After a rare trip to the mall today, I wanted to point out something that occurred to me about licensed school supplies. I am very confident that a Nick Jr., Hannah Montana, Spiderman backpack does not exists without containing PVC. With parents being overwhelmed with information on materials to shop for with back-to-school…the topic of backpacks is easy. Unless the backpack clearly says “No PVC” it has probably been made with PVC. If the backpack is $9.99 at a big box store, it has probably been made with PVC. Also, I hate to say it, but if you want to purchase a new PVC-free backpack for children returning to school, you’re not going to find it at most malls.  But don’t get disappointed because Ecogear is here and the options are amazing!

Two items that traditionally have been the hardest to avoid with PVC are backpacks and plastic binders, but it’s not all doom and gloom because there are some affordable PVC-free backpacks on sale right now at Ecogear.  The Ecogear lineup of backpacks are PVC-free, great quality, affordable and now 25% off. Starting with younger children looking for non-licensed characters there is the Ecozoo series – very fun and made with cotton fabric.

For older kids attending school all day – I’ve received my two backpacks from the Genus and Recycle series and I’m very happy with both backpacks for my boys. The design and quality is awesome and I was extremely happy to not get off-gassed with chemical smells when opening them from the box. The Snow Leopard backpack for my 8 year old son is a great size for him. Since he is on the tall side, I would recommend it for ages 10 and up. The pack comes with straps around the front to help balance weight distribution and lots of handy pockets for gadgets, etc. The straps are padded to offer more support once the backpacks get full from heavy books and materials. These backpacks are PVC-free, made from non-toxic dyes, and have many little organizer pockets in the front and one main compartment for books and lunch.

My 6 year old son received a Palila backpack and it’s perfect for younger kids attending school all day. It has a handy side pocket for a reusable water bottle, a built in wallet (my boys love this feature!), made PVC-free with non-toxic dyes and is made from recycled bottles. All the backpack for older kids on the Ecogear site have the swagger of very cool, outdoor/adventure styled backpacks – I love this. And Ecogear is currently having a 25% discount on their site so take advantage of the savings….these backpacks are just under $30 which is a great deal! If any Canadians are trying to order from the Ecogear site, you’ll notice it only accepts US zip codes. I spoke to Ecogear and the process for Canadians wanting to order a product is to contact Angie by calling 1-800-762-4533 or email sales@ecogear-products.com. Residents within the USA can order directly on-line.

Why should we be avoiding PVC again?  It’s not only to help the environment – it’s for your children’s health. PVC is called the poison plastic and releases dioxins into the air from the time it’s produced and continues to off-gass (the reason it smells when you purchase it) and there isn’t a way to effectively dispose of this material. If you burn it – more dioxins are released, it cannot be recycled, so it will continue to exist when discarded for a very long time.  Read more about PVC from Mommy Footprint here. Also, an always incredible resource is the Environmental Working Group and they’ve written a short guide for ‘Green Back-to-School Guide for K-12‘ and there is more information on PVC.

To read more articles with back-to-school recommendations for reducing chemical exposure to BPA, PVC, and phthalates, check out the category 2010 Litterless Lunch.

Lunch Bags have transformed from the concept of traditional brown bags into functional and stylish lunch systems. We received our camouflage ACME Lunch Bag from the online store Every Little Bit and I’m so happy with my testing of my first ever lunch bag. Additional features to the ACME lunch bag is it’s roomy compartment with adjustable strap and ice pack.  The size of the ACME brand is big enough for an adult sized stainless steel water bottle and several reusable containers. The bag comes with an ice pack that fits into an inside pocket so anyone sending meats, yogurt, salad, etc. can rest easily that it’s cold enough to sit all day before eating. Every Little Bit does have a girlie color in the ACME brand lunch bag (although I love green camo for both boys and girls) in a fun Berry color, both with the great price point of $20.95.

Researching littlerless lunch systems has long been a favorite topic at Mommy Footprint. I talk to parents wherever I go and ask what their favourite system of packing lunches for kids that are in school all day. What I’ve learned is that everyone has a different system or preference to how lunches work – both parents and children. It’s interesting how some parents really like packing food in separate containers, while others find that a system that’s attached via a tiffin or lunchbox style works the best for their household. After hearing from several parents they enjoy using lunch bags – I turned my search to find an eco-friendly option and the ACME bags are a fantastic product. More things to love than their design and size is they are PVC and lead free.  This year, PVC- free products are a must with kids returning to school!  We need to start an uprising within our parent groups about how toxic and terrible PVC is for our children’s health and our planet. If the term PVC is new to you – it is the worst kind of plastic that is produced and is coded #3. It produces toxic dioxins when it’s made, off-gasses chemicals for it’s life-span, then never leaves our planet because there isn’t a way of disposing of it that doesn’t cause more harm to the environment; PVC doesn’t break down in a landfill or if it’s burned in an incinerator it again releases more carcinogenic dioxins into the air.  Not a pretty description of a plastic that is in probably most of your children’s toys and many back-to-school products that are pushed by the big box stores. Make PVC-free a focus with your back-to-school shopping this year – if not for the environment – then for the health of your kids. Okay…back to the awesome ACME Lunch Bags…

I used my ACME lunch bag on my recent Geocaching family adventure and the shoulder strap was perfect to adjust to my body size. This strap can adjust back to fit a child too. The non-toxic freezer pack kept our stainless steel water bottles super cold during our geocaching outing in very hot weather. The interior lining of this bag is insulated for hot or cold food and beverages and is 100% made in the USA. It just gets better for this bag  - it can be thrown in to the washing machine for occasional cleaning and the insulated interior makes it easy for daily wipes with a damp cloth to pickup crumbs or spills.  A lot of positives and this product receives a high ‘Eco-rating’ from Every Little Bit and a high ‘Mommy Footprint’ rating for price point, quality, and back-to-school must have for those looking for Lunch Bags.  A great size for children attending full day school or adults working too!

Lunch Sacks by Ore on the Every Little Bit site are a great size for preschool kids or younger children needing snacks packed. There is a design to delight any child from Dia de los Murtos for boys (skulls) to Butterfly designs with lots of other fun themes – there is design for anyone. Sized for a snack and small water bottle – these would be most exciting for a little person entering the world of school this September. These cotton lunch sacks are laminated so they clean up easy in the wash and is non-toxic and lead free. With the lower ‘Eco Rating’ from Every Little Bit I’m guessing these bags are made overseas – the handy little tool on the Every Little Bit site measures if a product is simply a better option to traditional products or would be welcomed by they crunchiest of green people! But I love the fact they are made PVC-free with a variety of designs that would promote a 3 or 4 year old to embrace using a litterless lunch system.

For the size, quality, price point and the fact it’s made in the US – I think the ACME lunch bags are an awesome back-to-school option for parents looking for this system for packing litterless lunches in September. If you are confused whether a product is PVC-free I would love to tell you to flip over the product and look for the recycling code number 3 – but most products (in my experience) that are made with PVC aren’t coded. Instead stick your head inside the backpack, lunch sack, pencil case, etc. and smell. If you smell the yucky plastic smell – it’s likely been made with cheap plastic.  Don’t purchase these product. Also, look for supplies that are marked PVC-free on the package. It’s a big marketing factor for companies and because it costs more to develop products without PVC, these companies want you to know they are PVC-free and will mark that somewhere visible.

I hope you are finding helpful information with this series of healthier back-to-school lunch options that promote litterless lunches. Here are some related articles:

Litterless Lunch ~ Back To School With PlanetBox

When I set off with my goal to purchase organic mattresses – my boys were close to purchasing a bunk bed that they saved for almost 2 years. The buildup for this was tremendously exciting and I didn’t want to drop the ball not finding mattresses they would like and that lived up to the safety requirements I needed them to have. With being a green business owner and blogger I have to admit this purchase proved to be much more difficult than I expected. It’s funny that the end result of purchasing my boys their mattresses came down to good old fashion word-of-mouth (thanks Sabrina and Trish!). Let’s not forget that I’m not buying an organic crib mattress(where there are many options available)  but twin mattresses that are larger and heavier in size. This factor almost (don’t forget I say almost) rules out purchasing larger mattresses online from across the country because the cost to ship these pieces starts to really add up.

The mattresses that we purchased are not organic but natural Dream Bed mattresses from Dream Designs. This ‘natural’ option allowed us to buy greener mattresses that are chemical free, locally crafted, and made with locally produced materials. The only difference between the organic and natural Dream Beds is the cotton casing around the exterior of the mattress is either organic or natural – also the cotton batting inside the mattress.  Oh – and quite a bit of money. The difference between the two options is more than $500 and since we were purchasing two – the decision was based on cost savings and the mattresses meeting my requirements for not containing chemical flame retardants or PVC (supporting a locally made mattress was just a huge bonus!). For a child’s organic twin mattress, you are going to pay approx. $1000.00. We paid under $500 per mattress for the natural option through Dream Designs…it’s a substantial savings.

I am very happy with the purchase. My main goal was purchasing mattresses for my kids without chemical flame retardants and a plastic exterior made from PVC. The natural flame retardant within a Dream Design mattress is wool, which meets the government criteria ~ naturally ~ so that chemicals are not added to the foam when the mattress is being manufactured. Linda, the owner of Dream Designs has amazing product knowledge and could answer all of my questions – she even cleared up the mystery that polyurethane foam can be used without having to add chemicals if it’s wrapped in wool or a natural flame retardant. The polyurethane foam that is used in a Dream Design mattress is locally sourced and also naturally biodegradable.

I always find it easier to gage size and dimensions from real pictures for products so I’ve included a few shots of my bottom bunk’s mattress. They are designed as futon mats and provide a very firm surface. Going from an older spring mattress to their new futon mattress was different for my sons and did take a bit for them to get used to. Also, you need to be wary of wetness. If you have a child that has the occasional accident, you should have a mattress protector because the exterior of the mattress is cotton without a waterproof liner. There are three options when selecting a Dream Design mattress 1) Tatami which is more like a bed topper or sleeping mat 2) Deluxe which consists of cotton & wool wrap combo around 2 layers of foam 3) Supreme which offers an extra 3rd layer of foam. Also of course – the different option between natural and organic Dream Beds. The difference in price between the Deluxe and Supreme is approx. $100 but after testing the different mattresses we actually found that the Supreme was too hard a surface and have been happy with the Deluxe. You can view from the mattress thickness below.

Being a newbie to purchasing new mattresses – I was surprised at the huge jump in price when researching kids organic mattresses from the cost of organic crib mattresses.  Thank goodness these mattresses will last 10 years and I feel good about my investment.  The joy my boys have experienced saving all that time to make a major purchase on their own has been amazing to watch. It was very cute observing my older son (who has dibs on the top bunk) experience a bit of ‘princess and the pea’ symptoms the first few weeks on the new mattresses and bunk bed. “I just feel like something isn’t quite right” he kept saying.  I didn’t want to be the one to tell him he’s missing having his little brother right next to him in bed since they’ve been split up to sleep in the top and bottom bunk. Both have settled into their independent sleeping quarters now and can’t wait to show off their new purchase to friends and proudly announce “and we even saved for 2 years!” A great experience to watch and I’m so proud of my guys…thank goodness there’s still room for Mommy on that bottom bed so I don’t loose any cuddle time.

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I can eliminate one toxic product from my kitchen now that I’ve tested Abeego Flats. What is the item I’ll be eliminating since I know it leeches chemicals directly into my food?  That would be plastic wrap.  I don’t use it for much anymore but I hadn’t found a way to seal my brick of cheese (even though it makes me cringe), to cover plates with leftover food in bowls, and cut fruit (like melons) that need a cover to stay fresh. What are Abeego Flats?  They are Eco food packaging sold in squares made from hemp/cotton fabric infused with beeswax and plant extracts.  You can smell and feel the beeswax on this product and it’s glorious. How does it look on a brick of cheese?  Check out the picture from the Abeego fan page and I’ve included it because my brick of cheese looks just like this! It’s so much better than using plastic food wrap that should never directly touch food.

The rectangle in the above picture is what your brick of cheese will look like after it’s removed from the plastic packaging and replaced with Abeego. You just re-wrap it after each use. It’s long been my peeve that the texture of my cheese is glossy on the parts that rub against the soft plastic it’s purchased in – I actually cut off the outside because I’m convinced the plastic has leeched into the cheese because the texture has been altered…spongy rather than firm like the rest of the cheese. So I’m pretty excited that these Abeego Flats actually work!  It could have easily been a disappointment – looking too good to believe, but I’ve watched this company develop over the last few years and I’m very happy with the results. Being able to replace more of the places in my kitchen where I use plastic wrap is awesome. It honestly makes me feel like a pioneer from many years ago – like I’m using a secret, old school method of food storage. I’m sure before the revolution of plastic, people used cloth to keep food fresh and the few seconds longer it take me to cover food with Abeego gives me a feeling of pride.  I really, really, really dislike PVC and don’t understand how it’s legal for companies to put it in products we use – especially with our food and products our children are in contact with.  PVC is known as the ‘poison’ plastic and I’m very happy to have this very ‘green’ product to replace PVC or plastic containing phthalates or plasticizers directly touching my food.  Isn’t the below example of covering food beautiful?

To place an Abeego flat around a bowl like the examples above, you just pinch around the edge of the bowl and you’ll feel the beeswax mold around the dish. Please understand that Abeego can replace plastic wrap – but doesn’t necessarily apply to dishes the exact same as plastic wrap.  Like most toxic products – plastic wrap was introduced and marketed to moms promising to make their life easier and more efficient. The act of applying cling wrap is very quick and if the plastic wrap you use is super clingy  - that means there’s lots of chemicals that have been applied to the wrap. These chemicals are toxic to human health.  The Abeego flats take a few extra seconds to use and the seal won’t feel the exact same. But – the desired affect of keeping food fresh does work. I used my Abeego flat on one huge brick of cheese for weeks and it stayed more fresh than using cling wrap. I also used it to wrap cut fruit and have replaced it completely with keeping left-over plates or sauce fresh in my fridge.

Would I buy more of these flats?   Yes.  I don’t know how long they’ll last for – I’ve been using mine for over a month and they are still in great shape.  Funny enough you wash them in cold water in order for them to bounce back into their original shape before using them again.  Would I recommend giving them to a person who loves plastic, has no idea that wrapping food in plastic is a bad thing and loves Saran Wrap?  No. This special product needs to be purchased or given to a person on the road to a greener path. I think most moms are trying to reduce the amount of plastic in their life and know soft plastic should not directly touch food and would love this item.  I haven’t tried Abeego’s sandwich wraps or snack holders but I will because I love the scent, texture and concept of the Abeego line. The below picture is of an Abeego Wrap – perfect size for a sandwich to eliminate a plastic bag.

And while this last note is a little off-topic – I had the pleasure of meeting Abeego owner Toni at a local craft show. I’m normally not a fan of business cards – I think in our world of social media that they are a waste of money and resources. Well I looked down at Toni’s business cards for Abeego and noticed they were made from a tiny square of fabric sealed in beeswax.  I took this unique card and still have it in my kitchen cupboard.  I love the scent of beeswax and I think it’s so cool she infused her logo into this material.

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In Part I of learning about safer sunscreens, we shared the latest findings on sunscreen safety from EWG (Environmental Working Group) and they are surprising!  Most of the points listed in their article about  ’surprising truths‘ don’t need further explanation, but here is one that I’ve always struggled to understand. It’s the topic of nanoparticles and mineral (organic) sunscreens. We learned from Part I of this series that not every sunscreen (chemical sunscreen or organic sunscreen) is safe to be using, however it’s the mineral (organic) sunscreens made with zinc or titanium that receive the highest ratings for safety each year from EWG. My thanks to Gwen, owner of Nayla Natural Care for taking the time to write this great article on mineral sunscreen and the issue of nanoparticles. Take it away Gwen!

What is zinc oxide and titanium dioxide?

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are natural minerals found in the earth. Both have many uses such as ingredients in paints, foods, vitamins, cosmetics, and of course sun block. The reason why these minerals are used in sun blocks is that they have remarkable properties that give them the ability to reflect light and this is exactly what we want our sun block to do. Both of these minerals are excellent choices for sun protection because they both provide broad UVA and UVB protection.

What are nanoparticles?

Defined, a nanoparticle is a solid particle measuring between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is equivalent to a billionth of a meter. Manufacturers using zinc oxide and titanium dioxide must break down the natural particles before adding them to the sunscreen. If they didn’t, the particles would remain large and your sunscreen would go onto your skin as a thick and very white paste. Think of the pictures of lifeguards with thick white strips of sun block on their noses and ears. Not the most visually appealing look right?  To lessen this “white” look, natural sunscreen manufacturers use a process called micronization. Micronization is the process that breaks down the particles so they are smaller and will give the sunscreen that more appealing look once applied. Natural sunscreens will still leave a whitish tinge to the skin, but because of micronization, you will not look like the lifeguards.  =)

Some sunscreen manufacturers such as Thinksport, Thinkbaby and TruKid do not use nanoparticles in their sun blocks (but use micronization). The zinc oxide and titanium dioxide particle sizes in these formulas are greater than 100nm. Badger uses particles that range from 70nm to 300nm in size, so yes, a small fraction of their zinc oxide is made up of nanoparticles, but they assure that the nanoparticles in their formulas are safe. Badger also uses a special coating process on all of their zinc oxide particles that makes the zinc oxide “less likely to generate free radicals and will be less reactive with the skin than uncoated zinc oxide.” For more information on Badger’s stance on nanoparticles and to learn all about the coating process they use, please click here.

How will I know if my sunscreen contains particles that fall within the “safe range”?

The best way to know is to visit the sun block manufacturer’s website. Most manufacturers will post the nanoparticle info in the FAQ section like Badger has done. If you cannot find the info on the company website, contact them by email or by phone. If you are buying from a retailer, contact the retailer and ask them the questions you want answered before purchasing your sunscreen. You want to be sure that you are buying the best and safest thing for your family, so spend the time doing the homework and be confident in your purchase.

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