Unintentional Environmentalism

I am not an environmentalist. I repeat, I am not an environmentalist... but am I? Now, please don't misunderstand, I LOVE the earth & strongly believe in taking care of Her, cleaning up trash, recycling, using less packaging etc... I just don't want to be labeled as a radical, card-carrying, save-the-planet, stop-global-warming-neo-nazi Al Gore fan - because I am NOT. What I am, however, is a very earth-conscious, pro natural-living mother who is trying each day to do my part to lessen the impact of garbage & pollution. Leaving the planet a better place for my beautiful children.


Example #1: I use 100% Recycled Eco Felt in all my BugBites Toys. I believe that we shouldn't be afraid of toxins, lead & other nasty garbage in our children's toys. I am an advocate for soft, tactile play food that teaches good eating habits & care for the earth through play. What better way than to play with recycled post-consumer plastic bottles? http://bugbitesplayfood.etsy.com

Example #2: I use Cloth Diapers on my baby. This actually started out of desperation at the rising cost of diapers - $70 a month, money I thought could better be used elsewhere (flyfishing trips or buying orchids). Doing my homework on how to cloth diaper also enlightened me on how much damage conventional diapers really do. It is estimated that a child will go through 9,100 diapers in 2 1/2 years of diaper wearing. see Verybaby.com for more: http://verybaby.com/faq . Imagine the landfill space that one child's diapers takes up - by the way, conventional diapers DON'T biodegrate, especially when wrapped tightly & then placed in individually twisted sausage-sections of plastic bag. If only the Diaper Genie® magially made diapers decompose as well... PLUS disposables never look this cute! I found these darling diapers from monkeysnugglesdiaper at her shop on etsy: http://monkeysnugglesdiaper.etsy.com


Example #3: I use handmade Cloth Wipes on my baby. Figure the cost of cloth diapers plus the cost of wipes that just go in the trash - you might as well wipe your child's bum with a dollar bill each time & toss it in the trash... Reusable, cute & much sturdier than the thin, don't-wipe-too-hard-or-you'll-be scrubbing-ick-out of your-fingernails, store-bought wipes... need I say more? I found these adorable wipes from Bundled on http://bundled.etsy.com

Example #4: I use Cloth Lunch & Sandwich Bags. Again the cost of lousy ziplocs that just end up in the trash made me rethink the logic of ziploc. I make my sandwich bags with a nylon inner fabric & cute cotton prints on the outside. They work so much better, are easily washable, & take about 5 minutes to sew myself. These are from Britgaldesigns at http://britgaldesigns.etsy.com

Example #5: I use Cloth Feminine Pads. Okay, I am the biggest hippocrite in the world on this one. Growing up, I had never heard of such a thing & thought "eeeeew gross!" at first, wondering why anyone would ever try cloth menstrual pads. However, after finding out the hard way for years I never knew that I was actually allergic to plastic maxi pads, suffering each month from uneccesary infections & discomfort. Natural cotton is a million times better next to your skin than cancer-causing SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, DIOXINS, & TRIBUTYL TIN (TBT). Besides, if lovely, soft, natural cloth is good enough for my daughter's bum, why not mine? These cute pads are from an etsy seller named Pleat - see her shop here: http://www.pleat.etsy.com

Taking stock of some of my habits over the last year, I have come to the conclusion that I am inadvertently a serious advocate of "Green" living. We all would do better to improve our lives, pocketbooks & of course Mother Earth by switching from harmful, cancer-causing, chemical-laden plastics & synthetics to natural renewable fibers like cotton & bamboo. Go Green!