Like many people of my generation, I didn’t grow up having sunscreen slathered on me every time I set foot outdoors. While I know the health benefits of wearing sunscreen today, that doesn’t mean I like applying it – to me or my infant daughter.

Many sunscreens feel greasy, tacky and oily after application. Put something on a squirmy infant or toddler that makes them slippery – and it’s a recipe for disaster! Other sunscreens are hard to apply evenly because the lotion isn’t smooth enough. And spray on sunscreen? They work great as long as you rub them in, but I’m always afraid of spraying it in my daughter’s eyes.

Then I discovered Earth Baby Sun n’ Fun Baby Sunscreen. Earth Baby’s sunscreen lotion goes on smooth, makes baby’s skin feel soft – not greasy – and provides SPF 30 sun protection for even the brightest days.

Earth Baby also works well as a moisturizer thanks to a special blend of:

• Cocoa butter

• Essential oils of chamomile, vanilla and honey

The Importance of Organics

When my daughter was first born, I went on an all-organic kick. But it didn’t last long and, last night, for instance, she sat munching on a French fry at Appleby’s. But I know it’s important to some moms to find all-organic products for their babies. For me, if I can find a superior product at a reasonable price and it is also organic, that’s a bonus. That is exactly the case with the Earth Baby line.

The Earth Baby line is not only certified 90% organic, it’s also phthalate- and paraben-free, pediatrician-recommended and made in the USA. Knowing the product is safe and also supports American industry means a lot to me.

Additionally, Earth Baby partnered with the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance to use a certifiable 100% tree-free, recyclable FiberStone paper. The packaging contains no bleach and is produced using less energy and no water. It doesn’t get much greener than that.

Oleosome Technology

It’s easy to tell, from all the company is doing for the environment and the U.S. economy, that Earth Baby cares about its customers. The company is also on the cutting edge of technology. It uses proprietary, award-winning oleosome technology (winner of a Frost & Sulliven Technology Innovation of the Year Award) to deliver nutrients directly into the baby’s skin.

Oleosome technology, appearing more and more in high-end beauty products, uses Fresh Cells to deliver nutrients directly to the skin. Picture tiny bubbles within the products, filled with extracts of fruits and vegetables, that burst upon application, releasing healthy nutrients like beta-carotene, and E and C vitamins onto the skin. It’s never to early to start a health and beauty regime for baby, and Earth Baby makes it easy. You’ll find fresh fruit and vegetable extracts deliver through Oleospheres in all their products, including:

• Baby lotion

• Wipes

• Hair detangler

• Baby shampoo

• Bath gel

• Diaper rash cream

Disclaimer

I know this review sounds a bit like a paid ad, but let me assure you, it is not. Earth Baby, as part of a campaign to get their new products into the hands of influential mom bloggers, sent me a sample. I can see why they took that chance – the product really is that good. Now I’m wishing they had offered to send a year’s supply! I’m looking forward to checking out the other products.

My friend lives in what can only be described as a “McMansion.”  I’ve heard that term applied to huge houses that have entirely too much space and impressive features, usually including two or three SUVs parked in the spacious garage.

A couple of years ago she was an avid consumer. She would pack her baby up in the stroller and walk through the mall, buying whatever caught her eye. At the grocery store, she would buy mostly prepackaged foods that would save her time even though they were more expensive than the raw foods that she could have fashioned into meals for her family. Her family had the money, so why not enjoy it?

Nowadays things are a little different. She still lives in that same McMansion, but her SUV has been traded in for a more economical and environmentally-friendly vehicle. She grows fruits and vegetables in her spacious yard and buys groceries that are in a more original state. I don’t think she has step foot in the mall for some time and when she does go shopping she’s carrying reusable cloth bags.

It’s not like her husband lost his job or anything, but I think she saw what other people were going through and heard all the alarmist news stories about the economy and she realized that she just can’t assume that everything is always going to be okay. Combine this with the growing popularity of going green, and I think my friend has had a bona fide transformation.

I know I’ve changed the way I spend money too, both because of the recession and because of the environment. I didn’t start out with a McMansion or an SUV, but there was certainly room for improvement nonetheless. For example, when the weather starts to get warm it’s not unusual for ants to start finding their way into our dining room. Usually this elicits a panicked call to the local exterminator who comes over and sprays pesticides all over the house and in the yard. After doing a little research about the effect these chemicals can have on the environment – and on the health of my kids – I found out that there are natural ways to stop the barrage of ants. When I saw the first few ants crawling around a few days ago I staved off my urge to call an exterminator and instead did what I had read: Sprinkle some paprika where you see the ants and it will repel them.  It seemed entirely too simple, but it has been effective so far.  Not only is it much more environmentally friendly, but I saved the usual $80 I give to the bug guy.

Almost all of my friends are making similar changes that happen to be concurrently good for their finances and the environment. Most of them have started bringing canvas bags to grocery stores and hardly any of them drive gas-guzzlers anymore, or at least they certainly aren’t buying new ones. Organic fare is becoming more and more common as snacks at playdates, and the same moms who always dressed their babies in the newest designer clothes are now (gasp!) buying clothes at consignment stores for their kids.

I’m assuming it isn’t just my social circle that is going green and saving money. What have you been doing?

This weekend my daughter and I enjoyed the springtime weather by spending some time in the garden. While she is too young to help with some tasks – such as knowing what is a weed and what is a plant that Mom intends to be there – she is good at a few things. This time around, she helped me to pick some of the asparagus that is starting to poke out of the ground.

Each stalk that was up to her knees (about a foot tall), whether as wide around as one of her markers or thin as a pencil, was ready to pick. Asparagus is easy for kids to pick because it naturally snaps where it should be picked – a few inches above the ground. So she happily stomped around the garden, snapping asparagus stalks and holding as many as she could in her hands.

Gardening is a great way to get kids involved with nature, as well as to learn about where foods come from. During one of my first outings into the garden with my own mom, I quickly learned what a ripe tomato looked like and managed to never again pick a not so ripe one. I also learned what happens when a seed is planted and watered, and what a joy it can be to grow foods that you can later eat and share with others.

Gardening can teach kids many other skills as well – math skills, such as addition, subtraction, and even fractions; colors; measurements; and more. That day, I counted with my daughter the number of asparagus stalks she has picked, and also walked around the garden and pointed out the colors of various items. It’s fun to see the garden through her eyes and experience the miracle of nature as kids do.

In these tough economic times, it pays to plant a garden – not only because you and your family can enjoy the freshness of eating fruits and vegetables only your hands have touched, but because it’s a wonderful experience for kids as well.

April 22 is Earth Day and this year’s theme is The Green Generation Campaign. My husband and I are trying our best to raise our own green generation – our two almost six-year old sons. Here are the ways we try to instill in our kids love and respect for nature:

Garbage and recycling. We are lucky to live in a country like Switzerland, easily the country with the strictest rules on recycling, garbage sorting and disposal. I don’t want to go into too much detail (otherwise this post would be three times a long), but in our community, we sort our rubbish into more 10 different categories – biodegradable, PET plastic, paper, glass 1, glass 2, cardboard, metal, textiles just to name a few, to facilitate easier recycling. By teaching our kids to sort for recycling, we are preparing the next generation to carry on and to make the system in place sustainable.

Nature walks and hikes. Last weekend, we did the 7 km World Wildlife Fund beaver walk along the River Rhine. It took us three hours, including a short picnic lunch of sandwiches. We never saw any beaver and we saw the signs of beavers. This is just one of the many nature hikes we would do from March till October. The hikes may also include wading in streams and swimming in lakes and camping. In exposing our children to nature, we hope that they will learn to love and respect it.

Public transport. We use as much public transport as possible. Again, we are lucky because Switzerland has one of the most efficient public transport systems in the world. Our skiing holiday end of February, for example, were all done by public transport – by train and by mountain bus. We could send our luggage in advance, also by public transport. In using the public transport system, we reduce our carbon footprint, we help the economy, and we get some exercise – we have to walk to the nearest bus stop or cycle to the train station.

Energy savings. Switzerland is just a great place to be green, no doubt it. This country is doing its best to reduce energy use. Since the beginning of this year, the old energy guzzling type of light bulbs is slowly being phased out. The few left in the shops are much cheaper but we opted to pay more for the more energy efficient ones. In the same way, new construction is required to follow the so-called “minirgie” system, short for minimum energy. This includes better insulation for warmth in the winter and coolness in the summer, windows that require less artificial light, and installation of solar panels on the roof. Recently, fuel-efficient cars were also given special tax incentives.

Explanations. We reinforce practice with theory. We try to explain to our boys why we do what we do. Why we save on water and energy. Why their paper planes need to be recycled. Why one car for the family is enough. And why snails and slugs and worms can be looked at and appreciated but never hurt.

It is easy to be green in Switzerland but we won’t be here forever. We hope that we can teach our kids to be green, wherever we will be.

This book starts out with a warning from the author to parents.  Readers are urged to not get overwhelmed by what they are about to read.  It’s a lot of information, the author admits, but don’t freak out.  I read that part and then continued on to the rest of the book, and promptly freaked out.

Plastic bottles? Don’t use them because they’ll poison you.  Lotion? No way; it will seep into your skin and pollute your insides.  Don’t even think of the term “aerosol air fresheners” because you might lose consciousness from the anxiety that will undoubtedly ensue.

At least, that’s how it seems at first.  I was assaulted with a bunch of information that really made me want to pack up my kids and go live in a cave that was first tested for lead before we moved in.  After I got over the initial nervousness from what I was reading, however, I started to digest what was being presented and realized that this is the perfect book for any parents who want to create a better environment for their kids.  This isn’t just about how to be greener, but also how to be safer and healthier.  After all, if you don’t really care about the environment, my guess is that you at least care about the well-being of your offspring in one way or another, right?

One of the best parts of this book are all the “recipes” for healthy, environmentally-friendly items such as household cleaners and finger paint.  Everything is easy to follow and actually a lot less expensive than the stuff you can buy in the stores.  It helped me a lot that the author didn’t just say, “Don’t use toxic cleaners!” but instead said, “Use this instead, and you can make it yourself.  You’re so clever!” I’m paraphrasing there, by the way.

Another thing I really liked about this book were all the excerpts from famous parents.  Some of them were incredibly environmentally conscious while others had changed some things but were still using disposable diapers or hadn’t given up their gas-guzzling cars.  The point is that even little changes can make a difference in the health of your children and your impact on the environment, and that’s an incredibly valuable lesson to learn…even if it initially freaks you out a little.

Available now at Amazon.com

My brother is moving across the country and decided not to move anything he couldn’t fit into his pick-up truck. He just gave away most of the things he isn’t taking—a big screen TV, a couch, a bed, a stereo receiver, etc. I was a little surprised at his decision, but after chatting for a while I discovered that he belongs to a group called Freecycle, dedicated to the starvation of landfills.

This coincides with an article I read last month in Sunset magazine about a group of friends that decided not to buy anything new for a year except food and healthcare items. It seems like I’ve been bombarded with this message lately, and maybe I need to soothe my conscience.

Whether or not you have enough money to buy everything you want, there is a growing number of people who don’t want to buy everything they want. In a strange way, this makes sense.

I hate throwing stuff away when it’s useful. But I am not a packrat. I’m not going to keep it around just in case I want it next year, nor am I the type to keep it around till next summer’s garage sale. So it goes into the trash most of the time. Sometimes with things like baby clothes I can give them away (but my only friend with a girl right now lives across the country). And sometimes I donate stuff if it’s too good to trash. I’ve tried selling a few things online, but it rarely seems worth the money and effort. And my local “used” mom/baby shop doesn’t pay enough to make it worth selling ($5 for a garbage sack full of excellent condition clothes and a clean booster seat?!)

But since my brother told me about freecycle.org, I can hardly wait to have something to give away. You post a message about what you have, and someone local who needs it comes and gets it. Or you can send a message looking for an item you want. There are few rules: nothing for sale, trade or barter—just free!

So my brother got rid of his things in San Francisco. Then when he sets up his home in Columbus, OH, he’ll just ask for what he needs there. What an idea!

Since babies go through a LOT of stuff in their first year, it seems like a fantastic way to get a lot of use out of something that isn’t worn out. Unless you have a lot of children, swings, bouncers, boppies, exercises and other things just don’t get used up. If you don’t have a friend who can use them, and you aren’t planning on having another little one in the next couple of years, why not give it away? Or maybe you need a highchair? You can find a local freecycle group online. Have fun!

Buying used or second hand baby clothes is an easy way to go green. Not only are the clothes being used again rather than going into the landfills or stored in the attic or basement for all eternity, but they are also helping to reduce the amount of packaging being thrown away.

They’re also a great way to save some green – dollars, that is. Babies are expensive enough – why spend more than you need to on clothes they’ll soon outgrow?

My husband and I are big believers in buying second hand baby clothes. Our daughter grows so quickly, it seems like she is never in one size or one outfit for more than a few months and, now that we are expecting a boy, a large amount of her clothes won’t be handed down. What’s more, there have been times when she needed a special outfit, such as a dress for a wedding, and the store prices were exorbitant compared to the prices we found at a consignment shop, for nearly the same piece of clothing.

That said, there are a few safety precautions to take when purchasing used clothing.

• Inspect. – Look over the garment to make sure that zippers, buttons, etc., are securely fastened to the piece of clothing and work properly. In addition, any holes or tears can be a potential hazard and should either be fixed before wearing or not given to the child. The same goes for knit fabrics – make sure the knit is tight so that your child can’t get a finger or toe caught.

Also check to see that the garment is clean looking, with no spots or stains.

• No embellishments. – For infant and baby clothing, extra embellishments such as buttons or bows should be removed. Any small, decorative item can come off and be a choking hazard for your child.
• Wash first. – Just like clothing bought in the store or given by friends or family, any and all fabrics that will touch your baby’s skin should be washed. You never know if the clothing is clean or what the household conditions may have been; perhaps the family had a dog in the house and there are pet hairs on the clothes that may be an irritation or possible allergen to your infant. In addition, used clothing can sometimes carry germs or bugs that can get you or your baby sick. Or, for store-bought clothes, washing removes any excess dyes in the fabric. Most parents prefer to use gentle , dye-free detergents such as Dreft to minimize any irritation, at least for the first few washings.

The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This year, with the credit crisis, the shops might be a little quieter. Or maybe not, as retailers slash prices even more than usual to attempt to get the customers in their stores and spending money.

Black Friday is also national “Buy Nothing Day“, a day organized by activism and anti-consumerism group Adbusters to raise awareness of over-consumption and to encourage shoppers to be more thoughtful about what they actually buy. Do they really need that? Is it replacing something that could be repaired? Would it be cheaper to buy it second-hand?

Are you planning to go shopping on Black Friday? Toys, and electronics are often the most heavily discounted. Expectant parents need a digital camera for baby photos – and how could even the harshest anti-consumerist argue with that?

Babies are the easiest people to buy for. Stores filled with racks and racks of the most adorable baby clothes, nursery decor, toys that promise to teach baby to count and spell and speak Spanish and learn her animals, most baby stores make it super-easy to start a baby registry, and most baby websites have a checklist of things you need to buy for your baby. And then there’s the pressure to be a yummy mummy and have the latest stroller, most fashionable baby carrier, and designer baby clothes, just like the celebrity moms.

I’m preparing to move house, and I’m looking through my son’s baby stuff. I’m marveling at how little I used some of the items we bought or received. Some of his clothes have tags still on, or are pristine and barely worn. There’s so many toys he didn’t care for.

My finances have been trashed this year – I became a single mom – so initiated by necessity, I’ve had to work out what I really, truly need to buy. So now I haven’t bought a toy for my son for months. Yes, you read that right. He’s been very happy playing with random non-toy objects and it’s so neat to watch him invent new uses for things, and it’s using my grey matter thinking up ways to reuse objects like empty food pots (train garage, frog castle, bath toy) and other things that hitherto would have gone in the trash. We were playing at being bats in a cave underneath the duvet this afternoon, then I rolled him up in it like a burrito which he thought was hilarious. Adding in getting all our books from the library, the total cost of toys = $0.

I’ve bought him winter clothes, including a couple of things from a local consignment store, and new mittens for me, and that’s about it. Looking through the barely-used baby clothes reminded me how fast they grow and to just buy what he needed, not lots of cute outfits because they were cute.

And I did get a new digital camera. Well, kinda new – it was $50 second-hand from Craigslist. Craigslist is also a great source of baby bargains. When my son was a baby I got an exersaucer for $5 and a brand new swing for $20, and a great big bagful of baby Gap clothes for $15. And in keeping with the ethics of Buy Nothing Day, buying second-hand is very green, it doesn’t use any of the planet’s resources, and it saves the items from the landfill.

Black Friday is a great day to get a discount on something you really need, and many internet stores are already discounting prices and have special offers in preparation for a Thanksgiving shopping marathon. I found my son’s new winter coat 40% off and free shipping at Amazon, much cheaper than at my local mall.

But after hearing about Buy Nothing Day, I’m also resolving to be more thoughtful about what I buy, and to consider what we actually need before I buy anything.

Are you going shopping on Black Friday? What are you looking for? Or are you going to be having a “Buy Nothing Day”?

I’m notoriously frugal, but I also care deeply about the things my kids are exposed to. I was brought up as a strict vegetarian and my parents were always very careful to make sure the foods I ate were as natural as possible, but back when I was a kid there wasn’t as great a prevalence of organic food and items readily available.

Now that I’m a mom I sometimes wonder if paying extra for organic items is worth the cost. Many times I have stood in front of something like strawberries and glanced back and forth between the regular and organic strawberries, wondering if I should pay extra for the organic ones or if it’s more important to save money.

I went to a reliable source to solve this dilemma. I chatted with Rod Olaes, Director of Marketing for EcoBaby, but perhaps more importantly, father to a four year old daughter. “Traditional clothing has a lot of synthetic materials in it and they use a lot of chemicals in the clothing to keep it the way it is.” He says that organic clothing gets softer with each wash and he doesn’t even have to use fabric softener anymore.

Organic clothing items have additional benefits beyond just how nice they feel. He says that children with eczema may soon find that their skin is not as irritated when wearing organic clothing instead of traditionally manufactured items. So not only are the clothes more comfortable to wear, but they are less irritating to the skin.

Sounds great, but what about the cost?

Organic clothing and other organic items usually cost more. Why? “Keep in mind that a lot of products that are organic are made in the U.S., and because the cost of labor is higher in the U.S. that’s something that we have to pay for as opposed to something that’s made overseas and that’s a lot cheaper.” Rod also emphasizes how important it is to support the local economy and think along the lines of environmental sustainability.

So the bottom line is this: Although I may have to pay extra for organic items, overall they are better for my babies and better for the environment. I don’t take much more convincing than that.

You can find out more about the items offered through Rod’s company at his blog. Be sure to also check out a really interesting website he gave me to look at: Pedoodles, a company that offers baby shoes made out of recycled materials. Now that’s cool.

We’ve gone to cloth in our house – not only with diapers and re-usable wipes, but now in the kitchen as well. I’m talking about cloth napkins. Remember those fancy napkins they would give you at restaurants when you went out to dinner at places that didn’t have a drive-thru or a kids? menu?

Cloth napkins are great for casual dinners at home with the family and are much more environmentally friendly than their paper counterparts – just think of how many uses you can get out of them before they require laundering! What’s more, they can last for years with heavy usage, and won’t clog up the landfills or your trash can like those thin little paper napkins.

You can easily make your own cloth napkins at home with minimal effort – it’s even a great project to get the kids involved with. You don’t even need sewing skills; you can either finish the hems by sewing, or you can simply raveling the edges for a casual, fringed look.

To make cloth napkins, begin with 100% cotton fabric, which can be found at craft stores, fabric stores, or even discount stores such as Wal Mart for just $1-2 per yard.

Next, wash and iron the fabric. When it’s dry and smooth, carefully and evenly cut out 14-inch squares to make dinner-sized napkins. Fringe the fabric edges by gently pulling out the strands of string along the edges, starting at the top of the cloth. Pull about 1/2 inch of strings on all four sides for even seams.

Choose a different color or pattern design for each member of the family so everyone has their own designated napkin. Or, you can use a different napkin ring for each family member. Use the napkins over and over again until they require laundering.

To wash, simply toss the napkins into the laundry with like-colored fabrics on the gentle cycle and medium heat. Dry on low heat and remove promptly to reduce wrinkling. You can also line dry the napkins in the summertime. If they do wrinkle, iron with a warm iron to smooth out the fabric.

Anyone with a baby knows that they grow faster than you ever imagined. At first, you might not believe how big certain clothes are on your little one, but before you know it they’ll be too tight to wear.

But don’t toss out those too small onesies, dresses and shirts quite yet — there are some ways to breathe new life into them and get some use out of them again. Consider these suggestions to re-use or re purpose those too-small clothes, and do good for the environment (and others!) at the same time.

• Make T-Shirts
  For onesies that are just too short to fit your baby, cut off the snaps on the bottom and dress baby in them as t-shirts.
  Baby girl dresses can make cute tops – pair them with jeans or even a skirt for a cute, casual look.
• Use Them as Smocks
  Onesies work really well as cover-ups to catch any spills when your baby starts eating solid foods – just cut off the snaps at the bottom to make into a t-shirt, then pull over baby’s head and use as a smock that he or she can’t easily remove.
• Decorate with Them
  Clean and non stained onesies or baby t-shirts can make cute decorations for baby’s room – hang them up on a clothes line along the wall and secure with clothes pins.
• Craft with Them
  If you’re crafty, you can make a memory quilt with scraps of old baby clothes. Just take the fabrics and cut them into same-sized squares, then sew them together to make a blanket, or finish it off to make a quilt. You can also find companies and individuals who will make a quilt out of the fabrics for you – ask crafty friends or family, or search online.

If your baby’s clothes are still in good condition but you won’t use them again, consider donating them to friends, family, or charity groups. Your local church or the Salvation Army will happily receive them – and you will receive a tax receipt for the donation.

With gas and grocery prices soaring, it can be tricky to stay on budget and feed your family. Here are a few tips to keep your family fed – and your budget on track.

1. Don’t buy pre-packaged foods. It might be tempting (and convenient) to buy those single-serving snacks, but they’ll end up costing far more than you’d pay for a larger package. Purchase the bigger bag, and then use zip top plastic bags or reuseable containers to divide it into your own single servings.
2. Check store circulars. Review the store sales circular before you begin shopping and take advantage of specials and sales. Stock up on items that will keep well in the cupboards or freezer.
3. Chop it yourself. Carrot sticks and baby carrots, pre-cut celery, and other veggie snacks are handy, but expensive. Consumer Reports once found that two pounds of carrots cost $1.29 at the store; it was $7.16 for the same amount of precut sticks. Set aside a few minutes to do all your chopping at once, then sort the vegetables into separate snack-sized servings and store in the fridge.
4. Eat at home. We all know eating out can be expensive, especially when it comes to kids. What’s more, many times they’ll order something, take two bites and decide that they are ‘full’ or just don’t want it anymore. Save everyone the trouble (and a few bucks) by eating dinner at home.
5. Go vegetarian. Even just replacing one meal in a week with a meat-free meal can make a difference, both on your pocketbook and the environment. With all the fresh vegetables in season right now, why not have a veggie stir fry, vegetable pizza or lasagna, or grilled veggies for dinner?

You don’t need me to tell you that babies need a lot of clothes. The average baby grows out of 4 or 5 complete wardrobe changes in their first year. I don’t have a linen cupboard, it’s full of boxes of my son’s baby clothes saved for potential baby number two.

Baby clothes and bedding are almost universally made from cotton. It’s soft, washes well, and it’s breathable, making it the ideal fabric for baby clothes.

It’s also one of the most chemically-dependant crops grown today. Tons of fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides are used on every acre of cotton grown. To grow enough cotton for an average t-shirt, 1/3 of a pound of agricultural chemicals has to be applied to the soil and plants. For one t-shirt! There is something wrong when the amount of pesticides needed to make a garment, weigh more than the garment itself. And surely some of those chemicals are retained in the cotton fibres that will be worn next to baby’s skin?

It makes the case for organic baby clothes very compelling. As demand has increased, more cotton farms are going organic, and the price of organic clothes has fallen. I remember seeing organic t-shirts for $50 each at a baby boutique a couple of years ago. Today an organic baby t-shirt can be bought for under $10 so now most people can afford to make at least part of baby’s wardrobe organic.

Baby Soy, Sckoon, Speesees, Under the Nile, and many more independent companies, all make adorable baby clothes, sleepwear and sheets from organic cotton. Most of these companies also say that they pay a fair price for their cotton, and are against using sweatshops and other unfair labor practices.

Big brands like Gerber are making organic onesies and the like, and retailers like Gap, Target and Walmart are getting in on the act too. Makes me wonder, if I buy an organic cotton baby t-shirt at (notoriously un-eco-friendly) Walmart, does one cancel the other out?

Macy’s department store is going green for Earth Week. They are hoping to lead by example by lessening their impact on the environment and by offering products that are organic or more recycle-friendly.

They have a few different Eco-friendly giveaway’s and specials running this week so head over to Macy’s for more information.

Some mainstream retail chains have decided to do their part in joining in the green movement. Some new lines and promotions are being launched just in time for Earth Day (April 22).

Toys ?R Us has always claimed to be the ?world?s greatest toy store?. It?s a great place to find just about anything your kids see on commercials (and must have). It?s the place to go for well-known brands like Mattel, Hasbro, Parker Brothers, popular action figures, Barbies, character-themed toys (ie: Batman, Power Rangers, My little Pony, Bratz, etc.) and larger items such as bikes, ride-on toys and swing sets.

Most aisles are loaded with brightly colored, often plastic, toys. Just in time for Earth Day, though, the mega chain is launching their new non-toxic, organic line of toys. Many of the items are made of natural, recycled materials and are dye- and chemical-free. The line includes wooden and plush toys. This new line is also in response to the recent alarming recalls of unsafe toys made in China.

Wal-Mart, never one of my favorite stores, has gained a bit of respect in my eyes, now that I?ve learned of their efforts to be environmentally friendly. On Saturday, April 19th, the chain will give away a million custom-made, reusable shopping bags, made from recycled materials. They normally sell these bags for $1. A recent ad they ran stated that plastic bags can take as long as 1,000 years to degrade: convincing evidence that we should all opt for fabric totes when we shop!

Wal-Mart recently published an insert in parenting magazines, listing several of their green, yet affordable products, including some for parents and babies. Their own brand of baby wipes, Parent?s Choice, are made with organic cotton and natural fibers, which make them gentler for baby and the environment. I was very surprised to learn that they are 100% biodegradable in 30 days. The store is even selling Horizon organic milk these days. A recent ad stated that this brand of milk is made with the help of 450 certified organic farms and that Horizon Organic is working with and helping even more farms to transition to organic methods.

Other earth-friendly, Fair Trade and certified organic items at Wal-Mart include coffee, cleaning products, some lines of clothing and some gardening/planting materials.

It?s still cool to support small, local businesses but now you can also do some good by shopping at mega-chains…go figure!

To take a peek at the new Toys ?R Us natural toy line, go to www.toysrus.com and click on ?natural toys?.

For more information on Wal-Mart?s green products, visit www.walmart.com/green.

Krogers is currently holding a Design Contest for the creation of a new reusable grocery tote. All you have to do to receive your free tote is to submit a design. Whether your design is voted on and chosen or not your Krogers card will be updated to allow you to receive a free tote. It looks simple enough.

If you don’t want to enter the contest to receive a free tote you can still vote on the designs that have been submitted Here.

Most (hopefully, all!) of us are in the habit of recycling paper, plastic, cans and glass containers. Now we take another step towards reducing waste by registering with TerraCycle, a company which has paired up with a few green retailers in their quest to recycle even more empty packaging which usually ends up in the garbage.

Sign up with TerraCycle to send in your yogurt containers, empty juice/drink pouches, energy bar wrappers and soda bottles. The company will supply you with large bags for the wrappers and boxes for the yogurt containers and bottles. When you?ve filled the provided containers, just send the prepaid packages back to TerraCycle and they will donate money to various causes for each returned wrapper and container.

And even better, they will recycle your garbage to make new products. Yogurt cups will become planting pots, juice pouches and energy-bar wrappers will be turned into tote bags, pencil cases and other accessories and soda bottles will be used for several other TerraCycle products.

Make every day Earth Day! Sign up for this great program at www.terracycle.net.

Moms who use more cleaning products when pregnancy have a greater change of having a child with asthma. 7-year-old children were up to 41% more likely to have wheezing or asthma if their moms used a lot of products like bleach or air freshener while pregnant.

It’s hard to resist the nesting urge, and the desire to have everything as clean as possible before baby arrives. If you have to clean, use natural products (like vinegar, and baking soda) when possible, or do things like vacuuming which don’t need chemicals.

Use your domestic energy making and freezing meals, which I wish I had done more. Instead, I had a mania for cleaning the kitchen floor, and lived off takeout and frozen pizza after my son was born.

Do the cleaning that needs to be done, then put your feet up. The best thing you can do is, instead of looking after the house, look after yourself. It’s totally chemical free. Take care of yourself mama!

Source – Medical News Today

The Green Light philosophy is to support the efforts of individuals who are trying to make our planet a better place to live.

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Jump on the bandwagon and stop using disposable bags. Many major food chains are doing away with them entirely. Not only do they clutter our homes and often line our streets as trash, but they also occupy a lot of our already over-used landfill space. Entire U.S. states are beginning to ban disposable bags state-wide. A tremendous first step!

Read More about disposable bags and why you should consider other alternatives.