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Organic Baby Clothing
What is organic baby clothing? Organic baby clothing is clothing that is made from materials that are raised or grown without the use of chemicals in the form of pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals. You probably do not realize that conventional cotton has been subjected to insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers or other chemicals, and according to treehugger.com, “Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides on 3% of our arable land; that's more than any other crop per unit." That adds up to 1/3 of a pound of chemicals to produce enough cotton for a t-shirt, and 3/4 of a pound for a pair of jeans.
Babies’ skin is thinner and more porous than that of adults, so they are more at risk for absorbing chemicals from baby clothing. Natural organic cotton is pure cotton that allows you to live healthier.
Organic baby clothing made of organic cloth may cost more than those made of conventional cotton, but natural fiber baby clothes last much longer. Wearing something you know is comfortable, safe, good for the skin and environmentally friendly makes you feel like you are doing something to make a difference. Ready to shop? Try the Inspirational Baby Company website. There are several eco brands of disposable and quasi-disposable diapers these days and from what I understand, they work pretty well. The environmental problems with diapers go from end to end. There's the petroleum, bleach and other chemicals used to manufacture and ship them, and there's the utter lack of biodegradability once you throw them away. One new brand, Nature Babycare from Sweden, claims to address both issues. Its shell is theoretically compostable because it's made from corn instead of plastic, and the absorbent lining is mostly compostable because it's chlorine free and partly made from wood pulp. Getting petroleum-based plastic and dioxin-generating chlorine out of the manufacturing process is a worthy start. But one look at these nappies tells you that they are not going to break down in a backyard compost pile anywhere nearly as quickly as your baby will go through them. (And not everything that comes out of a baby's bottom should wind up in a compost pile anyway.) You could find out whether your town has a drop-off location for organic waste (essentially a community compost pile), but most don't. So you'll probably do with these diapers what I did. You'll wrap them up in a plastic garbage bag that is absolutely not biodegradable and put them out by the curb to be collected by your town garbage collectors, who will ultimately pile them into a landfill. Once there, it seems they wouldn't break down even if they were made of fig leaves, according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Seventh Generation and Tender Care, which is made by the Hain-Celestial GroupHAIN, are also chlorine free, but both contain the same superabsorbent polymers that the big brands do. Surprisingly, the environmental community hasn't really skewered these gels, which hold many times their weight in liquid. Some warn that the gel could irritate a baby's skin and others caution that if a diaper rips open a child might try to eat the dessicant. But these are not concerns that will keep most parents up at night. It would seem that Seventh Generation is also trying to be eco-friendly by cutting down on materials. Its paper-bag brown diapers are the skimpiest ones I've ever seen. My daughter outgrows them long before she hits the weight limit that the packaging suggests. If you are gel-wary, another Hain-Celestial brand, Tushies, is the only one that eschews it and blends the wood pulp filling with cotton instead. These diapers make up for their lack of chemical technology by being the biggest diapers I've ever seen. They work surprisingly well, but if you want a streamlined look under your child's onesie, this is not the brand for you.
Organic Baby Clothing - Baby Footwear As parents, we are more focused than ever on using products that are not only healthy for their little ones, but also healthy for the Earth. That’s why IsaBooties are the perfect choice in footwear for developing feet. • are 100% animal-free;
Go Green, Baby - Visit babyearth.com for the biggest selection of eco-friendly baby products in the market today.
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