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We’ve all seen organic foods taking over the supermarket aisles, and they are a good way to cut down on the amount of pesticides and other toxic chemicals that our kids take in. But in recent years, there have been more and more organic items released on the market that have nothing to do with food. Baby products are a huge part of this market, as most parents want to cut out as many toxic substances as possible. But, how necessary is it to buy organic items?

The toy market has recently become flooded with organic toys, often consisting of organic wooden items and sometimes painted with organic paints. I wonder how necessary organic wood really is, but with all of the recent recalls, I can understand organic paints. Since babies so often put their toys into their mouths, organic toys do seem like a pretty good idea.

What I don’t understand is organic cotton. When grown, cotton is pelted with a high number of toxic chemicals. We live near cotton fields and you can smell them when you drive by in the fall after the fields have been sprayed. I wouldn’t pick up raw cotton before the harvest, but I still don’t think that means we all have to buy organic clothes. Cotton is dyed and rinsed, usually several times, before it comes to market. Adding to that is the amount of times a piece of clothing is washed in our own homes. With all of that rinsing and washing, how many pesticides could stay in the cotton? Organic cotton is pretty expensive, and I can’t see how that cost would be justified. But, cotton onesies and baby blankets continue to gain marketing ground.

Pretty much everything that could possibly be sold as organic is being made. Organic baby bath products, organic crib mattresses and even organic baby wipes. Using some of the many available organic baby products may reduce the total number of toxins in the house, but I doubt that everything we put next to a baby has to be organic.

Tags: baby wipes, onesis, organic cotton, organic toys