Bo Peep Blog

On this, the eve of Earth Day 2010, I pledge the following:

*  to do the best I can by this beautiful planet in my personal life.  This includes (but is not limited to) not driving somewhere to go for a run; recycling; choosing “green” options as much as possible, even if it includes annoying the neighbours by not watering my lawn in the upcoming drought-like summer; and buying local whenever and wherever possible.

*  to do the best I can by my beautiful children.  This includes (but is not limited to) minimizing their exposure to BPA and plastics in general (plastic comes from petroleum….doesn’t that gross you out just a little bit?); keeping their bellies full of organic fruit and veg whenever possible; picking up garbage in our neighbourhood with my daughter for the third year running; clothing them in organic cotton whenever possible; encouraging them to bike, run, jump and play outside all summer long (weather permitting – I’m not psycho mom) and cleaning up my act in the hopes that everyone else does it too, so that my children inherit a healthy planet.

*  to do the best I can by my customers.  This includes (but is not limited to) sourcing organic wherever possible.  Organic clothing makes a HUGE difference – no pesticides mean no harmful effects to the applicators (humans), no harmful effects to the streams/lakes/rivers where the runoff accumulates (aquatic beings) and no harmful effects to the manufacturers who turn that cotton into fabric (humans again).  It also creates jobs, as the jobs those pesticides previously did now have to be done by hand.  It also includes sourcing products that minimize packaging – thus encouraging manufacturers to ship with less packaging;  continuing to use biodegradable bags (and continuing to ask, “do you need a bag?”); keeping up with “green” trends in children’s toys, clothes and footwear; recycling at work (and making my staff recycle at work!); and emphasizing that when you buy quality, you can buy less, as that $20 Quiksilver t-shirt will probably go through a couple of kids (whereas that $5 shirt from places-un-named will not make it to next month).  None of the clothes from my store that my kids have worn have EVER ended up at the landfill (needing new buttons or sewing a split seam does not equal garbage!) which is of course, better for this earth.

Happy Earth Day, everyone.

I have just finished reading “Slow Death by Rubber Duck” by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, and would like to rush out and buy copies for all of my friends.  It contains information I had vague ideas about, but these two guys treated themselves like human guinea pigs (or lab rats, more appropriately) and generated a whole pile of new scientific data I took very seriously.  Little things like: anti-bacterial products (which we don’t use in this house) containing triclosan, which is potentially a hormone disrupter.  Things like: while PCB use has been phased out, it has been replaced by PBDE‘s in furniture and carpets.  Many government sources will try and reassure you they are harmless (such as the link I sourced from Health Canada), but even minimal doses have caused cancer in rats, I don’t want it in my house!  Plastics are the other big issue:  they are ubiquitous, but you can definitely try and minimize your family’s exposure to the bad ones (labels 1, 2, 4 and 5 are okay).

What does all this have to do with sunscreen?  A customer phoned me last week to ask about ThinkBaby’s sunscreen.  I have carried their BPA-free sippy cups for quite some time and personally love them at our house.  I like ThinkBaby’s philosophy and so went to check out the sunscreen.  It met all of my criteria for beauty products – no hormone disrupters, no carcinogens, paraben-free, etc. – and it’s made domestically (in the US).  Hooray, ThinkBaby!

The only downside?  They are selling it faster than they can make it, and the store is on a waiting list.  The MINUTE it shows up in the store, I will put it on the website as well.  Your kids are, well, your kids.  Probably the best thing you ever made, right?  I know that I do everything I can to protect mine from harm, and that this includes future harm as well.  Sunscreen and UV-protective clothing is a no-brainer in this house in the summer – and here’s hoping ThinkBaby ramps up production in time for those serious rays.