Tales from the Crib: Tips for a Green Baby

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When talking about creating a healthy home, I’ve often said the first place to begin is in the bedroom.  For families with children, especially babies, the first place to start is in the nursery.  We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping, in close contact with bedding, mattresses and the often closed-air environment of a modern bedroom; for babies, their contact with nursery materials is multiplied as they can spend many more hours in sleep.

During sleep, your body works to remove any toxins you were exposed to during the day, and to restore energy and health. Babies, with their rapidly growing minds and bodies, need a pristine environment with clean air and minimal contaminants. According to the EPA, one of the top five hazards to human health is indoor air.  Here are some simple steps you can take to keep your baby happy and healthy:

  • When painting the nursery and refinishing floors, use no VOC paints and finishes.  VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds, chemicals (such as benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, and zylene) that “off-gas” for extended periods of time into the air we breathe. Non-toxic, no-VOC paints use water as a carrier instead of petroleum-based solvents, reducing the levels of heavy metals. Look for products with the Green Seal Standard, which certifies that they meet certain industry standards for VOCs.  (One of my favorite products is Envirosafe, a company which which uses no fungicides or biocides at all)

 

  • Choose hardwood, stone or tile floors that can be easily cleaned, and cover them with an organic wool or cotton rug.

 

  • Select an organic mattress for the crib, made with natural latex, wool or organic cotton. Be sure all the baby bedding is organic as well.  Babies snuggle into their blankets and put their mouths on everything; non-organic cotton is grown in fields soaked in insecticides.  Dyes and color fixers use heavy metals such as chromium, copper and zinc.  A good source for organic baby bedding and bath items is Coyuchi.  Their products are made from 100% certified organic cotton and are produced using fair labor practices.

 

 

  • Choose eco-friendly wood furniture that is FSC certified, a designation from the Forest Stewardship Council ensuring that the wood was grown and harvested in a way that protects forests for the long term. Chemicals such as formaldehyde and polyisocyanurate can also be emitted from plywood and manufactured wood products.The Organic Mattress Store offers maple, oak, ash or cherry cribs made without plywood or particleboard; it comes unfinished or with a Green Seal Tung Oil organic finish.  It’s also the place to get organic baby mattresses, made with natural rubber and organic wool, a natural fire deterrent.

 

  • Invest in a good air-filtration system. Clear the nursery air by adding a room purifier, or go one step further and install a central filtration system. Models are available that clear particulates that can’t be seen by the naked eye, such as dust and pet dander, along with mold spores, pollen and chemical gases such as sulfuric acid, ammonia and formaldehyde.

 

  • Be clean and green with non-toxic cleaners.  Many conventional cleaning products actually can pollute baby’s room with a toxic mixture of petrochemicals.  Seventh Generation has created a line of safe, natural baby products, as part of their “Campaign for a Toxin-Free Generation.”  You can purchase everything from  safe nursery and household cleaning products to diapers, baby laundry detergent and gentle skin care.

 

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Other important Green Baby Tips:

  • Be sure to use glass baby bottles, never plastic.  When plastic is heated, it can leach a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) into baby formula at forty times the safe limit, potentially disrupting baby’s endocrine system.  

 

  • Dress baby in non-toxic sleepwear.  There are options which use acrylics and natural materials with tight weaves that can pass flame retardancy standards without the use of polybrominatd diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a chemical which is now found worldwide in dust, indoor and outdoor air, and waterways.

 

  • Make health and wellness as natural a choice in your daily life as the love and attention you so effortlessly give your precious children.  A healthy child is raised in a healthy home, and a healthy home is the ultimate luxury.

 

Living Brightly on the Earth

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Few things affect our moods and the beauty of our surroundings more than light.  Especially in the winter months, the lights we choose to vanquish the shadows of the early evening darkness are critical to living well, and for many of us, feeling happy. Luckily, LED lights, the most efficient lighting available, are getting better and better.

 

We’re used to the warm golden glow of incandescent bulbs, but they’ve been described as little heaters that happen to put out light. Incandescent bulbs burn out quickly and are inefficient energy users when compared to newer sources of lighting.  LED lights (Light Emitting Diodes) were first introduced six years ago, providing a greener option than compact flourescent lights (CFLs), which contain mercury.

 

The first generation of LEDS, though, cast a cool, bluish light, which was a problem for some consumers.  Thanks to recent developments in LED technology, the new bulbs produce a much warmer light, closer to the warmth of traditional incandescent bulbs. Lest you believe that LED lights can’t be beautiful, take a look at the glorious holiday light display at the famous Longwood Gardens in Delaware.  The Gardens converted to 100% LED lighting this year, and their Christmas event is more spectacular than ever.

 

Although LED lights are more expensive initially to purchase, they last significantly longer, in some cases, for as long as 20 years.  This makes them invaluable when placing them in hard to reach ceiling and recessed fixtures, and for commercial buildings and skyscrapers.  LED lights reach 80 % efficiency, which means 80% of the electrical energy is converted to light energy, with only 20% lost as heat energy.  Compare that with the incandescent bulb, which converts only 20% of the electrical energy to light energy, and loses 80% as heat energy.

 

Incandescent lights, contrary to rumors, will still be available, but the old 100 watt bulb is being replaced by 72 watt bulbs with the same light output and a longer life.  Whatever kind of lighting you prefer, energy efficiency has become a driving force in the industry. That’s good news for your home, your office, and the earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting Pretty

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Whoever said “ignorance is bliss” surely wasn’t talking about environmentally friendly home design and furnishings.  When you curl up on your sofa with your family around you, or snuggle into a comfortable chair with a good book, chances are you didn’t intend to invite a long list of toxic chemicals to join you.  But invited or not, unless you’re decorating with sustainable upholstered furniture, they’re there.

Along with your friends, you may be sitting down with substances like formaldehyde, polyurethane, brominated flame retardants (PBDE’s), and dioxin.  Other unwanted guests may join you via wood finishes and paints.  All of these toxins infiltrate your home and the air you breathe through “offgassing,” the release of chemicals into the air through evaporation.  Not only a concern with new furniture, offgassing can continue for years, impacting your health with symptoms like eye, nose and throat irritation, fatigue, asthma, and eventually, may even weaken your immune system.

In my work as an interior designer, I am pleased to find that every year, the list of eco-friendly furniture manufacturers grows larger.  As we learn more about the importance of a pristine indoor environment, we don’t need to sacrifice an ounce of beauty or elegance.  My joy and my passion lies in creating interiors that combine sophisticated, stylish living with the very latest in sustainable design. And each year, to my delight, more and more people are opting for healthy, eco-sensitive products in their homes.

The products used to make your upholstered and wood furniture are important.  Today, we have the option of choosing soy-based versus foam cushions, recycled filling for pillows, water based stains and organic upholstery fabric.  In addition, we can choose wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), ensuring that the products are derived from forests that are managed to specific environmental standards.

Some of the organic materials that are available are among the world’s most luxurious, including organic cotton, hemp, linen, and wool.  For our best health, the textiles should be colored with low-impact dyes.  Non-organic cotton, by the way, is a heavily toxin-laden fabric.  As a non-food plant, cotton is grown in fields soaked in insecticides, and the manufacturing process creates both air and water pollution from the process of turning picked cotton into yarn and thread.

As important as the right materials, however, is the quality of your new pieces.  They must be comfortable, beautiful, and long-lasting.  Poorly designed furniture, no matter what is used in its construction, is destined to end up in a landfill before long.  The longer your furniture lasts, the smaller the environmental footprint it leaves behind.  Your furniture then should be chosen for its strong frame and springs, carefully manufactured fillings, and premium fabrics.  The good news is, with a little research and guidance, your home can be healthier than ever before, and as exquisitely decorated as you dreamed it would be.

 

CT Cottages & Gardens: Nantucket Style!

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Join me in celebrating our eight page spread in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Magazine.  The February issue of the magazine features my newly remodeled Nantucket home by the sea!  Completely “green” in design from front door to chimney top, all the building materials, cabinetry, flooring and finishes were carefully selected to be as healthy as they are beautiful.

Creating a home as fresh as the sea breezes that blow through the windows is easier than ever now, as eco-friendly choices in rugs, upholstered furniture, and drapery fabrics are rapidly expanding.  I invite you to pick up a copy of the magazine or visit their website for an “e-visit!’  I hope it feels like a little bit of summer for you.

The article is available now on Connecticut Cottages & Gardens’ website!