Green Options

Terri Bly, president of The Nature of Beauty, discusses her latest discovery in parent-friendly, fashion-forward bag designers. Fleurville’s extensive collection of non-toxic diaper bags, totes, wallets and more will appeal to pragmatic parents and trend-conscious mothers alike.

A Green Guide to Bringing Up Your Baby: The Kind Way for You, Your Baby (0-3) and the Environment is one of the newest books to offer advice for raising a green baby.

You’ll find everything you need to help you green your home, nursery, clothing, cosmetics and so much more.

Over the weekend, someone sent my husband a link to a video called “The Girl Who Silenced the World” from 1992 where a 12 year old girl named Severn Suzuki addresses the UN’s Earth Summit Meeting in Rio de Janeiro. Severn essentially gives the panel and every living adult a well-articulated lashing for leaving the planet in this state for her generation to contend with. Had the Internet been in full force then, this video would have flown around like wildfire. I’d like to help spread it around now. Everyone on this planet should watch it-it is more relevant now than ever.

For parents who were suckered into Disney’s Baby Einstein concept, the company has announced they will give full refunds on up to four videos.  The basis of the refund is to compensate parents who actually believed the videos would make their children smarter.  UPI reports:

The move comes after Disney’s Baby Einstein Co. last month announced “enhanced consumer satisfaction guarantees” after lawyers had threatened a class-action suit for false advertising. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter from the lawyers reportedly said.

If you feed your little one Plum Organics, here’s a baby food recall you need to know about. The organic baby food company issued a voluntary recall yesterday due to a botulism danger. The only product affected is the Apple and Carrot Portable Pouch, which comes in a 4.22 ounce bag.

The pouches are being pulled from store shelves because of a potential risk of Clostridium botulinum contamination, which can cause botulism, a sometimes life-threatening condition that you clearly don’t want to mess around with.

In a letter on the Plum Organics website, founder Gigi Lee Chang explains that “after a routine test determined the formulation was incorrect. Plum Organics immediately investigated the matter and confirmed that a mixing error was to blame which resulted in an improper blend of carrots and apples.”

I miss my baby wearing days, especially now that an organic version of my favorite carrier is available!  Babybjörn Original Organic Baby Carrier is essential for any new green mommy or daddy, in my opinion.  A worn baby is a happy baby because:

• Babies feel closely snuggled to the parent
• Babies are kept within their short range of vision, unlike riding in a stroller
• Babies can feel your heart rhythm and breath reminding them of the womb
• Babies and parents bonding is promoted through baby wearing

A babywearing parent is a happy parent because their baby fusses less, and grown-up arms are free for doing chores, shopping, etc..

Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, it’s fitting that Dandelion Earth-Friendly Goods just launched their new Pink Collection, a special group of organic baby toys that will help benefit breast cancer research.

If you’re not familiar with Dandelion, they have all the “eco-ssentials” for babies including rattles, teethers, development toys and even toddler feeding products made from corn. Their classic shape sorter even made Dr. Toy’s best green product list for 2009.

Last week, I participated in a community-based conversation about vaccinations at our local library that included two of our medical center’s nursing staff and a bunch of smart, well-researched, concerned moms. Though I’ve written two previous posts about vaccinations, I was compelled to write yet another to share the conclusion I and others came to at the end of this community discussion.

Every parent wishes for a happy baby…did you know an organic baby is also a happy baby?  That’s the premise behind Dr. Sears’ new book HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months. Dr. Robert W. Sears, MD is best known for the Vaccine Book and being the son of Martha and William Sears, MD.

Ever since the confession announcement made by SIGG that their bottles made before August 2008 contained BPA every one’s been a bit leery about green products and their believability.

SIGG was one of the first companies that all the greenies were using instead of BPA filled plastic bottles-then to find out that we’d been duped…

Anyway, if you don’t want to use SIGG products for your kids (or you) anymore, no matter what they say about their new stuff, there are alternatives.

The new Thermos Foogo line for little ones is all BPA free.

Recently Nestle invited several high profile bloggers to their headquarters in Glendale, California. From their site:

Nestlé understands the importance of listening directly to parents. That’s why on September 30 and October 1, we’ve invited 20 Mom and Dad bloggers to our U.S. headquarters to learn firsthand the things that are important to them and their families, and to share a little about us and our brands. Check out what they are saying by following the conversation below from Twitter. Visit this page daily from September 23 through October 7, to learn more about them, their families, their busy lives, and to hear about their experiences at Nestlé. Check out their blogs, too

What’s interesting is that they picked a group of bloggers who would clearly support their mission, and they forgot about the others.

The others include women who believe that Nestle has a history of undermining breastfeeding in many countries. I’m not familiar with the controversy because breastfeeding was never a discussion in my home. For one child it worked for a good long time, and for another child medical reasons kept us from breastfeeding.