Featured Do-Gooder: Green Bloggers

From time to time Smart Family Tips will feature an organization that is a “Do-Gooder”: a group that works to help both people and the environment. The Do-Gooders may be companies, nonprofits, or any organized group that focuses its efforts on making the world a better place.

Today’s Do-Gooder is actually a Do-Good group: green bloggers. There’s no question that bloggers have enormous influence. If readership is any indication, millions of people are reading blogs every day. People create blogs for a variety of reasons, but most of the people who maintain “green” blogs, really are trying to make a difference in the world. Today’s post highlights some of the green blogs that I like and frequent. Some are highly influential, with teams of writers, and others are one man or woman shows, like this one.

General Green Blogs

Treehugger

The Daily Green

The Good Human

Allie’s Answers

The Greenest Dollar

Lighter Footstep

Enviroblog

The Alternative Consumer

Fake Plastic Fish

Focus Organic

Big Green Purse

Parent/Kid-Centered Green Blogs

Mom Goes Green

Green and Clean Mom

Non-Toxic Kids

Tiny Choices

Babyminding

This is list is by no means exhaustive, but there’s a lot of reading here. For more green blogs, check out Alltop Green. If you have a favorite green blog, please let me know in the comments.

Overwhelmed? Where to Begin

I was talking with my mother last week. I told her about the lists of personal care and baby/kid products I’d put together based on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. She’s not into computers, so I printed off the personal care list for her to keep in her purse when she’s shopping. Our conversation about safe and unsafe products moved to a discussion of all the “high-hazard” products we’ve been using for years, to why the government allows these products to be sold and on and on. Finally, she commented that while she appreciates my efforts, it all seems so overwhelming. Things are such a mess with regulation and there are so many hazards out there, it makes her feel like putting her head in the sand. While she won’t actually do this, I’ve been thinking about what she said. It is overwhelming. There is so much work to be done, and so much mess to be undone, as far as chemical and toxin regulation goes. And that’s just one aspect of what concerns me about the world my children are growing up in. I’m glad I’m more aware than I used to be, but at the same time, the problems often seem insurmountable. When I look at all of the issues I read about: so much waste, not enough recycling, over-consumption,  overpopulation, big agriculture, greenwashing, unfair wages for the working poor. . . you get the idea. If you’re reading this blog, I imagine these are areas that concern you, too.

So what do we do? Most of us won’t bury our heads in the sand, even though sometimes we may like to. But, we can’t solve all the problems on our own, either. This is what has worked for me so far:

Start somewhere. Yes the problems are many, but pick one, any one, and do something. Even if it’s one small thing. Something is always better than nothing.

Remember that you do not live in a vacuum. While your one small thing may seem insignificant, there are millions of people all over the world who are also doing things, some big, some small. It all adds up.

Educate yourself. The problems are big, but if you take the time to learn more about them, you’ll likely find steps you can take, often with little effort, to make things better.

Commit to being more conscious of your actions and your purchases. Before you toss something out or buy another thing you may not need, take a few seconds to think about it. Does the item really need to be thrown away, or can it still be used. If it can’t, can it be recycled in some way? Do you really need to purchase another — fill in the blank or can you make do just fine with what you have?

For those of you looking for specific things you can do to improve the state of the world and the health and safety of you and your family, here’s a list:

Start recycling. Many communities offer curbside recycling. Most others have recycling drop-off points. Check out your options.

Print off the lists of safer products for you and your kids and take them with you when you shop. If you switch out just one high-hazard product you normally use for one that is safer, you’ll be better off. Most, if not all, of these products are available in stores you frequent anyway. There’s no great effort involved, and probably no more expense.

Buy better food. Barbara Kingsolver points out in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, that Americans will spend loads of money on everything except their food. The one place we always seem to want to cut costs is with the food we put in our bodies. Go for more real food, less processed stuff. If you eat meat, buy from farmers who raise their animals without hormones or antibiotics.

Switch out your incandescent bulbs for CFL’s. They’ll last a lot longer and save you money in electricity.

Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

Use a car wash instead of washing your car at home. It uses much less water anyway and many car wash facilities recycle most of their water.

Some of these suggestions are more involved than others, but nearly all of them ask you to simply stop and think about your habits. The problems and dangers in the world are incredibly overwhelming, but we must try to find the “space” Al Gore mentioned in An Inconvenient Truth, “between denial and despair.” Each step counts. What step will you take?

Budget Green (and Safe): Baby & Kid Products


Last week I posted a list of low-hazard personal care products based on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. You can read more about the database and search products here, or use the permanent button in the sidebar. My goal was to highlight products that are relatively inexpensive, but readily available in drugstores, grocery stores, and places like Target.

This week, I’ve created a similar list; this one consists exclusively of baby and kid personal care products.

According to EWG, the hazard ratings are

0-2 Low Hazard

3-6 Moderate Hazard

7-10 High Hazard

Baby & Kid Products

Shampoo

1 California Baby Shampoo & Body Wash Super Sensitive; Tea Tree & Lavender; Swimmer’s Defense

2 Tom’s of Maine Baby Shampoo & Body Wash, Jasmine

2 Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo, Lightly Scented

2 California Baby Shampoo & Body Wash, Calming

3 Huggies Baby Wash Extra Sensitive, Fragrance Free

3 Huggies Tear-Free Baby Shampoo, Extra Sensitive

3 Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo with Natural Lavender

4 Johnson & Johnson’s Head-to-Toe Baby Wash, Originial

4 J & J Buddies Instant-Foam, Easy Rinse Shampoo

4 J & J Softwash Shampoo

4 J & J Baby Shampoo, Original; Honey & Vitamin E; 2-in-1 Detangler; with Natural Chamomile; 2-in1 Extra Conditioning

4 Huggies Natural Care Wash

4 Huggies Baby Shampoo, Extra Gentle; Nourishing with Mango, Coconut & Aloe

4 Huggies Naturally Refreshing Hair & Body Wash

4 CVS Baby Wash, Regular and Tear-Free

4 Walgreen’s Tear-Free Baby Shampoo

4 Aveeno Body Wash & Shampoo

4 Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash; also, Shampoo Bar

The worst offenders (those with the highest hazard ratings) in this category are Baby Magic products, Huggies Toddler 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner, Bubblin’ Berry, Johnson & Johnson Soothing Naturals Gift Set, which all rated a 7.

Bubble Bath

0 Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment

2 California Baby Bubble Bath (all fragrances)

4 Johnson & Johnson Soothing Vapor Bath

4 Rite Aid Night Time Baby Bath, Tearless with Lavender & Chamomile

4 CVS Baby Bath, Lavender & Chamomile

4 Johnson & Johnson Bedtime Bath

The highest rated products in this category, again, belong to Baby Magic with a 7.

Diaper Cream

0 Rite Aid Zinc Oxide Ointment

0 Vaseline Pure Petroleum Jelly Jar for Baby, Creamy Formula, Enriched with Vit. E

1 Aquaphor Hydrophor Baby Diaper Rash Ointment

1 Badger Diaper Cream

2 Balmex Extra Protective Clear Ointment

2 Boudreaux’s Butt Paste (I used this with my daughters and it was great for getting rid of diaper rash, fast!)

2 Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment (This was the other product I used; it works really well on chapped skin.)

2 California Baby Diaper Rash Cream

2 Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment

3 Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Diaper Rash Cream

4 Walgreens Zinc Oxide Ointment

4 Balmex Diaper Rash Ointment (Zinc Oxide) with Aloe & Vit. E

4 A+D Diaper Rash Cream, Original; and with Zinc Oxide

4 Aveeno Diaper Rash Cream, Fragrance-Free

4 Desitin Clear Ointment

4 Johnson & Johnson Baby Diaper Rash Cream

Baby Lotion

0 Vaseline Pure Petroleum Jelly Jar for Baby, Creamy Formula, Enriched with Vit. E

1 Badger Baby Balm, Certified Organic

2 Aveeno Daily Baby Moisturizing Lotion

2 California Baby Every Day Lotion, Calming; and Super Sensitive

3 CVS Petroleum Jelly, Lavender & Chamomile

4 Aveeno Calming Comfort Baby Lotion

4 Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Skin Cream; and Buttermilk Lotion

5 Huggies Baby Lotion, Extra Sensitive

The worst in this category are most Johnson & Johnson lotions and some Huggies lotions with ratings from 7-9.

Wipes

*See Update at Bottom of Post*

2 Seventh Generation Chlorine-Free Baby Wipes; also, Unscented with Aloe & Vit. E

3 Pampers Wipes, Natural Aloe, Unscented

4 CVS Ultra Soft Cloths

4 Pampers Sensitive Wipes

4 Huggies Supreme; also, Natural Care Wipes

Toothpaste (baby)

3 Gerber Toddler Tooth & Gum Cleanser, Natural Mixed Berry Flavor

3 Spiffies Tooth Wipes

3 Oral-B Stages 1 Baby Tooth & Gum Cleanser

3 Gerber Grins & Giggles Infant Tooth & Gum Cleanser

Toothpaste (kids)

1 Tom’s of Maine Goofy Grape Liquid Toothpaste, Fluoride-Free

1 Burt’s Bees Doctor Burt’s Children’s Toothpaste

2 Tom’s of Maine Natural, Fluoride-Free Toothpaste for Kids

3 Kiss My Face Kids Toothpaste

4 Crest Kids Spider-Man Super Action Liquid Gel

4 Crest Wild Expressions Fluoride, Anti-cavity Toothpaste Liquid

4 Crest Neat Squeeze Toothpaste for Kids

4 Oral-B Stages Mickey Mouse Toothpaste

4 Aquafresh Kids Fluoride Toothpaste with Triple Protection

4 Aquafresh Mary Kate & Ashley Toothpaste

4 Colgate Children’s Anti-cavity Fluoride Toothpaste

4 REACH Anti-cavity Fluoride Toothpaste

4 Tom’s of Maine Natural Anti-cavity Fluoride Toothpaste for Children

If you haven’t already, please see the post on Budget Green (and Safe): Personal Care for adults.

I’d like to reiterate that you should be careful not to go with an entire product line because they have a few low-rated items. Check the list first. I’ve found a wide range of ratings in different products within the same line.

If you have experience with any of these products and would like to let the rest of us know how effective you think they are, please write about them in the comments.

Update (4/7/09): After reading a comment from Elena, I’ve learned about Tushies Baby Wipes. They, too, are very safe (rating a 1) as long as you go with the unscented version. Scented varieties rate a 4. I’ve not seen them in my local stores, but they may be available in your area. They are available on Amazon.com, too.

Photo Credit: BigTallGuy