BabyPlanet’s PVC-free Stroller Rain Cover April 28, 2010

Last year, I started a search for PVC-free, phthalate-free stroller rain covers. I first learned the hazards of PVC plastic when I read an article about PVC plastic shower curtains. I was concerned about the “off gassing” from the plastic that has shown to be harmful to the nervous system and increases the chance of liver cancer. At the time, I only knew of Orbit Baby’s Rain Shield, which fit on many other strollers. However, it was recently updated fit their new Toddler Seat and it only fits well on a few strollers now.

A few weeks ago, I learned that BabyPlanet has a Rain Shield made of EVA plastic, making it PVC-free and phthalate-free. In fact, all of their strollers are completely PVC-free. The rain cover is included with their Timi & Leslie Strollers, but not the Endangered Species Strollers. In addition to recognizing the potential dangers of PVC and eliminating it from their products, BabyPlanet offers a recycling program – if you no longer need your BabyPlanet Stroller and have no one to donate to, you can send it to them for it to be donated to another family. If the stroller is no longer “road worthy”, they’ll send it to a recycling plant that reclaims the aluminum and then grinds up the remainder of the components for use in making tracks, playground mats and industrial mats.

Below you will find a list of strollers that I fitted with the BabyPlanet Rain Cover so you’ll know if it’s an option for your own stroller.

Maclaren Techno XLR Stroller – not a good fit
Maclaren Triumph Stroller – adequate fit (see photo below)
Maclaren Volo Stroller – not a good fit
Maclaren Quest Stroller – adequate fit
Maclaren Quest Sport Stroller – adequate fit (see photo below)

Stokke Xplory Stroller – not a good fit

Peg Perego Si Stroller – adequate fit (see photo below)
Peg Perego Vela Stroller – not a good fit
Peg Perego Vela Lightweight Stroller – not a good fit
Peg Perego Uno Stroller – not a good fit
Peg Perego Skate System Stroller – not a good fit

Cynthia Rowley Comfino Deluxe Stroller – adequate fit

Chicco Capri Stroller – adequate fit

Graco Ipo Deluxe Stroller – adequate fit
Graco Lite Rider Stroller – not a good fit
Graco Metro Lite Stroller – not a good fit

Baby Trend Gabriella Stroller – not a good fit
Baby Trend Stride Sport Stroller – not a good fit

Pliko P3 Stroller – not a good fit

Quinny Buzz – not a good fit
Quinny Zapp – not a good fit

Maxi Cosi Foray Stroller – adequate fit but doesn’t completely cover feet (see photo below)

Bugaboo Cameleon – adequate fit (does not go over handles and you would need to tighten up the cover in the back with your own velcro)
Bugaboo Frog – adequate fit (does not go over handles and you would need to tighten up the cover in the back with your own velcro)

Phil and Ted’s Strollers – not a good fit

BabyPlanet’s PVC-Free Rain Cover is $24.99 and can be purchased through their web site here.

Maclaren Quest Sport

Maclaren Triumph

Maxi Cosi Foray

Peg Perego Si

Update: PVC-free Stroller Rain Cover February 19, 2010

UPDATE November 18, 2010: I’m sorry I don’t have a photo to include but I recently tried the Orbit Baby Rain Shield in this review on an UPPAbaby Vista stroller (the seat that reclines) and it had an “adequate fit”.

Just over a year ago, I wrote one of my most visited posts describing my difficult search in finding a PVC-free stroller rain cover. I first learned the hazards of PVC plastic when I read an article about PVC plastic shower curtains. I was concerned about the “off gassing” from the plastic that has shown to be harmful to the nervous system and increases the chance of liver cancer. The only rain cover I could find was made by Orbit Baby.

Orbit Baby has updated their strollers and is calling them the G2 – as in “Next Generation”. The fabric for their strollers uses Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 material, an international certification that sets limits for over 100 harmful chemicals, substances, and emissions in textiles. They have also added to their Infant and Toddler Seat accessory line the Green Edition Foot Muff, which is made of organic cotton/wool that meets car seat flame retardancy safety standards without any harsh chemicals.

The updated strollers have led to a redesigned of the Rain Shield that I originally wrote about. Orbit Baby sent me both their Toddler Seat Rain Shield and Infant Car Seat Rain Shield which I tested again on the many strollers at Babies R Us. Unfortunately, the new Orbit Baby Toddler Rain Shield doesn’t adequately fit on as many strollers as it’s predecessor did due to the redesigned shape of the toddler seat. There are, however, a few that passed the test. Here is a list of strollers that the Toddler Seat Rain Shield will fit on with photos of each:

• Bugaboo Cameleon and Frog
• Quinny Buzz – cover only fits when foot rest is set to shortest position
• Maxi Cosi Forary Stroller – cover only fits when foot rest is set to shortest position
• Maclaren Quest Sport Stroller – needs some homemade “craftiness”  to attach to the stroller handles as seen in photos from original post and cover does not reach to foot rest of stroller
• Maclaren Grand Tour LX – doesn’t leave a lot of room in the foot area, though, and doesn’t reach to foot rest
• UPPAbaby Vista Stroller – sorry, no photo

Bugaboo Cameleon

Quinny Buzz

Maxi Cosi Forary

Maclaren Sport Quest

Maclaren Grand Tour LX

The updated design of the Orbit Infant Car Seat Rain Shield fit well on all the car seats at Babies R Us. They were the:

• Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat, 32, and 35
• Baby Trend Gabriella Infant Car Seat
• Evenflo Serenade Infant Car Seat
• Combi Shuttle 33 Infant Car Seat
• Primo Viaggio SIP Infant Car Seat
• Primo Viaggio Gala Infant Car Seat
• Maxi Cosi Mico Infant Car Seat

You can continue to purchase both the Toddler Seat Rain Shield and the Infant Car Seat Rain Shield online through Orbit Baby and now wherever Orbit Baby Strollers are sold.

Both the Orbit Baby Toddler Rain Shield and the Infant Car Seat Rain Shield were given to me for testing by Orbit Baby. I am not an employee of Orbit Baby.

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.