Can plastic toys be a good thing? The Defense rests.

Plastic toys. They are like the fruitcakes - you are desperately trying to get rid of them but can't.

I thought about the plastic toys we own. It started when we had our babies - starting with exersaucers and it exploded into plastic trains, cars, trucks, and lots of other primary colored non-biodegradable hunks of plastic. After I emerged from the fog called the "first year" I started researching the so called "good" toys - blocks and trains from Germany and Sweden, cars and trucks from Italy and France - and so we started accumulating another set of toys - wooden toys. It was like a new caste system of toys - the simple but wonderful woodens vs. the primary color "crap" plastics.

I can't lie and say my children didn't like the "crap" - they enjoyed all of the plastic toys starting with their first big plastic toy - the exersaucer. My boys still like plastic toys. While we own oodles of wooden Thomas and Brio trains and track, they equally love the plastic Tomy Thomas trains and track (the blue stuff). And I wondered after looking around at their 2nd birthday, would I ever rid our house of this icky stuff?

Than I started getting smart about the different kinds of plastics. I also became very strict about buying in US and Europe - and not China. So by boycotting China goods, it started to rule out most plastic toys (thankfully!). But in defense of plastic, good chemical-free, made-in-USA, plastic can be a good thing.

The plastic Thomas track and trains (originally made by Tomy, manufactured in Thailand) has proved to be a multi-tasking toy - we set it up inside and outside. In fact, while it was pouring down rain this week, a wonderful track layout designed by my boys sits outside on the deck. As soon as the rain stops, they will sit outside in the sun rearranging the tracks and acting out complex locomotive scenarios. I think it's wonderful that the track can go outside - so my boys can be outside in the sun while the toys survive the elements (it's been 2 years now and still going strong).


Playmobil toys. They are expensive, excellent quality, made in Germany (most of them). There is a variety of Playmobil category of toys including Rescue, Pirates, Boats, Police, Hospital and more. They make very detailed toys and imaginative toys. For example, the RV has plates, pots and pans, a toilet, beds, eating utensils, chaise lounges and more. You do have to manage all these small parts but it's part of the attraction and love kids have with Playmobil toys. They can really "act" out with these toys. We have a special affection for Playmobil in our house. We have acquired quite a selection and the boys play with them daily.

And even their beds. Yes, we intended to get the lovely Pottery Barn kids beds - the wooden ones with storage underneath. But almost everything we touched in Pottery Barn was made in China. So we kept looking for a boyish bed that would include some safety features - like a side rails to keep them from falling out. We ended up buying two Step2 stockcar beds that could convert from toddler to twin beds. The beds feature clever side rails (my boys have never fallen out) and they are Made in USA - not to mention our boys LOVE the beds. The plastic is soft compared to wood and I am thankful for that every time I hear a head bop against the side or when they jump off to go the bathroom. In defense of plastic, these beds are a great solution for our young children. I have no regrets. And because they can use them as twin beds, I hope to get some mileage out of them - maybe until they are 10-12 years old? Then I will offer them up to someone else so they can enjoy them. Reuse - why not? It makes sense.

So while I don't seek out plastic toys, there are some that are okay. I think if you do own plastic toys or any kind of toys, reduce your carbon footprint and offer them up for reuse. That's the smart thing to do. Check out Zwaggle This is a new site that allows parents to share/swap products. You can also find stuff on Craigslist - instead of buying it and adding to the clutter in our environment, find a gently used one. Trust me, your kids won't even care!

Plastic is not sexy but in rare instances, it can be practical. There I said it.

Plastic Wrap? Don't Encase your Food in Chemicals!

Plastic is everywhere these days. I was wrapping up some leftovers one day and realized I was using "plastic" wrap. Hmmmm, I wondered if plastic wrap was just as bad as the plastic containers, cups, plates, etc containing and releasing the chemical BPA? The short answer is YES.

Most commerical plastic wraps use a plasticizer to make the plastic more flexble. The chemical BPA is used in these plasticizers. So knowing what I've read and understand about BPA, I decided to find another alternative.

I found two good ones.

First, an old standby that you probably already have in your kitchen that you use for baking. Wax or parchment paper. I use it to wrap up sandwiches for the kids. It reminds me of a real deli sandwich wrapped in wax paper. It works to wrap almost everything. You just have to master the art of folding.

Second, a Clear Plastic Wrap made by company called Natural Value. Natural Value also makes a good wax paper too. But if you really desire plastic wrap to put over a bowl or container this may be a good alternative to the supermarket brands you buy. It is plasticizer-free and PVC free. It is also Kosher. It can be found at your local Whole Foods or online at Westside Organics By the way, I've tried it and it works great. I use it only when absolutely necessary like to put over a glass serving bowl when saving leftovers. It's about the same price as the commerically-available brands.

Personally, I like the wax or parchment paper option especially one made from unbleached fibers and non-toxic (See brands If You Care and Natural Value. It feels a bit more luxurious to wrap your food in wax or parchment paper. And it's easy for my kids to open up at school (no ziplocs to worry about or undoing the plastic wrap).

Try a healthier and environmentally-friendly option when wrapping your foods. Your foods don't need anymore chemicals and additives. Unless you are eating organic, you are getting enough preservatives, dyes, chemically engineered additives already!

Ikea makes you think about real COST of plastic bags

I am changing my mind about Ikea these days. I used to think of Ikea as a store to buy college dorm quality furniture and short-term decorating items but after further consideration I have changed my mind.

First, I like the fact that most of Ikea products are made around the world and not in China. Yes, there are a few made in China but there are more products made in Sweden, France, Germany, Czech Republic and more! The products are good basic quality - equal or better to their China-made counterparts found at Target, Walmart and Crate and Barrel.

Second, I like what they are doing about plastic bags and the environment. Ikea is charging you for a plastic bag and encouraging you to carry a reusable bag. Last year Ikea gave away 70 million bags in the United States. This year they hope to cut the number in half by charging for them. Ikea will donate proceeds from sales of the bags to American Forests, the nation's oldest citizens conservation group. American Forests will use the money to plant trees and offset C02 and cool the globe. Ikea is charging 5 cents per bag or you can buy one of their blue Ikea reusable bags (they are huge and strong) for 59 cents. I now own 2 of the Ikea resuable bags and like them. I like what Ikea is doing for the environment so I hope to tell more people about it when they notice my big blue bag!

5 cents is extremely cheap for a plastic bag. Across Europe it is custom to bring-your-own-reusable bag, but if you don't, it will cost you $1.00. It's a good incentive for your pocketbook and for the environment.

My mother-in-law made a good comment that everyone has the responsibility to properly dispose of those horrible plastic bags. She's right. If you do have an overflowing pantry of plastic shopping bags, remember Safeway and Walmart both have a "recycle bin" for plastic bags. Why do they do this? To help recycle them (less than 1% of plastic bags get recycled) AND so those bags don't end up outside blowing in the wind, and across our beautiful earth, never breaking down.... (see my earlier post "Say No to plastic bags").

Lastly, I was at Whole Foods yesterday where I purchased some organic, sulfate-free hair care products (see my earlier post on this). They asked me if I wanted a bag for the bottles and I said no. I would carry the bottles. If you forget your reusable bag and you are just buying a few items, definitely refuse a bag.

You'll feel great walking out to your car knowing you are saving a tree :) I know I did.

Your Hair Doesn't Need Chemicals!

I try to buy as much organic food as I can (and as my family will eat and as we can afford). Organic vegetables and fruit are better for you and do taste better. We eat a lot of organic apples, bananas, and broccoli in our house. Organic apples are so much sweeter and crisper than their traditional counterparts. So if organic foods were better for you, what about organic hair products?

I started looking closer at my hair product labels and realized the ABBA True curls (now called Pure Curls) line that I've been using on my hair and my son's hair is DEA, Sulfate and Paraban free. I wondered why I should care about these things - and were these chemicals in other products that we use? It turns out that personal care products especially hair products and cosmetics include a lot of chemicals. A good adage is if you dont know what the ingredient is or how to pronounce it, it probably ISN'T good for you. And since hair can absorb chemicals into your bloodstream, you have to be careful about what you put on your hair. I remember when I was pregnant, I was told not to dye my hair for fear the dye might get absorbed into the bloodstream and affect the fetus.

As you can imagine the list of chemicals used in our hair products is very long, here are two key ones to look out for. I chose these because they seem to be in a lot of things we use on a daily basis. And then after your check your shampoo and conditioner bottles, check you skin care, soaps and hand sanitizers (yes we found out the Purell and Germ-X hand sanitizers list propylene glycol)

Sulfates (names used: SLS, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium laureth sulfate, Ammonium lauryl sulfate, and ammonium laureth sulfate)

These are chemical surfactants. A surfactant means literally "surface acting". It acts on the surface of something to break up grease and dirt. These are very controversial ingredients. Studies have shown that some of these chemicals in combination with other chemicals in shampoo cause nitrates in the body (nitrates are a proven cancer producing substance).

More references that you might interest you or SCARE you (they did me!)

SLS can damage the immune system; causing separation of skin layers and inflammation of skin. -Journal of the American College of Toxicology; Vol. 2, No. 7, 1983

SLS penetrates into the skin and into the eyes, and is also held in the brain, heart and liver. A single drop stays in the brain and body for a few days - Doctor's worry: Is your baby safe? -By David L. Kern, New health and longevity

SLS denatures proteins of eye tissues - impairing eye development permanently. -Dr. Keith Green, PHD, D.Sc., Medical College of Georgia

SLS is a mutagen. It is capable of changing the information in genetic material found in cells. SLS has been used in studies to induce mutagen in bacteria. -Higuchi, Araya and Higuchi, school of medicine, Tohoku University: Sendai 980 Japan

SLS is a potent carcinogen when contaminated with a nitrosamines. -FDA Report 1978

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Propylene Glycol (and PEG)

This chemical is used as a humectant, a moisturizer. It is used in industrial antifreeze and and brake fluid. YUCK! Isn't that enough to make you want to stop using anything with it? You'll find it in lots of hair products and skin care products, soaps, creams, lotions, and other foods (check your vanilla extract!) and cosmetics. Also check anti-perspirants and underarm deodorants and yes hand sanitizers.

The material safety data sheet (MSDS) for propylene glycol says that contact with the skin can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage. The Environmental Protection Agency lists it as a toxic substance and when disposed of it is considered hazardous waste and must be treated as such. This particular chemical is the most common moisture-carrying vehicle, other than water, in cosmetics. It is less expensive than glycerin and permeates the skin better but is linked to serious reactions. It's an inexpensive chemical replacement for more natural ingredients.


Should we worry about this? Why take a chance? It makes me wonder why cancer cases have skyrocketed since chemicals came into broad use. It seems safer to steer away from the chemicals and go natural. Be good to your hair and body and go organic.

So I went through each product in the bathroom and just threw away any bottle I found with these ingredients. My mom did too. And it was a frustrating and disappointing to find out that many of my favorite products and trusted products like Johnson & Johnson baby products listed these ingredients. But if other products were available (and there are) that DIDN'T contain them, I would use those. Full stop.

And so our family is using many products in the ABBA line (all great), and I've just purchased a few products from Aubrey Organics (available at Whole Foods) to add to my hair arsenal. Also California Baby make wonderful products that are organic and chemical free. My boys LOVE California Baby's Overtired and Cranky bubble bath (you can even blow bubbles while they bathe!).

I remember when I was a teenager and my mom told me that mayonnaise was a good hair conditioner. It seemed crazy back then, but it makes sense now. Natural is good - you don't need the chemicals to look good.

Say NO to plastic bags! (and paper too!)

Please, please, please bring your own bag when you shop. Plastic bags end up everywhere and take 100+ years to break down! They can harm wildlife and the beauty around us. Each year 1 million birds and sea mammals die from plastic bag ingestion and entanglement. Did you know that less than 1% of plastic bags get recycled? Do something about it and carry reusable bags with you - there are some great ones available. I was just given some Costco reusable bags and they are wonderfully strong and big - enough to carry home the groceries. From Walmart to Trader Joes, reusable bags are available. The key is to use them!

This is a sad picture of hundreds of plastic bags stuck in the trees on Pulehu Road on Maui.

Made-in-China = Dangerous & Poor Quality, Part 1

We decided to have a China-free Christmas in 2007. No products Made-in-China would be given or received.   Easy to say but a bit challenging to do when you have young children who are into trains and cars.  My boys have been into the Wooden Thomas & Friends (recalled in 2007 for lead contamination) since they were 1, and I hate to say that we own A LOT of it!  So when making this decision for Christmas to boycott China products, I also wanted to find good products that my boys would love. 
 
I hate to generalize and say everything Made-in-China is bad but I haven't found any good reasons to say Made-in-China is good.  From the recalls on millions of toys in 2007 (because of high levels of lead), contaminated toothpaste, the hundreds of brands of pet food contaminated from China, and cheaply made and fake everything from Ray-Bans to Gucci purses (what's real these days?).   At my local mall, you can spot hundreds of teenage girls sporting the latest Louis Vuitton purse (but is it real?).    After a trip to Paris a few years ago, I am now versed on how to spot the fakes and as a Louis Vuitton owner,  I am outraged by all the Made-in-China fakes out there!  It truly dilutes the brand and makes me consider alternatives like up-and-coming designers that have NOT been "faked". 

The latest recall news is surreal — toy beads from China called Aqua Dots (sold by Spin Master) coated with a chemical that can turn into a toxic "date-rape" drug when ingested.    By the way, these toys were aimed at 4-year-olds and were on the top 50 toy lists for Christmas!  That was it for me.  I am never going to take a risk of putting my kids in any danger. Consider the added benefit of not buying China made products. You can contribute to a renaissance of U.S. manufacturing jobs that are today decimated by cheap China imports. 

So we successfully conquered Christmas with non-China toys - lots of toys made in Denmark, Germany, US (yes they exist) and UK.  It has become a routine process in our family now, whenever we shop, we turn the product over or find the garment tag to see where it's made.  And don't be fooled by high end brands.  North Face and Ralph Lauren for example are almost solely made in China.  And Burberry sells a few items Made-in-China (can you believe it?).  Most athletic shoes and children's shoes in general are made in China.  But with a little determination and detective work, you CAN find brands that make their products elsewhere.  

And when you do buy something from China, just think about the safety risks, poor quality, child labor, filthy warehouses and unscrupulous business practices - it's enough to rethink your labels.  For me, China also equals cheap. It may cost a bit more to buy in US or in Europe, but you are buying better products, safer products (Europe for example has extremely strict safety standards and some companies conform to strict textile standards called Oeko-Tex they use textiles WITHOUT harmful substances). For Christmas I purchased my husband a pair of Diesel jeans Made-in-Italy for $225.  Yes, they cost a bit more than your China-made Levis but worth it.  Look at your labels and think about it - and start asking for US made or not Made-in-China products.

Before I place an online order now, I always email the company and ask where the product is made.  It is a cumbersome process but for me it's worth it. My boys will be needing summer sandals and so my search has already begun.  I have to pass up the cool Keens, Merrells, Crocs, and Stride Rites.  All made in China.  And I am not proud to say I own all those brands (last years shoes for the boys) but this year will be different!   I am now looking at Naturino, Primigi, Birkenstock, and Dansko brands that are made in Italy and other parts of Europe. Instead of 2 or 3 pairs of shoes, I may have to settle on one good (and expensive) pair!

Lastly, a recent trip to Ikea was eye-opening.  Instead of the aisles and aisles of Made-in-China products found at Target, Crate and Barrel and Walmart, you can find products made in Sweden, France, Belguim, Turkey, India, etc.  I did come across a few products made in China - but there were A LOT more from other countries!  It's definitely made me rethink Ikea.

Have you checked your labels today????  Hopefully at least one isn't Made in China!  Don't be cheap, be SMART.  Don't buy products Made in China.

Eco-friendly plastic bottled water? A Scam is a Scam is a Scam

Like coffee, we consume a lot of water in our house. I have to tell you that up until about 3 months ago, we were the ones loading several cases of bottled water from Costco into our truck every couple of weeks. And so there it was, a convenient bottle of pure water available to us anytime we wanted. And it looked good in our Sub Zero fridge - organized in several rows, sitting at attention everytime we opened the fridge door begging us to drink up. This post is about a lot of things gone bad...bottled water, bottled water in PLASTIC bottles, and marketing "eco-friendly" bottled water! I was at Costco and saw the New and Improved "eco-friendly" bottled water by Arrowhead (more on that later). I thought, "Wow, this is bad, really bad." This is almost like BMW when they show wind turbines in the car commercials when their cars have nothing to do with wind turbines. It's cool to be green these days and the companies are keen to it. Why is the eco-friendly plastic water bottle a scam? Consider the issues of water quality, fuel consumption and plastic concerns.

I have been reading a lot about bottled water, the quality myth (it's not better quality) and the huge toll it puts on the environment with the fuel needed to truck the water to stores and the bottles that dont get recycled because it's not convenient. Not to mention that bottled water costs 1000 times more than dear old TAP water. Did you know that some brands of bottled water were no better than TAP and TAP water is actually treated more thoroughly. And did you know that some of your favorite bottled waters are actually TAP water just in convenient plastic bottles? For example, Aquafina sold in Michigan comes from the city of Detroit's water system. Dasani sold in Michigan is also Detroit city water; and the Propel sold in Michigan is flavored water from municipal water systems in Indianapolis and New Jersey, company officials said.

If you want to find out if you are a "daft" consumer when it comes to bottled water, check out the article in The Economist The Economist is good reading if your brain is receptive :) The net net is that Pepsi (Aquafina) and Coke (Dasani) promote bottled water as a healthier alternative to tap water when those products are, in fact, purified tap water. So now what do you believe?

So while I haven't completed transitioned to tap water, I have stopped buying any bottled water and now go to a neighborhood water store and fill 4 GLASS 3 gallon bottles that we use to dispense our water. And due to lead concerns, we did not opt for a ceramic crock but instead a hand-powered pump (it works fine and does wonders for the biceps). Some day I will transition to tap but because of the water concerns in our own city and because I have young children, I will continue to fill up at the water store to be sure the water is thoroughly processed.

I recommend you try this if you still drinking from bottles, you'll be doing a lot for the environment and for your health (no plastic). And not to mention your kitchen - you free up space in your pantry and your fridge - it's very liberating! I recommend the glass bottles over the plastic ones - they are more expensive and the store usually has to order, BUT they wont leach harmful chemicals (BPA) into your water and into your body (yes plastic is bad) but the water in glass bottles just twinkles and looks so pure and wonderful! Glass is back in vogue!

Okay now about the eco-friendly water bottles by Arrowhead this is an attempt by the company to get on the "environment" bandwagon. It's still bottled so it takes fuel to get it to you, it's still tap water, and it's still in plastic bottle (which is bad for your health and adds to recycling problems).

More on the plastic concerns later - I have a ton of stuff on that (soon to be organized on a website) and I want to keep you coming back... so stay tuned. In the meantime, drink up, but drink sensibly - from your TAP (check your local municipal water company's latest quality report) or try switching from bottles to 3-5 gallon water bottles to dispense your pure water.

And if you are looking for the new chic bottles to tote your water in, Check out SIGG and Klean Kanteen. We have purchased both products for the whole family - they even make a sippy for the kids (our boys love them!). The great thing is they are reusable, cool looking AND NO PLASTIC!!!! (there are lots of horomone disrupting chemicals in plastic that leach out into your drinks... more on that in another post...)

Thirsty now?

Fair Trade Anyone? Has Coffee become like Big Oil?

First off, I am a coffee addict.  Between me and my husband, we drink 10+ cups of coffee per day.  We are "Peetniks" and get 3 lbs of coffee beans delivered from Peets every 14 days directly to our mailbox.  Up until recently, I didn't give coffee much thought other than did I have enough for the next cup?! 

Then I happened to catch a documentary on PBS called Black Gold  It was a eye-opening story of how the coffee farmers of the world get basically nothing for their products and hard labor.  These are very poor farmers trying to make a living just like us - and hopefully send their children to school, an opportunity they didn't have.  They only get a few cents per lb of coffee beans produced.  They live poorly.   Many of these farmers live under plastic tarps with their families and most lose their farms after harvest because they profited nothing the harvest prior.  But Fair Trade practices are giving farmers a chance - fair pay for their coffee and in return we get organic coffee that is better tasting (I think) and better for the environment (fair trade coffee uses no pesticides and instead relies on migratory birds to eat the bugs).  How good is that?  Ask for Fair Trade coffee!

So I challenge you to ask Peets and Starbucks for their Fair Trade brewed coffee when you make your coffee stop - the story is they will sell you beans but wont brew the coffee (because it costs them too much and they can make a killing on the non- Fair Trade coffees!).  But if we keep asking, maybe things will change.  If we were to get them to brew a Fair Trade coffee as "coffee of the day", there will be more demand for fair trade coffee, the farmers will get more reasonable pay, we get better coffee and the cycle continues.  If you buy the other types of coffee, you are only contributing  to the coffee problem and support the Big 4 Coffee Companies who are making a killing selling coffee to us (Nestle, Kraft, Sara Lee, and Proctor & Gamble).  They represent the largest buyers (more than 50%) of coffee beans in the world.  You can read here where Starbucks and other beans come from    

Also I was impressed to read what universities are doing to support Fair Trade coffee, UCSC has gotten the school to serve only Fair Trade coffee - along with Berkeley, Harvard (their famous Quincy dining hall serves only Fair Trade and is about to offer Fair Trade bananas! Go Crimsons!) to name a few.... Fair Trade is an educated choice too!

I have made a personal pledge to only buy organic Fair Trade coffees from here on out.  My Peetniks order contains only that type - and I am seriously looking at a few Fair Trade Coffee company alternatives: Grounds for Change  and Higher Grounds Roasters .  I would like to find an alternative to Peets that specializes and supports soley Fair Trade coffee.   I will give you a review later of whatever we end up purchasing.  So far, the Peets Fair Trade Blend is good - in taste it's not much different than Major Dickensons blend. 

Look for Fair Trade certification, Organic, and Fair Trade Federation when shopping for coffee.Right now we need more awareness about the coffee industry, economics of coffee and what you and I can do about it. 

you try to keep your kids safe...

I've been wanting to write this stuff down for awhile. So with encouragement from my husband to create a website and blog, I am finally doing it. Actually it turns out he wants a "URL" to give to folks when they ask how he knows what he knows. This is a convenient place to share the information I find - a convenient place for the truth (get it?).

If you are a parent, you know that kids change you, and change your view of the world, and the information given to you. You become distrustful of everything and for good reason. With the plethora of recalls, warnings, alerts about everything from baby bottles to your old crock pot, you really have to be an advocate for yourself and your family. There's a lot of information out there, and finally with the web you can access it and make decisions for yourself.

This is a place I will post things about anything to do with the environment - from what we eat to what we wear. I am also working on a web site that will organize and archive all the research (soon to be launched!). I hope you get something out of it - and benefit from the information. I am doing it for my children. We do have choices and the choices we make can and will make an impact on them and the environment. And if you don't have kids - you will also find some of the information useful - I hope.

Let me know your burning questions - what have you been worried about lately? Maybe I can find the information and post it.