The Green Mom Review™

Win: Kids 50+ UPF Organic Cotton Flap Hat

2012-05-14T12:46:55Z

What: Flap Happy Hat

Features: Lightweight and machine-washable, Flap Happy’s Original UPF 50+ Organic Flap Hat for kids and babies provides excellent protection from damaging UV rays. The hat has a large brim to shade the face and the flap covers the ears and neck from the harsh rays of the sun with an elastic band to help fit snugly around the head.

Green Factor: The Flap Happy hat is chemical-free and made from 100% Organic Cotton.

Bonus: Made in the USA!

Find it Here: Flap Happy

Win It: We have partnered with Flap Happy to give away one Original UPF 50+ Organic Flap Hat for kids

How: Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter FP12 as the giveaway name and tell us five products carried by Flap Happy (other than the Organic Flap hat), all of which can be found on Flap Happy‘s web site.

Extra Entries: To receive an extra entry, tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include @greenmomreview in your tweet) and fill out another entry form letting us know about your tweet (be sure to include YOUR Twitter name).

Giveaway ends at midnight on 5/25/12; $25 value ($17.95 + shipping). Open to residents of US only. Official Rules.

The Green Mom Review™.

Win: Luxury Organic Cotton Sheet Set

2012-05-10T06:29:46Z

What: Organic cotton sheets

Features: Super soft 300 thread count sateen cotton sheets. The fitted sheet is designed to accommodate mattresses up to 10″ thick. Available in sable or heather white.

Green Factor: Certified to the most stringent set of standards by GOTS, the Global Organic Textile Standards, Essentia’s sheets are made from 100% certified organic cotton. Organic cotton, grown without pesticides, herbicides or chemicals, is by far the best option for bedding because you sleep directly on it for hours at a time.

Find it Here: Essentia

Win It: We’ve partnered with Essentia to give away one set (queen, king or California king) of these awesome organic cotton sheets!

How: Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter ES12 as the giveaway name and tell us three products (other than sheets) carried by Essentia AND how many chemicals are contained in the ordinary memory foam mattress— all of which can be found on Essentia’s web site.

Giveaway ends at midnight on 4/23/12; $299 value. Open to residents of US and Canada only. Official Rules. THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. Congrats to Mary!

Extra Entries: To receive an extra entry, tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include @greenmomreview in your tweet) and fill out another entry form letting us know about your tweet (be sure to include YOUR Twitter name).

The Green Mom Review™.

A Green Nursery on a Budget

2012-03-19T21:49:03Z

We all want a safe haven for our babies and giving them an eco-friendly space of their own is surely at the top of any green mom’s list BUT…we all know green can also cost a lot of green.

Fortunately, with a little creativity, perseverance and time, you can give your bundle of joy safe, eco-friendly accommodations without spending a fortune and I’m going to tell you everything you need to know to get started!

1. Don’t be afraid to buy pre-owned items
I know with my firstborn, the idea of putting her in or on anything that wasn’t brand new was completely horrifying to me. What I didn’t know then that I know now is that new stuff off-gasses all kinds of chemicals into the air and guess what? Your baby is breathing them in. Getting something used (from friends, consignment stores or even Craigslist) means it’s probably already outgassed those chemicals and also, buying used means you’re helping to conserve resources. You can’t get much greener than that. Ideal items to buy used are cribs (check models for recalls and other safety issues), dressers, gliders/rockers and changing tables. As these are also big ticket items, you’ll be saving loads of money right off the bat. Just make sure to clean everything really well with a non-toxic cleaner.

2. Don’t skimp on baby’s bedding
Shop around online for good deals on organic cotton sheets, crib bumpers and swaddling blankets and most importantly, an organic crib mattress. There are several varieties — the key is to find one that contains no chemical flame retardants (wool is good natural choice of flame retardant) and contains no chemicals or non-organic materials. This is important because your baby will breathe in anything that is outgassing from the mattress. There has also been some speculation that the chemicals used in conventional mattresses are a possible cause of SIDS.

3. If you have hardwood or tile floors, leave them alone
Do NOT carpet the room. Carpet is the source of much indoor pollution and outgassing. You can pick up organic or natural area rugs for far less than re-carpeting a whole room — or consider FLOR. FLOR is eco-friendly, recyclable carpet that comes in self-stick squares so you can mix, match and make your own patterns while staying green. If you already have carpet and it’s not completely gross, leave it and hire a green carpet cleaning service rather than installing new carpeting.

4. Choose No-VOC paint
Painting is almost always part of setting up a new baby’s room and the new, green No-VOC paints are the paints you want to use. No-VOC means “no volatile organic compounds” which really just means it contains none of the toxic stuff that contributes to indoor air pollution and that you don’t want your baby (or you!) inhaling. No-VOC paint is more expensive than regular latex interior paint but for a bedroom, one gallon may be enough and trust me, it’s money well spent. No-VOC paint is available at most stores such as Home Depot. Just make sure it’s No-VOC or Zero-VOC instead of Low-VOC.

5. Be picky about clothing
Since clothing touches your baby nearly 24 hours a days, organic cotton or bamboo is the best choice for your baby’s layette. Regular cotton is grown with insane amounts of pesticides and if you can avoid it, you don’t want that touching your baby’s sensitive skin. Scour eBay for deals on organic clothing. Try to approximate what season it will be when your baby is a certain size and get off-season stuff for far less. Also, there are tons of stores on the web that sell incredibly cute organic clothing—check their sale and clearance pages to score bargains. If you choose to cloth diaper, obviously organic cotton cloth diapers are ideal. If you want to use disposable diapers that aren’t made with chlorine bleach and other chemicals, try G-Diapers. They’re amazingly biodegradable, flushable and compostable.

6. Things to NOT buy for your nursery
Skip on the stuffed animals unless they’re made of materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo etc. and keep them to a minimum since stuffed animals are a haven for dust mites anyway. Also pass on the vinyl wall decorations since vinyl outgasses nasty toxins you’d never want your baby inhaling and just say no to unnaturally-scented anything…that includes toiletries like shampoo, baby wash, powder and lotions and other things like scented detergents, air fresheners and scented trash bags or Diaper Genie refills. Scented things are usually made to smell that way with synthetic, petroleum-based chemicals and some components of these chemical cocktails are even known neurotoxins. A hint on whether something is naturally scented or not is to look at the ingredient list. If it lists “perfume,” “parfum” or “fragrance,” you should definitely forgo that item as those words are code for synthetic, toxic junk you don’t want anywhere near your baby.

I know it may seem daunting but I promise following these guidelines will help you to give your baby the safe, eco-friendly space you want them to have. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments :)

*And if you find yourself in need of a baby shower gift for a pregnant friends or loved one, remembering #2, #5 and #6 can help you to choose the perfect green baby gift!

The Green Mom Review™.

DVR Alert: What’s Really in Your Food?

2012-02-28T07:03:36Z

It’s been four years since the film Food Inc. lifted the veil on America’s food industry and exposed how the nation’s food suppliers put profit ahead of the health of the consumer.

But Americans are still being served harmful foods including burgers made out of pink slime, chicken “marinated” in chlorine and injected with salt water with sodium content equivalent to a serving of fries, artificial flavoring in ice cream that is otherwise used in lice killer and carcinogens in bread commonly found on the kitchen table—most disturbing is the fact that these practices are all perfectly legal.

On Monday, February 27, the hosts of the talk show THE DOCTORS, along with special guest, chef Rocco DiSpirito, take a closer look at American food staples and examines the harmful additives and processes used to prepare them.

Burgers* – Would you eat a burger made out of “pink slime”—the name given to the mechanically separated meat that’s treated with ammonia hydroxide to kill bacteria like E-coli? McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Burger King, once purveyors of pink slime, say they have discontinued their use of this meat, made from discarded beef (i.e. everything else from the cow that had been deemed inedible), but who still does? Schools serve it up daily in kids’ lunches. GROSS!

Chicken –To disinfect and cool chicken post slaughter, chickens are often soaked in a chlorine bath with a water-to-chlorine ratio up to 50 times more potent than the average swimming pool. Then, to help hide the chlorine taste, the chickens are “plumped” with salt water, making the chickens larger in both weight and price. Plus, via a scientific experiment, THE DOCTORS determined that chlorine baths may not even rid chicken of the bacteria the chlorine bath is supposed to prevent.

Ice Cream – One billion gallons of ice cream are consumed by Americans every year. The most popular flavor? Vanilla. Real vanilla beans are expensive, so to save money, many ice cream makers use a synthetic flavoring called piperonal which is also an ingredient in lice killer.

Bread – Many breads are made with potassium bromate, which has been banned in Canada and the UK and has been named a carcinogen by the EPA, but has been approved by the FDA. Plus, azodicarbonamide, found in many manufactured donuts and hamburger buns – as well as plastics, rubber and foam – has been found to aggravate asthma symptoms and contribute respiratory problems in humans.

So, what do the doctors of THE DOCTORS recommend to avoid these harmful foods?

Look for fewer ingredients with words you can pronounce
Avoid “artificial flavors” as much as possible
Avoid “artificial dyes”, especially Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5 & 6
Limit processed foods.
While it may not be economical for everyone to buy organic all the time, it’s worth spending a few extra dollars on organic poultry and beef.
Consider buying direct from a farmer’s market
A truly natural chicken breast has 50 to 75 mg. of sodium. If there’s more than that, the bird has been “plumped”.
If you want to know what’s in your food, make it yourself.

Check your local listings to see when the show airs in your city and after the show, download this cheat sheet of common harmful additives to avoid.

*Below is a photo of a 12 year-old burger THE DOCTORS’ Dr. Jim Sears uses in nutrition lectures. Not even mold has grown on the meat because of all the chemical additives in there!

The Green Mom Review™.

GLOB Natural Non-Toxic Paints

2012-02-03T00:56:50Z

What: All natural, non-toxic paint

Features: Water-soluble, botanically crafted paints made from fruits, vegetables, flowers and spices with natural food-grade ingredients and organic extracts. Similar to watercolors, GLOB paints can be used for a variety of arts and crafts activities.

Green Factor: Inexplicably, in the US, synthetic pigments that have never been tested for toxicity can be labeled “non-toxic ” simply because there is no data to prove otherwise. GLOB paints are free of the petrochemicals, formaldehyde and heavy metals like lead and cadmium that are found in many so-called “non-toxic” art pigments.

Bonus: GLOB’s annual School Giveaway provides free paints to schools, making safe, green art supplies available for creative programs.

Find It Here: GLOB

The Green Mom Review™.