Can wearing your bra cause cancer?

Once you have signed into Dr Mercola, well worth a read is this article.

Avoid cellphones when pregnant and around young children!

Cellphones are part of modern life - love 'em or hate 'em, but it always worries me when I see so many young mums out with their strollers, texting away on their cellphones which is right next to baby/toddlers vulnerable head.

This article highlights the dangers of cellphones and also cordless phones.

You do have to login to read these articles but well worthwhile!

Cell Phone Use During Pregnancy Can Seriously Damage Your Baby (Dr Mercola.com)

For further reading also read our EMF page which talks about electromagnetic fields in general.

Concern over use & disposal of energy-saving bulbs

Check out this news items on Yahoo News which explains concerns over the use and disposal of energy-saving bulbs.

Also, in the news today, the Australian Govt wants to ban plastic bags by the end of the year. That's a great initiative by Australia but why are we lagging so far behind in New Zealand?

Modelling clay

Check out this article and warnings on modelling clay.

If you are wondering if Playdoh is ok, how stuff works lists all the "secret ingredients", also some recipes for homemade stuff...

Green Options.com

Dangerous toy recalls have dominated the news lately.

This article on (GreenOptions.com) talks about all the current recalls, why you shoud avoid toys made in China, and safe alternatives.

Thanks for this well researched article, it certainly should prompt us all to do an audit and clear out of our children's toys!

Here, at Organic Baby, the information in the media has prompted us to go through the Wooden Toy options in our directory and note (where known) more information including type of timber, whether organic oils and finishes used and country of origin.

Also on GreenOptions.com, there are a wide variety of other useful articles to read, also check out Ask the Eco Geek (for questions about solar power, compact fluorescent light bulbs, "green" computers, or other eco-friendly technologies).

Energy Saving/Eco Bulbs - are they really that eco?

I have just been checking out EcoBob's forum ... some interesting stuff. If you haven't heard of EcoBob, the name EcoBob stands for ‘eco’, an abbreviation for ‘ecologically friendly’ and the acronym ‘bob’ which stands for ‘best of both’.

Anyway, a interesting fact on energy saving bulbs. Did you know that they contain mercury and should not be thrown in your household rubbish?

from the Eco Bulb web site:
Disposing of Energy Saving Bulbs at the End of their life Energy saving bulbs need special disposal, do not dispose with household rubbish. Dispose at your local refuse station; ask staff if they have recycling facilities as most materials can be recycled.
Disposing of Energy Saving Bulbs: The primary hazard associated with broken Ecobulbs is broken glass, so be sure to wear gloves when collecting fragments. In addition, broken bulbs fragments should be swept into a bag (NOT VACUUMED) and again taken to your local refuse station for recycling.

Surely, there should be some warning on the packaging? I checked the energy saving bulbs (Signature Range) in my cupboard. No mention of mercury, just some recycling symbols relating to the packaging!!!

Baby Powder

In the latest issue of OrganicNZ, they listed baby powder with talc as one of the top cancer-causing products in the average home (Organic NZ May/June 07, p32)

I always wondered about baby powder - especially as it seemed unneccessary in any case. The sad thing is alot people use talc out of habit without really thinking about it.

Check out this link for more information.

Artifical sweeteners

A recent letter in the Organic NZ magazine alerted me to the fact that aspartame makes a great ant killer!

Not too much of a concern I thought until I realised that aspartame is actually common ingredients in many food items (not just diet drinks and low-calorie items).

I started to look around and wow - peppermints, chewing gum - all contain aspartame (950) or similar artifical sweeteners.

Not only that my daughter had a cough .... and do you think I could find a cough medicine in the chemists that didn't contain artifical sweetener.

It was enough to send me running for the nearest health shop (or sanctuary I should call it) where I found joy in a the form of a pottle of Annies peppermints (made with xyitol) and cough medicine sweetened with organic apple juice.

Pure bliss, followed by an uninterrrupted nights' sleep!