Recent Updates, Shower Curtains and School Supplies

I've fallen a bit behind in my postings lately but thought I'd take a moment to update you on my stroller mission, recent questions I've received and other info that has recently been brought to public attention.

Okay so first off, the infamous stroller switch.  This didn't quite work out as I had hoped. It seems that my 17 month old has opinions of his own.  I can't explain to him the dangers of brominated fire retardants.  He wants what he wants.  After a 20 minute trek complete with screaming in his new wheels, we had to return it and go back to his old stroller.  He went from screams to smiles in a matter of minutes.  If you've been reading then you know the subject of fire retardants comes up quite frequently.  There are federal laws regarding home furnishings and baby products.  Maclaren states that they do not use any.  And some other stroller companies who are complying with CA TB 116 and 117 are now using retardants that are non-brominated.  In the end, it is best to contact the company and find out what exactly they are using and what exactly you may or may not be exposing your child to.  To get involved in Safer Chemicals, Healthy families, click here.

The Bumbleride Flite PVC-free rain cover fits pretty well on our old stroller, it covers the canopy, which is a bonus and best of all, there is NO smell!

Recently a friend of mine asked me about shower curtain liners and here was my response.  For a shower curtain liner, you want to look for something made of PEVA or EVA.  According to their websites, Crate and Barrel, CB2 and Target all carry them.  The dangers of PVC are finally being recognized.  Which brings me to my next topic.

I believe you all heard about Johnson & Johnson announcing the removal of harmful chemicals from their products.  And in the same vein, it was recently brought to the public's attention that tested school supplies ranked high in toxic chemicals.  I've been fielding a lot of questions from friends lately and though I don't consider myself a true expert, I am extremely happy to help where I can and guide people to helping create a non-toxic world for their little ones.  Check out the Center for Health, Environment and Justice's guide (follow above link) on purchasing safe school supplies (and more). This guide is really extensive and it is exciting to see that H&M does not use PVC at all (who knew?) and also that there are footwear companies with equally strict guidelines.  I'm also happy to know that both my iphone and kindle are PVC-free and I can equally recommend many items on this list, such as the Crocodile Creek playground balls, which are safe and adorable! 

I Wonder What Number Plasticman Was...

TLC Home posted a great and handy guide here to knowing your plastic by number.  Today we threw out an old plastic Iced Tea maker with the dreaded #7 on it.  Instead we used a giant applesauce jar (thanks Mom) to make our Lime tea in. 

I've been learning a lot about plastics these days and I will continue to post my findings as I go along.

I'll discuss #7s, polycarbonate and BPA later, but today I want to talk about our #3 recycling no. plastic, PVC (polyvinyl chloride).  PVC has been really getting me mad these days.  It is a bad plastic, that is as bad for you as it is for the environment.  As quoted from TLC's home "Soft PVC often contains and can leach toxic phthalates, and can also off-gas chemicals into the air. It's used in some cling wraps (yikes!), many children's toys, fashion accessories, shower curtains, and detergent and spray bottles. To top it off, PVC isn't recyclable, either."

Now there is a lot of emphasis on "phthalate-free pvc" in children's toys.  But from what I've discovered and learned from my trustworthy sources is that although it may be better, it's still not the best choice.  And therefore, I don't want it in my home, no matter what.  What I also would like to point out here is that I am still making mistakes.  Today we are expecting a dining room set.  The chairs are "leatherette."  What was I thinking?  As I'm trying to de-tox my home, I'm purchasing more toxins.  I'm not quite sure what to do when the chairs get here.  But I can honestly say that yes, I made a mistake when I ordered them, I'm too tired and busy these days to remember to cancel things when I have the chance and now I may just need to refuse delivery - as much as I really want the gorgeous solid wood table!

The toxins that can be leached from vinyl include mercury, lead and cancer-causing dioxin.  Chlorine derived wastes and generated throughout its life and released into the environment.  PVC is truly a bad, bad plastic!

So why is PVC used?  Well, for one it is cheap and for another, it is easily manipulated. The phthalates added are the plasticizers that soften it.  Amazing how soft those toys are without the phthalates though, aren't they?

These days we found some nice PVC-free options for our little one in the bathtub.  Green Sprouts makes a great tug boat toy.  Our son now fills it with water and dumps it on me to rinse me off.  Boon makes some super cute rubber duckies; Skip Hop's Moby the Whale fits nicely and looks super cute on our tub's faucet; and Sassy has removed PVC from some of their tub and squirter toys - although squirters do grow mildew inside, so that's another thing you might want to consider.

We currently have glass doors on our tub and use a rubber mat, but I have heard about new shower curtains made of PEVA, which is supposed to be a non-toxic alternative.   I don't know too much about it and although the glass door are a pain to clean, I'm kind of glad we have them right now.