The process of bearing and raising a child is expensive enough as it is; why hassle with the raised
prices and complications of organic this and organic that?
Organic: Pesticide-Free
For those of us who remain confused after all the media hubbub or have just been living under a
rock for the past ten years, in short, organic means that no pesticides were used in production of xyz.
Back in 2008, Congress banned phthalates (a group of chemicals often found in plastic products like
teething rings, rubber ducks, and shower curtains) from children’s products after research linked them
to numerous long-term health issues. These included hormone malfunctioning, particularly in males,
as well as reproductive defects. As babies teethe and put things in their mouths, these chemicals leach
into the infant’s system from the toys, furniture, and random items around the house that your baby can
access. There are countless chemicals still produced in children’s toys, clothing, and furniture that lack
enough research and time in the court room to be banned.
Organic, Your Baby, and Mother Earth
This includes the very clothes that your baby wears. Sixty percent of our clothes are made of cotton.
It takes 150g of pesticides and fertilizers to make just one adult-sized t-shirt, but just one drop of these
pesticides, if it permeates the skin, can kill a human being. This explains why 20,000 people die yearly
in developing countries where 75% of our cotton comes from due to contact with pesticides (not to
mention the 8,000 other chemicals that are used to bleach the cotton) that end up, albeit in diluted form,
in our infants’ wear. According to Johnson & Johnson, babies have thinner, more porous skin than do
adults, which means that the chemicals in their clothes (as well as UV rays, bacteria, etc.) enter their
systems much quicker and to a greater degree.
Moreover, when we’re done with our clothes, they end up in landfills where they leach these chemicals
into the earth and water systems. Inevitably, they end up in our food, our beverages, and the very air
we breathe. Buying organic clothing, toys, and furniture for your baby thus means lessening your
child’s exposure to harmful toxins via skin contact, ingestion, and more. Organic cotton used for
clothes and babies’ plush toys are farmed without pesticides and instead implement safer methods like
crop rotation, physical removal of weeds (no herbicides), hand hoeing, and more. Workers have safer
working conditions, especially if your organic product is fairly traded (look for the Fair Trade logo),
and nearby water supplies are not poisoned by run-off.
Organic and Your Wallet
Since the bleaching process is left out, the threads of organic cotton are uncompromised, which means
longer-lasting clothes and toys, and a better relationship with your bank account. Also, toys made of
organic cotton can absorb the mother’s scent through touch. The baby is therefore less lonesome when
the mother is gone, and if the toy gets too dirty, a quick cycle through the wash makes it almost as good
as new.
Maple Grace makes great organic toys for your baby that are sure to last the years, and Oompa has an organic and
eco-friendly section where you can find toys, books, bags, and even furniture. With organic, you can
protect your growing baby from harmful chemicals from breakfast to bedtime.
Helen Green is a freelance writer and the resident blogger for gocollege.com, a free informational
website offering tips and advice about online colleges.