back to school - part one

well, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting a little cooler. that can only mean one thing. back to school. and unless you are between the ages of 6 and 22, you are pretty psyched right about now. bye bye buddies, have fun , we'll miss ya, now get on the bus. but, before you can really relax there are many items you need to buy. kate browning told me she got her list of items to purchase for rei to go back to school and horror of horrors, on the list was...yes, it's true, antibacterial hand gel.

really? really?

i'm sure anyone who has met me for more than 5 minutes has totally heard my anti-anti bacterial hand gel rant. putting the scary super bug argument aside (please don't get me started) these gels have a very high alcohol content and can be extremely harmful if licked or swallowed. there have been several cases of children being whisked to the ER with alcohol poisoning from this stuff. see info here on snopes. purell's hand sanitizer is 62% alcohol. 62%. um, no thank you.

thankfully for those of you who must have your anti bacterial gel (i really am trying hard not to go into my super bug rant....must ... resist...temptation...), cleanwell makes an absolutely alcohol free and chemical free version. i love this brand, they make a triclosan free anti bacterial hand soap as well. and here is a hint, it's way cheaper at target than at whole foods. 

poloppo

i found this awesome website, poloppo, through my blog savvy friend dana several months ago and loved it, so i was so excited that they were showing at bubble with us in new york this past weekend.

poloppo is a website that collects kid's artwork from all over the world. they then select pieces of artwork and license them and then incorporate them into the designs of their products. the children receive royalties that goes towards their education and poloppo dontates 5% of their revenue to fund arts programs to underprivileged kids. the picture above was drawn by annabelle age4. it's a spaceship. it's awesome right? if you know any little artistes, have them upload their artwork. you never know, it could get selected and then other cool kids could be wearing their art. what's better than that? click here to shop their online gallery.

bio-degradable diapers, yes way

i know what you're thinking, that i made that up. but, it's like a miracle really. they are diapers. that are biodegradable. yes way. the company is called nature babycare and they are european (of course) and they are here. the diapers are almost 100% bio-degradable, the and tabs and elastic waist + leg bands are won't break down, but everything else will. they also sell 100% compostable wipes.

as far as pricing, diapers.com does a great job breaking down the per diaper cost (ie. so you don't have to try to do division in your head or remember how to use your cell phone calculator). if you buy a case of the nature babycare diapers, they run you $0.26 per diaper for size 1 to all the way up to $0.51 per diaper for size 5. for comparison sake, pampers are $0.17 for a size 1 to $0.34 for a size 5. g-diapers will run you $0.33 for a size small and $0.41 for size med/large.

here is the 411 from the cooler choices website:
-chlorine-free absorbent materials – does not contribute to dioxin pollution
-100 % compostable/natural back sheet – NO plastic - reduce the greenhouse affect
-100 % compostable/natural distribution layer – NO plastic - reduce the greenhouse affect
-100 % compostable/natural consumer packaging – NO plastic - reduce the greenhouse affect
-No latex, fragrance, or TBT (tributyl tin)

did you hear them? NO plastic. NO WIRE HANGERS!!!! anyways, digressing.

i chased down a dad at my day care who was toting a package of these wonder diapers and asked for a real life opinion. he said he loved them, but they didn't use them for overnight. he was a man of few words. but then again, i'm not sure he loved being grilled at 8am trying to drop his kid off. i think he needed some coffee.

you can buy these fab diapers on diapers.com or if you buy them on coolerchoices.com, they will plant one tree for every package of diapers that you purchase. cool. i like trees.

i have to give a big shout out to cristina at green mom finds for pointing this mom in the right direction. she's always got the good scoop. i can't wait to give these a try.