There is a large, very active network of natural and holistic-oriented families here in San Diego, and one of the things that many of us do together is buy stuff cooperatively. Whether it is organic cotton kids clothes, non-toxic shampoos and deodorants, or a half-side of grass-fed beef, we moms group up to order anything that can be had more cheaply by buying it together. You can too.

Between rising food and oil prices and a depressed economy, organic, pasture-raised, and healthy, natural products are more expensive than ever. But you can make them substantially cheaper by throwing in with your friends and family to buy in bulk quantities. If you have a large enough group to meet the minimum order price on a relatively regular basis, you can set up a wholesale account with a lot of different natural product and organic food vendors, both local and out-of-state. This can save you hundreds—or even thousands of dollars a year!

Some of the benefits of buying clubs include:

Starting with just five or six families, the buying clubs here in San Diego eventually grew large enough to need tools like Google Groups to communicate and Google Docs spreadsheets to place and keep track of orders among dozens of families. Paypal became invaluable for ensuring that members pay for their orders in a timely fashion.

Eventually, we needed some administrative leadership and some formal rules to keep everything organized and accountable. Whether the leadership is formal or informal, static or rotating, paid or voluntary depends on what works for your group.

Ultimately we have grown to need a food scale and a few used, deep-chest freezers (bought off of Craigslist) to hold orders in someone’s garage until they can be picked up by members. Never buy a new freezer: There are simply too many used ones in perfect working condition to keep out of the landfill!

While I don’t think we want our buying clubs to grow so large that we need a storefront to hold all the products, if you wanted to go in that direction, know that most co-op grocery stores got their start as little garage and kitchen table operations like ours.

I’m proud to say that between gardening, buying clubs and farmer’s markets, we barely need the grocery store anymore—and we certainly never pay retail “Whole Paycheck” prices for expensive things like non-toxic sunscreen, organic almond flour or pasture-raised poultry.

And as an added benefit, we have the satisfaction of knowing that most of the money we spend on food, housewares and personal care is going to great small businesses and nearby family farms and ranches, instead of huge, unaccountable, corporate chains.

Once you get your buying club together, you’ll be amazed at the deals you can negotiate simply by having a group large and organized enough to regularly buy in bulk.

Here are some of the great national and regional vendors where our buying clubs have set up wholesale accounts:

• Azure Standard – From organic cereals, pasta, and yogurt, to bulk nuts and produce, if it’s a packaged food you’ve seen at a health food store, Azure probably has it. Only available in certain parts of the country.
• Frontier – Frontier is a national co-op that provides buying clubs with teas, coffees, spices, bulk food items, personal care items, household items, culinary accessories, vitamins, and supplements. They have thousands of Fair Trade items and carry all the major, natural brands like Frontier, Simply Organic, Aura Cacia, Ecover, Seventh Generation, Dr Bronner, and more.
• Benefit Your Life – Natural and gluten-free foods, including bulk, unpasteurized, organic almond flower at the best 25-pound price I’ve seen anywhere.
• Mountain Rose Herbs – An outstanding source for any and every type of herb, spice, tea, essential oil or traditional fat you might need for cooking or natural medicine. Their vast selection can’t be beat anywhere on the net, and their prices are great, even at retail. Working with a co-op to order wholesale is even better!
• Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil – Your grandmother was right: Cod liver oil is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can add to your diet to ensure good health. If you ferment it in the old, Norwegian tradition the way Green Pastures does it, then it is even better.
• Wilderness Family Naturals – Sustainably harvested and produced coconut oils, coconut milk and cream, chocolate spreads and nut butters, sprouted nuts and seeds, soy- and canola-free mayonnaise and salad dressings, REAL wild rice, and more. One of my favorite traditional food stores!
• Ancient Organics Ghee – Yummy ghee. Mmmmmm.
• Green Virgin Products – Bulk soap nuts and mineral salt deodorant stones.
• Conscious Cookery – Organic beans, lentils, grains, soup blends and teas.
• Shelton’s Poultry – Pasture-raised, antibiotic and hormone free chicken and turkey. West Coast only.
• J&J Grassland Beef - A grassfed beef CSA with yummy steaks and really nice ranchers. Southern California only.
• Glacier Grown – Free-range bison by the half and whole animal (though butchered for easy sharing), raw honey. Southern California only.

We also bulk order a lot from small businesses, farms and ranches in our county:

• organic produce
• citrus, tropical fruit and avocados
• raw vegan ice cream
• raw honey
• raw milk and cheese
• olives and olive oil
• pasture-raised pork
• grass-fed beef
• pasture-raised chickens and eggs
• duck eggs
• fish and seafood
• stainless steel food tiffins
• diapers (both cloth and “eco-friendlier” disposables)

As a group, we also regularly go in together on online orders for clothing, housewares and more, whenever a member has a good coupon or free shipping. Clothing and toy swaps are relatively common too. We keep a member business list so that we can hire each other for services before we open the Yellow Pages to hire a stranger. But the best part for me, as a full-time mom and caregiver, is that order pick-up days are often lively social occasions and multi-family playdates.

It’s amazing how social, sustainable, frugal, and fulfilled you can be when you start working together and sharing resources with your friends and neighbors.

Starting or joining a natural food buying club this year just makes good economic and environmental sense. It can also help connect you with the farmers and food produced locally in your region, and build a strong sense of community and connection in your neighborhood, social group and family. What do you have to lose?

Here are some additional resources to get you started:

• Food Co-ops vs. Buying Clubs – Sustainable Table
• A Cooperative Food-Buying Club Primer
• Join or Start Your Own Buying Club – Organic Consumer’s Association

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Like many households, we are passing around and getting over various winter bugs with their share of fevers, aches, sniffles, sneezes and coughs. Often hanging around for days (or even weeks) after the initial cold is gone, coughs are the worst. Anything that causes you to lose sleep while straining all the muscles in your chest, back and neck is something you want to heal as quickly as possible.

The recipe for getting better in our house is lots of homemade, pasture-raised chicken broth, Netflix videos, and one or two of these favorite homemade cough remedies.

I can’t take credit for inventing any of these natural cough relievers; they came to me over time and were adapted to fit our needs, just as they have probably been passed along with minor variations for thousands of years. So in the spirit of the generations of mothers who want desperately to soothe their child’s railing breath, I pass these recipes on to you.

Honey-Ginger Throat Salve
Take 2-3 times a day, as needed to soothe sore throat and dry coughing.

• A 2-inch knob of fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. organic, raw honey*

1. Peel, then finely grate the ginger into a small bowl.
2. Squeeze the grated ginger through a fine mesh sieve (or just use your fingers) to release about 1 teaspoon of juice. Discard pulp.
3. Mix the teaspoon of ginger juice thoroughly into the Tablespoon of honey.
4. Take the syrup right away, swallowing slowly and deliberately.

* Do not give honey to infants under the age of 1.

Onion, Garlic and Ginger Cough Syrup
Take 2-3 times a day, as needed to soothe sore throat and wet or congested coughs.

• 1-2 onions (any type)
• 1-3 heads of garlic (any type)
• 1 large hand of ginger
• 3-4 cups dehydrated cane juice, Rapadura, panela or coconut sap sugar
• 1 Quart (1 L) Mason Jar

1. Peel and slice the onion, garlic and ginger as thinly as you can.
2. On the bottom of the Mason jar, layer slices of onion, garlic and ginger about an inch thick.
3. Pour dehydrated cane juice over the onion mixture until you can’t see it anymore from the top, making another layer about an inch deep.
4. Add another inch-thick layer of onions, garlic and ginger slices, then pour in the cane juice to cover. Repeat this process, making an onion and sugar “parfait” until the jar is almost full.
5. Top off with a bit more cane juice and close the lid tightly.
6. In one hour, the sugar will be soft. In two, you will start to see liquid forming in the bottom of the jar. In three hours, you will see the syrup forming, and in four hours, the syrup will be complete.
7. Don’t remove the onions, garlic and ginger from the syrup. Just press the mixture back with the spoon when you administer the syrup. Keeps for 6 months to a year unrefrigerated.

Thyme Oil Vapor Steam
This simple, time-tested remedy for clogged noses and congested lungs is also anti-bacterial.

• 1 large bowl full of fresh water. (Avoid chlorinated tap water if you can.)
• 10-30 drops thyme essential oil, to suit.

1. Boil the water till steaming, then fill the bowl with it.
2. Add the thyme oil, starting with 10 drops.
3. Cover your head with a towel and hold your face over the bowl, allowing the towel to form a steam tent around your head.
4. Inhale and breath deeply and calmly. If the scent of thyme is not strong enough to make a difference to your sinuses add another 5-10 drops, as needed.
   

Herbal Vapor Salve
This healthier version of the name-brand menthol rub can be applied to the neck, chest and upper back for relief of chest and sinus congestion.

Special trick: You’ll get maximum effectiveness from this remedy—especially for that nagging post-nasal drip cough—if you apply the Herbal Vapor Salve thickly to the soles of your feet, then put on warm socks and lie down. Really. It works. I don’t know why.

• 4-6 ounces of Un-Petroleum Jelly, or your favorite natural hand cream, cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut butter, etc. (You want something thick at room temperature to serve as a base cream.)
• 4+ drops peppermint essential oil (A half-ounce bottle of essential oil can last a very long time and be used for many things.)
• 4+ drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 3+ drops rosemary essential oil
• 3+ drops lavender essential oil
• 3+ drops camphor oil

1. Start by melting 4 ounces of the cream base you have chosen by placing it in a bowl inside a larger bowl full of hot water. (If you have a very small double boiler, that would work too.) Do not heat the cream directly.
2. You want your base to be as liquid and easy to mix as it can get. Remove from heat once it reaches this melted-chocolate consistency.
3. Once your base cream is soft, add the oils one at a time, mixing each drop thoroughly into the cream. If you need to return the cream to the heat to keep it easy to mix, that’s OK. Different bases melt and set at different temperatures.
4. Once you have thoroughly mixed the oils into the 4 ounces of base, let cool. Smell and test the batch on the inside of your wrist. Everyone has different skin sensitivities. If the salve is too strong for your skin, melt the salve again and blend in 1-2 more ounces of base cream to dilute. If the salve doesn’t smell strong enough, add 1 more drop of each essential oil until you reach the strength you desire.
5. Pour salve into a recycled jar and use when needed for colds, flu and muscle aches. Lasts indefinitely.

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When I was pregnant with Babyzilla, I began researching safe sunscreens to protect her delicate baby skin. Most sunscreens have ingredients that are unpronounceable, and having sensitive skin, I’ve never been one to blindly trust the chemicals in most cosmetics and skin care products.

However, even after reading the back of every sunscreen bottle in Whole Foods, I found myself frustrated and disappointed. It turned out that all of the so-called “green” and “organic” brands had at least one highly questionable chemical ingredient in them! Why should anyone have to trade short-term protection for long-term harm?

After a long online search, we eventually purchased Kabana Skin Care’s Green Screen for Babyzilla and general family use. Kabana is a small company located in Boulder, Colorado, where outdoor enthusiasts enjoy 300 days of sunshine a year. Their products are very effective and low-allergen, and their website is very informative. Kabana is a little waxy and leaves a white sheen unless you buy the skin-toned version. They scored a #1 for low harm on the Skin Deep Sunscreen Database.

The only ingredients in Kabana Green Screen are:

1. 25% Zinc Oxide (non-nano)
2. Eldorado Springs Artesian Water
3. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4. Organic Jojoba Oil
5. Vegetable Glycerin
6. Organic Shea Butter
7. Vegetable Emulsifying Wax
8. Iron Oxide
9. Vegetable Vitamin E

For my adult skin, I also really like Kettle Care Sunscreen, too. Produced by another great family company, Kettle Care smells good and blends in well like a moisturizing lotion, but at only 8% zinc oxide, needs to be re-applied more often than Kabana. And unlike Kabana, Kettle Care contains a variety of essential oils, plants extracts and Xanthan gum, which can be allergens for many people. Kettle Care Sunscreen was not rated by the Skin Deep Sunscreen Database.

Kettle Care contains:

1. Organic Aloe Vera Gel
2. Grapeseed, Organic Sunflower, Almond, Avocado, Safflower, Organic Jojoba Oils
3. Montana Beeswax
4. Organic Cocoa Butter
5. 8% Zinc Oxide
6. Extracts of Grapefruit, Organic Green Tea, Sea Buckthorn, Organic Chamomile, Organic Echinacea, Witch Hazel, Organic Mallow and Vanilla
7. Organic Shea Butter
8. Xanthan Gum
9. Tocopherol (Vitamin E for product freshness)
10. Essential Oils of Peru Balsam and Ylang Ylang

Now, these basic ingredients make sense to a concerned person! So what exactly is wrong with all the other sunscreens?

Petrochemical Ingredients
New labeling requirements notwithstanding, FDA-approved petrochemical-based sunscreens include:

• Avobenzone, also known as Parsol 1789
• Octylmethoxycinnamate
• Oxybenzone
• P-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)
• Cinoxate
• Dioxybenzone
• Ensulizole
• Homosalate
• Menthyl anthranilate
• Octocrylene
• Octyl dimethyl PABA
• Octyl salicylate
• Sulisobenzone
• Trolamine salicylate
• Tterephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid, also known as Mexoryl SX.

Because they are applied to your skin, all of the petrochemical-based sunscreens are absorbed into your bloodstream in amounts higher than any other petrochemical contaminant found in our air, water or food. Petrochemical sunscreens can have significant side effects because many mimic estrogen’s effects in our bodies. They often don’t biodegrade, and thereby accumulate in the watershed, damaging coral reefs and aquatic ecosystems. All of these petrochemicals are toxic, and by using them, you trade UV damage for chemical damage in the long term.

Parents need to know that NONE of the petrochemical sunscreen ingredients listed above are FDA approved for use on children and babies. In fact, none of these compounds are tested for SPF on children’s skin, so products that use these ingredients and are marketed as “baby” formulas are misleading you.

Unfortunately, these petrochemicals are found in virtually all major brand names, and even in many of the “eco” brands found at the health food store. Shame, shame! No one should have to choose between skin cancer and breast cancer!

1. Zinc oxide has a broader UVA and UVB absorbance spectrum than Titanium dioxide, so it provides better UVA protection.
2. Zinc oxide is safer because it creates fewer free radicals than Titanium dioxide.
3. Zinc oxide is the only active ingredient approved for use on babies under 6 months of age; Titanium dioxide is not.
4. Zinc oxide is made from a critical mineral nutrient that’s also found in many multivitamins; Titanium dioxide is made from a toxic heavy metal.

Micronized vs. Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are defined as having a diameter of less than 100 nanometers, (0.1 millionth of a meter) which is about the size of a virus. Micronized particles, on the other hand, are defined as having a diameter of less than 100 microns, (0.1 thousandth of a meter) which is about the width of a human hair.

Micronized mineral sunscreens have been on the market for decades, and have a lot of supportive data on their safety. Nanoparticle mineral sunscreens, however, are very new and have been marketed by chemical manufacturers as an innovative way to make their formulas less whitening.

The problem with nano sunscreens is that safety of these particles is unknown, and some recent scientific studies, including one published in Scientific American, have demonstrated these particles can damage the ecosystem. Other potential issues include elevated skin penetration and free radical creation.

Manufacturers often market their nanoparticle sunscreens under the ‘micronized’ umbrella, since technically nanoparticles have been micronized very finely. This is dishonest marketing. Unfortunately, the only way you can tell if a manufacturer is not using nano, is if they say it’s non-nano. Look for that on the label.

Even if you don’t buy one of the sunscreens recommended above, whatever sunscreen you do use this summer, the Skin Deep Sunscreen Database is a great resource for checking its safety and impact on the environment. In fact, the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database is a great resource for researching the safety of all your skin care and beauty products. We hope you will be a wise consumer, and choose sunscreens and skin care products that will protect your family in every way.

Did you know that conventional, store-bought fingerpaints can contain toxic chemicals like toluene, ethylene glycol, petroleum-based waxes, polymers, and artificial colors that can be easily absorbed through your child’s skin? Even the brands labeled “non-toxic” can contain these dangerous ingredients! (How this is legal is anyone’s guess.) And if that weren’t enough, genetically engineered soy, corn and wheat byproducts are also common ingredients too, which can be an unexpected disaster for the allergic child.

Like an increasing number of children, Babyzilla is allergic and sensitive to these ingredients, so we simply can’t use the off-the-shelf brands of these common craft items. My friend Michelle, whose daughter also has many food sensitivities, came up with the following recipe for non-toxic, non-allergenic fingerpaints, and it is just great for hours of toddler fun!

Michelle used millet flour and I used coconut flour for the paint, so you should be able to use almost any type of fine flour that isn’t too heavy. (Though coconut flour is pretty gloppy!) The paint colors are made with India Tree Natural Decorating Colors, which are made from vegetables, though you could easily make your own colors from turmeric, beet juice and more. You do need to use more natural coloring than you would with regular, chemical food dyes, and the colors are not exact when you mix them, but they are completely non-toxic and non-allergenic. I find their earthy pastel shades rustic and charming.

Here is a bit more information about what is in India Tree colors:

Blue: Deionized water, glycerin, red cabbage
Red: Beet juice, citric acid
Yellow: Deionized water, glycerin, curcumin

On to the fun of making the finger paint…

Allergen-Free Non-Toxic Fingerpaint

• 1/2 to 1 cup of flour (Your choice; coconut flour gets pretty gloppy.)
• 2 cups pure water
• India Tree Natural Decorating Colors Set (or you could experiment with using beet juice, turmeric, red cabbage and other strongly colored foods)
• Small sauce pan
• Spatula
• Cups to put paint in. I like these No-Spill Paint Cups
• Scoop or ladle

1. Mix 1/2 cup flour with a bit of water to get out lumps.
2. Add the rest of the water.
3. Cook/stir over medium heat just until thick & shiny. It only takes a few minutes. See in the picture how the mixture is sticking to the sides of the pan? That’s what you want.
4. Stir in additional flour, if needed, until you reach the desired paint consistency.
5. While cooking flour/water, set up your cups and dyes.
6. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the paint and put it into each cup.

7.  Grab your dyes.


8.  Now get creative! Put at least 6 drops of color into your paints to make sure they are vibrant and bright. I used about 10-15 drops in my paints.

9.  Now stir and see what you get.

10. PAINT AND HAVE FUN!

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We never bought a high chair for Babyzilla, nor did we ever really need one. Once Babyzilla was ready for solid foods around 9 months of age, we started baby-led weaning by holding her in our lap and letting her try foods from our plates. She loved to taste new things, and especially loved eating off the “big” plates. Around one year old, she finally got big and wiggly enough that we knew it was time for her to have her own chair at the table as part of the family. So, we invested in a TrippTrapp chair. 

If you’ve shopped around, you may have noticed that TrippTrapp chairs (and their competitors Svan and Euro) cost between $150 and $250 dollars—far more than a plastic Costco high chair. You can often find them on CraigsList or eBay for less; they are durable, and retain their value.

Because we had saved a lot of money by breastfeeding, using cloth diapers and not having a nursery, we felt alright about spending the extra money on a TrippTrapp. After a lot of online research, as well as asking dozens of parents for their opinions, we decided that the TrippTrapp chair has some distinct features that differ from a cheap, plastic high chair which make it worth the cost:

• TrippTrapp (and Svan, but not Euro) chairs are made from sustainably-harvested wood finished with non-toxic, VOC-free, water-based stains and varnishes. They are formaldehyde free, with no emissions from their glue. There are no fire retardant chemicals in their cushions, and no PVC, BPA, phthalates or non-renewable, petroleum-based materials.
• The TrippTrapp is very well made, so you can be sure it will last a lifetime with proper care. It can be “recycled” many times and sold or donated from parents to parents, and unlike plastic highchairs, it won’t live forever in a landfill after it quickly wears out or breaks.
• The TrippTrapp is designed to adjust in size for the entire life of your child. It goes from a baby seat to a toddler-booster to an adult-sized chair (and everything in between!) with the turn of an allen key. I found it a little challenging to put together and adjust simply because the pieces attach so snugly, you really have to line everything up well.
• TrippTrapp chairs are designed to be pulled right up to the table with no tray, and to match the decor of your dining set or your child’s room. This means that your baby can start learning to eat with the family right away, and there is no ugly, plastic behemoth to tuck into the corner of your dining room or kitchen. TrippTrapp chairs are perfect for Baby-Led Weaning.
• Most kids love the TrippTrapp because it looks like a grown-up chair, but it’s made just for them. Babyzilla is no exception, and often climbs into her chair at the dining room table to color with crayons while I research and write these posts.

So, if you are expecting a baby (or know someone who is), and you need a high-chair, consider investing in an eco-friendly, adjustable wooden child seat like the TrippTrapp that will be with your child long after her baby years.

If you spend any time with babies and kids, you will quickly learn that they can make fun out of anything. Babyzilla is no exception. With the exception of staple toys like books, colorful wooden blocks, a ball, and her stuffed puppy Franklin, no toy bought for her has captured her imagination or sense of fun like mundane household objects used by grown-ups.

We’ve saved perhaps hundreds of dollars and untold natural resources by making her toys out of empty boxes and food containers, or by letting her play with common household items like wooden spoons, flashlights, potato mashers, pots and pans and—her favorite—measuring cups.

Many kids have a toy chest full of plastic junk that is missing pieces and sitting idle for lack of long-term interest. Made from petroleum, most plastic toys contain toxic phthalates, BPA, fire retardants, and other chemicals that are neither safe for your child nor eco-friendly. For all their flash and advertising, these toys are actually designed to break easily and end up in landfills at the end of a rather short lifespan. And with all of the safety recalls of toys made in China, you can never be sure what your are bringing home these days.

Roughly 70 to 80 percent of all toys sold in the United States are manufactured in China.  A study by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences published April 29, 2009 in Environmental Science and Technology reports widespread use of brominated fire retardant chemicals in Chinese-made children’s toys.

Since it is virtually impossible to keep toys out of your kid’s mouth, we need strong regulations to keep these toxins out of toys. Brominated fire retardants are dangerous for children because laboratory studies have shown that they disrupt hormone systems and effect brain and behavior. The Chinese researchers purchased and tested 69 toys, including Barbie and other dolls, soft plastic teethers, swords, race cars, foam toys and action figures. They found brominated fire retardants contaminated most of them, including:

• Polybrominated diethyl ethers (PBDEs).  These were found in all hard plastic, foam and stuffed toys, and a third of soft rubber toys.  The types of PBDEs found were:
  • Deca (the type of PBDE currently manufactured in highest quantity) is a form of PBDE banned in 2 states and Canada; and
  • Penta & Octa are no longer manufactured in the U.S. due to health concerns, and have been banned in 11 U.S. states, Canada and Europe.
• Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). The U.S. stopped manufacturing PBBs in 1976 after several thousand people in Michigan were poisoned by the chemical.
• Brominated-ethanes (DBDPE & BTBPE).  These are new flame retardant chemicals in use despite the absence of health and safety information.

Although Penta and Octa PBDEs are banned for most uses in Europe and Canada, and no longer made in the U.S. because of health and safety concerns, a loophole in federal regulations allows finished goods containing these chemicals to be imported. The only way to be sure your children are safe at this time is to avoid plastic toys, and all toys made in China.

Because children’s bodies are growing and developing, they are more vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals. Even small amounts of a chemical can impact a child’s ability to reach his or her full potential. Fortunately there are many craftsmen and women here in the U.S. that make beautiful toys from wood, cloth, metal and other natural, non-toxic, sustainable materials that will last a very long time, and may even become treasured family heirlooms. Nova Naturals is one such toy store, but brands like Natural Pod, ImagiPlay, Haba, Melissa and Doug, and Plan Toys can be found in more and more mainstream toy stores these days.

Babies and toddlers really don’t need a lot of toys to have fun, not as much as they need your time and attention. So consider buying fewer toys, making toys out of everyday household items, and buying natural-material toys that inspire the imagination and endure years of play.

To learn more about toxins in toys and to see how your child’s toys measure up, go to HealthyToys.org.

Babies do a lot of pooping. In fact, the average baby goes through an average of 6-8 diapers a day. Unless you practice elimination communication, your baby will use an average of 6,500 diapers before potty training at roughly 30 months old. If you use disposables, this costs about $100 a month, or $3,000 per child!

Consider these alarming facts about disposable diapers: 

• Over 250,000 trees are destroyed and over 3.4 billion gallons of oil are used every year to manufacture disposable diapers in the United States. That equates to enough gasoline to power OVER 5,222,000 cars for an entire YEAR!
• 11 billion pounds of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, are brought to landfills via disposable diapers each year.
• Oil is the raw material for the polyethylene in disposables. It takes 1 cup of crude oil to make the plastic for 1 disposable diaper. Taking that a bit further, it takes 286 lbs. of plastic (including diaper packaging) per year to supply 1 baby in disposable diapers.
• 18 Billion diapers are used and thrown into landfills each year—enough to stretch to the moon and back 9 times.
• Compared to cloth diapers, disposable diapers create 2.3 times as much water waste, use 3.5 times as much energy, use 8.3 times the non-regenerable raw materials, use 90 times the renewable raw materials, and use 4 to 30 times as much land for growing raw materials.
• It takes between 200-500 years for disposable diapers to decompose when exposed to direct sunlight and air. Since the diapers are dumped into landfills, covered and not exposed to sun or air, nobody knows how many thousands of years they will be around.
• The super-absorbent qualities of disposable diapers are not the boon they seem to be. Super-absorbent disposable diapers do three things:
  • Facilitate less diaper changing from parents, which leads to rashes because of babies’ exposure to the super-absorbent chemicals, bacterial growth, and the ammonia from accumulated urine in the diaper.
  • Reduce air circulation and pull natural moisture (not just urine) from the baby’s skin—this too will encourage irritation.
  • Raise the temperature of a baby boy’s scrotum far above body temperature, to the point that it stops his testicles from developing normally, according to a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
• Disposable diapers contain Sodium Polyacrylate – This is the chemical, added in powder form to the inner pad of a disposable, that makes it super-absorbent. When the powder becomes wet, it turns into a gel which:
  • Can absorb up to 100X its weight in water.
  • Can stick to baby’s genitals, causing allergic reactions.
  • Can cause severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting and staph infections in babies.
  • When injected into rats, it has caused hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death.
  • Was banned from tampons in 1985 because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome.
  • Has killed children after ingesting as little as 5 grams of it.
• Disposable diapers also contain Dioxin – This is the chemical by-product of the paper-bleaching process, using chlorine gas, in the manufacturing of diapers. Dioxin is carcinogenic—a cancer-causing chemical. In fact, the EPA lists it as the MOST TOXIC of all cancer-linked chemicals. In small quantities it causes birth defects, skin/liver disease, immune system suppression & genetic damage in lab animals. Dioxin is banned in most countries, but not the United States.
• Disposable diapers contain Tributyl Tin (TBT) – An environmental pollutant, considered highly toxic, that spreads through the skin and has a hormone-like effect in the smallest concentrations. TBT harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system, and it is speculated that it could cause sterility in boys.

From all angles, cloth diapering is a far better alternative to disposables—even the so-called “green” ones made of unbleached paper and cotton. A good cloth diapering system consisting of 24-36 cloth diapers will usually cost you between $200-500 dollars up front, but you will not need to continue to buy them, and you can save them for use with future children. Cloth diapers in good condition also have great resale value on e-Bay and other mommy resource sites.

Today’s cloth diapers are as varied and effective as any disposable—and they often come in cute colors and prints! With modern velcro and PUL nylon covers, the old diaper pins and sweaty, plastic pants are a thing of the past. The new cloth diapers clean up easily in regular and high-efficiency washing machines, using less water than would be required to flush the toilet each time your baby went to the bathroom. You can learn more about cloth diaper systems at Nicki’s Diapers and see how mommy’s rate them at the Diaper Pin.

Diaper-Free Babies
If you want to deal with baby poop in the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner, don’t diaper at all! Almost all non-Western cultures practice some form of elimination communication (EC), where mommies learn their babies’ cues for going to the bathroom just as they would learn their cues for hunger or sleepiness, and hold them over a potty when they need to go. Many progressive parents in the U.S. are also practicing EC, avoiding the need for diapers altogether, and enjoying fully potty-savvy children by the age of one!

Learn more about Elimination Communication and Diaper-Free Babies here.

This post is part of the Green Moms Carnival hosted this month by Mindful Momma!

Once your baby is at least 6 months in age, it is time to introduce some solid foods. But, have you ever looked on the back of a jar of baby food or a box of rice cereal? Yikes! The first thing you may notice is added modified starches, sugars, corn syrup, or preservatives—even in the organic ones. Your baby certainly doesn’t need any of these things, and some could even be outright harmful. 

The second thing you may notice is that there is almost no nutrition in jars of baby food or boxes of rice cereal—again, even in the organic ones. With the exception of a little added Vitamin A or C, packaged baby foods have nothing to offer your little one except mush to fill the tummy. Lastly, what you cannot see (and what is not on the label), are the pesticide, herbicide and other toxic chemical residues that were part of growing and processing the food in the jar. These hidden ingredients have no place anywhere near your baby!

The good news is that making your own baby food is very, very easy, and is one of the best ways to ensure the quality of nutrition your child gets for healthy growth and development. It’s also very inexpensive, compared to baby food you buy in the store, and requires no resource-intensive packaging or shipping to the store. In fact, making your own baby food can save you over $600 a year!

On the weekend or during regular dinner cooking, simply lightly steam a bunch of organic veggies (or leave them raw, depending), blend in a food processor or blender, then freeze the puree in ice cube trays. Once the foods are frozen, pop them out of the trays and put them in a freezer-safe container to keep them from getting freezer burn. Each cube makes one serving!

If you just don’t have the time or inclination to make your baby food, many brands of organic, frozen baby food are now available. These frozen brands are made from fresh produce that’s minimally processed through quick freezing, which maintains more of the original flavor, color, and nutrient content than the jarred stuff. These companies also use eco-friendly packaging such as recycled cardboard, vegetable inks, and BPA-free plastic. Some brands include:

• Plum Organics – organic purees in three different textures, including Super Greens (peas, spinach, and green beans);
• Jack’s Harvest - organic purees in heart-shaped “cubes” packed in a single bag; first stage (smoothest) faves include peas with mint, also Papplesauce (peach, apple, and cinnamon);
• Tasty Baby – organic purees available in three consistencies (smooth to chunky); top picks include Corn in the USA and Bangos (banana, mango, and vanilla);
• Mom Made Foods – certified organic purees including broccoli, sweet potato, and apple.

Finally, the easiest, cheapest, and most low-impact way to feed your baby is a technique called “Baby-Led Weaning.” Advocated by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, Baby-Led Weaning is a way of introducing solid foods that allows the baby to feed herself—there’s no spoon-feeding and no purees. (Phew!)

Your baby sits with the rest of the family at mealtimes, and joins in when she is ready. You offer her food in sizes and shapes that she can handle, and she feeds herself with her fingers, choosing what to eat, how much and how quickly.

Finger-sized “sticks” of organic, steamed carrots, skinned zucchini, apple or pear, or even bits of hormone-free, grassfed ground beef or minced chicken are perfect, highly nutritious first foods when doing baby-led weaning. This is the way we introduced solid foods to Babyzilla with great success. Her first foods were homemade hummus, fresh strawberries, and liver!

All healthy babies can eat soft, solid foods, even without teeth; they just need to be given the opportunity to feed themselves. After all, would you want to be strapped into a high chair and force-fed spoon after spoon of bland vegetables? It’s surely much more exciting to be able to exercise a bit of control over your diet and share in a bit of what mom and dad are having. And it’s so much easier on parents too!

Learn more about Baby-led Weaning here.

Being an eco-conscious parent often means taking a look at the footprint of all the baby gear we are told we just have to have in order to properly raise our children. Sometimes this means finding greener choices (like cloth diapers instead of disposables), sometimes this means reusing hand-me-down onesies from your older sister, and sometimes this means opting out altogether from purchasing things that will become quickly obsolete.

When reducing your family resource consumption, consider whether or not you really need a stroller. Strollers are expensive, use a lot of fossil fuel resources and generate a lot of toxic waste from manufacture, to packaging and shipment to your local store, all the way to their final resting place in the landfill after they inevitably break.

Not only do strollers have a large ecological footprint from cradle to grave, but they may not be very good for your child’s development either. Recent studies have shown that strollers in which your baby faces away from you could risk long-term development problems in your children.¹

For most of human history, there have been no strollers. Even today, most of the world’s parents use cloth wraps of various types to wear their babies on their bodies. In the last couple of years, many Americans and Europeans have taken up the practice too. Studies have shown that babywearing has many benefits for infants and young children as well as for the carrying parent. Here are five of them:

1. Babies who are carried often cry less. A 1986 randomized, controlled study by Hunziker and Barr showed that carrying an infant 2 additional hours per day reduced crying overall by 43%, or one entire hour.
2. Babywearing is good for babies physically. According to Dr. Eckhard Bonnet in a 1998 article published on Didymos, a baby wrap or sling holds a baby’s body in a comfortable, correct position, much as the womb carries a fetus before birth. Upright carrying also massages your baby’s abdomen which promotes healthy digestion, and prevents physical abnormalities associated with infants who spend large amounts of time lying on their backs or bellies (such as hip dysplasia, frog legs, or flattened skulls on the back or sides).
   Note: The exception to this are the baby carriers that dangle your baby from his crotch. These facing-out types of carriers (Baby Bjorn and others) are harmful to the development of your child’s hips.
   
3. Babywearing encourages healthy mental and emotional development. Since in-arms parenting meets your baby’s needs for warmth, comfort, and access to breastfeeding, babies cry less and spend more time in a quiet, alert state. While in this state they are better able to learn about their environment and develop mentally and socially. As long as you can carry them, toddlers also enjoy being worn, and benefit from interacting with others at eye-level instead of being looked down upon in a stroller.
4. Babywearing makes parenting easier. Carrying baby in a sling, wrap or pack frees your hands to work, or assist in the needs of older children while still being able to give your baby the closeness she needs. Many slings also allow for breastfeeding while on the go. If yours is the type of baby that needs to be held during naps, like mine, doing it with a sling allows you to get some work done, or to do almost any other activity.
5. Babywearing promotes attachment. Babywearing allows you to bond with your baby and learn to meet your child’s needs more quickly. Babywearing also helps mothers who may be suffering from depression to nurture their babies with less effort. Preemies and sick infants also grow and heal faster when worn, especially when the baby and parent are skin-to-skin.

There are many types of slings and carriers available to meet a variety of needs. Some of them are beautiful works of fashion art any new mom would love to wear! (And there are gender-neutral carriers for Dad, too.) We primarily use an Ergo structured carrier, which is most comfortable for all of us, but we keep a ring sling on hand for quick trips and errands. Between the pack and the sling, my arms never get tired carrying my 25-pound 17-month-old—even when vacuuming the house or doing the dishes!

Baby carriers can be purchased at retail stores, but you can find a much better selection online. My favorite online store is Attached to Baby, which has the biggest variety and best pricing on the Net. There are also many online groups, forums and local clubs dedicated to babywearing.

So, unless you have multiple babies, are a runner who plans to go running with your baby, or are unable to carry your child on your body for medical reasons, why not enjoy all the ecological and developmental benefits of wearing your baby? You could save between $200-$700, and avoid the plastic, fossil fuels and packaging waste of a stroller!

^1. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/21/baby.buggies/index.html

This video from the Environmental Working Group speaks for itself.

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