Product Review – The Safe Sippy 2 July 7, 2009

Discount code below!

Like most mothers, I’ve been through quite a few sippy cups. My daughter has tried BPA-free plastic ones, the stainless steel Klean Kanteen (which has always been a favorite), and recently, the Thermos Foogo Stainless Steel Straw Bottle. I chose the Foogo because I wanted a stainless option where my daughter didn’t need to tilt her head back to drink. I’ve always felt that’s a bit of a safety issue when a child is walking. I really like the Foogo, and so does my daughter, but the problem with it is that she always wants to press the button to release the top and although it says it can be used at 18 months, she’s just not strong enough to do it herself.

Well, I wish I had waited about 2 weeks because now there’s an old sippy available with a new twist – the Safe Sippy 2.

The Safe Sippy 2

The Safe Sippy 2 is the Safe Sippy original, but with the added option of a straw so it doesn’t need to be tilted to drink from. The Safe Sippy:

• is made of non-leaching stainless steel.
• has an 11 ounce capacity.
• has an easy grip insulating sleeve.
• has removable handles.
• is BPA, PVC, and phthalate free.
• has a no-spill valve.
• has a cover dome for the spout when you’re traveling, along with a travel plug to put directly on the spout so you won’t have an accidental leak.
• is dishwasher safe.

What I really love about this sippy, besides the list mentioned above, is that it fits in a typically sized travel mug compartment, the spout is slightly angled, and your fingers can easily fit into most of the mouth piece to clean it, although I do recommend using a pipe cleaner for the spout and straw. I’ve been using ones made by Dr. Brown.

I purchased this sippy cup through The Soft Landing, which is a favorite site and blog of mine for up-to-date, reliable information on many BPA, PVC and phthalate-free feeding supplies for children and babies. The Safe Sippy 2 can also be purchased at other US online sites and retailers and Canadian sites and retailers.

If you have the original Safe Sippy and want to purchase the straw and valve attachment, The Soft Landing will have them in stock 6 – 8 weeks from now.

The Safe Landing is offering readers 15% off any order through July 15, 2009 with no minimum purchase. Just enter “beinggreener15″ at checkout.

I am not an employee of The Soft Landing or Kid Basix, the company that makes the Safe Sippy. The product mentioned in today’s post was purchased for my own personal use.

Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

I feel pretty, oh so pretty! March 20, 2009

I would say that I keep things pretty basic with the daily beauty products I use. I don’t have a ton of makeup that piles up or multiple shampoo bottles to choose from in my shower. I do, however, like to wear perfume and nail polish occasionally. In fact, I’ve found that when I do wear nail polish, it helps me to want to keep my hands from looking like they wash dishes all day long – it reminds me to pamper them a bit more. The problem is that I stopped wearing nail polish after hearing how much of  it contains formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate.

There are some safer options out there, though. Some of them, I found online like Suncoat and Piggypaint. However, I was able to find one product that I think is easily accessible to many people.

Nicole, made by OPI, is free of DBT, toluene, and formaldehyde and their glass packaging is recyclable. The Nicole line comes in both the traditional nail polishes in the glass jars, called Nail Lacquers, and brush on pens, called Nail Sticks. Both options come in many, many colors and are available at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Meijer, Longs Drugs, and Harmon Discount Health and Beauty.

I tried the Nail Stick alone without a top or bottom coat and found it to last respectably for 5 day. Pretty good, if you ask me.

Nicole Nail Sticks

I also purchased Soy Polish Remover from a local “green store” near where I live made by Pritti. Its ingredients are soy ester, corn ester, orange oil, and vegetable glycerin. Their DBP, toluene and formaldehyde free nail polish and polish remover can be purchased through Amazon.

Priti Nail Polish Remover

Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

I’m ready for my close up February 16, 2009

Having a young child who I often hold close has encouraged me to rethink the makeup that I use each day. As each of my current choices run out, I’ve been replacing them with items that have a lower, safer rating on Skin Deep’s web site.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to try out Miessence Organics Translucent Powder. Skin Deep gives it a “low hazard” score of “1″. To compare with other powders on Skin Deep, I did a search of powder for the face and found that most powders that you can purchase in a drug store, for example, have a score of “4″ or more – many have a “high hazard” score of “7″ – “10″.

Miessence Organics personal care products and makeup are the first skin care line to be certified organic to food standards. They’ve also received the seal of approval by Australia’s leading certifying body, The Australian Certified Organic (ACO). Skin Deep has tested 84 of their products, all of which have a “low hazard” score. Many of them have a score of “0″, the safest score possible.

Miessence Translucent Powder

What I really love about the Miessence Translucent Powder is that it blends very well with my skin and doesn’t appear to “sit on top” of it, like I’ve found other powders to do. It lasted all day without the need to “re-fresh”, has a very pleasant scent, and although it comes in a small container, I can see it lasting a long time.

If you’re interested in purchasing the Translucent Powder I’ve reviewed here, let Linda over at Grand Strand Organics and Myrtle Beach Organics help you with this product or any other Miessence items.

Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

I had high hopes. February 8, 2009

Months ago, I wrote about how much I really like using the Twist Euro Sponge #10. It’s helped cut back on my paper towel use and you have to love the fact that it’s 100% biodegradable.

So I decided to give the Twist Loofah Sponge #50 a try in hopes of doing away with the Scotch Brite sponges I’ve always used. It’s with great disappointment to report that it just doesn’t seem to work well on those really tough pots – like the one I used yesterday to make scrambled eggs for Eco Girl. The pot is still sitting in the sink after repeated soaking of hot water, a little soap, and scrubbing. Oh, well. Not everything “green” is going to work out like you want it to.

Twist Loofah sponge #50

How about it readers? Have you found a great “green” scrubbing sponge that gets the job done? Let us know about it.

Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

A PVC-free stroller rain cover finally found! November 7, 2008

Update February 19, 2010: Orbit Baby has redesigned their strollers. The Toddler Rain Shield reviewed below has changed in shape and size due to this redesign. Please see my review of the current Orbit Baby Rain Shields to see if they will fit on your stroller or car seat.

Update to this post: See my review of Orbit Baby’s Toddler Stroller with Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 material.

Back in June, I read a study conducted by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice on PVC plastic shower curtains. The study determined that vinyl shower curtains contain toxic chemicals that can cause serious health problems to the liver, central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems. The shower curtains used in the study were purchased from popular stores across the country.

What really alarmed me was summarized in a Los Angeles Times analysis stating that:

“The study found that these shower curtains contained high concentrations of phthalates and varying concentrations of organotins and that they released as many as 108 volatile organic chemicals into the air, some of which persisted for nearly a month.”

Persisted for an entire month?!!! We shouldn’t be surprised, though. Have you ever noticed the lingering “smell” in your bathroom after you hang up a new plastic shower curtain? It’s a toxic cloud that’s permeating through your entire home. Needless to say, after reading the report, I went out and purchased a PVC-free shower curtain (100% EVA vinyl shower curtains are safer). You can find them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, Macy’s, Sears, and many online sites.

Now that you have some background information, I’ll get back to my intended story. It was only about a month ago that I was out with my daughter in her stroller when it started to rain. I stopped walking, took out the plastic stroller cover provided with the stroller, and proceeded to attach it. As I did so, I immediately remembered the report as I began to fasten the PVC plastic cover on. I wouldn’t keep my daughter in a room filled with toxic chemicals – why would I encase her in a smaller and denser volume of toxic air? I took the cover off and dashed home instead, thinking a little rain would be obviously less harmful that the alternative.

And so this started my search for a PVC-free stroller rain cover. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy. It was even hard to find one online. Believe me – I literally searched for four days. There’s a happy ending to this story, though.

Just when I was about to give up, I discovered that Orbit Baby makes a PVC-free, chlorine-free, and phthalate-free rain cover for both its toddler size stroller and infant car seat. I wrote to the company and asked them to confirm this, which they did. I explained my desire to find these items for myself and my blog readers. They generously offered to send me both covers so I could see if they would work with other strollers and car seats.

Below you will find a list of strollers and car seats that were on display at my local Babies R Us this week. I fitted the Orbit covers on each one to see if they “reasonably” fit. Only a few didn’t fit, as I describe in the list below. Remember, the Orbit covers are designed specifically for Orbit equipment, so none of the strollers and car seats were a perfect fit. In all cases, some adjusting was needed, and should you try to use the Orbit stroller cover with alternative equipment, you will need to attach Velcro tabs or ties yourself to the top of the cover near the handles of the stroller (velcro tabs are already on the sides of the covers).

• Bugaboo Frog Toddler Stroller
• Bugaboo Bee Stroller
• Quinny Zapp Stroller
• Quinny Buzz 3 Wheel Stroller
• Maxi Cosi Foray Stroller
• Maxi Cosi Perle Stroller
• Maclaren Techno XT Stroller
• Maclaren Lacoste Ryder Stroller
• Maclaren Kate Spade Ryder Stroller
• Maclaren Lulu Guinness Stroller
• Maclaren Quest Sport Stroller
• Maclaren Triumph Stroller
• Maclaren Volo Stroller
• Chicco Cortina Stroller
• Graco Tour DLX Travel System (without the car seat in it)
• Graco Ipo Stroller
• Graco Quattro Tour Stroller – Adequate fit but a bit short where the child’s feet will be
• Graco Metro Lite Stroller
• Baby Planet Endangered Species Stroller
• Peg Perego Aria Stroller
• Peg Perego Pliko P3 Stroller
• Peg Perego Uno Stroller
• Peg Perego Skate – NOT A GOOD FIT
• Chicco Trevi Stroller – Adequate fit but would need long Velcro tabs or ties to keep cover in place on top
• Chicco Cortina Stroller – Adequate fit but would need long Velcro tabs or ties to keep cover in place on top
• Chicco Capri Stroller- Adequate fit but cover is big on this stroller
• Combi Cosmo Ex Stroller
• Stokke Xplory Stroller
• Thea & Co. Wendy Bellissimo Stroller – Adequate fit but cover is large on this stroller
• Joovy Kooper Jogging Stroller
• Baby Trend Expedition Jogging Stroller – Adequate fit but large section of cover flops over due to shape of stroller
• Jeep Overland Limited X Jogging Stroller – Adequate fit but large section of cover flops over due to shape of stroller
• Kolcraft Liberty Limited Jogging Stroller – Adequate fit but large section of cover flops over due to shape of stroller
• Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller – Adequate fit but large section of cover flops over due to shape of stroller
• Baby Jogger city Classic Single Stroller -  NOT A GOOD FIT
• Phil & Ted’s “Sport” Stroller – NOT A GOOD FIT

• Maxi Cosi Mico Infant Car Seat
• Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP Infant Car Seat
• Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat
• Infant Safe Seat Step 1 Car Seat
• Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat

Below are some pictures I’ve taken of the stroller cover on my own Maclaren Techno XLR stroller so you can see the fit and how I made some adjustments with the added Velcro strips near the handles of the stroller.

Side view

Front zippered window on cover

Tan Velcro tabs I added - Note how cover is doubled up in this area.

Velcro tab from Orbit

Unfortunately, these covers are not available in stores that carry Orbit equipment due to the fact that they come with the strollers and car seats already. If you’re interested in purchasing the Toddler Stroller Seat Rainshield or the Infant Weather Pack (car seat cover with mosquito net), you will need to do so directly through Orbit’s website.

In addition to Orbit being aware of the dangers of PVC and providing a safer product for consumers, the company has a number of “green” initiatives:

• Orbit has rid their supply of brominated chemicals and oil-based packaging inks.
• The company is selective about their travel and most of their employees get to work by carpool, bicycle, public transit, or hybrid vehicles.
• Orbit was the first business in Newark, California to request and pay for recycling.
• They offset 100% of their electricity needs through Renewable Energy Certificates and purchase carbon offsets to fund green initiatives for the environment.

Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

Celebrate Green! October 15, 2008

Today I’m over at EcoWomen: Protectors of the Planet! with a great “green” book review. Go on over, take a look, and see how else the Super Heroes are saving the world.

Verterra Plates – Reusable and Biodegradable September 19, 2008

Recently, I was asked to try out reusable, biodegradable plates made from only leaves and water. Just leaves and water? And reusable? This caught my interest. They’re made by a company called Verterra that bases its name on a Latin term meaning “true to the Earth”.

The plates are made with 3 different kinds of leaves that would normally have been burned on the side of the road. The outer layer provides water resistance from leaves with a thick wax cuticle. The next layer uses leaves that absorbs moisture and the middle contains leaves with sap. When you put them all together with a little steam, heat, and pressure, it makes for plates that are durable and usable up to about 8-10 times with a quick wash of warm soap and water. Their site does say, however, that tomato sauces and beets can stain the plates, which I did find to be true after using some salad dressing with sun dried tomatoes.

Other interesting features of the plates are:

• All natural, chemical and bleach free
• Non-toxic
• No plastics or waxes
• 100% compostable
• Made of 100% renewable plant materials
• Biodegrades naturally in 2 months
• Microwave, oven and refrigerator-safe
• No trees are cut down–made from only fallen leaves

The plates come in different shapes and sizes that range from packs of 10 or 12 from $8.99 – $12.99. So yes, they are more expensive than your ordinary paper plates but they’re a lot more Earth friendly, use safer materials, biodegrade in about 2 months, and are made by a company that provides hundreds of fair-wage jobs in developing regions in South Asia. So the next time you’re planning a BBQ, picnic or hiking trip, you now have an alternative to often wax or paraffin coated disposables that look beautiful and really make an eco-statement.

Product Review – Cleaning up without paper towels August 27, 2008

One thing many “green” people I speak to agree with is that we need to give up our paper towels use. I used to use them all the time to clean up spills on the counter and sometimes to dry my hands. They’re such a terrible waste.

About 2 months ago, I came across Twist, a 100% biodegradable sponge. Twist comes in different forms – a bamboo sponge, a “naked” sponge made with no dyes and 100% cellulose, a sponge cloth, and a loofah sponge. I’ve been using the “Euro Sponge #10” to clean up my kitchen counter spills. After a day or two of use, I just put it in the dish washer to “freshen it up” as the packaging says to do. It’s helped to cut back quite a bit from my paper towel use.

I buy them at Whole Foods Market but from their site I was able to see that they are also available at Bed Bath & Beyond. You can enter your location on the site to find other many places where their product is sold.

On the back of all of their products is directions and an outline of a bird feeder for you to cut out and make. It’s a great project for a child or the big kid in you. What a great added touch!

The important thing is try switching to reusable substitutes in your kitchen. Start using sponges, cloth napkins and kitchen towels to save money and resources.

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How safe is your deodorant? August 19, 2008

The Environmental Working Group has a website called Skin Deep. This site is an excellent resource for consumers in that it lists thousands of personal care products in an organized way and rates them on how safe their ingredients are.

“Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind.Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.”

At Skin Deep, you can find hundreds of specific items for hair, skin, eyes, nails, baby, oral care, fragrance, and makeup rated from 0-10, zero being the safest. Each item’s score is explained in detail and safer options are given.

In today’s post I’m listing safer deodorant choices from Skin Deep’s site that can easily be found at your local drugstore. I’ve also listed some common items with high (not safe) scores as comparisons. It should be noted that although Skin Deep gives products a “low hazard” score, some of them contain the chemicals below with cautions from testing results of these chemicals:

Aluminum Chloride: Organ system toxicity, in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results, reproductive effects at moderate and high doses, and animal studies show brain and nervous system effects at high doses

Aluminum Chlorohydrate: Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Neurotoxicity

Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine: Strong evidence of human neurotoxicity when product is airborn

Gylcerin: One or more animal studies show kidney or renal system effects at very low doses, mammalian cells show positive mutation results, animal studies show reproductive effects at moderate doses

Diproplyene Glycol: One or more animal studies show brain and nervous system effects at high doses

1 PEG-14 Dimethicone, PEG/PPG – 18/18 Dimethicone, PEG-8 Distearate, and Triclosan: Also known as 1,4-Dioxane: Endocrine disruption, identified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Propylene Glycol, which the FDA says is safe for general use but can cause cancer and contains toxins that affect reproduction

Alcohol Denatured: Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Butane and Propane: Allergies and immunotoxicity

fragrance: often means Diethyl Phthalate or DEP: endocrine disruptor that has been linked to reproductive and abnormalities

PEG/PPG – 18/18 Dimethicone - Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Benzyl Alcohol: Neurotoxicity

Silica: Cancer, Allergies/immunotoxicity

Deodorant with a score of 0 having a “low hazard”:

• Crystal deodorant stick, roll-on, and spray

Deodorant with a score of 1 having a “low hazard”:

• CVS Ultra Dry Anti-Perspirant Roll-On Unscented – Aluminum Chloride,
• Ban Antiperspirant & Deodorant Original Roll-On Unscented – Aluminum Chlorohydrate
• Ban Classic Original Antiperspirant & Deodorant Original Roll-On Unscented – Aluminum Chlorohydrate:
• Almay Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Clear Gel; Fragrance Free – Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Gylcerin, Diproplyene Glycol
• Almay Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Clear Gel – Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Gylcerin, Diproplyene Glycol
• Almay Antiperspirant & Deodorant Fragrance Free (Powder Fresh and Soothing Aloe) – Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Gylcerin, Diproplyene Glycol
• Lady Mitchum Clear Gel Antiperspirant & Deodorant Unscented – Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Diproplyene Glycol,
• Mitchum Antiperspirant & Deodorant Clear Gel – Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Diproplyene Glycol
• Almay Stay Dry Hydro Solid Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Fragrance Free – 1 PEG-14 Dimethicone, Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Diproplyene Glycol

Deodorant with a score of 7 having a “high hazard”:

• Right Guard Sport Deodorant – fragrance, Triclosan, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denatured
• Right Guard Sport Deodorant Aerosole, Original – fragrance, Triclosan, Propylene Glycol, Butane and Propane
• Dry Idea Antiperspirant Clear Gel Powder Fresh – fragrance, Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denatured
• Dry Idea Antiperspirant & Deodorant Clear Gel Powder Fresh – fragrance, PEG/PPG – 18/18 Dimethicone, Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denatured
• FDS Feminine Deodorant Spray White Blossom and Baby Powder – fragrance, Benzyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol

Deodorant with a score of 8 having a “high hazard”:

• Secret Platinum Antiperspirant & Deodorant Invisible Gel Powder Fresh Scent – fragrance, Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denatured
• Dove Invisible Solid Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Powder Fresh – fragrance, Silica, PEG-8 Distearate, Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Glycine, Propylene Glycol

Last week, it was time for me to buy new deodorant (this post is research I did in anticipation of this). I had always heard of “crystal deodorant” but it I just couldn’t understand how it could possibly work. Well, I’m very pleased to say that it does. I’ll be honest, though, it wasn’t perfect but I don’t know of a deodorant that is.  It’s nice to know that a deodorant with one of the safest scores works as well as others. By the way, according to the packaging, the crystal stick can last up to a year!

Visit Skin Deep and check out some of your favorite products to see how they rate. Then decide if you need to make some changes. If you do, don’t feel you need to do it all at once. Just make changes as you run out of things.

See my other posts on how safe is your bar soap, shampoo and conditioner, and baby soap and shampoo.

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Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

Product review – Seventh Generation and Nature Babycare Diapers August 7, 2008

Before my daughter was born, I looked into different diaper options. I started at the top of the eco-friendly choices and considered cloth diapers. I live in an apartment, though, with a washer and dryer four flights down so washing them would have really been time consuming and back breaking. I also didn’t think my neighbors would appreciate using the machines after I did. I could have used a diaper service but that wasn’t something I wanted to do.

I checked out gdiapers, but I didn’t feel they were an option for me. Again, living in an apartment building, I just didn’t trust the plumbing – would I cause a flood if the diaper didn’t break up enough in the toilet? I understand that flushing them is not the only option – you can just throw out the inserts but they’re also more expensive than other eco-friendly disposables so I passed on them.

I ended up using Seventh Generation‘s disposable diapers. I have been very pleased with them so far in that they’re chlorine-free and contain no latex, fragrance, or TBT (tributyl tin), they fit well and there haven’t been any problems with leaks. The big problem I have with them, though, is that I had always thought they were biodegradable they actually aren’t. I also wanted to find a diaper without gel inside.

So, it was back to the drawing board to find something “greener”. That’s when I came across Nature Babycare diapers that I was able to purchase through Diapers.com (I’ve heard that some Target stores have them as well).

Product features:

- Award Winning Premium Performance eco-friendly disposable diaper
- Awarded the Eco Label “Good Environmental Choice” of Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC)
- NO oil-based plastics against baby’s skin
- Kinder and more gentle to your baby and the environment
- Breathable and chlorine-free with natural based material, for natural protection
- Ultra-thin construction gives a non-bulky fit, enabling your baby to move around freely
- Consumer packaging is based on 100% natural renewable material. No oil-based plastics!
- Winner of the 06-07 Silver Award for “Best Disposable Diaper,” featured in Mother & Baby Magazine, a leading UK baby magazine

Features and Benefits of Nature babycare:
-Chlorine-free absorbent materials – does not contribute to dioxin pollution
-100 % natural based back sheet – NO plastic – reduce the greenhouse effect
-100 % natural distribution layer – NO plastic – reduce the greenhouse effect
-100 % compostable consumer packaging – NO plastic – reduce the greenhouse effect
-No latex, fragrance, or TBT (tributyl tin)

I was very pleased to read the above facts about these diapers but after using them, I do have some issues with them. First, they seem narrow and long. My daughter is long and lean and I still have difficulty getting the sides to tape down well so she won’t get irritated by the tabs. These tabs also don’t stick down very well to the paper-like material that the diaper is made of. They also need to be changed more often than the Seventh Generation diapers. I found this out the hard way. Yes, we had a leak the other night.

Because I’m trying to be greener, I’m going to continue to use the more biodegradable (the tabs and elastic around the legs and waist of these diapers are not biodegradable) Nature Babycare diapers during the day and will use the Seventh Generation diapers at night. This is at least a step in the right (or rather, better) direction.

I think it’s important to note for anyone interested in going from Seventh Generation to Nature Babycare that the Nature Babycare (at least size 2) runs a bit smaller than the equivalent in Seventh Generation.

If you have used either one of these diapers or have tried an eco-friendly alternative, please let us all know by commenting. Suggestions are appreciated and we can learn from each other’s experience and research.

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