Updated November 2013

While creating our Healthy Baby Check List, we contacted one of our
favorite green bloggers and friend, Lori Popkewitz Alper, who started her blog
Groovy Green Livin’ as a means of inspiring greener living and a healthy lifestyle.
At Wild Mint, we value Lori’s opinions, so we knew we had to ask her to share
some of her inspiration for toxin-free living with kids and for her top 10 “must have”
non-toxic nursery items from our site!
Lori: “When my three boys were babies I felt compelled as a parent to do my best to protect them. My
maternal instinct kicked into overdrive. I began searching for products that were safe for their little,
immature immune systems. I began reading labels and educating myself on what to look for in safe,
non-toxic products. We all know that nothing is more important than our children’s health.”
Lori’s top 10 “must have” non-toxic nursery items from Wild Mint:
1. Better Life 2am Miracle Natural Nursery Cleaner
I love this stuff and use it for everything!
2. Under the Nile ~ Organic Cotton Monkey Bib
3. Earth Mama Angel Baby ~ Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash
I still use this for my kids. Completely safe and non-toxic.
4. Lifefactory ~ 4 ounce Glass Baby Bottle w/ Nipple
I use a Lifefactory water bottle as my own personal reusable water
bottle. I wish these baby bottles had been around when my kids were infants.
Glass is the way to go…no risk of plastics and nasty toxins leaching into your baby’s milk.
5. Buttercup & Jake ~ Golden Calendula Oil
6. Greentainer ~ Snack Set, Stainless Steel Food Containers
Love these containers for carrying snacks. They’re completely stainless
steel so there’s no chance of plastic coming into contact with your food!
7. Under the Nile ~ Organic Cotton Swaddle Blanket
8. PlanToys ~ Baby Car
9. gDiapers ~ Little gPant in Gurple Purple
10. Under the Nile ~ Organic Cotton Long Sleeve Side Snap Babybody in Sage
22
Updated November 2013
3 Letter from Wild Mint
4 6 Reasons Why Children Are More Susceptible
to Toxins Than Adults
5 Wild Mint’s Guide to a Healthy & Safe Nursery
8 Nursery Guide ~ Furniture & Cribs
9 Nursery Guide ~ Mattress & Bedding
10 Nursery Guide ~ Toys & Teethers
11 Nursery Guide ~ Babycare Products
12 Nursery Guide ~ Paints
13 Nursery Guide ~ Feeding, Cleaning, & More
15 Nursery Guide ~ Good Practices That Won’t
Cost a Penny
16 Wild Mint’s Healthy Baby Checklist
18 Baby Food Recipe ~ A Cherry Date
19 Baby Food Recipe ~ Bananacado
At Wild Mint, we understand that creating a
completely toxin-free nursery can be challenging and
can get expensive, which is why we want to help guide
you step by step to a safer nursery for your little one!
Remember…don’t feel guilty for what you cannot do
because even the smallest thing makes a big
difference!
After going through this guide, prioritize which
step or steps are most important to you right now and
start there. Once those steps become habits, you’ll
be ready to move onto more. Just think, you’ve
already completed one of the most important steps…
taking the initiative to learn how to create a healthier
home!
Thanks for joining our conscious movemint!
Sincerely,
The Wild Mint Team
20 Guide to Safer Baby Bottles & Sippy Cups
22 Blog Love ~ Lori from Groovy Green Livin’
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1. Smaller bodies = bigger toxic proportions.
Compared to adults, children breathe in more air, drink more
water, and eat more food in relation to their body weight,
resulting in higher toxic proportions in their bodies.
Did you know that babies may be exposed to as many as 300
toxic chemicals in a new nursery?
Did you also know that although we can’t always see or smell
these chemicals, small children are much more likely to be
affected by them than adults?
Luckily, there are many steps
parents can take to help reduce
their children’s exposure to harmful
chemicals, and understanding why
babies and children are more at
risk is an important first step…
2. Speedy metabolism, speedy absorption.
Children’s fast metabolisms result in faster and greater absorption
of toxins.
3. Closer to the ground, closer to toxins.
Because air pollutants settle on the ground, there is a higher
toxic concentration of toxins on the ground where children play.
4. Mouth mysteries.
How often do children put things in their mouths? All. The. Time.
Whether it’s their fingers or chewing on a toy, the mouth is an
easy entryway for toxins.
5. Weaker immune system = weaker toxic protection.
A baby’s immune system often isn’t developed enough to
counteract the affect of toxins like an adult’s can.
6. Womb worries.
Rapidly changing cells, particularly in the central nervous system
during embryonic and fetal growth, are more vulnerable to toxins
than fully developed cells.
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Paints, pg 12
Mattress & Bedding, pg 9
Furniture, pg 8
Babycare, pg 11
Toys & Teethers, pg 10
Feeding, Cleaning, & More, pg 13
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wild mint . 7
Formaldehyde-free
Look for formaldehyde-free, low VOC (volatile organic compounds)
paints and glues, and non-toxic finishes when choosing new
furniture.
Air it out
Let new furniture air out for about a week before installing to help
reduce the presence of VOCs in your home.
Organic mattress
72% of standard crib mattresses can contain harmful chemicals
including formaldehyde, flame-retardants, polybrominated
diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), PVCs, antibacterials, and waterproofing
finishes.
Organic cotton bedding
Many bedding finishes can contain formaldehyde, but organic
cotton is grown without the use of toxic pesticides or fertilizers.
Solid wood
If purchasing new furniture, avoid pressed/composite woods,
particleboard, plywood, and chipboard. Instead, choose solid
wood furniture, which emits much lower levels of formaldehyde.
Buy used
This is an affordable way to help reduce exposure to formaldehyde
because most formaldehyde resins “set” or “off gas” after five years,
making formaldehyde exposure much lower in older furniture than
newer.
Safer cushions
Choose organic cotton and wool filled cushions (wool is naturally
flame retardant) to help avoid toxins.
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Feeding, Cleaning, & More, pg 13
wild mint . 9
Try your best to avoid plastics.
Avoiding plastics overall can be challenging, so checking the resin
code/number is always a good idea. Those labeled 1, 2, 4, or 5
are considered safer. But to avoid potentially harmful chemicals in
plastics all together, choose natural materials like unpainted
wooden toys, organic cotton cloth, or plush toys.
Toxin-free paints
Watch for painted toys to make sure the paint is non-toxic and
lead free.
Check for toy recalls.
The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) is a great place
to look.
Watch out for “babywashing”
Terms like pure, natural, safe, eco-friendly, and BPA free are not
regulated, so companies are free to use them on their labels
even without strong evidence. Do your research before
purchasing products to make sure the product meets your
personal standards for safety. For more information on toxins
to avoid when choosing babycare products, visit our skincare
guide.
Go organic
Look for products with the USDA Organic seal, signifying the
product uses ingredients grown without toxic pesticides and
other harmful chemicals.
Make your own
If you’re a DIY kind of person and good
at it, we’d love for you to share your recipes
with us in the comments!
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Zero VOC, solvent free, and non-toxic paint
Conventional paints can release VOCs for up to three years!
Look for Green Seal-Certified paints
This seal means the paint has met the strictest indoor-air-quality
standards in the US.
Leave the room during painting
Even if the paint has low VOCs, it’s safest to be away from a room
that is being painted.
Natural milk paints
These paints are odorless and made from milk
protein and earth pigments and don’t
contain preservatives
or biocides.
Diapering
For disposables, choose chlorine-free, unscented diapers. If you
opt for reusable cloth diapers, use ones that are PVC-free.
Toxin-free baby feeding
Plastic baby bottles, sippy cups, plates, and other baby feeding
gear may contain toxic chemicals like BPA and PVCs. To help
reduce exposure to chemicals found in plastics, switch to glass or
stainless steel alternatives.
Organic cotton fabrics
When it comes to choosing fabric-based products like onesies,
swaddle blankets, sheets, and more, choose organic cotton
fabric. Not only is organic cotton more eco friendly than
conventional cotton, but it is also made without the use of pesticides or fertilizers.
Décor
Do your best to avoid plastics and look for more natural
materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and flax.
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Safer cleaning products
Choose toxin-free cleaning products, but watch out for greenwashing. Learn more about greenwashing and toxins to avoid in
cleaning products here. You can also make your own cleaning
products if you choose! Please share your recipes with us in the
comments.
Foam baby products
70% of foam baby products (changing pads, car seats, and
cradle cushions) can contain flame-retardants and vinyl wraps.
Instead, choose wool or cotton
filled pads and PVC-free
waterproof materials.
Good flooring
Choose more natural flooring options
like cork or hardwood. If you choose
carpeting, be sure to vacuum regularly
and clean with toxin-free products.
14
Fresh air.
Open a window to air out the indoor air pollutants in your home
and bring in fresh, clean air.
Clean often.
Dust and dirt is full of toxic chemicals so regularly wash sheets,
vacuum, and wipe down surfaces for a healthier environment.
Keep it simple.
The more products you have, the higher the probability toxins will
be released into the environment. So, keep it simple and try to
only buy items you need!
Healthy Child Healthy World
PBS
Rodale
World Health Organization
wild mint . 15
Below are some of our suggestions for a healthy baby checklist
over at Wild Mint Shop. To view our favorite products, just click on the
individual text below and you’ll be taken to our site!
Clothing and Blankets
• Organic cotton swaddle blankets
• Organic cotton clothing
• Organic crib sheets and blankets
Bath
• Organic towels and wash cloths
• Toxin-free body care (lotions, shampoos,
body wash, balms, and more)
• Natural sunscreen
Nursing/feeding
• Natural nipple butter
• Organic nursing pads
• Safe baby bottles
• Safe food containers
• Organic bibs
• Burp cloths
Playtime
• Natural teethers
• Natural toys
• Toxin-free arts and crafts
Diapering
• Cloth diapers
• Natural creams and remedies
• Non toxic diaper bags
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wild mint . 17
Ingredients (organic if you can!):
1 cup cherries, pitted
1 cup pitted dried dates
Directions:
1. Preparing: make sure you wash all fruits and veggies well, as
well as your hands and cooking utensils.
2. Dice the cherries and dates into small pieces or puree them
together in a food processor or blender, adding breast milk or
water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
3. Store and serve in Wean Green glass containers (our favorite!).
If not using within 2-3 days, store puree in the freezer; otherwise
the fridge is fine. Generally, you should not leave purees in the
freezer longer than 3 months.
Ingredients (organic if you can!):
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1 banana, peeled
Directions:
1. Preparing: make sure you wash all fruits and veggies well, as
well as your hands and cooking utensils.
2. Puree the banana and avocado in a food processor or
blender, adding breast milk or water as needed to achieve the
desired consistency. Or, if the avocado and banana are very
ripe, you can just mash them with a fork, leaving some chunks for
your little one to try some new textures!
3. Store and Serve in Wean Green Containers! If not using within
2-3 days, store puree in the freezer; otherwise the fridge is fine.
Generally, you should not leave purees in the freezer longer
than 3 months.
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A Little Bundle of Joy,
An Enormously, Easy Fix
a Big BPA Situation,
If you already have bottles at home:
and an Enormously, Easy Fix!
After welcoming a new baby into your life, one of
your first jobs as a parent is feeding. Whether or not you
choose to breast feed, there will be a time when you
will need a baby bottle, sippy cup, or both. But while
feeding your little bundle of joy, the issue of chemicals
in plastics presents itself. In this article we talk about the
potential dangers of toxins in baby bottles and sippy
cups, and suggest tips for avoiding exposure to these
chemicals in your child’s life—helping you promote a
non-toxic lifestyle from the very beginning!
A Big BPA Situation
From the 1960s up until the FDA ban in 2012,
the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) was used to make
many hard plastic baby bottles and cups for toddlers.
When plastics have BPA in them, the chemical often
breaks down and leaches into the food or drink the
plastic is storing. This leaching, which occurs at a faster
rate when plastic is heated, attributes to BPA exposure
that has been linked to numerous health concerns including miscarriages, infertility, abnormal chromosomes,
diabetes, heart disease, and increased susceptibility to
certain cancers.
Although the FDA banned BPA in baby bottles
and sippy cups in 2012, there are still concerns over
what is and is not safe. Many questions remain unanswered such as what chemicals are companies using
to replace the BPA? Research and recent studies have
found that the main BPA alternative used by manufacturers is a chemical similar in structure to BPA, bisphenol-S
(BPS). Like BPA, BPS has been shown to mimic estrogen
and disrupt hormones in the body, potentially leading to
the same negative health effects linked to BPA. It would
seem at this point that even with some regulations in
place, plastic is not the safest material due to the uncertainty of chemicals used in its composition.
20
Get rid of your old and worn bottles and sippy cups.
Overly used bottles will leach BPA at a faster rate than
newer bottles.
Don’t heat your bottles. If you have polycarbonate
plastic bottles (Plastic Code #7) at home, never add
boiling water to them because that will drastically increase the rate at which BPA and other chemicals leach
out.
If you’re going bottle and sippy cup shopping:
If plastic bottles are your only option, keep in mind
that some plastics are safer than others. If you are
looking for plastic baby bottles, try to get bottles with
the following codes punched on the bottom: low-density
polyethylene (LDPE or plastic #4) or polypropylene (PP
or plastic #5) (although we suggest trying to avoid
plastics as much as possible!).
Glass or Stainless Steel Baby Bottles and Sippy
Cups. Glass and stainless steel baby bottles are both
safe, BPA-free alternatives to plastic bottles.
Nipples made of medical-grade silicone. Silicone
is BPA free, durable, and dishwasher safe. Both Klean
Kanteen and Lifefactory use nipples made from medical-grade silicone in their baby bottles.
Avoid aluminum. Some low end aluminum cups may be
lined with a resin that contains BPA.
Avoid polycarbonate plastics. This type of plastic is a
#7 plastic and can leach BPA.
Double check that all parts are BPA free. That
means the bottle tops and sippy caps too! BPA can be
in more than just the base of the bottle or cup itself.
Resources:
Discovery News
Environmental Health News
NY Times
Sierra Club Green Home
wild mint . 21
While creating our Healthy Baby Check List, we contacted one of our
favorite green bloggers and friend, Lori Popkewitz Alper, who started her blog
Groovy Green Livin’ as a means of inspiring greener living and a healthy lifestyle.
At Wild Mint, we value Lori’s opinions, so we knew we had to ask her to share
some of her inspiration for toxin-free living with kids and for her top 10 “must have”
non-toxic nursery items from our site!
Lori: “When my three boys were babies I felt compelled as a parent to do my best to protect them. My
maternal instinct kicked into overdrive. I began searching for products that were safe for their little,
immature immune systems. I began reading labels and educating myself on what to look for in safe,
non-toxic products. We all know that nothing is more important than our children’s health.”
Lori’s top 10 “must have” non-toxic nursery items from Wild Mint:
1. Better Life 2am Miracle Natural Nursery Cleaner
I love this stuff and use it for everything!
2. Under the Nile ~ Organic Cotton Monkey Bib
3. Earth Mama Angel Baby ~ Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash
I still use this for my kids. Completely safe and non-toxic.
4. Lifefactory ~ 4 ounce Glass Baby Bottle w/ Nipple
I use a Lifefactory water bottle as my own personal reusable water
bottle. I wish these baby bottles had been around when my kids were infants.
Glass is the way to go…no risk of plastics and nasty toxins leaching into your baby’s milk.
5. Buttercup & Jake ~ Golden Calendula Oil
6. Greentainer ~ Snack Set, Stainless Steel Food Containers
Love these containers for carrying snacks. They’re completely stainless
steel so there’s no chance of plastic coming into contact with your food!
7. Under the Nile ~ Organic Cotton Swaddle Blanket
8. PlanToys ~ Baby Car
9. gDiapers ~ Little gPant in Gurple Purple
10. Under the Nile ~ Organic Cotton Long Sleeve Side Snap Babybody in Sage
22
Updated November 2013