Don't squeeze the Charmin

Here is something to think about as you buy your next set of toilet paper:

...fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them.
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In the United States, which is the largest market worldwide for toilet paper, tissue from 100 percent recycled fibers makes up less than 2 percent of sales for at-home use among conventional and premium brands.
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But people who buy toilet tissue for their homes — even those who identify themselves as concerned about the environment — are resistant to toilet tissue made from recycled paper.

Lent drives down CO2 footprint

This is a humorous piece with the conclusion that millions of Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays during lent bring down the carbon footprint on the globe. Every little bit helps in conserving the Earth for the future of our babies:

If 354 million pounds of meat are not eaten, and there are 8.25 pounds of CO2 saved per pound not eaten, that means 2.921 billion pounds of CO2 are saved.
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To put that abstract figure into perspective, that's the equivalent of to 1.5 million round trip flights from New York to Los Angeles not being taken.

Definitely an interesting article and gives you some food for thought!

Green vehicles just got greener

Toyota Motor Corp has made headway into making a vehicle composed of kelp and seaweed. What a wonderful effort in helping save the planet. Hopefully other automative manufacturers will take the hint and we can all be driving in a vehicle made from safe renewable resources:

The kelp car would build upon the already hypergreen 1/X plug-in hybrid concept, which weighs 926 pounds, by replacing its carbon-fiber body with plastic derived from seaweed. As wild as it might sound, bioplastics are becoming increasingly common and Toyota thinks it's only a matter of time before automakers use them to build cars.

Unfortunately, this "ultralight, superefficient plug-in hybrid with a bioplastic body made of seaweed" may end up in showrooms in some fifteen years. However this is a win for technology and innovation to help support a more green, a more organic Earth.

Safe, organic industrial cleaner

The LA Times recently published a great article on a safe alternative to chemical laden degreasers and cleaners. The secret formula: water!

It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it.
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The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current. Researchers have dubbed it electrolyzed water.

And aside from helping save the planet, it is also cost effective!

Parabens and SLS

Recently, I was asked a question regarding SLS and parabens. Both of course are a common concern among parents researching safe organic products for the care of their babies.

SLS is a cosmetic surfactant that is used in the industry for years. However, they are known scientifically as more irritating than other surfactants. That is the reason why there are continuing studies to find a cleansing agent that will not have irritation action or are at least negligible.

The ingredients you find in the Earth Baby are called APG surfactants (Sodium Lauryl glucose Carboxylate and Lauryl Glucoside). They are mild products from renewable sources (coconut, palm oil, glucose) containing no solvents or hydrotropes.

Instead of parabens our products are preserved by controlling the surface tension properties with Caprylyl Glycol and Hexandediol system which are materials that also contribute to the moisturizing properties of the products.

All Earth Baby products have been clinically tested. They are hypoallergenic, non-irritating, and non-sensitizing.