Stop over at Eco Women where I recently wrote posts on having a vegetarian Thanksgiving (or hosting a vegetarian for the holiday) and Baby’s First Thanksgiving.
Photo from Flickr by Paige Gabert
Macclaren Stroller Recall November 9, 2009
MSNBC is reporting that Maclaren, a large stroller manufacturer, is recalling many of its strollers including:
- Volo
- Triumph
- Quest Sport
- Quest Mod
- Techno XT
- Techno XLR
- Twin Triumph
- Twin Techno
- Easy Traveller
Maclaren Volo Stroller
The article reports that a side hinged mechanism poses the risk of cutting or amputating a child’s fingers when the stroller is being opened or closed. Maclaren is providing consumers and retailers free repair kits which will cover a joint on the faulty hinge mechanism. Contact Maclaren’s website or call toll-free at (877) 688-2326.
It’s always a good time for a cup of tea October 28, 2009
What can I say – I’m a big tea drinker. For me, it’s a classic cup of English Breakfast with bit of milk. Now that my daughter is approaching two years old, I’ve been adding more “pretend play” items to her toy box and one of them has been a tea set that she really enjoys playing with.
I’ve tried to pick items that would last, were made of recycled, handmade, or “greener” materials, and that I’d be pleased to pass along to someone else when she’s outgrown them. Here’s what Green Girl has:
Wonderworld Eco-Friendly Tea Time Set
But here’s some other tea sets options:
Green Toys Eco-Friendly Tea Set
Plan Toys Wooden Tea Set
I’ve also bought some extras so we can have a tea party. Etsy has been a great resource for finding felt food. But here’s some other ideas:
Haba Milk Carton
Haba Tea Time Tin
Haba Butter Cookies
Haba Assorted Little Cookies with Tin
You could also recycle items from your kitchen for some cooking and eating pretend play: yogurt containers, juice boxes, single serve cereal boxes, raisin boxes, cookie boxes, or any other food that came in a box. It’s amazing how something so simple can be tons of fun for little ones!
Do you have any other ideas? Let us know what you’ve tried.
Eco Fashion October 21, 2009
Interested in “green fashion” and learning about the garments’ social and environmental impact? Need a new list of great blogs to check out? Check out Ecouterre to get your fill of both!
Blog Action Day – we all can make a difference! October 15, 2009
Today is Blog Action Day where this year’s focus is on climate change! My fellow Eco Woman, Recycla, has written about how each and every one of us can make a difference in saving our planet. Remember, small changes from everyone can add up to bigger results!
BPA and more concerns of it in receipts October 13, 2009
Go on over to Eco Women today where I’ve written about Bisphenol-A and more concerns of it in receipts.
Photo from flickr by Dan4th
Orbit Baby Toddler Stroller with Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Material October 3, 2009
Before my daughter was born a year and a half ago, I poured over information on breast feeding, baby bottles, and diapers. I felt confident in my choices of BPA-free items for feeding and “greener”, chlorine-free disposable diapers over the traditional. I was new to raising a “greener baby” and was unaware of phthalates in plastics, such as in the baby bathtub I chose, or fire retardants in her crib.
My education of greener choices started with observations of my daughter followed by research. Such as the day I was out with my daughter in her stroller and she was chewing on the shoulder straps of her stroller. Like most babies, everything went into her mouth. As I pushed her down the street, I wondered what was in the material.
From that point on, I started noticing other things that I hadn’t considered before. Like the day it started raining and I was about to place a PVC plastic rain cover on my daughter’s stroller. After a lot of research, I found a PVC-free option made by Orbit Baby.
A few months ago, I was given the Orbit Baby Toddler Stroller to try out and review. The first thing that impressed me was the use of Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 material for the micro-fiber upholstery fabrics on all their Orbit seats.
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- Orbit Baby’s Toddler Stroller
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- Toddler Seat fully reclined
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- Orbit Baby’s Toddler Seat
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- Sunshade Extension
Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is an international certification that sets limits for over 100 harmful chemicals, substances, and emissions in textiles. It’s the only valid certification of its kind and tests for compounds ranging from harmful heavy metals like lead and arsenic, to many known allergy-inducing and irritating chemicals. The list includes pesticides, phthalates, dyes, and VOC emissions.
The stroller itself is not PVC-free, however, Orbit Baby responded to my quires about this issue with this statement:
“Since one of Orbit Baby’s main priorities is the safety of the materials your child touches, we are committed to being the first baby gear company to rid our supply chain of PVC, PBDE, and other harmful chemicals.“
“We are not 100% there on our PVC-free goals, but we are further along than other gear companies, and can say that no surfaces of Orbit Baby products in contact with or near your child contain PVC. The remaining traces of PVC on our current products are on small tags and internal cable coverings – the amount of material constitutes a very small fraction of the overall material content of our products, and most of it neither you nor your child would likely come in contact with. That said, since Orbit Green: PVC-Free is an ongoing initiative, our future productions will have reductions in even these small quantities of the material. We are not 100% there on our PVC-free goals, but we believe we are further along than other gear companies“
Other features I really like about the Orbit Toddler Seat and stroller are the seat’s ability to easily turn to all four directions (forward, backwards towards the person pushing the stroller, and to either side) without lifting the seat, the bonnet’s Sunshade Extension that blocks almost 100% of UVA and UVB radiation (which can be used at any point in its range of motion), the reversible cool aero-mesh and warm micro-fiber upholstery pad for easy cleaning, its ability to easily fold when putting it in the trunk of a car and its maneuverability. The Orbit Stroller frame comes with a Cargo Pod bag that hangs under the seat. It easily converts to an on-the-go diaper bag with its attached shoulder strap.
The stroller’s back wheels are a bit wide (24 1/4 inches) so it did take some getting used to. I haven’t found the width to be an issue while strolling through store aisles, though. It also doesn’t have a foot rest, which I thought would be a problem, buy my daughter has improvised by placing her feet against the stroller’s frame while the seat faces me. It should also be noted that the seat back doesn’t go completely flat.
Orbit Baby offers the Orbit Infant System (this stroller was not reviewed) which includes the stroller frame, infant car seat, and base. The Orbit Toddler Seat can be purchased separately to attach to the stroller frame that came with the Orbit Infant System, or can be purchased along with the Orbit Stroller frame. The stroller frame can take a child from infancy to 40 pounds with the two separate seats.
You can order Orbit Baby strollers and products directly through the company. To find a retailer who sells Orbit Baby strollers, click here.
I am not an employee of Orbit Baby. The Orbit Baby Toddler Seat and Stroller Frame mentioned in today’s post were given to me to review by Orbit Baby. I am never paid to review a product by a company and I always give my true feelings about any item mentioned on my blog.
Tylenol recalls some of their children’s medications September 24, 2009
MSNBC is reporting today that Johnson & Johnson has voluntarily recalled over 20 of their Tylenol children’s medications due to bacteria found in one of its inactive ingredients. The products being recalled were made between April and June 2008 and include items such as: Children’s Tylenol Cold MS Suspension 4 oz. Grape, Children’s Tylenol Plus Cough & Runny Nose 4 oz. Cherry, and Infant’s Tylenol Suspension Drop 1 oz. Grape.
Click here to see a complete list of the recalled medications.
The Green Girl’s guide to disposable diapers September 16, 2009
I’m over at Eco Women today talking about “eco” disposable diapers for those who can’t go the cloth route. Go on over and add your own experiences for both choices.
Photo from Flickr by IngaMun
On vacation September 2, 2009
Photo from Flickr by HJL
I just wanted to let you know that I’m going away on a long awaited vacation but will be back at the end of next week. Enjoy the last few official days of summer and see you back here soon!
While I’m away, check out some of my favorite “green” sites:
Eco Women: Protectors of the Planet!
