I feel like I’ve been running around in circles trying to decide which sunscreen will protect us from cancer, not promote it.  We’re planning our vacation and will be spending most days boating on the water, so we’ll need that extra help fighting off sunburn.  I really thought I had my act together when I made a “quick” run to the store.  I ended up leaving empty-handed and thinking, “It can’t be that hard, can it?”

I walked in the door and went straight to my most trusted resources, hoping for some help.  Thank goodness for EWG’s Sunscreen Guide!  Not only do they recommend the top ten products, they also rank the top ten overall brands, and even provide great tips for avoiding sunburn.  They didn’t just focus on the more notably organic brands either - Walgreens Zinc Oxide for Face Nose and Ears is right there at number ten!

EWG’s Sunscreen Guide is also available in a printable guide.  Before making your final decision, be sure to take a look at Safe Mama’s safer sunscreen review too.  I don’t know about you, but my life just got a whole lot easier.

Matthew Parker suggests a paradigm shift when looking at our everyday use of plastics. Is it really as simple as getting up each morning and beginning your daily routine, or should you be aware of hidden toxins in your environment?

read more | digg story

As you can imagine, we hear from thousands of parents with great questions. We would love to be able to answer every single question, but sometimes we just don’t have what we need give a great, well-tested answer. So we’re asking for your expert help in our new series Q & A: Parents in the Know!

Let’s get started with a question we hear often:

Q: Which BPA free bottles will fit my Avent Isis pump?

Now it’s YOUR turn! Let the world know which bottles you’ve found that get the job done.

The Think Sport water bottle is quickly becoming famous - and for good reason.  Emily of Reasonably So sums up her own experience in a real-life review:

I’ve been working hard to take good care of my body, lately: eating as best I can, drinking lots of water, getting good exercise, and sleeping as well as I can.

Water is the one that I’m most pumped about today. I’ve been looking into water bottles for a few months (I try to be an informed consumer), because I’d heard so much about regular plastic and even Nalgenes being unhealthy in the long-run. I’d been a Nalgene fan for years (I had four different bottles by them), but didn’t want to drink toxic water anymore.

The first alternative I learned about was Sigg- made of aluminum, cool designs on the bottles, eco-friendly… good! Not so good: the coating on the inside has been targeted as a potential hazard (I don’t know the specifics, really, but a coating on the inside of a water bottle seems counter-intuitive). Then I learned about Klean Kanteen, made of stainless steel with no coating–simple bottle design, but I dig simple. Priced about the same as the Sigg, I was confident I had found my bottle-to-be.

My stepmom has a Klean Kanteen, so I asked her where in the area I could find one. As she was telling me, my dad jumped in and said “Oh! I have a water bottle you could have!”

“A Klean Kanteen?”

“No, but it’s stainless steel.”

So I checked it out… boy oh BOY did I check it out. I took this thinksport bottle for a spin over the past two days:

I am floored about this water bottle. Never have I met a water bottle so successful at being a water bottle.

(DISCLAIMER: I KNOW I AM A HUGE NERD)

Why is this bottle so great? I’ll tell you why.

1) It’s attractive.

2) It has both a large and small opening for different styles of drinking (see above images).

3) It has a little mesh filter (not pictured) that fits inside the top so the ice doesn’t come sloshing out, or if you brewed some loose leaf tea in it, you’d be all set to drink it without getting tea leaves in your mouth, OR if you decided to use it as a cocktail shaker, you’d be TOTALLY set.

4) It’s double-walled stainless steel–both durable and effectively insulating*.

*This I know from my trial run with the thinksport. Yesterday, around noon, I filled up my thinksport with ice cubes and the rest with water. I didn’t drink much out of it, but took a small sip around 7pm. Holy cow! The water was still icy cold! I left it in my car overnight, and when I returned today around noon, I took another sip. ICE COLD. Wait a minute… what’s that sound? Are those ice cubes in my bottle? After 24 HOURS there were 3 or 4 ice cubes still remaining in my thinksport!! Amazing. AMAZING. This bottle and I have quite the future together.

I am absolutely astounded at technology. I am looking at the world in a totally different way. I commend you, thinksport, for being so damn awesome: you have changed the way I look at bottles and it is GOOD, so good.

Emily’s reaction to the wonders of the bottle are happily repeated by our customers daily.   Jump over to Gardenaut for an even more detailed review of Think Sport compared to other leading water bottles.

I hope you get the chance to take the Think Sport bottle for a spin too.  You may have to join a waiting list for now, while the manufacturer catches up with the the flood of demand.  We recently talked with the owner of the company and confirmed that the wait shouldn’t be too long . . .

Photo Source: Reasonably So

In their blog post, Our Poorly Managed Plastic System, Enviroblog spells out what most frustrated parents across America are thinking, “Just label the dang plastic already!”

But that would mean admitting there might be a problem with some of the chemicals used in baby feeding products, wouldn’t it?  It’s quickly becoming apparent that mandating labels may be a long time in coming.  The plastics industry recently established its swaying power when the FDA released their announcement regarding the safety of BPA:

The FDA has determined that the use of polycarbonate-based baby bottles and BPA-based epoxy coated cans used to hold infant formula is safe.

Well, there it is.  Thanks for the insight, but I’ve decided that my child is worth an err on the side of caution.  I prefer to support the action plan presented by Environment and Human Health Inc. (EHHI).  Enviroblog did a fantastic job summarizing the key points:

The U.S. government should require labeling and warning systems for products containing bisphenol A (BPA) and the phthalate DEHP, according to researchers at the nonprofit Environment and Human Health inc. (EHHI).

EHHI points out that production of BPA and DEHP (used in the production of PVC plastic) has increased since the ’90s, and so has our scientific understanding of endocrine disruption. Meanwhile, our systems for recycling polycarbonate and PVC plastic haven’t gotten any better. We’ve got enough data to demonstrate the negative health effects, so why isn’t the government doing anything about it?

Amongst EHHI’s recommendations are a ban on BPA and DEHP in products intended for children 3 and under (note: this recommendation wouldn’t address canned food. EWG supports an outright ban on BPA). They also recommend creating a meaningful code and labeling system for all plastics. The recycling code wasn’t meant to tell consumers what ingredients are in their plastic, but that’s exactly the kind of system we need. In addition, EHHI argues, the government should warn pregnant women or women who may become pregnant to avoid exposure to BPA and DEHP. Of course, since we’re all supposed to think of ourselves as pre-pregnant, that would require women to avoid DEHP and BPA for their entire productive lives. Cut out half of the users of these plastics, and you may as well cut out the plastics altogether.

The idea of creating a meaningful labeling system would thrill parents who are overwhelmed and discouraged in searching for safer alternatives.  In the meantime, we’ll just keep plugging along doing what what we know is right.  Eventually the plastics industry will have to find another way to make their money, because no one will be buying their toxic plastic . . .

I still remember opening my first baby doll for Christmas and thinking how wonderful that new plastic smell was. Now when I smell the aroma of fresh PVC off-gassing, I’m struck with a new thought, “Eeewww, smells like poison!”

The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) released a new study, “Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain’s Chemical Smell,” in which they reveal that PVC shower curtains can release over 100 toxic chemicals.

The truth about PVC is even more shocking than we ever imagined. The chemicals researched in the study have been associated with developmental damage, as well as damage to the liver, central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems. It amazed me to learn that some chemicals were found in the air a full 28 days after a PVC shower curtain was unwrapped and hung!

The study also found many more unsettling facts about PVC shower curtains:

• Contain high levels of phthalates
• Contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s)
• Contain high levels of organotins
• Contain lead, cadmium and other metals
• Heat and humidity can increase the release of these chemicals

There is some good news in all of this mess. CHEJ confirmed that many leading retailers of PVC shower curtains have plans to phase them out. The list includes: Bed Bath and Beyond, IKEA, JC Penney, Macy’s, Marks and Spencer, Sears/Kmart and Target.

Thanks to CHEJ for their ongoing work to protect our families with well-documented research and education projects. You can read the full report at their website.

UPDATE 6/18/08:

Q: Is there a safe alternative?

A: Yes.  EVA is a non-toxic alternative used in some shower curtains.  There is a growing trend to replace PVC with EVA, so it won’t be difficult to find a substitution.

Watch for a follow-up article on EVA soon!

Parents across America leaped with joy when they finally heard news of a Dr. Brown’s BPA free plastic alternative. Demand for the new bottles has been almost impossible for us (and the manufacturer) to keep up with.

Now that you’ve had a chance to take them for a spin, we want to know your thoughts on their overall performance. In return, we’ll be giving a free Dr. Brown’s bottle to the first ten parents who leave a comment on this post discussing the following topics:

• How the polypropylene bottles compare to the original polycarbonate bottles
• How the polypropylene bottles compare to other BPA free bottles you’ve tried while waiting for a safer Dr. Brown’s option

NOTE: The contest is closed ALREADY! What a great outpouring of insight. Thank you so much for participating, and congrats to the first ten commenters! We’ll be contacting you soon for shipping info

Now, don’t stop there - keep sharing your experiences with Dr. Brown’s . . .

A new bill, brought to the House yesterday by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), would ban BPA from food and drink containers, including canned infant formula. The ban would affect all canned foods, including prepared foods like soup and pasta which EWG tests found to contain some of the highest levels of BPA.

read more | digg story

I’m addicted to Twitter.  There.  I said it.

All of those great little tid bits swirling in my mind finally have a place to belong! What kind of tid bits, you ask?

• New and up-coming product scoop
• Notification of updates to our Safer Feeding Gear lists
• Links to our favorite non-toxic resources
• Breaking news in the world of toxic chemicals
• Real reviews of the best feeding gear on the market - straight from parents like you
• Long-awaited product arrivals (click over now to find out what BPA free bottle is FINALLY back in stock!)

Do you hear it?  Follow that TWEET!

Sometimes it’s nice to find a simple solution in our quest to remove BPA from our children’s diet.  Baby Cubes make if possible for non-gourmet parents like me to whip up chemical free home-made baby food.

Not only are Baby Cubes made from BPA, PVC and Phthalate free virgin polypropylene, they also offer so many other benefits:

• Reusable
• Individual lids are attached
• Dishwasher and freezer safe
• Stackable, saving freezer space
• Each individual cube snaps into place, keeping everything secure
• Reduce food waste by allowing you to defrost only what you need
• Keep track of freshness by writing the date of preparation on the tray with a dry erase marker

We asked a fellow mommy blogger to give them a try.  Take a look at what Beth of Petite Planet had to say:

I am no Donna Reed. I’m domestically challenged in several ways. I don’t wear aprons, I only recently caught on to ironing, I’m a bad cook, (I do try!) I can’t remember the last time I wore pearls, and I’ve never worn red lipstick.

But let me just tell you, I made Olivia’s baby food from scratch yesterday, and I couldn’t feel more proud if I was suddenly in black and white offering a plate of freshly baked cookies to a bunch of kids just home from school.

If I could do this, anyone can. I mean, I burn water for goodness sake.

I started with Olivia’s favorite food to date: sweet potatoes, also known as yams. I bought one large organic yam (remember: ONLY buy organic fruits and vegetables, locally grown if possible!) at Whole Foods, washed it, poked holes in it, and baked it at 400 degrees for one hour. After cooled, the skin peeled right off. I then chopped up the yam, tossed it in the blender and pureed it, adding spring water until it reached the desired consistency.

I imagine this will get easier with more practice, but I won’t lie… popping open a jar of Earth’s Best organic baby food is much more simple. However, ahem, drumroll please… one organic yam cost me $1.81 and yielded me NINE servings. A single serving jar of Earth’s Best costs me .79 cents!

And no more need to recycle glass jars. I used Baby Cubes from The Soft Landing. They are non-toxic and quite ingenious. Their lids are attached, and once you fill them, you snap the lid on tight, place them in their stackable tray and put them in the freezer. You may also use a dry erase marker to jot down the contents and date on them if you wish. The only problem is, I want more than 8 cubes! I need more! I think I may go on a pureeing spree. Now, where are those pearls…