Category : Green Products
My readers that follow the Mommy Footprint fan page are aware of my latest chapter of research and have been very helpful with suggesting questions & information on the topic of greener dental care. I’ve been working on research since last Spring and because I’m not a dentist or doctor, I’m having a tough time finding research or a subject matter expert I trust. But like any new journey, I’m going with my instincts but please know I’m writing this series as a parent – not a subject matter expert. With such a small percentage of dentists actually practicing holistic or ‘green’ dentistry it seems to be an uncharted area of parenting. What started with questions about sealant to use on cavities my kids have has become a huge topic of research. The first change I’m making in routine dental care for my family is switching toothpastes. I had seen sites talking about how bad fluoride is for health, but I assumed I didn’t need to worry since all my kids used Oral-B kids toothpaste (made and marketed for kids!). Because there is a Winnie The Pooh character on the front I guess sub-concisely didn’t think any bad ingredients would exist in the tube. I know…I’m slow to the dance. After quickly checking the medicinal ingredients, fluoride is listed. And for those (my husband) who might think I’m paranoid, have you ever wondered why all toothpaste tubes warn you not to swallow & only use a pea size helping of paste? If you read up on fluoride…you’ll actually find very little that it provides health benefits…it’s actually the opposite. I’m a pretty high strung parent and Googling fluoride did nothing to help my confidence in parenting. It is suggested it’s quite toxic in nature & linked to many diseases, bone cancer, brain development, muscle disorders, etc. I have a son that complained of body pains on a regular basis last year so this information really freaked me out. Finding reports on fluoride being one of the biggest medical frauds in medicine is not a good feeling when your children have always used it in their toothpaste.
If you look closely at your bottle of traditional toothpaste you’ll notice warnings not to swallow toothpaste & only use a pea sized amount. Yet commercials encourage these sorts of visuals for toothpaste measurements (image below)!
It’s all enough for me – I’ve pulled the traditional toothpaste from our house & made the following changes. I’ve been trying different brands of organic toothpaste with the kids & the hardest part is finding a brand that tastes good to them. I’ve also learned of an ingredient I want in my toothpaste called xylitol because it’s known to strengthen teeth in lieu of fluoride. My biggest concern of not using fluoriated toothpaste anymore is suddenly having a huge cavity problem on my hands because I’ve also cancelled fluoride treatments at our dental checkups & checked with my city to find out if our drinking water contains fluoride (it doesn’t). So without any fluoride will my children’s teeth be okay?
After talking with a super helpful person at Planet Organic, I learned about xylitol and the benefits of this natural sweetener that is naturally occurring in many of the foods we eat. Xylitol gum or mints you can chew after each meal stops acid attacks that would otherwise cause cavities. For more information on this process click here. For people reading this that are very prone to cavities or have weak teeth it’s not a good idea to go crazy with xylitol – 6 to 10 g is enough. I’ve read that too much will give you diarrhea & this sweetener is not good for animals.
How else to strengthen kids teeth if you replace fluoride? Brushing teeth, flossing teeth, extra calcium for teeth & bones, xylitol in toothpaste, xylitol brands of chewing gum/mints form for after meals, and overall diet. These are the steps I’m taking to be proactively removing fluoride from my children’s bodies, hopefully without causing future problem with cavities…but after researching fluoride…I’m happy with having xylitol in my arsenal to help keep their teeth stronger.
What brands of natural toothpaste am I currently using? I like Grants made in Australia for myself. The tea tree oil ingredient gives a refreshing taste & the mint oil is similar to the traditional toothpaste ‘taste’ I’m used to. My kids are not huge fans. I think it’s important to support the Canadian made Green Beaver brand too. I would have purchased it, but I didn’t see xylitol listed as an ingredient on the packaging. The Green Beaver website and Gwen from Nayla Naturals confirms that Green Beaver toothpaste does contain xylitol so I will buy this brand next – hopefully they have a more ‘kid friendly’ tasting flavor. Another thing I like about the Green Beaver website is their category called “Ingredients to Avoid” and why. You will find many of the ingredients to avoid if you read the ingredients on the toothpaste you are using right now: sodium lauryl sulfate for one. Read why here and check out this handy section of their site. So with toothpaste well in hand, next up is to try the xylitol mints & gum I found (they are expensive) at Planet Organic for some extra help with cavity prevention after meals. I know my kids will happily oblige popping a goodie after meals.
The next article on greener dental care will be what I’ve learned about dental sealants. Children get cavities – what options are there for sealing a cavity?
Deep breath parents! Summer has ended and a new chapter starts if you’re a parent…back-to-school is here. I discovered a ‘must have’ item this summer, even though I’ve used this stainless steel wonder for years, it really offered me convenience with taking my kids on many full day excursions over the last few months. For this reason – it translates into a great back-to-school convenience option and it took me not having ice-cubes one morning when I went to the farm to realize how important ice cubes are for packing up lunches for my kids. Yes!! I’m talking about stainless steel ice cube trays and before you think I’ve gone crazy, read why they are so important to my day.
First a picture:
Does it look familiar? It might remind you of the ice-cube tray your grandma used. Remember hearing the “CRaaaakkkkk” sound when she pulled the handle? The Onyx design is a ‘new take’ on this design, manufactured using high quality 18/8 stainless steel and well made to last many years in your home!
Why would I love a stainless steel ice cube tray this much when there are plenty of light-weight trays on the market made for BPA-free plastic or silicone? I’ve read enough about BPA-free plastic leaching BPA when tested & I don’t freeze anything in plastic because of leaching concerns. When it comes to silicone it’s my personal preference; I had a bad experience years ago with a skull & cross-bone shaped ice-cube tray that was marketed as silicone. It literally smelled like I opened a new tire when I opened the packaging and I can still remember the bitter taste of the ice-cubes. I would assume this was straight PVC & plasticizers as the ice cube tray was bendy – not the silicon material it was marketed as….but it’s completely turned me off. Although you’ll pay a bit more for the quality, stainless steel ice cube trays offer no scent, no chemicals to make it bendy, & is easy to clean & maintain.
Okay now back to my story of realizing how much I need ice-cubes on an outing to the farm. This summer we went on lots of excursions to local farms, mountains, and all-day outings. With the heat of the day my standard routine in the morning is packing up a stainless steel water bottle for each child, loading it half way with ice-cubes, the rest tap water. This would ensure the kids still had cold water to drink many hours later (great tip for back-to-school water bottles too). Running late to get to the farm I realized I didn’t have any ice-cubes for the morning so decided to not bring water with me – no point because it was a blazing hot day. During the course of the day I spent over $12 on bottled water the farm sold ($2 a bottle), had to worry that they’d actually be recycled, and then arrived home to read a great article by TreeHugger on drinking water bottled in plastic. I can’t find that article but here is another great article to support drinking tap water from Treehugger. And after calling my local municipality and finding out we don’t put fluoride & other nasties in our drinking water – it’s worth a read: A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water.
So it was even to my surprise that something like an ice-cube tray could give me so much convenience of using plain old tap water, save me money by not buying disposable water in plastic bottles, and piece of mind that I wasn’t freezing my water with any nasties leaching from the tray. I guess when people say “it’s the simple things in life”…they really know what they’re talking about.
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My hair and I have a love/hate relationship. If I want to describe my hair, most days it looks like unruly, long, wavy, hippie hair. I’m okay with all that. It’s the color I struggle with. I get my hair streaked once a year and enjoy how my appearance seems brighter after I have some blond put in my hair. I truly don’t think there is a way to make your hair lighter without chemicals, so I haven’t researched the slightly less alternative options. I have also learned that damaging my hair to keep it lighter in color makes no poo methods of hair maintenance difficult. I enjoyed using baking soda and apple cider vinegar for 6 months before my hair started getting dry…brittle actually. So I got a good trim and started using Green Beaver shampoo & conditioner. This combination has been working well, but since it’s summer I’ve been looking for an all natural moisturizing treatment for a deep conditioning. I experimented with coconut oil and olive oil and have been using Tropical Traditional Virgin Coconut Oil in the ends of my hair every few weeks to give it some extra moisture & shine. The first time I made the mistake of applying a large amount of it to my entire wet head…I looked like I was caught in an oil slick. After receiving some tips from the greenies on the Mommy Footprint fan page, I really like how my hair reacts when I apply it to the ends of my hair when it starts drying out after regular trips to the pool.
Gillian Deacon, Author of There’s Lead In Your Lipstick: Toxins In Our Everyday Body Care and How To Avoid Them, has some great tips for DIY, all natural deep conditioning treatments. Check out:
Gillian’s tips:
Make your own conditioner: slather your hair in coconut oil, wrap your hair in a towel and leave it for a few hours. For a hot oil treatment, heat extra-virgin olive oil and massage through dry hair. Wash thoroughly after 20 minutes. For a revitalizer, mash an avocado and mix with two tablespoons of honey; massage into hair and wash out after 20 minutes.
Summer can be hard on hair – between trips to the pool and sun exposure. My jar of Virgin Coconut Oil for Hair Treatment is specially made for hair treatment because it contains a higher content of protein than the other oils Tropical Traditions sells. This is an unrefined coconut oil and is made from organic coconuts. I’ve mentioned Tropical Traditions before because I’m impressed with their packaging…my coconut oil arrived in a glass jar. So skip expensive, chemically laden conditioners and try an all natural approach with deep conditioner for your hair…it not only feels great but you won’t get a headache from the smell!
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It’s out! It’s a list that I look forward to every year – the EWG’s (Environmental Working Group’s) top sunscreen ratings for 2011. To be listed as one of the 128 best beach and sport sunscreens, the product must contain broad spectrum protection against UVA/UVB rays and have fewer hazardous chemicals that can be absorbed into your body via the skin. Click here to view these top sunscreens.
A frontrunner in organic sunscreen protection for 2011 has emerged this summer and because it’s Canadian manufactured (yes!!) Green Beaver sunscreen is my first feature for sunscreen articles. This is a company that has listened to parents and is doing organic sunscreen right! Here is the list of why this sunscreen is your must have for the months ahead:
~ The Green Beaver Company Certified Organic Kids Non-whitening Sunscreen SPF 30 has a rating score of 1 from EWG. This is an excellent score for ingredients and UVA/B protection.
~ Sunscreen manufactured in Canada (I’m mentioning this again because I love this and it’s important). Help support Canadian made personal care products with buying Green Beaver.
~ Listened to parents that find the white coating from most organic sunscreens and have added a non-whitening component to the sunscreen.
~ Green Beaver is chemical free and fragrance-free sunscreen making this an excellent product for children/adults with sensitive skin or eczema.
~ The manufacturing of the sunscreen includes non-nano based technology.
~ Just a cool tip – Green Beaver sunscreens contain Canadian grown anti-oxidant raspberry extract.
I always shop for my sunscreen at Nayla Natural Care each Spring. I think it’s important to give back my consumer dollars to a store that has blazed the way with providing education and safe products for the last few years. Nayla Natural Care has recently been recommended as a place to shop when buying safe products for your family by Author Gillian Deacon of ‘There’s Lead In Your Lipstick’. Store owner Gwen has always worked hard to provide safe and truly non-toxic options, not just following consumer trends. There is more that goes into sourcing safe personal care products so I like to support companies that research and educate consumers. And by bringing Green Beaver into her store this Spring, Nayla has continued to provide trust based customer service to her customers.
Here is the packaging you’re looking for with Green Beaver and both formulas are the same (adult or child) and we’ve learned that 30+ is the highest SPF factor we need to purchase for safe sunscreen. It is actually being regulated that sunscreens don’t brand their products higher than 30 in coming years…funny enough I’ve seen a toxic sunscreen a few years back marketed to babies and the SPF was 90. It’s getting easier parents – the work has been done! Mineral based sunscreens are the safe products for your entire family for sun care this summer. Green Beaver’s only active ingredient is zinc which is great because it blocks UV rays at the skin, before it penetrates the skin. Looking to stock up on sunscreen? Reward two Canadian companies for excellence by one-stop shopping for Green Beaver at Nayla Natural Care. Green Beaver is pending FDA approval in the USA, so only Canadian addresses can order this sunscreen. So for now, Canadians can be proud with Green Beaver and US residents can remain proud to purchase California Baby (has rated excellent for another year with EWG) which is not available in Canada. We both have our ‘go to’ products to keep us safe and chemical free this summer. Here’s the packaging your looking for (note: the adult and child formulas are the same so feel free to load up on the kid’s sunscreen and use for yourself too. I never buy separate sunscreens for myself and the kids…we also use the child friendly packaging on the entire family).
I had a great question arrive from Dan who wrote: “I am having a harder and harder time finding foods in glass jars (mayo, vinegar, ketchup, etc.). Can you help with a source?” Thanks for the awesome topic to write about Dan! It instantly reminded me of ‘The Ketchup Riddle’ Rick Smith, co-author of Slow Death By Rubber Duck, writes about. Here is the quote from Slow Death by Rubber Duck that is promoted by a late-night run to the supermarket by Rick:
I stood blinking – staring – at the ketchup selection, honestly perplexed.
~ The organic ketchup came in a plastic bottle.
~ Alymer ketchup, an old Canadian brand made from locally grown tomatoes, also came in plastic.
~ The only option in a glass bottle was the non-organic, non-local Heinz ketchup.
Rick summarized his ketchup paralysis and although I found it entertaining to read, imagine putting this much thought into every product we purchase at the grocery store or mall. It does create a type of paralysis for consumers…even eco-savvy ones. I completely agree with Rick in his summary of this situation that only government action can solve the problem of having to choose between limiting packaging containing plasticizing chemicals or pesticide use, or production of local food. Decisions like this creates huge challenges for consumers that want to make better choices, but run up against all of these questions when purchasing something supposedly easy like ketchup.
Some of you might be wondering why Dan is trying to find food that is packaged in glass. The plastic packaging that surrounds our food can contain plasticizers and other chemicals. Food packaging and chemicals like BPA and Phthalates have been very newsworthy lately. This article isn’t aimed to scare you, but we need to be aware that although chemicals like phthalates are starting to be regulated in toys, there isn’t regulation for food packaging because government and large companies don’t think the trace amounts found in packaging is enough to warrant concern. But savvy green consumers are looking for better options. We know that those squeezable plastic bottles that we purchase our condiments contain plasticizers. We know that you cannot find a tin can in your traditional grocery store that doesn’t contains an epoxy liner – containing BPA – that separates the food or liquid from the aluminum can. Lead in juice boxes, produce and meat counters that place our food on styrofoam and wrap in PVC wrap to ensure ‘freshness’ …the list goes on and on. It seems that plastic is most often the material that touches our food and for numerous reasons regularity discussed at Mommy Footprint, we are trying to avoid this – for human health improvement and for the environment. So after saying all this, the easiest way to avoid food that is packaged in plastic is to avoid heavily packaged foods. Don’t worry, this isn’t my only suggestion for Dan, but when you start shopping with a heightened awareness of packaging, little lightbulbs start going off in your heads and even better if you drop a few hints at your local grocer. They have the power to order our favorite condiments in glass jars – it might be the first time they are asked. Take a closer look at what you purchase. I love the example of cheese strings and yogurt tubes. They are a favorite snack item brought out at preschools and lunches in schools all across America. Cheese strings are sold in completely plasticized packaging…right up against the cheese! Once it’s pulled away, you can tell the outside of the cheese string has been effected…it’s rubbery. You are telling me that packaging hasn’t effected the quality of this product? Another is yogurt tubes that are again packaged in plasticized plastic, but then as a treat, many parents pop them in the freezer to serve the yogurt frozen! So we are taking another product containing plasticizers and then weakening the packaging by placing them in the freezer before given them to children to eat. Gross. And yes, I did used to buy and love the convenience of yogurt tubes, but haven’t purchased them in years because of the issue of packaging. I would hope the power of my consumerism helps to drive change even with a basic item such as yogurt.
On to better choices with food and packaging. It does seem to be hit and miss in large grocers with items like ketchup, mayo, etc. and glass containers. I’ve purchased them before but it’s not a guaranteed offering. Visiting a store like Whole Foods will open up many options to you, but here are two that I’ve found online that offer not only better options with the packaging of products they sell, but improving the quality of the food.
Tropical Traditions
Leading the way with their vast line of coconut oil (my new favorite product) this company has a big commitment to understanding how the products they carry are produced and manufactured. I found many organic vinegars, oils, etc. on this site and many are packaged in glass. I thought the products listed under Organic Food category might be helpful for the everyday consumer. This site’s knowledge of coconut oil benefits is amazing and I recently started following their Fan page on Facebook. Lots of great information there!
Eden Organic
We’ve talked about Eden Organic before, we love their commitment to packaging their beans in tin cans, without using BPA in the can lining. The food, not surprising, is sourced with supporting organic farmers and providing consumers options that are wheat-free, gluten-free, low in sodium, etc. Funny the parallel in healthy food and better packaging options?! Going through the Eden site, I found juices, sauces, butter, oils, vinegars, tomato products that are packaged in amber glass rather than plastic.
We do seem to have options. They are not endless like the contemporary brands found at traditional grocery stores. Voice your concerns regarding packaging and your food. We are continually talking about making better choices with the food we buy: local, organic, GMO-free, etc. Let’s think about how those products are stored and packaged because trace amounts of chemicals leaching into my food is something I’m concerned about. Stop purchasing food that is packaged in soft plastic and cans and tell your grocery manager why you’ve made this decision. You’ve left the decision in their hands where you’ve decided to spend your money – hopefully these decisions will help inspire change.
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