Green mums blog - Organic and Natural baby products, cloth nappies, wooden toys, toiletries and clothing

It was my daughter’s 2nd birthday a couple of weeks ago. As I struggled to remove one of her new presents from the packaging I couldn’t help but wonder why it had to be contained within a multitude of those annoying grey plastic ties. What on earth is the purpose of them? Well, apparently it is purely for display purposes – because retailers want them to look good on the shelves. I personally think this is a terrible waste of resources.

When it comes to wasted resources the other issue with toys is batteries. Every year UK consumers get through one billion batteries and toys are the main culprit. Every year 22,000 tons of batteries end up in landfill – leaking their toxic chemicals into the soil for future generations. Do we really need toys that contain batteries?

This question led me to discover Ecotronic toys. A fantastic range of toys which will provide our children with the flashing lights, noise and action that they seem to love so much. They contain no batteries whatsoever – simply charge them up by using the wind up device. The eco phone (complete with flashing lights and sounds) is charged up simply by giving it a good shake!

The Ecotronic toys have another aspect to them which appealed to me – they are packaged with bio-degradable packaging, are easy to open and contain no dangerous ties or wires. If you want another reason to buy them, think how much you will save on batteries!

Wooden toys have remained very appealing to parents and children alike. They are hard wearing, long lasting and safe. The production process does not involve the use of toxic chemcials and, unlike plastic toys they do not contain phthalates. Ensure that the wood used comes from sustainable sources and that any paints used are non toxic.

Escor Toys – based in Bournemouth, have a lovely range of wooden toys. The company’s ethical policy ticks all the right boxes. Environmentally, the products are manufactured from managed forest beech wood, with all paints and varnishes Toy Safety tested and certificated before use. The workshop also scores highly on human rights as it employs people with disabilities, providing them with real jobs and enabling them to be independent.

Finally, for recycled toys that are sure to stimulate their imagination, why not get your child a recycled rocket ship or playhouse. Made from recycled, corrugated cardboard, your budding artist can paint and decorate these to their hearts content.

If you want your Toy Story to have a happy ending, make a difference by shopping carefully and choosing environmentally sound products

Hello everyone

This weekend Lily and I will be eating an ice cream on Plymouth Hoe watching the Half Marathon and waiting for Nick to come over the finish line.  Nick will no doubt be pushing himself to the limit to finish in record time but the main thing on his mind will no doubt be the sponsorship money which he hopes to raise.

This year he will be raising money for CLIC Sargent, the children’s cancer charity.  Lily and I just want to wish him good luck and to say ‘we are very proud of you’ xxxx

If anyone would like to make a donation, no matter how small - please click on the link below

Thank you

One of the UK’s newest online green ventures, Green Mums, has become the first Devon retailer of Green Eyed Monster childrenswear. The range features unique and contemporary designs created by some of the newest design talent.

The range is lovingly crafted from beautifully soft organic and fair trade materials that are kinder to the skin, the producers and the environment and are now through www.greenmums.co.uk

The range features fun, practical and brightly coloured clothing for babies and children up to 10 years of age. Some of the designs are very ‘retro’ featuring space invaders and russian dolls, making them as appealing to parents as they are to children.

Green Mums managing director Tracy Dixon is delighted. “We have been looking for a new range of organic clothing to add to our existing range. The items from Green Eyed Monster are just what we have been looking for! In addition to loving the clothing, we’re really happy with the ethical attitude of the company. All of the items are produced using fully certified ecological dyeing, printing and production methods, without the use of harmful chemicals, ensuring they are better for your child’s skin and for the planet.

There is a growing demand for high-quality organic children’s clothing. Retailers such as Green Mums are keen to increase their ranges but it is difficult to source.

Just 0.3 percent of cotton is grown organically now, although the World Agricultural Commission predicts that in the next 25 years that will rise to 30 percent.

It’s a gorgeous sunny day today, I’m sitting outside with my laptop whilst Lily places in the sandpit and it definitely feels like spring is here! This weekend is Easter and as much as I love to receive a nice Easter egg, I have been thinking about the huge amount of money that we spend on these each year. In 2008, it is predicted that we will spend 520m on Easter eggs! Luckily, my daughter doesn’t like chocolate so I won’t need to feel guilty if I ask relatives not to buy her any eggs.

Of course it’s not just the financial implications of Easter eggs. They create a huge amount of waste in themselves. Each egg is wrapped in foil, then wrapped in plastic and then wrapped in cardboard. Add to that any extra contents that may also be wrapped in foil and that’s a huge amount of waste going into the bin. Hopefully many people will recycle these contents but how many people actually do?

If you’re looking for a ‘greener’ egg this year then why not try The Chocolate Alchemist. They have a fantastic range of organic Easter eggs including white chocolate with raspberry, white chocolate with blueberry and cranberry and dark chocolate with hot and spicy ginger! All their eggs come with minimal packaging without compromising on it’s attractiveness.

For children, they offer hollow chocolate ducks or solid chocolate bunnies, all made from organic ingredients. These come wrapped in a clear bag with a ribbon, again minimising packaging.

To view the eggs vist www.thechocolatealchemist.co.uk and you can order by calling 01798 860 995

Many other manufacturers are listening to the environmental concerns being raised about this excessive packaging. Cadburys have launched a range of ‘eco-eggs’ called the Cadbury Treasure eggs. These are simply wrapped with foil - no paper or plastic is involved in the packaging at all. They have also pledged to cut the amount of plastic in their small and medium sized eggs. They will save 1130 tonnes of packaging this easter. I’m sure this will prove popular with ethical consumers and hopefully other companies will start to follow suit.

If you want to ensure your eggs are made from organic chocolate then Green and Blacks is always a good choice. Their milk chocolate eggs contain 34% cocoa solids to ensure an intensely chocolatey taste. Green and Blacks also use recycled card for their packaging.

So for the green and ethical chocoholics amongst us - we can still enjoy a yummy egg this easter without feeling guilty. Mind you, I’m afraid we can’t do much about the calories!…………

Washable baby wipes are a fantastic idea. They are perfect for using on your babies skin as you know exactly what you are using on their skin. You can make up your own lovely recipe using harmless ingredients and keep a stock of them by your changing table and in your changing bag.

If you are attempting to be environmentally friendly then washable wipes is definitely a good way to go. Even if you choose to buy wipes that contain no suspicious ingredients, you still have to dispose of that wipe. By using washables you simply pop them into your nappy bucket with your nappies. If you are using flushable liners you can then do a complete nappy change without having to even touch a nappy sack! To make washable wipes, a good material is flannelette, the type of material that cot sheets are usually made of. I tend to pick up old ones from charity shops and cut these into small wipe size pieces.

I recently picked up this recipe for washable wipes from a lovely lady at the Cornwall Real Nappy Project. I have tested it out and it is really lovely. My daughter had been suffering with a rash for a few weeks, ever since having a nasty tummy bug. Since using this recipe on my washable wipes the rash has completely cleared up.

It contains honey and lavender oil, both of these have healing properties.

Recipe

Make one mug of camomile tea. (I use the bags which are camomile, honey and vanilla)

Allow this to brew for 5 minutes.

Add one drop of lavender oil and a teasppon of olive oil.

Remove the tea bag. Add your washable wipes and let them soak up the liquid.

Transfer to your usual container for storing. Ensure it has an airtight lid so that they do not dry out.

You can make this mixture up whenever you are running short of wipes. I usually keep a small bottle of water beside my wipes so if they do start to dry out you can re-moisten them with this.