Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Green is the New Black

So all of this talk lately on plastics leaching nasty chemicals into your food and drink has tossed me right up on the new living green/screw plastic bandwagon. I went on a freak out cleaning spree yesterday, throwing out half of my son's sippy cups and tiny plates and plastic-ware. Now I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'm supposed to replace the trashed stuff with and even though going green is getting to be a big thing right now, I'm having a really hard time finding anything. So anyone that happens to stop by and read this, could you pass on some tips if you have any? So far, this is what I have found:
I'm having no problem finding cleaning products for my home. One brand that I have heard great things about is Seventh Generation. These products seem to be very readily available as I have found them at Publix, Target and my local health food store. After my trashing rampage the other day, I made a visit to my local health food store and scored a few of these products. I purchased the Free and Clear Fabric Softener and have used it a few times and so far, have no problems with it. This is coming from someone who breaks out if I even smell the laundry detergent Gain. So I have to be very careful what I put in my washing machine. I also purchased the Free and Clear Dishwashing Liquid since what plastic did survive the trash out day, is now being handwashed in cooler water instead of fried in the dishwasher. Think I'm a fanatic yet? My last purchase of this product line was the Free and Clear Automatic Dishwashing Powder. I'm a little hesitant about this one since I've tried other dishwasher detergents and none clean as well as my Cascade Complete with Bleach. So I'll let ya know about this one.
Ok, so after that shopping spree, I moved on to baby products since I read that most of the stuff we use on our little people are very harsh and made by companies that conduct animal testing. (bad bad stuff) If you want to read up on what stuff goes into the things we put on our bodies, check out Skin Deep's database. Very very informative. Anyway, I found that while the wipies I have been using (huggies extra sensitive, no fragrance wipes) on my son had a very low hazard, the diaper rash ointment, soap and lotion I was using (all Aveeno) had a moderate hazard. I picked up the Tushies unscented with Aloe wipies and went with Nature's Gate Organics for the lotion, diaper rash ointment and soap/shampoo.
So as far as the whole living green thing, I don't think I've hardly made a drop in the bucket. But trust me, if I could afford a hybrid car, I would totally do it.

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