What is organic?
If going organic was simply a case of cutting out the chemicals and raising prices, we'd see a flood of farmers going for organic certification. But organic farming is governed by strict rules that cover every aspect of production from what cows are allowed to eat to the number of permitted additives in a hamburger.
Farmers have to manage their land organically for a minimum of two years before it's eligible for organic certification. Once certified by an independant organic certification body famers must keep detailed records and undergo regular inspections and audits.
Without chemicals organic farmers work to develop a healthy, fertile soil using traditional faming methods. they feed the soil with manure, natural fertilisers and valuable nitrogen cover crops.
Organic cotton is grown without pesticides just like organic fruit and vegetables. During the milling process organic cottons are not chlorine bleached or exposed to the industrial chemicals used in general cotton processing.
Organic wool is grown on sheep that are cared for organically and like cotton the processing, spinning and weaving of the wool is completed without chlorine bleach or exposure to industrial chemicals.
The organic farming and production process means that organic products are pesticide free and help you to reduce the level of chemicals you and your family are exposed to.
What is biodegradable?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable
Who certifies that a product is organic?
All certified and biodynamic produce has been approved by an independent body known as an organic certifier, such as the ACO, BDRI, NASAA, OGA, SFQ, TOPS or OFS. These certifiers are monitored by an independent auditor from AQIS the Australian federal governments’ Quarantine and Inspection Service.
There are at least 380 organic and biodynamic certifiers providing auditing and other services for organic growers and manufacturers around the world. The European Union (EU organic standard number), United States (USDA mark) and Japan (JAS) each have government recognised standards protected by legislation and identified with marks/logos/numbers that protect the name ‘organic’. For further information on organic certification see the Organics Directory for more information.
Why should I choose organic?
Organic, unadulterated wholefoods have formed the basis of human diet through the ages. Only now has the human race been subjected to countless man-made chemicals found in food and the environment.
Organic food and products comes from organic farms utilising the best of both traditional and modern agricultural techniques and doesn’t use synthetic chemicals.By choosing organic food and produce your are actively contributing to the longevity of the planet. Healthy soils mean healthy plants, healthy animals and healthy humans.
Organic food and products are free of synthetic chemicals, pesticide residues and in many instances are fresher and thus have higher vitamin and mineral contents the non-organic variety.
Organic food's strength lies in what it doesn't contain. This stretches well beyond excluding agricultural chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides, to prohibition of artificial preservatives, colours, sweeteners, residual antibiotics, hydrogenated fats, processing aids and meaningless starches. There is, in fact, only food in organic food.
Are babies more vulnerable to the effects of chemicals than adults?
Whilst adults are well advised to avoid the chemical cocktail cited above, babies and young children are in a far more vulnerable position. Babies eat up to five times as much food per kg of body weight compared to adults, and they eat far more fruits and vegetables - the very foods most likely to contain agrichemical residues. Their central nervous system, kidneys, liver and immune system are immature, and unable to excrete these contaminants efficiently.
A recent study in 2006 measured the levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure in 23 school children before and after replacing their diet with organic food. In this study it was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped dramatically and immediately when the children switched to an organic diet.
Why do you stock items that aren't organic?
We stock the best items we can find that minimise our impact upon the planet whilst maximising their benefits to you and your family. Somtimes this means that we will stock a regular product over an organic product due to cost/availability/origin/effectiveness.
Why should I use cloth nappies on my baby?
Cloth nappies have the major environmental benefit of greatly reducing the amount of rubbish going into landfill. Studies have shown disposable nappies take up to 500 years to decompose.
This means, that ALL regular platsic based disposable nappies, ie your supermarket brands, that have EVER been used, still exist today in landfill. That is a lot of nappies!
Some people may tell you that the environmental cost of the production of cotton for cloth nappies is equal to the environmental cost of disposables going to landfill. The reason for this incorrect assumption is based on the findings of one study, which, as it turns out, was funded by a major disposable nappy company. This study only took into account the use phase of the nappies, and not the production and disposal phases. These two omitted phases are where disposables have the greatest negative environmental impact.
An independent study in 1991 by Landbank, which took into account all three phases found that in fact, cloth nappies are far better for the environment. The major findings of the Landbank study are outlined below:
Impact per infant per year
|
Cloth |
Disposable |
Impact difference |
| Energy |
2532MJ |
8900MJ |
3.5x |
| Waste Water |
12.4 cubic metres |
28 cubic metres |
2.3x |
Raw materials:
non renewable |
25kg |
208kg |
8.3x |
Raw materials:
renewable |
4kg |
361kg |
90x |
| Domestic Solid waste |
4kg |
240kg |
60x |
| Land for raw materials |
1,150-6,800ha |
29,500-32,300ha |
4 - 30x |
These findings take into account the entire process of producing and disposing of the nappies and shows the clear environmental advantages of using cloth nappies.
Disposable nappies produce a massive 60 times the amount of solid waste for landfill than cloth nappies, and use up to 30 times more land to produce the raw materials necessary for the nappies!
You can rest assured that your choice to use cloth nappies for your baby will not only look after your baby’s health and save you money, but will also be looking after the environment, and ensuring a better world for your children.
I live in an apartment, can I use cloth nappies?
Yes! We use cloth nappies in an apartment with no outdoor clothes-line and barely used the clothes dryer. You will need a drying rack that you can place near an open, sunny, window and you will need to turn the nappies over midway through drying, just like turning tofu on the barbeque so it cooks more evenly!
Just like families with clothes lines and backyards we occasionally will put our dry or nearly dry nappies into the clothes dryer on a cold setting for 10 - 15 minutes to fluff them up, but generally we wash and dry without consuming more energy than a family with a backyard clothes-line.
Why do you sell disposable nappies when cloth nappies are so much better for the environment?
Because disposable nappies can be very convenient when out and about or travelling. At ecobabe we are trying to bring more environmentally aware products to more people so by selling eco-disposable nappies we are able to reduce people's impact upon the environment by bringing them less environmentally harmful products. Over 95% of babies wear disposable nappies, if we can get more of these babies into eco-disposables and cloth nappies then we see this as a good thing.
How can I minimise my impact upon the environment?
Did you know you can have a greater impact upon the environment by expanding the 3R's to the 5R's, with the addition of Refuse and Recover.
Recycle
Reuse
Reduce
Refuse
Recover
What should I be on the lookout for when reading the ingredients list of regular products?
| Petro-Chemicals |
These are derived from petroleum and absorbed by the body. They include mineral oils contained in many baby oils and skin care products and can be drying and irritating to the skin. |
| Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): |
Commonly used as foaming agents in facial cleansers, shampoos, bubble bath, body wash and toothpaste. When absorbed through the skin SLS can remain in the liver, heart, lungs and brain and can result in eye damage. They can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. |
| Diethanolamine (DEA): |
Used as a lathering agent in shampoos and body washes. Readily absorbed through the skin and may cause irritation to the skin and eyes. |
| Glycerine: |
Only use products which contain vegetable glycerine. |
| Paraben: |
Look out for methyl, propyl, and butyl which are all potentially toxic and allergenic. |
| Soap: |
Regular store bought soap contains tallow (animal fat) which is drying in itself, and has the naturally occurring glycerine removed to allow the soap to become harder, which makes for an even more drying bar of soap.
Handmade soaps from vegetable oils still contain the glyercine and are less drying to the skin. They also don't contain animal fats nor do the contain the vast array of chemicals, detergents, perfumes, colours etc that regular store bought soap contains.
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Where possible, at we only stock products that do not contain these chemicals.
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