Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA!

Raising Natural Kids just posted this excellent article which I highly encourage anyone who uses a garden hose to water plants, animals, fill a kiddie pool, etc. to read. Some of the concerning facts:

• Water sampled from one hose contained 0.280 mg/l (ppm) lead. This is 18-times higher than the federal drinking water standard of 0.015 mg/l.
• BPA levels of 2.3 ppm was found in the hose water. This level is 20-times higher than the 0.100 ppm safe drinking water level used by NSF to verify that consumers are not being exposed to levels of a chemical that exceed regulated levels.
• The phthalate DEHP was found at 0.025 ppm in the hose water. This level is 4-times higher than federal drinking water standards. EPA and FDA regulate DEHP in water at 0.006 mg/l (ppm)
• 100% of the garden hoses sampled for phthalates contained four phthalate plasticizers which are currently banned in children’s products.
• Two water hoses contained the flame retardant 2,3,4,5-tetrabromo-bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (TBPH).

Here’s a link to the entire article: http://raisingnaturalkids.com/2013/04/26/garden-hoses-a-potential-health-risk/

Some made in the USA, safe options:

From Amazon: 6/16/2105: I FINALLY purchased a made in USA, drinking water safe hose–it has been on my list for a few summers now, after reading this info from Raising Natural Kids, one of my favorite pages: http://amzn.to/1SgtRSR

We have nine 6 week old chickens that we are watering from the hose, and we do have a kiddie pool my in-laws brought home from a garage sale for $1 that my kiddos have been loving splashing around in, so I want to make sure we have lead-free water!! This one was a good deal with free shipping & in the length I wanted so I’m so happy to have just ordered it!

Other options that have been shared with me: http://www.strongmarketinginc.com/Garden_Hoses.html

http://www.barnyardproducts.com/premium/garden/water/hose

INSPIRED BY THIS POST!! All it took was 1 person to ask if I’d sell mine, and the rest is history 🙂

For those new to my homemade deodorant, here’s a pretty extensive thread with my recipe, Q & A, FAQ’s, and testimonials. I’ll always gladly share this recipe with anyone interested (it resides in my “Stuff We Make” photo album), but know that not everyone has the time, energy or desire to procure all the ingredients and make their own, so this offer is for that crowd!: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=537190792963232&set=a.494009763948002.128085.397517646930548&type=3&theater

**For those new to my homemade deodorant, here’s a pretty extensive thread with my recipe, Q & A, FAQ’s, and testimonials. I’ll always gladly share this recipe with anyone interested (it resides in my “Stuff We Make” photo album), but know that not everyone has the time, energy or desire to procure all the ingredients and make their own, so this offer is for that crowd! Recipe: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=537190792963232&set=a.494009763948002.128085.397517646930548&type=3&theater

**So, what’s the cost? I want to put this 1st so you don’t get all excited and then realize it’s out of your budget- I hate it when that happens! I’m asking $8  per 4 oz glass jar or 2/$15 (Kerr Mason jar, made in USA!), there are no frills, no fluff, just a plain Mason jar, a label with ingredients, and the Frequently Asked Questions. Flat rate shipping for 1 jar comes to $5, anywhere in the continental US, BUT I can also ship up to 4 in that same flat rate envelope-so buy multiples, it’s a good deal 🙂 SO, the total comes to $13 for 1 jar, $20 for 2 jars… Of course, if you have a friend or 2 in your area who is also interested, want to stock up & be set for a year, or give some as gifts, ordering more than 1 jar is a great idea and shipping won’t be a whole lot more for several jars vs. one, as I can put up to 12 jars in a medium flat rate box which will only cost $12 to ship anywhere in the country! Several of you have told me you’re fine sending me a check, and then me sending this out to you immediately. Otherwise, I recently set up a PayPal account so if that interests you let me know & I’ll give you the details to pay that way. So, what I’m asking is you send a message to my inbox with your address and I’ll send you mine, let me know which scent/combo of scents you’d like, and I’ll have it ready to go to drop in the mail as soon as your check arrives.  Sound good?!

**Even with shipping, I feel this is still a very reasonable purchase. I’ll compare it to three other safe options on the market, which I also recommend for anyone wanting a more “traditional” stick deodorant made with great ingredients: Poofy Organics & Bubble and Bee both offer a 2.65oz plastic tube for $10 + shipping. They use mainly the same ingredients as I do, but also include beeswax, shea butter and cocoa butter in their formulas, which obviously adds to the price as well, and helps keep it more stable (doesn’t melt as easily)… Ebay & Etsy have very similar sized jars going for up to $12.

Some frequently asked questions:

*Won’t this stain my clothing? No. Men & women who don’t shave their armpits may have to spend a few extra seconds making sure it’s rubbed in well, but just like any deodorant, it quickly absorbs into your skin.

*How do I apply it? Just rub a little dab on with your fingers. Or if you prefer you could transfer it from this glass jar into an empty deodorant stick (but it has to stay in the fridge). I prefer glass over plastic, and don’t mind applying it with my fingers. The natural stick deodorants I’ve used contain beeswax & other stabilizers to keep them from melting when warming up. These leave my pits waxy & greasy feeling, and definitely can stain clothing.

*Do I need to refrigerate it? No. But be aware that coconut oils melting point is 75 degrees. Once it reaches this temp it will liquefy & ingredients can settle out. You can find somewhere cooler in your house to store it, refrigerate it, or shake it up & apply it with fingers or a small brush. It’s an absolutely perfect consistency around 72 degrees, but the quality of the product doesn’t change whether it’s a bit firmer, or runnier…

Purpose of the ingredients:

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal so it’s a perfect ingredient for deodorant. I use organic, unrefined, cold-pressed, extra virgin coconut oil which means more nutrients are left in it to benefit your skin.

Arrowroot powder & cornstarch: both help absorb moisture. I use Bob’s Redmill Arrowroot powder, it’s not organic, but non-GMO. I use organic (non-GMO) cornstarch which I purchase at my food co-op through Frontier.

Baking Soda: helps keep bacteria from growing. I purchase Bob’s Redmill.

Tea tree oil: has antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic properties.

Scent options at this time: Lavender, orange (organic), rose geranium, peppermint, a combo of your choice, or unscented of course. Everyone knows what lavender & orange smell like. Here’s a description of the geranium, which has hints of rose, but is not a true rose scent:

Top Note: Fruity-minty, rich sweet-herbaceous

Middle Note: Rich, sweet-rosy, quite tenacious

Dry Note: Sweet-rosy, herbaceous

*I use the NOW brand of Essential oils, the orange is certified organic, the others 100% pure. I use the NOW brand primarily because it’s what my food co-op sells, and as I’m not ingesting it, I don’t feel the need to spend several times more/bottle for the top-end brands. We’ve been selling it for many years at our co-op, and from what I can tell it’s a quality product, but I’m not at all an expert in essential oils- I’m just looking to add a bit of scent. If you’re not OK with the NOW brand for whatever reason, I’d be happy to leave it unscented, and you could easily add any oils of your choice, I’ll even knock $.50 off for unscented ones.

**Also, tea tree oil is used, not for it’s scent, but for it’s beneficial antibacterial & antifungal properties. I’ve had one person who was sensitive to tea tree, so I made it without for her, let me know if you’d like this left out!

I’ve consulted with a professional whose opinion I trust on the use of these essential oils, and any concerns for pregnant and/or breastfeeding women- here’s what she had to say about the oils I’m using:

“If you are only using a little Lavender, I don’t think there would be any concern. It doesn’t change your blood pressure or anything like that…..Orange and Tea Tree are also fine and Rose Geranium is THE SAFEST essential oil I know”. If anyone has contradictory information, PLEASE share it! Some sources online cite that pregnant women should avoid lavender during their 1st trimester, but that it’s fine after that. My deodorant contains ~10 drops of whichever scent you choose per 4 oz of coconut oil. Of course, if you have any concern at all, I can leave all oils out.

**Some with sensitive skin can have issues with baking soda. My original recipe left it out, but I felt it wasn’t working as well as I’d like- I felt it worked MUCH better with baking soda in it. If you know that you have very sensitive skin, I can definitely leave out the baking soda, or cut the amount in 1/2 (there’s 1/5 TBSP per jar).

So, send me a message if interested, and we’ll take it from there!

 OATMEAL & SUGAR BODY SCRUB:

 Ingredients: organic coconut oil, organic oats, organic raw turbinado sugar, and your choice of scents: organic orange (my personal favorite), lavender, rose geranium, peppermint, unscented, or a combo of your choice! It’s a wonderful exfoliator & moisturizer, and you’ll have no need for any lotion when you get out of the tub. I LOVE the stuff. This is slightly cheaper to make, I’ll sell it for $6 per 4 oz jar, shipping will still be $5 total to any location in the continental US, although purchasing multiple jars will save a little money, as I can use a flat rate box 🙂

Here is the thread with all the info on the body scrub: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=627514937264150&set=a.494009763948002.128085.397517646930548&type=3&theater.

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http://www.honeycolony.com/article/13-banned-foods-still-allowed-in-the-u-s/#44b4bb65eb9c0aafec897da6bd6e8e5b

Glow Sticks – Hidden Dangers: We recently had a question about glow sticks, and wanted to share what we found out- Jolene did some excellent research! Question: I saw a post about bubbles made to glow by mixing in the contents of a glow stick. I’m concerned about the safety of this as my cousin had one of them break open on her table and it ate the varnish right off. I’ve found info saying the chemical in them is dangerous and then in the same paragraph it says they are safe.”

Glow sticks are a popular choice for summer holidays such as Fourth of July, as well as stock piling our emergency kits in our houses and schools. While they are pretty, fun, and many parents think of them as harmless, there are first a few things that you should know about before giving them to your kiddos, such as the ingredients inside.

Glow sticks have the following ingredients inside: dibutyl phthalate, Hydrogen peroxide, Phthalic ester, phenyl oxalate ester, and small shards of glass. When you ‘break’ or ‘crack’ a glow stick, you are literally breaking the small pieces of glass inside and causing a chemical reaction. When you start to shake the glow stick to let it ‘glow’ you are mixing around that chemical reaction in order to let the ingredients travel the entire length of the stick.   The ingredients themselves have a long list of horrible health hazards and concerns. Among some of the most concerning are infertility, negative effects of unborn child, cancer, and endocrine disruptions. We will go through each one and explain the hazards of the chemical.

Dibutyl Phthalate is used, in general, as a fragrance ingredient, plasticizer, and solvent. It is found in over 300 products according to the EWG including nail polish, wart remover kits, inks, dyes, leather, and glue. In the case of glow sticks it is used to make the plastic flexible. It is the chemical that has the highest concern for toxicity not only to you but your unborn child. There are known reports of reproductive toxicity for men and women, as well as clear evidence of endocrine disruption. Also it should be noted that this ingredient is banned in several countries and is on California’s Prop 65.

Hydrogen Peroxide is something that is familiar with all of us, and is sold over the counter in a much diluted solution. When it is used in the glow sticks it is much, much more concentrated. This concentration is poisonous for your skin, nails, and lungs. There are moderate concerns (according to EWG) of organ system toxicity and highly corrosive when used in this concentration.

Phthalic Ester is a substance that is added to plastics to increase flexibility, durability and transparency. Phthalates are being phased out in many products due to health concerns. It is another ingredient part of California’s Prop 65 and has been known to cause fertility issues as well as cancer. It also has a high concern of being passed to an unborn child.   Phenyl Oxalate Ester is responsible for the luminescence in a glow stick. The reaction with hydrogen peroxide causes the liquid inside a glow stick to glow. There is no information on EWG about this specific ingredient however, being that it is responsible for the luminescence in the glow stick, we can assume that it is no safer than the preceding three ingredients.

Glow sticks are a fun way to enjoy many activities but there are some safety precautions that are suggested if you are going to let your children play with them. First, inspect them and make sure that there are no leakages or cracks. You should also never let a child put them in their mouth, chew on them, continue to ‘break’ them after they are already glowing and keep a careful watch on them. If you get these substances on your skin immediately wash off with cool water and (personally) would contact your doctor or even poison control to be safe. Our skin is the largest organ we have and things that get on our skin, wind up in our body at an alarmingly fast rate. It is recommended that only older kids use this product and be told of the potential dangers if they are used incorrectly.  Even though this is sold as a ‘non-toxic’ product for young (3+) children, it is clearly not ‘non-toxic’ and clearly not for young children – at least not unsupervised. Keep your children safe this summer and be aware of the potential hazards that are out there. While some parents may think that it is silly to try and ‘ban’ everything that has a potential hazard for their kids, especially when it impedes on them having fun, it is great to be at least aware of the dangers so that you can act appropriately if an emergency occurs.

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!