Even a Baby Affects the Environment

June 11, 2007 — -- Faced with frightening studies about the toxicity of their babies' environment, a growing number of parents are going green to protect their children and Earth.

"We are seeing a growing prevalence of parents making these choices," said Peggy O'Mara, publisher and editor of Mothering magazine. "When my son was a baby, trying to find cloth diapers, wooden toys, even natural foods was difficult. All we could get were bags of grain. Now we're seeing lots of marketing materials and products launched for green parenting."

According to the 2005 sales figures from the Organic Trade Association, organic baby food was a $206 million industry. Sales rose 21.5 percent in 2006. O'Mara says a third of new parents are now going green.

"If parents didn't care about getting organic yogurt for toddlers, stores would not stock it. It's really exciting," she said.

Some parents across the country are reducing their carbon footprint by adapting a natural family living lifestyle.

"In the late '60s, early '70s, parents returning to these choices were seen as hippies and on the fringe," said O'Mara. "We've seen lots of research and evidence to back up more traditional choices. It's really encouraging when the World Health Organization and the U.S. government recommend that mothers only breast-feed."

"Of course formula companies don't want that, but it's improving the health of babies and mothers," O'Mara said.

Other components of natural family living include sleeping with one's child, eating natural foods, making natural purchases ranging from household cleaning products to organic cotton products and eliminating the use of plastics toys and baby bottles.

The Environmental Working Group, a watchdog organization that frequently releases alarming studies about the level of toxins in toys, encourages parents to go green for environmental reasons, but more importantly for the health of their infants.

"Companies are allowed to test their own products without testing by EPA [federal Environmental Protection Agency] or other agencies," said Bill Walker, the group's vice president.

"Ten to 15 years down the line, we find out [toxic] products are in our bodies and the blood of our unborn children. Then we do backtracking of banned substances. We're pushing for a change in approach, so you put the burden of proof on the manufacturer that the product is safe. Moves to cut down on toxic toys is a good trend," Walker said.