Featured Review: Sesame Street – Love The Earth

efully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e2ljdIfxnyM/S75OtKocDJI/AAAAAAAAQdg/OiJdXlMEXxI/s1600/883738-2.jpg”>Just in time for earth day, Sesame Street has introduced ‘Love The Earth’ to teach kids why it is so important to recycle and respect the earth’s resources.

This is a great video. Sesame Street pairs, classic and current clips on popular eco-friendly topics like conservation, recycling and re-using.

The main section of the video finds Elmo and his friends visiting a local park to try to catch a glimpse of a rare bird. While there, the group gets many earth friendly lessons from the park ranger. He teaches them to not litter, recycle their garbage, conserve our resources and appreciate nature.

Even though our family does many things to help reduce the waste on the this planet, I have found it hard to teach this to my oldest son. He doesn’t seem to quite get the concept of recycling and conserving.

The catchy songs and skits put together on this DVD have definitely been a great way for us to explain more in dept some of the things we need to do in order to keep our planet healthy. We especially found the bottle recycling song helpful in explaining the whole process as well as the video on paper recycling. The beauty of this video is that it takes you through each step visually so that kids can see the whole thing from start to finish.

I highly recommend this Sesame Street ‘Love The Earth’ to parents who are looking to educate their little ones in a fun and exciting way.

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Soopsori’s Wooden Toys: Simple and Natural

Soopsori makes extraordinary wooden toys for kids that are 100% recyclable. The Korean company only uses natural wood without using bolts or paintings. Their packaging can be reused 100% since it does not contain unnecessary decoration or harmful surface coating.

Each wooden toy has its own unique color and texture depending on its species of wood chosen for that product. Soopsori carefully selected 20 types of natural wood to manufacture the natural featured toys.

Unlike color-painted toys, Soopori toys are not only safer but they also have the natural scent of tree because the natural wood is still alive and breaths although it is manufactured.

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Playmobil’s Recycling Truck Falls Short Of It’s Message

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I love the idea of Playmobil’s Recycling Truck. It has has separated compartments for different recyclable goods, actual recycle units and it functions much like a real recylcing truck. The only problem…It’s made of regular old plastic.

The company could take a lesson from Eco-truck company Sprig, when creating a product that has a green message. Their trucks are made with a bio-composite material made from recycled wood and reclaimed plastic.

Kids Products That Are Created With The Earth In Mind:

• Sprig Offers Toys With All The Bells and Whistles Powered By You!
• Spot on Square Introduces A Bamboo Crib
• The Planet Pixies Protect Endangered Regions Of The World!
• Deglingos Babies Have Arrived

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Labels: Environmentally Friendly, Playmobil, Playmobil Recycling Truck

Composting Kids

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The Recycle Works, a website dedicated to improving the environment, has a great composter that is just the right size to teach kids how to recycle house wastes into rich soil for your garden.

Educational Waste Busters are the ultimate in quality worm farms. These simple worm farms are built in wood to last and made to replicate the worm’s natural environment, eliminating the need to feed face-saving supplements.

Made from 9 ply FSC wood, this system requires minimal maintenance and can be kept indoors or outdoors if protected from extremes in temperature.

The waste busters has an optional viewing window that allows kids to look in a see the worms working their magic.

VIA BABYGADGET.COM

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Our Favorite Environmentally Friendly Baby Products

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There has been a huge push lately for companies to go organic, biosphenol-A free and lead free. Parents are now looking for products that are recyclable, made from safe materials and free of chemicals that may cause future health issues.

Since starting this site 3 years ago, I have covered many great green products for kids and babies. There are some that I liked and many that I loved.

Here are a few of the ones I loved and why:

1. Orbit Green Edition Stroller – The orbit stroller is one of the hottest strollers on the market and it just got better after the company released an ivory ‘green edition’.

What I love about this product is that the company took extra steps to make this product as environmentally friendly as possible. The interior is lined with 100% organic cotton, it has a durable wool exterior and it is free of PVC and phthlates.

Orbit products are designed for best-in-industry disassembly, so that the individual pieces can be easily recycled.

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2. Natural Mat Organic Mattresses – Because the average baby sleeps 16 hours a day, Natural mat created a safe place for them to rest. Their mattresses are 100% organic, Non-allergenic and anti-dust mite, Naturally Fire Retardant and handmade. All of their raw materials come from 100% renewable and sustainable sources that comply with Fair Trade policies and all packaging used for Natural Mat mattresses is 100% biodegradable and 100% recyclable.

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3. Fleurville’s Re-run Fabric Diaper Bags – Ever wonder where all of the empty water bottles go? Modern baby company, Fleurville uses them in their new fabric called Re-Run™. Each Re-Run™ Messenger bag they make keeps ten (10) 600ml plastic water bottles out of landfill. The micropod, which was designed to hold a few baby products for quick trips keeps three (3) 600ml plastic water bottles out of the landfill.

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4. Plan Toys – Plan toys is the ultimate green toy company. Since 1981 they have been using replenishable rubberwood which is preservative free and processed naturally. No harmful additives or coloring are used and all paints are tested for safety. Over the years they have fine tuned their green initiative by introducing recycled paper and using soy ink for printing materials. Our family loves plan toys because they are innovative, help with our sons development and are reasonably priced.

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5. NewBorn Free Bottles – Long before anyone was talking about the hormone disrupting chemical Biosphenol-A, Born free was making baby bottles without it.

This company has been working to get the word out about for the last 4 years and finally the world is listening.

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6. California Baby – If you are looking for a great product to use on your child’s skin, California Baby is worth a look.

On top of using all natural ingredients in all of their shampoos, body washes and lotions, this eco-friendly company prints on recycled paper and uses soy inks for product info tags and literature and bottles their product in HDPE #2 bottles, the easiest plastic for consumers to recycle. I love the way all of the products smell and it makes me feel good to know that I don’t have to worry about my son being harmed by synthetic fragrances or phthalates.

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7. ImagiPLAY – All of ImagiPLAY’s toys are made from eco-friendly materials, with plantain-grown rubberwood being a favorite. This wood is an eco-toymaker favorite because it is a splinter-free hardwood. Everything they produce is made from renewable, sustainable materials.

Because most wooden toys distributed in North America are made from Pine and made in China. The raw Pine is primarily produced in Canada, shipped to China where the toy is produced then shipped back to North America as a finished product! Seeing this as waste of resources, ImagiPLAY selects factories that are close to their raw materials to avoid this needless expenditure of gas, oil and greenhouse gases.

All of this a an challenging product for your developing child? ImagiPLAY makes the COOLEST puzzles you will ever find.

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8. Green Toys – This new company impressed me at this years Toy Fair. They had a modest booth, but lots of passion about the environment. To create their bold and colorful toys, Green Toys uses recycled milk containers as the main ingredient.

All of their products are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable. So, not only are they earth-friendly and ready for your recycling bin, it won’t take you an hour to break into a toy while your toddler stands waiting patiently.

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9. Cleanwell – Cleanwell hand sanitizer is a must for any green parent.

This product kills 99.99% of germs on contact MRSA, E.Coli and Salmonella. It is 100% green, safe for kids and free of Triclosan.

This product is 100% biodegradable, which means that it breaks down quickly and completely without upsetting the natural balance of the ecosystem.

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Related Articles:

• Happy Earth Day!
• Go Green One Small Step At A Time!

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Monday Giveaway: Natural Mat Organic Sheet Set

With Earth day just around the corner, I thought it would only be fitting to have an earth friendly giveaway.Everything about UK company, Natural Mat is earth friendly.

They have developed a line of Organic Mattress that are so fabulous, Halle Berry ordered 2 – one for each nursery!

At The Natural Mat Company, they believe that every child best start in life and that means plenty of good sleep in a safe, comfortable and natural environment.

The company has generously offered to provide one of our readers with a set of their organic cotton crib sheets that are made from crisp 100% cotton percale.

Natural Mat’s organic crib sheets are unbleached and undyed.

Features:

• Machine washable
• Size: 27″ x 52″. Fits a standard size crib

Suggested Price: $45.00 at barebabies.com

To Enter the Giveaway tell us your best eco-tip in the comments section of this post along with your name and e-mail address.

Mine: I now wash most of our clothes in cold water – except our cloth diapers (they need hot water). It’s amazing the energy savings we have had!

Contest Rules and Details:

1. North American Residents of the 48 states and Canada’s 10 provinces and 3 Territories may enter only. Unfortunately we cannot ship to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam or Alaska.
2. One Entry Applicant. Any duplicate entries will void all entries by that entrant.
3. Contest Closes Thursday April 24th, 2008 at 10pm Eastern time
4. No cash or substitution will be issued.
5. The winner is responsible for any duty and/or taxes associated with receipt the prize.
6. Once the winner has been notified, they will have 2 days to respond. If we do not hear from them in that time a second name will be drawn.

Green Well Cleaner Keeps Kids Germ Free

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I have got to admit that I am a bit of a germ a phobe.Ever since my son arrived early and we were forced to wash our hands no less than 150 times a day while visiting him, I have been conscious about keeping my hands clean.

With that being said, I am also fussy about what we use to keep our hands clean because I want my son to be able to put his hands in his mouth after if necessary.

Clean Well has created a great product for parents on the go.

Their product kills 99.99% of germs on contact MRSA, E.Coli and Salmonella. It is 100% green, safe for kids and free of Triclosan.

Clean well also doesn’t test on animal.

It is reasonable priced at $9.99 for the starter kit, which has TWO 1 oz. hand sanitizer spray bottles (citrus herb scent) and ONE bottle of ginger bergamot Foaming Hand Wash

OR

The Hand Sanitizer Pack, which includes TWO 1 oz. hand sanitizer spray bottles, ONE 6 oz. hand sanitizer spray bottle and ONE box of 20 Individual Wipes for $23.99

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Organic Baby: Simple Shoe Infant Weebits

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This little piggie loved organics. This little piggie was made of wool. This little piggie gave better traction and this little piggie was good for our world.

Simple shoes offers an adorable eco-friendly slip on shoe for infants called a weebit. The practical organic shoe has a hemp upper with an organic cotton lining.

• Recycled PET and latex elastic
• Only the finest in sustainable duds for the little one in your life
• Screened Green Piggies® logo on outsole for better traction
• 100% post consumer paper pulp foot forms
• Ships in our state of the art/back to the future post consumer recycled box…

Sizing: size 1 = 0-6 months size 2 = 6-12 months size 3 = 12-18 months

Available at simpleshoes.com for $24

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Environmentally Friendly Toys For Kids

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As the Biosphenol A and Phthlate debates rage on, parents are looking for safe toys for their kids to play with.

Green Toys has developed a line of products for kids that are made using recycled milk jugs and other environmentally friendly materials.

The company strives to minimize packaging wherever they can, and all of their boxes use as little material as possible. All Green Toys products are packaged in 100% recyclable cardboard boxes with no plastics, films or twist-ties. So, not only are they earth-friendly and ready for your recycling bin, they are really easy to open for those little fingers just itching to get at the toys!!

I had the opportunity to view the whole product line at this weeks Toy Fair in NYC.

Your little chef will love the play cookware and dining set that the company has created. The 27 piece set features a stock pot with lid, skillet, 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 cups, and 4 place settings (fork/knife/spoon). Each piece is bright, colorful and sturdy. The color scheme matches the accompanying tea set, which will please even the youngest afternoon host.

I love what this company stands for and the principles they run with. I encourage parents to read up on how they were created and support these great products.

After all it is nice to see that someone is looking out for the health of our children and the future of our planet.

Please visit the official site at Greentoys.com for more information.

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Would You Use A Cloth Menstrual Pad?

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Lately I have been researching different brands of cloth diapers. I think I have looked through about a million cloth diaper websites looking for a product that may suit my sons needs.

On many of these sites I have noticed that along with environmentally friendly products for baby, there are eco-friendly, cost effective options for moms.

The cloth menstrual pad seems to be gaining as much popularity as the cloth diaper. My question is would you wear a menstrual pad that you had to wash?

Cloth pads are not only useful for menstrual use, they can also be used for incontinence, to keep your underpants clean and dry between periods, during pregnancy, or even after sex. Cloth pads come in several sizes and absorbencies to suit the different uses and needs of the users.

Many women get turned off because they think cloth pads will be dirty, bulky, hard to wash and stain easily. The manufacturers way of avoiding the stain issue – creating a disposable out of coloured material! For women who still like to have a fresh looking pad, an organic ivory coloured on is also available.

Washing instructions: Like cloth diapers, it is recommended that you soak the cloth pads in water until you are able to do a load (1-2 days).

I have to say that the women who designed these cloth pads have thought of everything. Most are handmade, come in every style that disposables do and even include snaps, which are just like the ‘wings’ on other products.

With all that being said, I am not sure that after doing 3 loads of cloth diapers a week and endless loads of regular clothes, that I want to add cloth menstrual pads to the mix.

If any of our moms use these pads, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

SOURCE: KRISTINSPADS, REUSABLE MENSTRUAL PADS

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