EnviroMom

Healthy sunscreen, take 59

Oh how we've talked about sunscreen. In fact we're talking about it right now over at ReadySetMom. But I thought we'd talk about it here (once again) because the EnviroMom community has exploded nationwide in the past year, and I'm sure we can get some fresh insight.

The Environmental Working Group put together an exhaustive database that looked at the ingredients of cosmetics and ranked them by Low Hazard (0-2), Moderate Hazard (3-6) and High Hazard (7-10). It's really a great resource, though it does freak me out because I can't seem to get any of my hair or skin care products into the Low Hazard range. On the sunscreen side, they rank the following as the having the lowest hazard:

• California Baby SPF 30+ Sunblock Stick, No Frangrance
• Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen
• California Baby SPF 30+ Sunblock Stick Everyday/Year-Round
• Keep Solar RX Therapeutic Sunblock SPF 30
• TruKid Sunny Days Facestick SPF30+ Mineral Sunscreen, UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum

There are dozens more that rank a Total Score of 1-2 (Low) but their Health Hazard scores might be in the Moderate range. So you'd think, well, just run out and buy one of those top 5 sunscreens listed above, right? But over at ReadySetMom we heard a couple people say that Badger is really, really horribly greasy. Ew. (Though one mom did have tips for making it less greasy.) And it also seems that a lot of these 'healthy' brands are much more expensive than their Coppertone counterparts. This wouldn't be a deterrent to me, but lots of people just can't afford it.

So we ask the question once again: have you used any of the above products or other sunscreens ranked Low Hazard on the EWG database, and do you love them? Hate them?

Summer Clothesline Challenge 2008: bring it on

Hot enough for ya? Nothing like a little 80-90+ degree weather to make you want to sit on the back porch and watch laundry dry in the sun.

Frankly, I'm glad to be here. It took me a while to get up the gumption to hang my clothing out to dry. Nothing against the ol' solar clothes dryer. I just felt inhibited. I mean, NONE of my neighbors hang their clothes out to dry. Then there was that big stink in Bend last year about the lady trying to do the green thing by hanging out her laundry and violating the CCRs of some hoity-toity affluent bedroom community. So while I agreed whole-heartedly about using clotheslines, doing it myself held some hangups I needed to get past. But the good news is the procrastination technique worked for me. It helped me to figure out how to set up a clothesline in our minimal yard with minimal expense, and only minimally impacting anyone's view. What also became clear after a bit of trial and error was that stringing it between two hedges required a little support, which was fixed by one of those metal shepherd's hooks.

So, let me just say that I was ready when I saw Gift of Green's Clothesline Challenge. I signed up at the Advanced level (thankyouverymuch). And we've been rocking it so far. Here's the process:

1. Read the weather forecast.
2. Rant and rave when those bleeping bleeps lie to us and tell us it's going to be hot and dry, and then it just rains, and rains, and rains.
3. Gather dirty clothing when the rain ceases.
4. Wash on cold. (I don't know why I'm still sorting. Old habits die hard.)
   
5. Hang to dry early in the morning.
6. Late in the day, pop open a beer, admire the view of Mount St. Helens, watch the laundry dry, and try to remember to fold it before putting the kids to bed.

Granted, it's only May, but we've solar dried about 6 loads of laundry so far. Did my whites yesterday. Need to go hang up the darks today.

The fine print: I am claiming the socks and underwear exemption. I shall not, will not, hang out my undies for neighbors to see. And the socks simply take too much dang time to hang up.

Do you have one of the hot-selling latest new-fangled high-tech solar clothes dryers in your back yard?

Earth-friendly deck cleaner?

The sun is out, and we all want to be out on our decks grilling up some tasty vittles. But first things first...gotta get the deck ready. Leah is looking for an earth-friendly alternative to those nasty chemical deck cleaners:

Hi Enviromoms, do your readers have suggestions for an earth friendly deck cleaning solution? We built a deck last fall and it started to rain for the winter before we were able to seal/stain it. Someone suggested to us that we scrub it with a solution of water, bleach and Spic-n-Span cleaner to get it back to a more natural color before we seal it...doesnt sound very earth friendly to me! Any ideas on what I can scrub it with to get rid of some of the grey?

Any suggestions for Leah?

Major US Car Seat Makers: tell them what you think about car seat recycling

One of our readers, Kerry, who is very interested in bringing car seat recycling to Bozeman, Montana recently emailed that she contacted Graco, the company that manufactured her child's car seat. She told them she'd be very interested in a "take back" program or a way to recycle the car seat. As you can imagine, their response wasn't very promising:

Kerry, thank you for contacting Graco. Unfortunately, at this time we do not have a recycling program for our car seats. If you need further assistance, please contact us again.

As Kerry puts it, Graco is "letting a marketing opportunity just pass them by!" Well put Kerry, I couldn't agree with you more! We, the moms who dutifully buy and install and ensure the safety of our children while driving in car seats, want to find a way to recycle expired car seats across the US. If we all write to our car seat manufacturers, they might actually start paying attention.

Right now, we have two Britax car seats, and two Graco boosters. I'm going to write to these manufacturers, and I hope you will join me in doing so:

Dear Car Seat Manufacturer,
Thank you for making a product that protects the safety of my child while in the car. We chose your product because we felt it was rated high in safety, ease of use and was affordable. What's troubling is that many car seats don't get recycled at their end of life. We don't want to hand-down a seat to a friend or family member if it is too old. But we do want to recycle it. We live in a city that actually offers car seat recycling, where they can dismantle and recycle 95% of each seat. What you could do, on the manufacturing end of things, is make car seats that are easy for real people to take apart: design for disassembly. Here in the US, most families buy a lot of car seats, since the safety of our children is important. But so is our environment. Most people would recycle their car seats given the opportunity. I know I will. Please consider making your car seats easier to recycle, with design for disassembly as part of your process, and I will continue to support your products and encourage my friends with kids to purchase them.

Here are some of the major car seat manufacturers in the US if you would like to contact them, and tell them your thoughts about car seat recycling and design for disassembly:

• Graco
• Chicco
• Britax
• Maxi-Cosi
• Peg Perego
• Baby Trend
• Combi International
• Evenflo

Most of their web sites say they would love to hear from us!!

Ding, dong: it's the napkin lady!

As part of our talk with the kinders yesterday, I decided to make a few cloth napkins. That way, not only do they leave the talk whistling Jack Johnson's catchy "3 R's" tune (sing it with me now: "We got to learn to Reduce, Reuse, Recyle! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!"); they leave with a reuse item in hand: yes, the glorious cloth napkin. Cloth napkins are becoming my signature item. I made some for our preschool auction, and believe it or not, they were hot sellers. I made some for my daughter's birthday party in place of a goody bag. It all started prior to this school year, with our t-shirt tie-dye napkins.

I cannot believe I forgot to take a picture of the auction napkins. Where is my brain half of the time? I do have some leftover cloth, so you get an idea of what those look like. I finished them with bright lime green bias tape, and although they weren't super hard to make, they would be a challenge if you'd never sewn before (folding the tape at the corners was a bit tricky). The ones I made this time were so simple. I used printed knit fabrics -- polka dots and pirate maps -- that I hope will not fray at the edges. They didn't require any sewing, which I thought might be a good inspiration for the moms out there who wish they were like Angry Chicken (me! me!) but are not. In any case, the kids seemed to like them, and I hope we inspire a new group of kids to Reduce and Reuse in the cloth napkin department.

Kindergarteners are ready to be Friends of the Environment!

As an incentive to fill out a survey, the Oregon Environmental Council sent me a kid-sized organic cotton t-shirt that says 'Eco-Kid'. I gave it to my daughter who asked, "What's an Eco-Kid?" I told her that it means she is a friend of the environment. "Friend of the Environment? Sounds like a superhero. Cool." Ever since then, whenever we talk about good things we can do for the planet, she always refers to herself as a Friend of the Environment (and flexes her tiny bicep).

Today Renee and I spoke to a class of kindergarteners about Reduce / Reuse / Recycle. We tried to make it as simple and basic as possible, and they totally got it. A lot of them already knew what should and should not go into the curbside recycling bin. They could tell us that using cloth napkins and reusable water bottles were better than paper and toss-away plastic. They practically rolled their eyes when I asked which juice container produced less waste: the big glass jug or the 6-pack of juice boxes. Then we looked at what some kids brought for their snack and talked about what could be recycled, reused and the potential for reducing their waste. I was just blown away by the collective smarts of these kids. Obviously their parents and teachers are sharing the right messages. These kids are primed to be Friends of the Environment.

Sometimes I forget how eager kids this age are to learn. They are learning so much already: reading, writing, addition and subtraction, geography, and how to navigate the social scene. Their minds are like sponges (unlike the 30-something year old mind, which is more sieve-like), and we really need to start taking advantage of it! It's time to plant the seeds of eco-friendly behavior in our young children! If you're looking for ideas, check out our index of KidTips and the Outdoor Kids series. And please share your breakthroughs with the EnviroMom community -- we, too, are eager to learn how to raise a Friend of the Environment.

HappyBaby organic food: do you want some yum-yum?

Do you talk to your baby like this at mealtime:

Who's ready for some yum-yum? Open your mouth wide! Here comes the airplane. Coming in for a landing. A big plane filled with organic, premium yumminess!!

Well, if you have a baby who's a goooooood eater, we have a give-away for you! Our fabulous site sponsor HappyBaby has free HappyBaby Organic Cereal and two coupons for any HappyBaby Organic Frozen Baby Food of your choice, and an organic baby t-shirt (please don't eat the t-shirt). You also will win the opportunity to do a HappyBaby food review here on EnviroMom.com.

Interested? Send us an email telling us why you think it's important to eat organic, and you will be in the running for this great prize package. Emails must be received by noon Pacific time on Wednesday, May 14.

eWaste awareness: not all electronics go to heaven

I've written how I didn't always know that much about eWaste. I understand there are some great, informative videos that vividly show the eWaste crisis -- i.e., sending them off to developing nations to disassemble toxic components. But I haven't taken the time to watch them. So that's why I'm pleased to link to this short documentary "Not all electronics go to heaven" by Portland son Leland Scantlebury, who profiles Green Citizen, an electronics recycler in San Francisco (this is where Scantlebury is going to film school). Prepare to see startling images of toxins spewing in the wind. Children dismantling eWaste. Yet, as the film states: "awareness of the eWaste issue is the number one step in getting people involved":

Green Citizen has two locations: San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In the Portland we recommend Bear eCycling and Free Geek.

Critical mass for car seat recycling

We have people email us from all over the country curious about the car seat recycling events hosted by Legacy Health Systems here in Portland. Over the past week, I've gone back and forth with Tom Badrick, Legacy's Sustainability Coordinator, and Tammy Franks, Legacy's Child Passenger Safety Coordinator. They've been beyond generous with their time and information about Legacy's in-house car seat recycling program. According to Tom and Tammy, here's what's needed to recycle car seats:

• Market for the materials. This is true for any recycling endeavor. You've got to have a market for the materials before it's worthwhile to actually recycle.
• Collection and storage site. Legacy is collecting on their parking lots.
• Labor for disassembly. Legacy has a recycling center and their employees dismantle the car seats, with the recyclables being the plastic, metal and foam. They don't currently recycle the fabric covering, but are recycling and diverting 95% of the materials from landfills. Another important thing Tom mentioned is that design for disassembly is key. Some seats are easier to disassemble than others. Manufacturers need to know that this is an important component in making car seats.
• A way to transport materials for recycling

So, I put this out there for communities interested in setting up their own car seat recycling programs (these are recommendations from Tammy Franks):

• Find a willing partner who already has a recycling program in place for other similar items
• Have volunteers willing to dismantle the car safety seats (this can be a time-consuming process)
• Start small and build BIG as you get the processes in place. (Legacy started with word-of-mouth and a flyer for promotion in July 2007. Now, they are featured on websites, recycling newsletters, etc. and have recycled 600+ seats to date).
• Legacy's biggest challenge is establishing drop-off points. People like the convenience of a drop-off location but with unmanned drop-offs it could be tempting for someone to take an expired or unsafe car safety seat (generally, seats are deemed unsafe if they've been in an accident or are older than 6 years).

If you are reading about this from outside the Portland Metro area, and are wondering if you could mail your old car seat to them for recycling... Not such a good idea. Fossil fuels burned getting the seat to Portland pretty much negate the effort of recycling. Plus, Legacy's local program does not have the bandwidth to take in all the expired car seats in the US.

So here's the $64,000 question: Is it time for a national car seat recycling program? Don't ask me. I'd say: YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!!!! As parents, buying a car seat is pretty much a fact of life. Even if you only have one child -- it's usually required that you get an infant seat, a toddler/convertible, and ultimately the booster. That's a lot of seats per kid. Plus, it's news to many parents that car seats have expiration dates. I think people want to do the right thing, and the Portland Legacy car seat recycling program is proving that it can be done.

Would you recycle your child's expired car seat if you had the option to do so? Do you feel it's time for a national car seat recycling program? Would you write to car seat manufacturers about the importance of design for disassembly? If you comment, please let us know where you live, how many seats your family will use during your children's car seat years, and if you are ready to be part of the "critical mass" to let car seat manufacturers know it's time for a national program to take back and recycle those old car seats!!

Build a green dollhouse

Or just check out these photos. This is really pretty cool: In 2005, the Green Building Committee of Sustainable San Mateo County (geesh, what a mouthful) held a green dollhouse competition as a way to raise money for its programs. Seventeen dollhouses were built by folks from all over, sent to San Mateo, judged and then auctioned off. The dollhouses had to demonstrate green building principles like energy efficiency and passive solar design, plus they had to function as a dollhouse for a child (i.e. be fun).

The houses are so cool! I love the Monopoly Manor with that bathtub made from a Formula 409 bottle and the Wonder Bread bag shower curtain. Brilliant! It's all a bit too ambitious for me, fairy-house building is a bit more my speed, but I love that other folks have this kind of ingenuity and craftsmanship. These houses just make me happy.

Do you purify your air?

It seems like I'm always reading how the air inside our homes is much worse than the air outdoors. I think it has to do with modern construction -- that our homes are much tighter, and air doesn't circulate as well. Also, certain materials like nylon carpets or laminate flooring can be off-gassing, which contributes to nasty air. We can't all afford to rip our homes apart and rebuild with all green materials, so is an air purifier the answer?

First, how do you know you have bad air? Do you have to be suffering or have some sort of reaction to detect the bad air? Or can you have it tested? Secondly, if you have an air purifier has it made a big difference? There are a ton out there, so how do you know what to get? My husband's doctor recommended an air purifier in our bedroom for health reasons, and we've done some cursory research. But it is overwhelming...and expensive! Any insight?

BYOB: envirosax and chico bags

You may be surprised to find out that we don't get a ton of enviro-bling doing this EnviroMom gig. I guess it serves us right, going on and on about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle all the time... But hey, as much as we try to decrease our families' carbon footprints, we like a new bag as much as the next gal. Especially the two new bags we recently got:

• the strong and compact ChicoBag
• the snappy and stylish Envirosax

First off, the ChicoBag. Gotta love that built-in stuff sack and keychain clip. It's made of strong, lightweight, washable nylon. Takes less than a minute to restuff. So essentially, this is your "no excuses" bring your own shopping bag. It fits easily in a purse, on a keychain, etc. so you will always have your reuseable bag with you, no matter where you go. I've found I really like the ChicoBag for non-grocery store type trips (books stores, shoe store, toy store, etc.), although you can certainly use them for the grocery store. I've just got a pile of canvas and polypropylene bags that I usually use for grocery shopping. It ain't broke, so I don't want to tamper with my process! ChicoBags come in a variety of bright colors, they do fundraising sales (I'd sure rather sell ChicoBags than Sally Foster!!). They will print a company logo on them for corporate promotions. They are designed to last years and years and replace all those nasty, polluting plastics bags. There's no packaging involved in buying this product (it comes in its own package). And the kicker: you can recycle them when they "expire" and they will be "repurposed into door mats, dog beds and prayer flags." Oh, and New Seasons sells them locally.

The EnviroSax just came in the mail (thank you to Karen of GreenGirlsGuide -- a recent transplant to the Portland area). There's a part of me that wants to act all evolved, and superior, and anti-fashion -- but then another part goes: there's nothing wrong with pretty! pretty is fun! pretty makes me happy! In any case, you can feel both virtuously green and stylish while shopping with these cute reuseable bags. Envirosax are made of strong, waterproof polyester, they roll up like compact little "sleeping bags" with a built-in snap closure, and carry the equivalent of two plastic grocery bags. They come in hip mom prints, and whimsical kid prints, and can be bought in packs or singles. This one also folds up quickly (less than a minute).

Now you see them, now you don't. Gosh, I could talk about bags forever. And it's not just me. Every time our GreenGroup gets together, we always talk abut bags. I guess it is just such an important part of our daily lives. Shop, reuse bags, repeat. Shop, reuse bags, repeat. It's no wonder we are passionate about our bags. Do you love your ChicoBag or Envirosax?

Could you become a vegetarian (to save the planet)?

OK, let's assume you aren't vegetarian, or vegan for that matter. Could this information sway you to give up meat?:

• One-third of all fossil fuels produced in the US are used to raise animals for food (energy spent raising grain and soy; tilling, irrigation and crop dusting; transportation of food to feedlot and animals to slaughterhouse and dead animals to processing plant; packaging; trucking to the grocery store...multiplied by 10 billion animals per year)
• ...not to mention the air pollution that results from fossil fuels being spent
• Animal manure pollutes the water and sends methane into the air (one dairy cow produces 100 pounds of excrement per day...can this be true?)
• Huge amounts of water are used to feed the animals and grow crops to feed them

I got this info from the folks at GoVeg.com, who of course want you to give up meat. But I've always been aware of the fact that raising animals, particularly cows, for food is detrimental to the planet. We received an email from a reader, which is what has got me asking the question, "Could I give up meat? Or at least beef?" She wrote:

I recently heard on NPR and have read elsewhere that going vegetarian is the best thing you can do for the environment, hands down.  It makes the biggest impact.  It's all about the Energy Pyramid and land use. I'm trying to get back into it.  I've been pretty successful so far.  Not so easy for the rest of the family.

I don't think I could give up meat entirely. I do like chicken. And duck. And a big, juicy steak. Oh, stop! OK, I probably could give up red meat because I did it for five years way back in my 20s. But I'm married to a dedicated carnivore and I've spawned one as well...I just don't think the family would get on board. But if those 'facts' mentioned above are indeed true, well it's pretty awful. For the most part my family buys meat that is raised sustainably: organic chicken from a local farm and grass-fed beef. But considering how much meat the average American consumes, I don't think that small organic animal farms could feed everyone.

Could you give up meat for the planet? And if you have, did you do it cold turkey (ha ha)? No really, do you have any tips for transitioning a meat-eating family to a meat-free one?

Novel approach to the classroom seedling project

Since the dawn of man, children in classrooms all around the world have been growing their very own beans in small containers each spring. In the past six years, my two children alone have brought home sunflowers, zinnias, beans, peas, sunflowers, zinnias, beans, peas and even a patch of grass and one lone radish. Usually they come home in the dreaded styrofoam cups. I don't hate a lot of things, but dang, I hate those cups. Clearly, they have some advantages: lightweight, cheap, insulating. I'm also fairly unenthusiastic about these seedling projects because all the classroom stuff usually goes along swimmingly. They plant, water and take superb care of their little seeds. Then they bring it home, and in that transportation process, all hell breaks loose:

• One little pair of zinnias got accidentally dropped as we got out of the car after preschool. You can only imagine how I dropped it. I was holding a tote bag, a lunch box, my purse, my daughter's jacket, while trying to unbuckle a carseat. Oops. She was devastated. One zinnia pulled through. The other was a goner. My daughter still mourns that poor dead little zinnia.
• One sunflower was placed in the cupholder of my car. I figured I'd take extra special care of it. Didn't want a repeat of the croaked zinnia. Sadly, I forgot about the greenhouse effect while we played a few extra minutes on the playground after school. When we got back to the car, the sunflower was fried.
• Earlier this year, my kindergartner brought home a styrofoam cup with a patch of grass growing in it. I think it came home on a Friday, tucked in her backpack. Usually, I remember to empty the backpack at the end of each day. Oops. Amazingly, the patch of grass was still kicking after a weekend of imprisonment within her zipped pink backpack. Had that patch not rooted so nicely, the dirt would have dumped out, and the grass too would have died a slow, lonely death in the backpack.

Thus, I was joyful (yes, joyful!) when my daughter came home with seedlings for a pea, a radish and a bean. All neatly growing in a paper towel (instead of dirt) folded at the bottom of a zip bag! What a novel approach. With instructions on how to take care of the seedlings for all of us brown thumbs (fairly simple: tape bag to window, keep towel wet, keep baggie top open and transplant when ready). Now that these little plants have survived the trip home, I think we're good. They've been doing great in our sunny kitchen window. Once they are ready to transplant, you simply tear the paper towel into sections, and plant into dirt as you might with a peat pot. Rinse and reuse the zip bag. 

Making a recycling plan

A reader posted this question in the comments section of my Let's Get Ready to Roll Cart post:

Trying to setup my system also and a bit overwhelmed. Do you have a "recycling plan" that you are willing to describe (either in comments here or a new post)? Clearly a weekly part of the plan is to use your curbside recycling. But you also make trips to PLC for styrofoam and you recycle some plastics at the roundups (which happen how often in general)?

Portland and other metro areas around the country offer numerous ways to recycle just about everything. Which is great, right? But it can seem overwhelming trying to get all your recyclables to various locations. I think the most important part is setting up a recycling center where the items can be easily sorted into categories. Because if you don't have a spot for them, you'll just throw them in the trash to get them out of your way. Just tackle it one step at a time, and after awhile you will start to question everything you throw into your garbage can. Here is my inexpert approach to recycling: