Tips:
Save on paper Dixie cups in the bathroom by using the Whale Faucet Fountain attachment. It saves water when you brush your teeth, because it turns off automatically and it's fun for kids to have a fountain in the bathroom. $3.00 at the busywoman.com.
Use a travel-toothbrush holder to carry plastic utensils with you. They'll stay clean that way and will be easy to find at lunchtime. Don't forget to carry them back and re-use them again and again.
Safer products for baby:
1. Organic crib sheets: cottonmonkey.com and cozybabies.com
2. Children's furniture from sutainably harvested wood and non-toxic including a sleek and stylish convertible crib for $685.00 at argington.com
3. A variety of wooden non-toxic toys at rompbklyn.com or visit the store in Park Slope Brooklyn where children can play and try out each toy for free.
Diapers 101:
(A personal inconvenient truth).
Awhile back I had heard that disposable diapers were the more environmentally friendly choice since re-usables require so much energy and water to clean properly. Unfortunately, that rumor is actually entirely untrue. Disposable diapers are extremely detrimental to the planet. They are consuming 1.3 million tons of wood pulp annually, emitting toxins and taking some 500 years to break down in landfills. They are also the 3rd largest contributor to landfill waste(E,the environmental magazine, May/June, 2007).
Protecting baby:
Typical disposable diapers are loaded with a host of potentially harmful chemicals, including tributyl tin(tbt), which is known to disrupt sex hormones and sodium polyacrylate crystals which aid in absorption. No study has shown a direct link between these chemicals and an adverse affect on baby's health, however, keep in mind that a baby's skin is thinner than an adults and therefore absorbs any chemical it comes into contact with more readily. Please read Toxins Toxins Everywhere for more on this topic.
Fortunately, parents have a host of options. I've listed them below from least to greatest impact.
1. Diaper Free:
Until recently India and China have been using something now called "Elimination Communication." It's a diaper free system, where parents observe their child's facial expressions and verbalizations(squirming and grunting), when they have to go. Parents then create a signal for their child to let them know when they need to go. To learn more, read, "Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene," by Ingrid Bauer.
Available new and used on Amazon from $2.42.
2. Re-usables:
For washable re-usable diapers try Kushies. 5 packs run from $47.50 for newborns, $59.50 for infants and $69.90 for toddlers.
3. Chlorine and TBT free disposables:
Seventh Generation, Tushies and TenderCare, each make disposable diapers that are tbt free and are made with chlorine-free wood pulp. Tender Care diapers are made with sustainably harvested pulp.
Seventh Generation uses a non-toxic gel. I found these to be the most comfortable for my daughter, as they are thinner than the other two options. They are very absorbent and the tabs are re-fastenable. I found the best price on these at Amazon.com
Tushies: These are the cheapest of the three. I found the best price at BuyBuy Baby, but you can also order by phone 1-800-344-6379. They are a bit bulkier than 7th gen. but are gel free and quite absorbent.
Tender Care: These are very bulky and my least favorite of the three because the tabs (although they claim to be) are not re-fastenable. You can order online.
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