Parents - Less Chemicals expose to toddler on a budget.

HappySad

Hi Everyone,

I want to reduce the chemicals that my son is being exposed to. Can you help make my toddler greener?

A lot of the food I buy is now organic (fruit, veg, milk, eggs, pasta, bread). I use olive oil instead of Johnson's oil on his skin after a bath.

Nappies
I have heard about http://www.naturebotts.co.uk/moltex_oko_nappies/ which would degrade in a compost bin or wormery. I like this as they are disposable & use little chemicals. The only thing is they are expensive. "Nature Boys & Girls" nappies also use less chemicals and biodegrade .. also expensive. Can you get them at a lower price if you buy in bulk? WHere do I go to get them in bulk?

Washable nappies don't appeal to me (I have a lot of preconceived negative ideas about them being too much hard work & leaking) but I am open to try it out. Where can I go to get a sample?


Wipes
Use Pampers sensitive but they use "parfum" (not so good chemical) so I want to use something else. Should I go back to using cotton wool and water or do you use something else. Home made wipes? What do you do when going out and about?

Bathing
Do you know of a good body wash (that would make bubbles in the water) that you can buy in the supermarkets that has little chemicals? I am currently using ASDA's bubble bath which again has "parfum".

What else can I do to reduce the chemicals my son is exposed to? What do you do? Any ideas?

chaliepud

I use "Nature" Bio Wipes (Tesco, Sainsburys,Waitrose), perfume free, haven't tried the nappies since my second child as I didn't find them very good.

I use the organic Green Baby range shampoo ( I got mine from sainsburys) they may do bubble bath also. I keep meaning to look in the Body Shop to see if they have a baby range

HTH

Hayley

HappySad

I have heard from http://www.foe.org.uk that Body Shop really work hard to reduce the chemicals in their products. I will check them out to see if they do a baby range.

I will also check out Sainsbury.

Thanks Chaliepud

Trow

There might be any tips here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=71893

ALso - have you considered washable nappies in one of those schemes where they collect them and wash them and give you clean ones? Less chemicals and you don't need to get involved in the washing. Of course there might not be one where you are - there isn't here.

rockpeblar

It is also worth checking out the products from this company:-

http://www.greenpeople-organic-health.co.uk/Product_Search.asp?Sp=H&Sl=group&St=all&cc=H

We use some other products (Shower Gel, Shampoo, Conditioner) from Green People and they're very good quality and don't irritate the skin or scalp like Supermarket brands.

Looks expensive but they are more concentrated than Supermarket brands and so last much longer.

Becles

Wipes are expensive. I used cotton wool and baby lotion most of the time. I also had a few cheap flannels for very messy bottoms, so I could use them once and chuck them in the washer.

I did buy the odd packet of wipes for taking out and about, just for convenience reasons.

1jim

For wipes we use reusable fleece wipes, cost around £4.00 for 10 but are really great, dont seem to stain, dry very quickly, we use them on bums and faces. We also use these as travel wipes, we make up a cleaning solution ( based on a weak chalomile <dont think my speelings up to scratch> tea solution) and soak the wipes in that and put them in one of the diposable travel wipe plastic containers (got it free ages ago)
We also use fleece nappy liners with reusable cotton nappies
If you want to know where I get mine pm me as I dont think Im allowed topost it directly
thanks
Jim

fairylights_2

for even cheaper wipes just buy a small piece of fleece from a market stall or fabric shop and chop it up into pieces - that way you can pick the pattern and the size. You could even cannibalise an old blanket or scarf! Ditto here with the camomile tea, although we just use a plastic sandwich tub (or a lock'n'lock tub we got free last year) rather than a big thing. It fits better in the change bag and doesn't leak.

Lots of people think cloth is hard work, and I can tell you once you've done it for a week or two it's not. Obviously it takes some getting used to, but if it's the chemical thing making you change, then it's worth a proper go. Try your local lollipop nappy agent (try here to find them ) as many of these will have a trial kit you can borrow, and they will go through all the nappies - including ecodisposables.

In the bath, you really don't need to use anything. We have water in the bath and nothing else, and just the tiniest bit of shampoo to get them clean. If you really need bubbles (which is what the chemicals do anyway) then I'd agree with whoever said body shop. Also ecover do a handwash which is pretty good, you could try that in the bath, maybe.

ashmit

What about Lush for bath products? A lot of their products are vegan and they keep chemicals to a minimum - although technically, anything that goes into any bath or shower product is a chemical - even water

Their website is at https://www.lush.co.uk if you are interested. I love their stuff.

HappySad

http://www.healthquest-brands.co.uk/default.asp?brand=4 is a company that make organic baby products that you can get from larger Sainsbury stores and you can also order it from their website.



I've just looked on the body shop website and it looks like they don't do baby products. http://www.uk.thebodyshop.com/web/tbsuk/index.jsp