Can BPA be Absorbed through the Skin?
It's beginning to look like the answer is YES. Swiss scientists recently found that BPA transfers readily from receipts to skin and can penetrate the skin to a depth that it can't be washed off. So the next question is, can BPA continue traveling a little bit further and end up in the bloodstream? We don't know for certain yet, but EWG's latest report in which they tested several common stores' receipts for BPA makes it a valid concern. They found through testing that BPA on a receipt is 250 to 1,000 times greater than the amount of BPA typically found ...
Can We Have a Heart to Heart?
Keeping your family safe is our passion and we enjoy making your life a little bit easier at the same time. We don't do this often, but we need to give you an update on things. Times are tough and the last year has taken it's toll on our family owned and operated business. We hear the strain in your voice too when you call to ask our advice about avoiding toxic chemicals. We understand that during this economic crunch, it's not always possible to support our research by buying the products you need from us. We want you to know that ...
The Story of Cosmetics: the Ugly Truth of “Toxics In, Toxics Out”
I'm thrilled to be working with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and my partners, 3 Green Angels, to launch a educational push called the Story of Cosmetics today. We'll be hosting a special Twitter party tonight at 8pm CST (using the hashtag #ecowed) to talk about the products we use, learn what's really in them, discuss the health implications and figure out what we can do. And immediately following the special #ecowed with The Story of Cosmetics, we’ll be talking further about toxicants in soaps and detergents with our all-time favorite maker of safe personal care products, Earth ...
Environmental Toxics
The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition just issued a new report synthesizing...
Many Americans have come to the point where they agree that bisphenol-a (BPA) is...
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Buzz
It’s beginning to look like the answer is YES. Swiss scientists recently...
Keeping your family safe is our passion and we enjoy making your life a little bit...
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Shopping Guides
If you’ve been following our search for PVC-free pool toys for long, you know how difficult it can be to find anything. We’ve found that Sassy’s new bath toys make great beach toys in the meantime! We’ve confirmed each of the following to be free of BPA, PVC and pthahlates (just click on each image to take a look at the... [Read more of this review]
We finally decided to tackle blenders, mixers and mills! We’ve confirmed with each manufacture that the following kitchen appliances are free of BPA, PVC and phthalates on all food-contact surfaces: Babycook by Beaba Dex Products Baby Food Processor BabySteps Food Mill by Kidco Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Food Processors and Juicers Combi Mommy’s... [Read more of this review]
Q: I’m looking for safe empty bottles with spray tops and pump tops to use for baby lotions and diaper wash spray. Any ideas on where to buy them? A: We recommend choosing glass spray bottles whenever they can be kept safely out of little hands. Our favorite resource for glass bottles is SKS Bottle Company. They offer sizes up from 1/2... [Read more of this review]
We’ve talked extensively about BPA-based epoxy linings commonly used in aluminum cans, especially in regards to finding BPA-free tomatoes. It was a difficult task because of their acidic nature, but we finally found Pomi. Not even Eden Organics, the leader of the pack, has found a way to go BPA-free in the tomato category just yet. During... [Read more of this review]
We pretty well have the bath toys covered, but what about safe bath tubs and seats? You’ve probably noticed that most of the options out there are marked with a recycling code, making it difficult to know what type of plastic they’re made from. It turns out there is good news! It appears that you can make a pretty safe choice just by... [Read more of this review]
Here we are, coming up on our third year in business and safe bath toys are still difficult to locate! It’s always good news when manufacturers introduces great new bath toys made without toxic plastic. For 2010, all Sassy bath toys are now BPA and phthalate-free and twelve of them are also PVC-free. PVC-free Bath Toys Suds & Sun Visors Soft... [Read more of this review]
UPDATED 1/27/10 (see below) We recently shared our pathetic findings when searching for pre-prepared tomatoes in BPA-free containers. Several of our amazing readers came to the rescue with possibilities we hadn’t heard of, so we started the process of confirming with the each manufacturer. We ended up with two positively BPA-free options and... [Read more of this review]
We’ve been keeping our eyes open for a warm mist humidifier made without polycarbonate plastic for quite a while and we kept coming back empty-handed. Safe Mama reported in early 2009 that her search had been unsuccessful too. Last week our kids passed around a heavy duty cold, so I dug out our old standby Vicks humidifier. I decided to... [Read more of this review]
2009 brought an amazing number of new BPA-free products to the market, so we’ve updated our BPA-free Sippy Cup Guide. You can find the complete list with background info on bisphenol-a on Squidoo (you can easily print the page for shopping trips on the go). Be sure to let us know if we missed any of your favorite BPA-free sippy cups and... [Read more of this review]
Finding PVC-free splat mats has turned out to be another one of those time-consuming and mostly unfruitful searches. 85% of the splat mats we researched were either made from PVC or were laminated with it. All of the mats we checked on were free of BPA and phthalates. We did locate a few PVC-free gems out there though Jaq Jaq Bird Splatmats... [Read more of this review]
For the last two months the number one search term entered by our readers has been “toothbrush,” so we set out to locate BPA, PVC and Phthalate-free toothbrushes for the whole family. We were pleasantly surprised in many cases, and of course disappointed at the same time by the number of companies that wouldn’t even respond. Here’s a preliminary... [Read more of this review]
Okay, we’ve muddled through baby bottles, sippy cups, dishes and the like – now what about drinking straws? Once we started looking at all of the plastic that comes into contact with our food, we eventually realized that we’re surrounded by straws too. And if it comes in contact with our mouths or our food, we’re going to... [Read more of this review]
UPDATED 2/3/09 Concern about the harmful affects of bisphenol-a (BPA) in polycarbonate plastic baby feeding gear is spreading quickly. Unfortunately, BPA is also commonly found in epoxy resins used for protective linings in canned food, ready-to-feed infant formula and metal lids of baby food jars. A recent study published in Environmental Health... [Read more of this review]
UPDATED 3/31/10 We began converting our babies’ dishes several years ago, and we’ve been collecting information on safer adult food storage options along the way. It’s amazing now to sit back and look over the sheer number of readily available products. Our list runs the gamut, from glass to stainless steel to safer plastic, from... [Read more of this review]
Updated 8/21/09 While we’re well-known for our Safer Plastic Guides, we actually receive more questions about products made from stainless steel. We also happen to be water bottle addicts and since we’ve tried almost every bottle available to mankind, we thought it would be helpful to share our personal favorites with you. We’ve... [Read more of this review]
Rubbermaid has pleasantly surprised us by publishing complete lists of both BPA free and products containing BPA. They went the extra step and included pictures to simplify the decision-making process. They still maintain that “BPA has been used safely in the manufacture of thousands of products for years and its use fully complies with U.S.... [Read more of this review]
UPDATED 2/12/10 Sadly, PVC is a mainstay in children’s bath toys. But with some digging, we were able to find an array of alternatives. Keep an eye on our list, because we’ll add to it as we learn of more BPA and PVC free options. Boon, Inc. Bath Goods (updated 12/8/08 ) The Flo Faucet Cover, Frog Pod, Appliqués and Mini-scrubbies... [Read more of this review]
UPDATED 12/14/2009 We’ve heard your requests for a Safer Pacifier Guide, so we’re all over it! Here’s a quick reference list of alternative pacifiers: RazBaby Keep-it-Kleen Pacifiers and pacifier holders are now BPA-free (updated 12/14/09) Natursutten Natural Rubber Pacifiers The First Years: Soothies Silicone Pacifiers (including... [Read more of this review]
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