Strawberries that Whiten Teeth?
Date: November 13, 2008 | Category: Care, Kids
If you find yourself negotiating with your child to get him to brush before bed, sweeten the deal with Silly Strawberry Toothpaste from Tom’s of Maine.
The toothpaste, which is made with real strawberry oil, not artificial flavors, entices kids to brush without the dyes and sparkles found in many toothpastes. And it has received the ADA Seal of Acceptance, which guarantees that it will get the job done. It features naturally-sourced sodium monofluorophosphate as its active ingredient to provide cavity protection.
Also available in Outrageous Orange-Mango (my kids don’t dig this flavor, but it might be tantalizing to yours). Available at Rite-Aid, Walgreens and other drugstore chains.
A Happy Birthday Wish
Date: October 22, 2008 | Category: Care, Featured, Food, Kids, Kitchen
It’s your little one’s birthday. You’ve sent out the recycled party invitations and iced the organic cake. But before you break into a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday,” you might want to make a wish before your child blows out the candles.
Those neon waxy sticks you find in supermarkets and party stores throughout the country typically contain a mixture of unlabeled ingredients that emit lead and cadmium when ignited. Why the cause for concern? Lead exposure in children has been linked to behavioral problems and lower intelligence, while cadmium is a suspected carcinogen. Definitely not the perfect gift.
Now you can breathe easy. Little Star Creative Parties offers Rainbow Beeswax candles, which are manufactured without heavy metals or carcinogenic compounds and are way cute to boot! A package of 24 retails for $2.75. You can even re-use the candles for future parties! Now that’s cause for celebration!
Educating Generation Green
Date: October 22, 2008 | Category: Care, Events, Food, Food & Drink, Kids
While it’s great to buy organic produce at the local farmers’ market, how can we convey to our children that when it comes to going green we’re truly ready to walk the talk?
It’s Homemade, Baby!
Date: October 16, 2008 | Category: Care, Food, Food & Drink, Kids
Hand made baby food from organic fruits and vegetables is the best thing you can feed your baby… and likely the last thing you have time to prepare.
HomemadeBaby to the rescue. The company offers delicious fresh-from-the-farm organic baby food that will give your wee ones the best nutrition around and leave you more time to spend with them.
The foods, which come in “So Smooth,” “Good Mushy” and “Kinda Chunky” styles for babies at various stages, are 100 percent organic and produced by farmers who use as much as 50 percent less energy than commercial farmers. The company works with farms that emphasize renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.
HomemadeBaby is also kosher and gluten-free, and while we would prefer to see the food packaged in a glass jar, the number “5” plastic tub is theoretically recyclable. Baby steps.
Don’t you Want your Kids to be Konservative?
Date: October 8, 2008 | Category: Care, Featured, Food, Food & Drink, Kids, Kitchen
Have you kicked plastics to the curb yet?
Like our team, you have probably eliminated plastic food storage containers in favor of glass, because glass doesn’t leach chemicals into food. But most schools don’t allow kids to bring fragile containers, so what should an eco-mom do?
Our friends a FranklyGreen.com have sent an amazing solution our way: a reusable, waste-free lunch kit from Kids Konserve, which features a stainless steel beverage bottle and two stainless steel food containers. Brilliant!
According to the Kids Konserve website, the average child generates 67 pounds of lunch-related trash per year. Add that to the 38 billion plastic water bottles that end up in landfills every year. What a waste! How cool is this super simple set looking?
The kit also comes with a food cozy and a cloth napkin, all in a recycled cotton sack. The whole kit and caboodle (ok, just the kit) costs $40 and comes in a gender-neutral green (of course) pattern, which will work for all the budding enviros in your house and for grown-ups who tote their lunches to work.
Orange You Glad We Found This Website?
Date: September 24, 2008 | Category: Care, Clothing, Food, Furniture, Kids, Toys
Why is it that tiny newborns raise such big questions in the minds of new moms? Instinctively, mothers want the best for their babies and often even the most thoughtless person will veer towards eco-friendly baby products when they become a parent.
When Generation Orange founder Shital Mehta gave birth to her son Krishna, now 20 months, she was intent on using only the most natural products on the market. So when she couldn’t find baby bottles made using BPA-free plastic in stores, she contacted a distributor of the bottles and ordered a case to share with friends who had also been trying to track the bottles down. As she researched other clean infant items, she realized that bottles weren’t the only hard-to-find sustainable products.
Founded by Mehta with her husband Prashanth Mysoor, Generation Orange is built on the principles of health, sustainability and community. The site provides one-stop-shopping for stylish baby and child products, including toys, clothing and foods, all made with the most natural materials available.
Generation Orange also puts a premium on giving back and works hard to partner with companies who take that principle seriously too; about 90 percent of the companies whose products are sold on the site give a portion of the proceeds to charity.
It seems that when you mix green with giving you make orange.
Organic Bags with Small Price Tags
Date: September 22, 2008 | Category: Bags, Care, Children, Fashion, Men, Women
Clean lines meet clean materials in Ecogear’s bags for men, women and children. And the bags even boast features to help you keep the bag itself clean.
The company’s offerings - Ecotech, a line of rugged backpacks, and Ecogear, a line of purses and messenger-style bags - are made with organic cotton, recycled plastics, sustainable wood components and toxic-free dyes. Not only do these bags not damage the environment, they won’t damage your wallet: The bags range in price from just $17.99 to $79.99.
Our ecofabulous tot testers gave piggy back rides to their new ecozoo pals/packs and protested having to return them. Luckily, for a little more than the price of a Webkin they can get a pet that actually helps with school work and doesn’t require constant attention.
Two Utensil Heads are Better than One
Date: September 18, 2008 | Category: Care, Featured, Food, Kids
Though not necessarily celebrated for its chicness, the spork was a stroke of functional genius. The combo fork and spoon that is a staple of any cafeteria was obviously overdue for an eco makeover. (more…)
The Essence of Smart Baby Care
Date: September 3, 2008 | Category: Care, Featured, Kids
Protecting our children is the most important job of every parent. We try—albeit sometimes in vain—to shield them from all of life’s harsh realities. When they’re babies, shielding their delicate skin from harmful chemicals tops our list of priorities. Mothers everywhere will swoon over the organic baby care from Miessence. (more…)
Babies, Here Wee-Go
Date: August 19, 2008 | Category: Care, Featured, Kids
According to the Chinese (who launched the olympic games at 8:08 on 08/08/08), all the babies born on that illustrious Friday were extra lucky. But we think this new bottle from Babylife makes newborns everywhere pretty darn charmed. Although my friend Gina Pell over at Splendora missed the lucky day, her baby girl, born on 08/11, has a Wee-Go to ensure her first sips are toxin-free. Created without use of bisphenol A, phthalates and PVC, the Wee-Go is made from glass surrounded by a silicone sleeve to protect from breakage. Available in a myriad of cool colors to add panache, the nipples are made from latex-free, food-grade silicon. The whole getup is completely recyclable, making these $18 built-to-last beauties the ultimate in cradle-to cradle.
