concerned about their neighbors use of lawn pesticides and weed killers ~ do you know of any safe products in this area? Thank you

Late last spring, when the weather finally decided to cooperate and allow me to open the windows, I was completely giddy. Opening the windows on a beautiful spring day is one those little joys in life, for me. Whenever it’s even remotely warm enough, I throw them open to air the house out of old stale air. But one day, I was sitting there and I smelled this foul chemical smell coming in and I couldn’t for the life of me figure it out. Until I looked down the street and saw that the neighbors were getting their lawn sprayed with chemicals from a well known lawn company. Of course, they’re well within their rights, but I slammed the windows shut and wondered WHY anyone would want to put that stuff on their lawn when they have small children who play constantly on it.

Living in a cookie cutter neighborhood, I want my lawn to be lush and green and pretty, but not at the expense of my family’s health.

There are a couple of options that I know about:

Greener lawn care companies – There are a couple out there that I know of, but one that I see in our neighborhood on a regular basis is Natural Lawn Care of America. They use a more organic and natural alternative lawn care service.
Good ‘ol vinegar and lemon juice - If spending money on lawn care isn’t your thing, you can use a mix of vinegar and lemon juice (undiluted) to kill your weeds. The problems with this are that a. you’re going to kill your lawn as well, and it takes quite a few treatments to kill the weeds, and it’ll only shock the ground for so long before new weeds appear. I did this last year and it worked on the weeds that I did spray, but we had so many weeds that it was impossible to keep up with. You can also always put a barrier down in your landscaping beds to keep the weeds at a minimum but weeds are like, well, weeds. Nothing but hard core chemicals deters them.

Of course, unless you’re very close with your neighbors, you can’t really delicately tell them that you don’t appreciate them using chemicals on their own lawn, but you can help keep your own lawn greener.

And this is where I turn it over to SafeMama readers. Any other advice? I’ve got limited knowledge on greener lawn care, as I don’t generally fuss too much with my lawn. Leave your answers in the comments.

Apr

23

Dear SafeMama: Shower Etiquette, Reader Feedback

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, Phthalates Info, Product Safety | 29 Comments

dear safemama I’m pregnant and have baby showers coming up and I’m pretty frustrated and worried with the baby gift shopping.

Here is what I don’t want:

1) People supporting companies that use BPA and other harmful chemicals to buy gifts for me. It feel like they’d be doing a very unhelpful thing in my name, and I don’t want these companies to be encouraged or benefit from what they are doing.

2) The waste. I try to be as green as possible and either use or donate everything. I ethically can’t donate a product that I wouldn’t use on my OWN baby to anyone. So what then – all these products I won’t use will end up in a landfill somewhere? It would be easier if I could just return the items I don’t want, but I noticed that a lot of these people coming to showers like to take products out of their original packaging or don’t include gift receipts.

How can I convey this information in my shower invitations? I don’t want to offend everyone, and I don’t want to come across as unappreciative. Do you think I should include an insert about what BPA is and why it is harmful? Should I go into some kind of explanation as to why I hope people will buy from different companies? Is there any way for me to do this with a little class without making some kind of horrendous etiquette faux pas?

Good morning SafeParents! No judgements here… this is a legitimate concern for many women now that things like BPA and Phthalates in baby skin care are on the forefront. What’s the best way to handle it? We received this question from a reader and while we have our own thoughts on handling baby gifts we thought we’d turn this one over to you. We’re interested in seeing what other parents would do or what advice you’ll have for her. We can imagine she isn’t alone in this scenario and we’d love your feedback. Comments are open on this entry for you to share your advice. We defer to you…

Apr

16

Dear SafeMama: “Eco-Friendly” Swingsets

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, Eco-Mama | Comments Off

I would like to buy a small slide/swing set contraption for our backyard…. can’t find an eco-friendly place to go… wood versus plastic… just want a small something for young kids and am having trouble figuring out where to look…. thanks!

Welcome to my personal hell. With a new baby on the way, going to the local pool and park are going to be somewhat limited, so I’m trying to look for options for our backyard to offset the whole boredom factor for my son. We’re lucky in that we have a swing set that came with our house, however, it’s geared towards kids that are a little bit older, so he can really only use a portion of it. It’s also starting to look worn and in need of repair soon.

I’ve been going back and forth in an internal debate. Do I buy something plastic, or do I go with something wood? Neither of these options are particularly eco-friendly. The resources used to manufacture most plastic or wood sets are not entirely ideal. But there are things you can do to be more eco-friendly in the process:

Check classifieds. Places like Craigslist or eBay are great places to search for something used. Buying these items new are not only expensive, but they’re adding to the problem. Buying them used, extends the life of something that may prematurely end up in a landfill, and kids don’t really care whether or not it’s shiny new or if it’s used. To them, it’s a new toy. Drawbacks: Items like Little Tikes and Step 2 are extremely hard to find and when you do find them, they go really fast.
Ask your friends. If you have any friends whose kids are older and have outgrown their old play sets, ask them if they’d be willing to sell it to you. Again, a great way to extend the life of something.
Choose recycled. I did happen to come across a couple of options, however, these sets look more like professional playground sets, or something only someone very rich could afford. I.E. I’m not going to even show my son those links.

jpd4837f_ol_200 My choice, if I can’t find something used on Craiglist or the like, is to suck it up and buy something new in the plastic version. I’m not really proud of myself, but I look at it this way: Both Little Tikes and Step 2 products hold their value used. Once my children outgrow these products, I can either sell it later on Craigslist and put it towards something else, or I can donate it to a local preschool or daycare and write it off on my taxes. Either way, the life of these products will be extended after my children are done with them. I’m steering clear of wooden sets, because the majority of them are treated with things like pesticides and arsenic. So while I could theoretically turn around and sell it later, I don’t want to expose my children in the meantime, nor would I want to expose other children later on. Again, there are natural untreated sets out there, but I have to send my kids to college and even though I have a relatively large yard, there’s no way one of these monstrosities would fit back there.

So, in a way, I didn’t really answer your question. But hopefully, I gave you some direction on where to go. My opinion (and take it for what it’s worth) would be to start with Craigslist (or even someplace like Freecycle.org. I’ve seen some people get some really awesome things off of there. If you have the time to dedicate, you may find what you’re looking for) and go the used route first.

Reader Feedback

SafeMama Melissa writes in…

“There is a great company called Cedar Works that uses 100% northern white cedar harvested in Maine-…..‘Used for centuries in boat building and other outdoor products, northern white cedar is the longest lasting natural and splinter-free wood used in wooden outdoor swing sets. No other wood species meets our discriminating requirements for strength, long life, and no splinters without chemical treatments, paints or stains.’ And CedarWorks will donate a two-year-old cedar seedling to an environmental group or small woodlot owner for every catalogue requested, as well as one for every family that purchases a playset. It’s all part of their ReCedaring program. And though this qualifies as one of the those natural untreated monstrosities out there, the different thing about Cedarworks is that YOU design it yourself on their website so that it fits your yard and your budget!

Apr

4

Dear SafeMama Weekend Edition: New Use For Old Fabric

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, Eco-Mama | Comments Off

I’m searching for a way to dispose of my old pieces of fabric that are not good anymore. I can’t find any place that takes old piece of fabric except for wearable used clothes. I have already reused them the maximum I could in making old clothes into rags but what do I do with my old rags? I have also old washed clothes gone all thin in the middle, and I can’t find a way of reusing them. I feel guilty putting “fabric” in the trash bin.

I’ll admit I was stumped when this question came in. What do you do with rags you’ve already made out of old clothes or what to do with old sheets and blankets you just have no room to store any longer? I had no idea. Then my neighborhood newsletter came in the mail and I had an epiphany. In it they were asking on behalf of our local Spay/Neuter animal shelter for cloth donations for the animals.

What a great idea! Many animal shelters that care for and house animals run solely on donations and what better use for an old sheet or blanket than to help make a stray animal feel comfortable and cared for. Contact your local animal shelters and animal facilities in your area to find out what they need. There might be other opportunities for donations – rugs? unused pet supplies for food, towels, sheets, fabric, rags… find out what they need and perhaps your trash is an animals saving grace.

Find a Shelter Near You:

Mar

25

Dear Safemama: Natural vs. Conventional Edition

Filed Under Dear SafeMama | Comments Off

I have been slowly making the switch of all my daughters bath/body products to all natural/organic. My only concern is that I’ve noticed most of the organic and natural products Do Not have any safety seals on them as opposed to the others like J&J, etc. Just wondering?

Here’s what I’ve learned about “safety seals” since starting this whole greener beauty care thing. They mean squat, whether or not you buy conventional beauty products, or organic. Now granted, there are beauty products that are USDA certified and in order for them to claim that, they MUST be at least 95% organic to bear that label. Also, according to Stephanie and bubbleandbee.com, there are A LOT of steps, and precautions you have to take to not only get certified, but also do to maintain that certification. Reading about it just made my head spin.

But overall, the beauty and skincare industry are unregulated and that includes natural skin care. Sure, Johnson’s Baby has a “safety seal” but it really doesn’t mean much. It’s one of the main reasons why we well people to read labels. Take a look at the original Johnson’s Baby body wash. It’s full of PEG’s, fragrance (phthalates, which they say they’re phasing out at some point), and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, to name a few. Sure it’s “safe” to put on your baby, but do you really want to put that on their skin? To me, that safety seal no longer really matters.

The bottom line is that we’re constantly telling people that learning to read and decipher labels will take time, but really this is your best weapon against choosing something that’s safer for you and your family. Not to mention really empowering. I can’t help but feel proud of the fact that I can take a glance at the back of a bottle and know what the ingredients are and whether or not I want to buy it for my family. There’s also a certain level of trust there with companies that make more natural products. I truly believe that while there are probably companies out there that are greenwashing, there are more who have created a safer product because they had a reason to and wanted others to benefit. Sure we have recommendations, but that only takes you so far. In the end, it’s really all about what you feel is best for you and your family. You are the primary safety patrol person!

ETA: It has come to my attention via my pregnant cohort, that you were probably talking about the safety seals on top of the bottle. I thought about that after I posted. I’m not afraid to laugh at my own pregnant stupidity, as it’s becoming a regular occurance in this house (and I don’t have a direct answer for you on that actual question). And to think she’s the blonde one!

Mar

18

Dear SafeMama: Earth Friendly Uses for Olive Oil

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, Safe Mama Tips | Comments Off

This a question that we get from time to time, but not so much recently. I’ve also gotten this from my friends and acquaintances as well and that is, are there any safe products out there to keep stainless clean and streak free?

Can I just say that for one, I’m over the stainless steel popularity? I have it in my own home. I was adamant about buying it when we moved into our house two years ago, because we lived in a rental that had a pretty sweet kitchen. With stainless appliances. I was pretty excited at first, but then I realized how hard it was to keep them clean. They always had streaks and fingerprints, no matter how much I scrubbed them, and that was BEFORE I had kids.

So when we moved to our new house, and went to buy a new refrigerator, I went in, fully intending to order white appliances, when the sales guy showed me the “magic stainless steel cleaner.” And of course, being the sucker that I am, said, “oooh, pretty, I’ll take it.” Of course, I was suckered, but it was either get my new shiny fridge NOW, or wait for the backordered white ones (right, sure, backorder).

Of course, once I started to green my cleaning supplies, I didn’t replace that cleaner, as it didn’t really work that well anyway. My poor appliances suffered, as my son got bigger and more grimy and mobile and nothing I used worked over the long term and everything was streaky.

And then I found a very simple and very safe solution. It’s a little more time consuming and I will tell you, that I am the LAST person to keep up with the fingerprints on my appliances. Being pregnant has made it worse, but I try to make the effort, and one of the things that I have found to help the clean up and prevention easier is something that everyone has in their house: olive oil.

To start, you take a spray bottle of 1 part vinegar, to 2 parts water. Clean the stainless thoroughly. At first, this may take a little time, and it will streak, but don’t worry.

After you’ve cleaned the grime off, take a paper towel and moisten it with some olive oil. You don’t need much, so don’t saturate. Gently wipe the olive oil, making sure to cover the entire area. You may need to reapply some oil to the paper towel a few times to get adequate coverage. Then, get a clean paper towel and buff. I would say to be eco-friendly and use some rags to polish and buff, but I’ve found that it leaves fuzz behind. You really only need to do an olive oil treatment maybe once every three months. So I don’t feel entirely guilty for using 6-8 paper towels a year to clean my appliances.

To keep clean in between olive oil treatments, simply use the water/vinegar solution. The fingerprints will wipe off with ease, you won’t have streaks and you’ve not only used completely safe ingredients, you’ve used stuff that you probably already have and it only cost you a few bucks.

Mar

13

Dear SafeMama, The Two Days Late Edition (Inexpensive Shampoo)

Filed Under Dear SafeMama, Skin Care | Comments Off

I’m relatively new to being “green” but I’m trying to make good choices for my 9 month old little girl. Your site definitely helps!

I’ve gone through your info about the safe baby care many, many times and the cosmetics database site trying to come up with a good, not insanely expensive brand of lotion and shampoo/body wash to try for her. Many of them are just so expensive I don’t think my husband would ever go for it and it seems that most are similar. Can you recommend some pocket friendly brands out of your list? I’m leaning towards California Baby at this point.

We get this question a lot. And I get it. We’re all trying to save a bit of money, but still do better things for our family. I’m still a big believer in you get what you pay for. Does that mean that I think you should go out and buy the most expensive shampoo/body wash/conditioner, for your baby? No, absolutely not. I think there are great products out there, of decent quality, that are both safe and inexpensive. The skin care cheat sheet that we put out last year, was simply a list of things that were safer choices, with a wide range of pricing. We’re working on a newer list with more information, but it’s a slow process with the two of us gestating (read: we pretty much pass out right after our toddlers’ bedtime).

We do have our favorites that we love and we’re pinching pennies too. So here are our favorites:

Nature’s Baby Organics - This is one of my favorite staples. I buy the 16 ounce pump for both the shampoo and the conditioner and it lasts me a while. The vanilla tangerine smells fabulous, and the conditioner is the only conditioner that I’ve found that doesn’t give my son bed head. You can find the 16 ounce bottles much cheaper on Amazon.
TruKid – TruKid is a great inexpensive line that’s especially great for toddlers and children. It’s safe for all ages, but the scents are more geared towards younger kids. Their SPF is still my favorite for not only my son, but for us too.
Kiss My Face Kids – This is a great line that you can find in some grocery stores. The added bonus is that it’s a shampoo and conditioner in one. Kathy has had better luck with this than I have. My son, unfortunately has inherited my fine, easily tangled hair, which doesn’t respond well to shampoo/conditioner combos. But overall, it’s a great line, and it smells great.
Little Twig - Little Twig is another great affordable line that we love. We love the quality of this line, too. Plus they give you 30% off if you send back your empties. That’s a big discount!

As for California Baby, this is a great line, but a lot of people complain about it being a little pricey. It can be expensive, but it’s readily available at nearly all Targets and Whole Foods stores. I’ve also seen it in my local conventional grocery store (Giant if you’re in the eastern PA region), but again, some people find that the line to be too expensive.

There’s also Burts Bees, which I didn’t list here because I have to say, it’s not my favorite. It’s not a bad line, and it’s inexpensive and available everywhere, but I’ve had mixed results with it. My son also ended up with a rash on his belly from the Baby Bee lotion, and I know of one other person who had the same problem. That said, I know people who swear by it and it is a safer option.

There’s been a lot of people who have voiced concern about availability. Unfortunately, until safer skin care catches on, it’s going to be a little harder to find something that works for you. And it’s going to be trial and error, just like it was for us. If you’re lucky to have a local health foods store nearby, take advantage of that, and ask them if they would be willing to stock your favorite brand. If you’re lucky, you have a Whole Foods nearby (although, I find beauty products at Whole Foods to be much more expensive, so I try not to buy them there). Which leaves the internet. Really, this is our prime mode of purchase these days. Amazon, drugstore.com, diapers.com, or directly from the manufacturer. Just like with anything else, shop around to find the best bang for your buck. Chances are, you’ll be paying around the same price with shipping, as you would by going out and spending money on gas to buy the product.

Kathy Tip: Go to the company websites for some of these companies and sign up for their newsletters. I’ve gotten TruKid and other brands for a discount this way including sunscreen for much much less… and sometimes for free shipping offers.