Safe Alternatives for Baby and Child

Is it sometimes hard for you too? To give up some of those itsy bitsy outfits that your baby grows out of?

Now I am thinking that it is a wonderful thing for another baby to be able to recycle (re-use and reduce) her cute threads too! Most of my baby girl’s clothing is made from cotton.When you think of baby clothing, cotton probably comes to mind as the best natural fabric option. But, is this really the case? Well, it breathes, it is soft and comfortable, and it even absorbs (as cotton diapers do). Probably the first onesie you put on your little angel was cotton, and he/she may even be wearing cotton clothing right now.

However, according to the Sustainable Cotton Project in California, about 1/3 of a pound of chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, processing chemicals and dyes) are used to make just ONE cotton t-shirt!

Cotton is one of the most intensively treated crops in the world!

Not only that, but the pesticides used are some of the most hazardous ones out there and all of the earth-destructing chemicals used to grow conventional cotton fabric, they are often further processed with other destructive agents.

1. Bleaching cotton gives it that glistening white color. Unfortunately, the bleaching process uses chlorine-based chemicals. The byproduct of such treatment is dioxin, an environmental hazard!
2. Toxic heavy metals are also used to mask discoloration of darker cotton. These toxic heavy metals (copper, chromium,…) do not leach to cotton completely due to cotton being somewhat resistant to dyes. So, guess what happens to nearly 1/2 of those toxic metals? Yep, they end up in our ground water, rivers, and soil.

How does this effect our babies?

• Have you heard of “blue baby” syndrome? Nitrates from nitrogen fertilizers have been known to cause it, and it can be deadly. “The use of nitrate-contaminated drinking water to prepare infant formula is a well-known risk factor for infant methemoglobinemia. Affected infants develop a peculiar blue-gray skin color and may become irritable or lethargic, depending on the severity of their condition. The condition can progress rapidly to cause coma and death if it is not recognized and treated appropriately. Two cases of blue baby syndrome were recently (2000) investigated. Both cases involved infants who became ill after fed formula that was reconstituted with water from private wells. Water samples collected from these wells during the infants’ illnesses contained nitrate-nitrogen.”1
• I can’t but help wonder what the earth will be like for our baby’s babies. The effects of all these dangerous pesticides used in cotton is also destroying wildlife. “At least 13 pesticides documented as causing die-offs in migratory birds are currently registered for use on cotton. More insidious is the effect of some pesticides on the reproductive capacity of fish and wildlife - harm may not occur right away, but species disappear as they cannot reproduce successfully.” 2
• Families living near conventional cotton fields are exposed to the drifting chemicals. “In California, cotton ranks third in the state for total number of pesticide-related illnesses.” 3

“To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival.” -Wendell Berry

The Safest Alternatives to conventional cotton

• Certified Organic Cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides. To go a step further, look for Unbleached Certified Organic Cotton.
• Green Cotton is still grown conventionally, but it is not bleached or further processed with dying chemicals.
• Transitional Cottons are from farms that are converting to organic farming and no longer are using synthetic fertilizers. There is a 3 year transitional process to be labeled “organic”.

This graph “Organic Cotton is Different” is a wonderful summary of the comparison of conventional cotton vs. organic cotton.

After doing this extensive research for this article, Sandra and I both realized how important it is for our children’s and planet’s sake to buy more organic organic cotton clothes for our little ones and ourselves. Yet another option is to shop at those cute boutiques that sell recycled baby clothing and goods. We have found some adorable things at the one near us, for fractions of the cost, and almost new!

Do you think you can’t afford organic cotton? Here are some cheap options to purchase organic cotton clothing:

• American Apparel sells high quality, simple and organic baby tees starting at $12 (to spice it up, add a iron on applique)
• Wal-Mart has an organic cotton baby line “George baby organic”. You can get a bodysuit 3-pack for only $ 7.99
• Baby”R”US sells Gerber’s Organic Onesies, Pants, PJ’s for under $ 10.00

Break the habit and buy more organic cotton to help shift the toxic business of cotton production into an industry of hope and environmental stewardship! Your grandchildren will thank you for it!

We love these fun and safe alternatives from conventional cotton

bioME5 Organic Cotton Apparel

BioME5 Animal Alphabet: Designed with our future in mind! BioME5 is an environmentally-sensitive and imaginative children’s company that designs products inspired by nature’s beauty and diversity. This fun line is influenced by the visual learning processes inherent in children too.

bioME 5 uses only 100% certified organic cotton and all dyes use non-chlorine bleaching processes and low-impact dyes.

From Alligator-Zebra, this line of traditional-fit t-shirts supports our little animal-lovers, and the planet too! We also love that these shirts are tagless and manufactured in the USA!

You can order the t-shirts online at biome5.com for $ 32.00

Bamboosa Bamboo Apparel

Another safe alternative to conventional cotton is bamboo. Bamboosa has amazing integrity in the processing of their fabrics, which we love.

Some facts to consider about the ‘greenness’ of bamboo would be:

• Bamboo is grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers
• Bamboo requires no irrigation
• Bamboo rarely needs replanting
• Bamboo grows rapidly and can be harvested in 3-5 years
• Bamboo produces 35% more oxygen that an equivalent stand of trees
• Bamboo is a critical element in the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• Bamboo is an excellent soil erosion inhibitor

My little girl never wants to take off her bamboo outfit once she has it on. This fabric is SO SOFT, you don’t know where the clothing stops and your baby’s skin begins.

We went with the purely natural textile which is free of any dyes or bleaching agents. The little socks also fit so amazing, I wanna get a pair for myself!

Bamboo Baby Gift Set comes in 4 pieces, and retails at $40.00 from Bamboosa.com

Speesees Organic Cotton Apparel

Speesees.com sells fun organic apparel for children.

1 Environmental Health Perspectives, July 2000, http://www.ehponline.org, March 14, 2008.2 Rebecca Spector and Sandra Marquardt, October 2003,http://www.checnet.org, March 14, 2008.3 Rebecca Spector and Sandra Marquardt, October 2003, http://www.checnet.org, March 14, 2008.

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