The Green Mom Review™

6 Small Things to Make a Difference

2013-04-20T15:22:08Z

Eco-Friendly Breast Milk Storage Bags

2013-04-17T04:22:39Z

What: Honeysuckle Breast Milk Storage Bags

Features: Durable, extra thick, leakproof milk storage bottles with a double zipper and ridged bottom to prevent spills

Green Factor: BPA-free, phthalate-free, oxo-biodegradable and recyclable!

Bonus: Honeysuckle also makes storage bags made to work with Ameda and Medela breast pumps

Find It Here: Amazon

The Green Mom Review™.

Hidden Dangers in Your Baby’s Nursery

2013-02-28T21:44:19Z

(click image to see at full size)

The Green Mom Review™.

Eco-Friendlier Paper Straws

2013-02-19T19:16:54Z

What: Paper Straws

Features: Thick paper straws coated with food-grade wax to protect them from liquid. Yes, these are single-use items but if you are in a situation where you need straws and glass or steel straws are not an option (i.e. parties, large gatherings, house guests) this is a far better option than plastic straws, which are typically non-recyclable.

Green Factor: Biodegradable, compostable and made with food-grade soy inks

Bonus: Made in the USA by Aardvark Straws

Find It Here: Amazon

The Green Mom Review™.

What’s the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

2013-01-17T19:55:11Z

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a growing problem in the northern Pacific Ocean and one that could dramatically alter life on our planet within the next 20 years.

“I remember the first time I felt it; I was paddling out on my surfboard and noticed a mushy, plastic-like substance sliding through my fingers. That’s what started my obsession with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” says charity fundraiser and environmentalist Veronica Grey. “The patch is located between Hawaii and California in the northern Pacific Ocean, where millions of small bits of plastic have gathered in a vortex of ocean currents known as a gyre.”

“Fifteen years ago The Patch was the size Texas, but now it’s the size of the continental United States,” says Grey, who used her iPhone to shoot the documentary, which features renowned scientists, journalists and environmentalists.

Grey paired her professional skills with her personal passion for the ocean, creating the award-winning documentary “Aqua Seafoam Shame,” (www.Pacific-TV.com), which spotlights the mess in the ocean that has garnered precious little media attention, she says.

Plastic in the ocean has far-reaching implications that, if not addressed within 20 years, could change life on this planet, she says. To date, 177 species of sea life are known to ingest plastic; other species feed on those creatures, extending the chain of damage.

“People eat the seafood that eats plastic, and the planet gets its rain from the oceans, which are being polluted at an exponential rate,” she says. “We use significantly more of our planet’s surface as a dump than for growing food; this has to change.”

To begin addressing plastics pollution, Grey encourages people to use alternatives:

Americans buy 2 million bottles of water every five minutes; ditch disposable plastic bottles and carry reusable, refillable bottles.
Carry a cost-effective canvas bag instead getting disposable plastic bags at the grocery store. We waste 10 billion plastic bags every week!
Do not line your trash cans with plastic bags. Use paper bags or nothing.
Skip the lid on your to-go drinks. The paper cup is normally recyclable but the lid usually isn’t.
Remember that each and every time you flush; it all ends up in the ocean. Be mindful of what you toss in your toilet!

The Green Mom Review™.