Organic Bug Spotlight On Healthy Child Healthy World

It is exceptionally rewarding to work with an company whose mission is to carefully examine the materials that are in our products to ensure they are natural, organic, safe, environmentally sustainable and free of harmful chemicals that are frequently found in seemingly harmless every day products.

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

Simple Safety Protocols for DIY

Homemaking, healing and gardening: These are all such fundamental aspects of human life on this planet and are extremely important for that reason. The tools to create a more intentional and sustainable daily existence all stem from the tiny actions that we perform in our everyday lives. That being said, DIY projects should not be limited to people with a lot of time, space or experience. DIY is for everybody and creates a natural way to live on our own terms. However, it is important to remember that even natural formulas can hurt you. Here are a few things to keep in mind while participating in DIY projects, creating and using homemade remedies:

Natural does not mean Edible. Although compounds like borax and washing soda are more safe than most, if not all, the ingredients you will find in your local drugstore there are still some things that should not get into your body. Remember to wash your hands after mixing cleaners and clearly label the containers you keep them in. Check out this The Daily Green’s simple recipes for cheap green living, for more information on how to make your own green cleaning solutions.

If you are pregnant, there are certain herbs and oils you should avoid. During pregnancy, it is extremely important that you are aware of what goes into your body. While most herbs are rather safe for an individual to take, there are quite a few that can cause certain problems for pregnant women. Because each pregnancy is different with its own precise details, the best way to use herbs during pregnancy is under a physician, midwife, herbalist, or a homeopathic doctor.

A great resource is the Herbal Encyclopedia. This site will tell you what herbs are recommended and herbs that should be avoided during the different stages pregnancy and development. Or you might find this article on herbal remedies for women to be useful.

For additional information on alternative medicine and herbs during pregnancy check out Herb Reference.

Know your Body!

Pay attention to your body when/if something is making you feel sick, itchy or just straight up uncomfortable. The whole point of DIY is to make you feel better, not worse. Take care of yourself and pay attention to your body and how it reacts. You can learn more about potential allergic reactions to herbal remedies at  the guide to herbal remedies.

Remember: plants have families

If you know you have specific allergies, you will obviously want to avoid using that herb.  However, do your research because a lot of herbs are closely related and you will want to avoid using any herb related to the one you’re allergic to, for cosmetic or medicinal purposes, otherwise you could experience an allergic reaction or worse. A great resource to help you learn more about plants and their families is the Online Botany Guide.

DIY is about making our lives intentional and perhaps more simple. It allows us to pay close attention to our bodies and the systems that we know are right for us. Not to mention you’ll spend less money and reduce packaging all while doing your part to keep our beautiful Earth natural

Organic Bug’s Favorite Eco Friendly Toy Companies

..By offering children toys that send a positive message about protecting our planet helps to educate the younger generation about how to make good choices for our environment. It may even create young ambassadors for Mother Nature. -Laurie Hyman, Co-Founder of Green Toys

Part of our philosophy is to provide consumers with offerings that are safe, good quality and help to promote a better world.  What better way to do this than to teach future generations to respect and preserve the natural resources of our planet? One way to teach this lesson is to lead by example, talk to your kids about the importance of recycling, conserving our resources, and supporting companies who embrace sustainable practices.

The holidays are an important time to share these ideals by giving toys that foster their imagination and creativity while while keeping true to the values of an eco-conscious home.   I want to highlight some of the companies we adore who provide a line of well made toys that will out last the others and are made with the safety of our children and planet in mind.

Green Toys

Green Toys makes a line of eco-friendly classic toys that are free of phthalates or Bispenol-A (BPA).  These unique toys are constructed from recycled milk containers!  Founders Robert von Goeben and Laurie Hyman created this company out of their desire to provide consumers with an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic toys while making an effort to improve and preserve the world around us.  Their toys have been nationally recognized by media, and have won awards from Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Dr. Toys, and Fat Brian.  We love them because they have adopted enviromentally sustainable practices into their manufacturing by:

• Doing business locally. Their operations are located within close proximity of one another in California, helping to further reduce its carbon footprint by avoiding long transportation distances.
• Packaging their products in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties.
• The toys themselves are 100% recyclable too. So, not only are they earth-friendly they are ready for your recycling bin.

Piggy Paint Mistle Toes Kid Friendly Nail Polish

Piggy Paint was highlighted on our blog last October- but felt the need to mention them again for their wonderful selection of holiday themed nail polish sets.  Girls of all ages can have fun decorating their fingers and toes with these vibrant, natural & non toxic polishes.   It’s as natural as mud in the sense that every ingredient is biodegradable with no residues left behind to harm the environment.  Our favorites this season: “Mistle Toes”, “Jingle Nail Rock” and “Snowflake Fairy”.

Maple Landmark Woodcraft My Best Blocks-Advanced Builder

Montgomery Schoolhouse of Maple Landmark Woodcraft

Founded in 1971, the legendary Montgomery Schoolhouse products have been a part of the Maple Landmark family of Vermont since 2001 .  These products are made at the highest level of quality & eco-safeguards to insure many years of good clean fun.   Maple Landmark Woodcraft was founded by Mike Rainville who took up woodworking as a hobby in as a teenager, and launched his wood crafting company after his college graduations in the mid 80s.

Today, Maple Landmark Woodcraft continues to offer high quality American made toys and other wood crafts. Product safety remains their number one priority and the company does as much business locally as is possible including the many services needed and most material sourcing.

Concerns about toxic chemicals leeching from toys and ongoing environmental risks inspired the company to launch a line of  non-toxic wooden toys called Schoolhouse Naturals.  These toys are made from maple hardwood with no added chemicals that has been responsibly harvested from sustainable Addison County, Vermont forests. Be sure to check out the award winning My Best Blocks-Advanced Builder and the Natural Scoots Toy Vehicles from this line, one of our favorite offerings.

For My Kids

For My Kids, LLC is a company devoted to finding (and making where none currently exist) products that are beneficial to our children and our planet.  They offer a line of safe, natural & organic cleaners and personal care products that are a wonderful healthy alternative to chemical disinfectants. The company was founded by Christine Stewart when she learned about the potential long-term ill effects of the cleaning products she was using.  She set out to create effective cleaners that used non toxic ingredients for the sake of family.

Her latest triumph is Happy Fun Dough, an all natural and non-toxic version of play dough.  This soft, pliable dough is made from flour all natural ingredients- even the colors are all natural.

MiYim

Miyim Organic Cotton Storybook Collection

MiYim, a Shanghai based company, believes they have a special responsibility to protect the environment for future generations and offers safe and chemical free products for babies and children.   The company is committed to protecting the health and safety of their employees and safeguarding the environments where they do business.

Miyim is the ancient word for water. And seeds, rich fertile soil and water are the basis for all MiYim products. MiYim collectibles are woven with organic cotton that is untreated, unbleached, and unprocessed with color dyes acquired from nature.  Here are some of the other reasons why we love the toys from this company:

Low-Eco Impact Manufacturing.  They use a specialized natural filtering system purifies waste-water from coloring process before releasing back to the environment.

No chemicals or harmful substances are used in making of miYim products.

Socially Responsible Management: They follow the highest International labor standards and treat each employee with respect and fairness.

Sustainable packaging: Each miYim collectible is housed in a handmade box crafted from recycled materials and the miYim gift box is meant to be reused! Make the most of your miYim purchase and use it to store anything from photos to recipes.

Organic Bug Product Spotlight: Piggy Paint™ Nail Polish

Organic Bug recently added a unique new product that we simply adore.   Piggy Paint™ Nail Polish is an environmentally friendly,  non toxic nail polish we featured last week when we announced that we are offering Piggy Paint’s Fight Breast Cancer Gift Set to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Piggy Paint donates a portion of every purchase directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure PLUS Melanie (Piggy Paint’s fabulous founder) donates a bottle of nail polish and nail polish remover to a woman currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer!   In addition, Organic Bug will be donating 10 percent of its sales of Piggy Paint’s Fight Breast Cancer Gift Set to the local Relay for Life event that will happen in April of 2010 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

We love this product because it is safe and ideal to use on children (and adults too) because it is water-based and made from natural ingredients.  The product was invented by Melanie Hurley- whose 2 young girls love to dress up and have Mommy paint their finger nails & toes. As she applied the coats of polish to her girls’ nails, she realized the awful fumes were just too overwhelming-even on polishes that claimed to be safe for children.

At one point, she accidentally spilled some polish onto a disposable plate and realized to her horror that the same polish she was putting on her daughters’ nails had eaten right through that plate.  At that moment, she set out to create a nail polish that was nonflammable and made from natural ingredients- thus Piggy Paint was born.   Piggy Paint is a water-based polish completely free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and acetone.  The product is even getting some Hollywood attention! Celebrities such as Tori Spelling had the gals from Piggy Paint on hand to paint nails during her daughter’s 1st birthday party, and the product been featured on numerous blogs and magazines including  Celebrity Baby’s Blog, and Celebrity Baby Scoop.

As Melanie says about her product- “It’s as natural as mud in the sense that every ingredient is biodegradable with no residues left behind to harm the environment.”  Hope you enjoy!

Genius Mom Entrepreneurs-The Story of Shady Day Sunscreen

One sunny summer afternoon in 2004, two young mothers in New Jersey were enjoying a day at the beach with their children.  As all good mothers should, they applied their kids relentlessly with sunscreen, while complaining to one another about the challenges of the messy, sticky, awful smelling lotion.  They began thinking about what the perfect sunscreen would be, and researched extensively for two years under the careful advisement of a leading dermatologist.  The result was the launch of Shady Day Inc. in April of 2006.

Although in their infancy as a company, they have already received global recognition, celebrity favor and countless honors including Best New Product by EX-TRACTS and Top Sunscreen by Luxury Spa Finder. Their product line is loved by celebrities (seen carrying Shady Day gift bags at the Golden Globe Awards) and has even gotten the nod from Oprah.

Moms everywhere are celebrating their genius. Their collection of sun protection products combine mess free application solutions, with all natural, high quality ingredients.

In line with the Shady Day commitment to using only ingredients that are safe for us, and the environment, Parabens are never used in any of their products. Parabens are a group of chemicals that are used as an inexpensive way to maintain the shelf life of a product. They can cause skin irritations and some studies have even connected Parabens to breast cancer. Shady Day opted to use safer, all natural Paraben alternatives including grapefruit seed extract and vitamin E rather than the harmful Parabens found in most sunscreen products.

Big fat kudos go out to the gals that invented this product. We absolutely love it!