Eco-friendly baby/family products MADE in USA

Interview with American Made Insider- 2/15/13: “AMI had the distinct pleasure to sit down with Jessica Brandt, an eco-friendly/American made advocate from Wisconsin. Brandt divulges to AMI the reason she feels so strongly about quality American made products and why we should continue to support our neighbors. Throughout the interview you will realize that the tone from which her strong convictions stem are due to her also being a mother. If you have a family of your own, striving to stay local, eco-friendly, and American, this is the interview for you. Brandt is candid in her approach, and solid in her beliefs.

FULL TEXT: American Made Insider: Give us a bit of your background.
Jessica Brandt: I’m 33, live in rural Wisconsin & am the mama of a toddler, with another babe on the way mid-summer of 2013. I want to share things I’m passionate about with others, and hope at least a few parents can benefit from the time I’ve spent researching products for my own babe! I REALLY enjoy discovering new products & companies, especially “mom & pop” operations. I am a mama on a mission to provide good quality, eco-friendly AND child-friendly products for my family! This includes toys, products for our homes, and personal care items. I’m not an expert in this area, my background is in Spanish Education. I put my teaching career on hold to be a stay-at-home mom, but my love for learning, and teaching is still strong. Other topics I’m passionate about include: reusable products, homemade products, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, organic gardening & eating, human rights, just to name a few!

AMI: How did you get started?
JB: The made in China issue just wasn’t sitting right with me, which I’ll get into more below. I started researching companies making toys in the US, and found numerous great companies. I thought “why don’t I start a Facebook page to share what I’m finding with others?”

AMI: Was there a catalyst for you?
JB: Yes- shopping for my son’s 1st birthday! I had seen one particular brand of toys recommended over & over on the mama forums I followed on Facebook (Melissa & Doug). While shopping for my son’s birthday I picked up a toy made by Melissa & Doug, flipped it over and saw the Made in China stamp on the back. It just didn’t sit right with me. I felt there had to be many great toys & products still being made in the USA, and as a result of that experience this page was launched.

AMI: What do you find to be your biggest reason for advocating for American made products?
JB: I’m a huge advocate of shopping as local as possible for a couple of reasons: reducing the carbon footprint of products, supporting my neighbors, and keeping a strong tax & social security base in our country.

AMI: Do you see an increase in interest in US made products?
JB: I launched my page almost one year ago, and it has seen a steady increase in followers. Since I haven’t been on this mission all that long, it’s hard for me to say there’s an increase, but it’s my feeling that there is…

AMI: What has been your biggest struggle in your support of American made products?
JB: Getting others to realize that there is so much more behind the cheaper sticker price on goods made in China, Taiwan, overseas in general. There are environmental & human rights issues that are not reflected in sticker prices. Sure American made goods may cost more, but they can also last you the rest of your life if taken care of properly, and your money is not being sent overseas.

AMI: What is your favorite product?
JB: I honestly couldn’t pick one product, but I’m very encouraged by the numerous toymakers making great toys in the US. There are many, many great offerings

AMI: Is there a product genre that is a passion of yours? If so, why that genre.?
JB: Baby products. As the mama of a 2 year old, with another babe on the way, I have a strong incentive to find the best products on the market. One thing every parent I’ve ever met has in common is our passion for doing what’s in the best interest of our families. I love researching the safest products for our babes that are also safe for the environment!

AMI: How do you see American made products trending in the next couple of years?
JB: I only see the trend increasing. There seem to be more & more people waking up to the realization that we need to focus on supporting our neighbors, and keeping our money as local as possible. Sure there are plenty of people that don’t think twice about where the products they’re putting in their carts are made, but I’m very encouraged by the people on my page, and others, who do care and are working hard to spread the word that America does still make many great products!

How I afford organic food & non-toxic products for my family on a VERY limited budget!

I’ve very passionate about this topic, mainly because being frugal & “green” or eco-friendly go hand-in-hand. A question I see a lot is “it’s so overwhelming to make all the changes I want to support a more healthy lifestyle for my family, where should I begin?” We all had to start somewhere. I didn’t make all these changes over night; it’s taken years to get where I am today. Being on a limited income means gradual changes. As my budget allows, I buy one reusable product, and eliminate the need to buy that product over & over in the store.

Another question I see often: “Organic food is so expensive, how does everyone afford it?” or “The only place I can afford to shop is Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store, how am I supposed to afford non-toxic products for my family?” I’m here to tell you it is possible! Here’s a little background on me. I live in rural Wisconsin with my husband & 2 children. My hubby is a self-employed computer technician, and I’m putting my career as a Spanish teacher on hold to be a stay-at-home mom for as long as possible. I do work part-time, seasonally in my dad’s greenhouses, design websites & do a bit of QuickBooks accounting from home, tutor some local homeschooled children in Spanish, among other odds & ends I do to bring in a bit of grocery money here & there. We both have bachelor’s degrees (hubby actually has 2), so we do have student loan payments, in addition to a mortgage & the usual utility bills.  When the census asks for your income, we’re in the bottom one or two brackets. We’re a low income family, but also live in an area where living expenses are conducive to this.

So, here are my top 15 tips for saving money & providing your family with safe products:

1.   Switch to reusable products, a very eco-friendly option:

Some of the reusable products I use: cloth diapers, cloth wipes, wool dryer balls, & a menstrual cup. I cut up old cotton or flannel old t-shirts & make rag bags, which has eliminated my need to purchase paper towels, Kleenex or napkins. Every, single one of these reusable products save a great deal of money over their life cycle!

2.   Make as many of your own products & foods as possible:

Things I EASILY make at home, in minutes flat: all-purpose cleaner from vinegar & orange peels, air freshener using essential oils (I learned about the dangers of artificial scents thanks to Raising Natural Kids!), hemp milk which saves me over 50% off retail price & avoids the nasty additives found in cartons of all milk, granola- which I started making after the Kashi/GMO story broke, and haven’t bought any cereal (which is quite expensive) in many months as a result. I will soon be adding homemade toothpaste & deodorant to this list, both of which I have recipes for just waiting to try out! Basically, I look at what I am buying in the store, and one-by-one start making those products at home whenever possible. I have recipes with complete instructions on all these topics on my page.

3.   Be ultra-conservative in your use of products:

I also see the following question often “Which shampoo/body wash should I use for my 6 week/month old- she’s been getting sweaty?” Honestly, newborns, infants, and even toddlers don’t need these products. I’ve never used anything but warm water to clean up my 17 month old. No matter how dirty he is at the end of the day, which is often quite filthy, he cleans up easily with a warm wash cloth. There are several companies making great products in this category, but they are quite expensive & I just don’t believe in using them until absolutely necessary, I have no idea when that’ll be. We use coconut oil for a moisturizer, when needed. The products that we do use as a family, we use very sparingly. By using the minimal amount needed, and not just mindlessly using a handful of shampoo, we increase the lifetime of the product greatly! This saves us quite a bit of money, and is also very eco-friendly!

  4. Miscellaneous ideas to save money:

-I volunteer at my local food co-op 8 hrs. /month & receive a 20% discount on everything in the store!! This is a huge savings, and the co-op has counted on volunteers for its 35 years of existence. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a local co-op, many of them have been bought out by Whole Foods, but if you do have one, see if this is an option! Whenever I’m traveling I seek out a local co-op & have been pleased to see that many of them do offer volunteer opportunities!! I still spend a LOT of money on food, it’s our largest monthly expense, but it’s not negotiable.

-Then, I buy in bulk at that store, which saves both money & unnecessary packaging. I have a huge collection of glass jars of all sizes & when I run out of an item, I go down to the co-op & refill it from the bulk bin. My tiny little food co-op offers 300+ bulk items. Everything from herbs & spices, grains, legumes & coffees to shampoo & conditioner, dish & laundry soap & more. The great thing about shopping there too is that if I want an item they don’t have, they can special order it!

-We drink mainly water. This may not seem like a big deal, but the savings really add up. My husband & I used to drink quite a bit of juice & not think twice about it. Juice is loaded with sugar, and if you’re not buying it organic, it’s loaded with pesticides, even arsenic! We switched to organic juice for a while which is very, very expensive. We occasionally bought soda, at the co-op. But, even Blue Sky soda, which advertises “real” sugar, is not a healthy option, as it’s loaded with that real sugar. By cutting these out of our grocery bill, and sticking with mainly water, iced tea, and homemade hemp milk, the savings are pretty significant! Also, I never leave home without my stainless steel water bottle filled up with water, which prevents me from needing to purchase a beverage while out & about, and saving plastic bottles from the landfill & our oceans!

-In the back room of my food co-op is a community room which houses a free clothes closet. I get the bulk of my clothes there. It seems many people are eager to get rid of perfectly good clothes in order to make room for more, to the benefit of folks such as myself. My babe wears mostly hand-me-downs, and we go to Goodwill for anything else we need. I can’t justify spending $50-$100 on a pair of jeans when I can get an entire wardrobe for that price at Goodwill!

-Shop at rummage sales or 2^nd hand stores. In the last year I’ve been eliminating plastics as much as possible by switching my entire kitchen over to glass & stainless steel products. I was eyeing-up a huge stainless steel bowl on Amazon for $20, but just didn’t want to spend the money on it. The next rummage sale I went to I found not one, but 2 of them, on sale for $.25- sure they had some dings in them, but I could care less! Many of my Pyrex baking & storage containers have come from rummage sales. Also, Ebay, Craigslist, etc. can be great resources for gently used products that you want, at great prices. This is also a very eco-friendly option, eliminating the use of virgin raw materials! BE AWARE THOUGH: “vintage” items from Pyrex & others, the decorative, pretty stuff, has tested extremely high for lead in some instances. Plain glass, non-decorative has generally been ok. So if in doubt, buy new! Pyrex & Anchor Hocking are 2 made in USA brands offering glass in all shapes & sizes that are generally very affordable too. For more help in the kitchen, see this list: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/made-in-usa-2/my-mostly-made-in-usa-kitchen/

-I don’t have cable. We’ve been a TV-free household for 11+ years; I’ve never missed it & know my son never will either. We do have Netflix, the cheapest monthly subscription you can have; I believe its $7.99/month.

-I don’t have a smart phone. I’m shocked at what some people pay for a monthly phone bill. I have a cheap, standard phone that can make calls & text, and am on a family plan with my mom & sisters. We each chip in $25/month.

-We rarely go out to eat, for a variety of reasons. It’s very expensive. Every time we spend $20-$50 on a meal, I think of all the food we could buy in the store to prepare at home, and I just don’t enjoy that meal as much. Also, it’s tough to find restaurants serving organic & local food that we enjoy, and I just don’t enjoy non-organic, GMO-laden food nearly as much, even if someone else is making it. And, going out to eat with a toddler can be a real challenge, as many of you know!

-We have one credit card that we pay off every, single month. If we don’t have the money for what we want to purchase, we don’t buy it!

-I grow a huge garden, and fill a deep freeze to the brim on a yearly basis. Hubby hunts deer for our red meat source. Our friends who run an organic apple orchard raise chickens & pork, which we work-off or trade for.

-We heat our house with wood, which we gather ourselves. We don’t have a lot of land, so we get together with friends & have wood-cutting parties & split it up. This saves lots & lots of money, especially here in Wisconsin. In the summer, we open windows at night & close them up in the morning, and put heavy shades over them, keeping the cool air in & saving the A.C for extremely hot days only.

-I drive a car that has 200,000+ miles on it, but has been paid off for many years.

In conclusion:

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!  Recently the story about high levels of mercury in Crayola Crayons was in the headlines. I had an extra $10 in my budget so spent it on truly non-toxic crayons for my babe. Many would say “$10 for 6 crayons- that’s way too expensive!” It’s my opinion that children, especially young children such as my babe, don’t need 40 colors of crayons. What they need is safe, non-toxic products that still allow them to experiment & have fun. I can’t think of a better way to spend $10! Instead of a huge toy box overflowing with cheap, plastic toys made in China, how about a smaller toy box, full of more expensive but truly safe, ethically produced toys? I’d much rather have ½ the toys, but twice the quality. Also, well-made products hold up over time, and you can even possibly re-sell them when your family is through with them!

I’m aware that some of the ideas presented may not be possible for you. If you live in an apartment in New York City, of course you’re not going to go collect & burn wood to save money on your heating bill. But, maybe 2 or 3 of these ideas had never occurred to you. I REALLY hope this helps some of you get ideas on ways to cut down on your monthly budget in order to provide your family with safe products. As a result, you’ll have a healthier family and hopefully no medical bills as a trade-off! For recipes, links & tips on all the topics covered, please come visit my page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eco-friendly-babyfamily-products-MADE-in-the-USA/397517646930548?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Eco-friendly-babyfamily-products-MADE-in-the-USA/397517646930548?sk=info