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(Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.)
Baby on the way? Time to think about going green.
From the moment you find out you are pregnant, your mind will race with questions about how to best raise your new bundle of joy. You will want to do everything possible to keep your child happy and healthy.
You will probably start to see the world in a whole new light and realize that everyday activities like buying groceries, taking a bath, and shopping for clothes are more important than ever before as you start paying attention to ingredients found in everyday products to ensure they don’t harm your infant. It can begin to feel overwhelming, but there are some simple steps you can take to go green.
Diapers.com is the perfect place to find safe, green products for your baby. And they have great, super-low prices, plus free 2-day shipping on orders $49 and over. You can create a baby registry to make it easy for your family and friends to pick out all the essentials you will need the minute your baby arrives. As you begin this exciting time prepping for your little one’s arrival, consider these important guidelines for how to choose the best eco-friendly products for baby.
Choose Organic Cotton
Growing conventional cotton entails using some of the most toxic chemicals, like pesticides and fertilizers, that unfortunately impact the earth’s air, water, soil, and the health of people who live and work near the cotton farms. However, you can make a huge difference by choosing products made with organic cotton, which is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment.
Diapers.com has a huge selection of adorable, soft blankets, onesies, bibs, and burp cloths made from organic cotton. You will also find a number of baby carriers and wraps produced with organic cotton to easily travel with your baby in tow.
Watch Out For Harmful Chemicals
Because children’s bodies are rapidly 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 develop properly. Many baby necessities can contain harmful chemicals, but there are plenty of options out there so you can choose carefully to avoid these concerns.
- Chlorine-Free Diapers and Wipes. Your baby will probably go through up to 8,000 diaper changes before being potty-trained. Some diapers are bleached with chlorine and contain fragrance, dye, and lotions, which can irritate your baby’s skin and damage the environment. By choosing chlorine-free, you can protect your little one. You can also choose cloth diapers to avoid all the waste from disposable diapers. Diapers.com has a large selection of stylish and reusable cloth diapers.
- BPA-Free Bottles and Pacifiers. Known as an endocrine disruptor, BPA (bisphenol A) is an industrial chemical that is used to make certain plastic products like baby bottles and food containers. Some research has shown that BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers and cause possible health effects. Look for BPA-free products for your kids. Another way to completely avoid BPA is to choose glass bottles to feed your infant.
- Safe Shampoo and Soap. Many bath and body products on the market contain harmful chemicals. To protect your baby, look for products made with natural and organic ingredients and that don’t contain fragrance, sodium lauryl sulfate, DEA, parabens, and propylene glycol.
- Try Natural Materials. A new trend with green baby products is to use innovative materials that are more natural, such as teethers made from wood. These products are naturally anti-bacterial, non-allergenic, and non-toxic.
Purchase Natural and Organic Baby Food
We are what we eat, so we have to be extra careful what we feed our precious little ones. It is so important to choose natural and organic formula and baby food to avoid harmful pesticide residues, synthetic hormones, and genetically modified ingredients that can affect their growth. At Diapers.com, you will find a large selection of organic baby formula and baby food from top brands like Plum Organics, Earth’s Best, Happy Family, Sprout, and Ella’s Kitchen.
Make Play Time a Safe Time
Made from petroleum, most plastic toys contain toxic phthalates, lead, PVC vinyl, BPA, fire retardants, and other chemicals that are not safe for kids or the environment. Additionally, metal toys like cars and trains can contain antimony and cadmium. According to a 2009 study by the Ecology Center and HealthyStuff.org, a third of toys contain one or more harmful chemical including lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. Many of these chemicals have been found to cause cancer, disrupt hormone systems, and affect a child’s brain and behavior.
Keep your baby safe during playtime by choosing natural and organic baby toys. One amazing brand found at diapers.com is Green Toys Inc. This company makes a line of classic children’s toys constructed from recycled plastic from old milk containers. The plastic material used is called high-density polyethylene (or HDPE), which is considered one of the safest, cleanest plastics available. Besides keeping your kids safe, Green Toys helps reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, improving the overall health of the planet.
What changes will you make to go green before your baby arrives?
*This post was sponsored by Diapers.com.
wendy says
Yay! This is great, thanks for posting. Do you have a favorite online store for items like these?
Yes, I highlight all the great products that Diapers.com features on their site. All of the links go directly to pages in which I pre-searched product categories for readers.
What a great list. I love doing cloth diapers and I was much better at being vigilant with my first. But luckily i learned a lot from my first so it was easy to stick with the good choices i had made.
I use cloth diapers off and on with my boys. I really need to invest in more of them to have enough on hand! What brand is your favorite for cloth? Thanks!
We love both Green Toys and Plan Toys! I think we have a whole fleet of Green Toys cars and a tiny electric charging station from Plan Toys. Daniel Tiger’s trolley currently charges at it.
All my babies (3 of them!) are older now, but my last two used only cotton nappies and I’m so glad I did. Well worth the investment.
I’ll need to looking into Plan Toys for my baby! Thanks for the suggestion.
My babies are 7 and 9 now yet I remember being so shocked with the toxins in baby products - it was eye opening (and a little discouraging)! This is a great post and I hope it helps many new parents out there researching because it is so important!! Happy Friday!
Great suggestions! New grandbaby coming in 4 weeks!