Baby gifts are a perfect way to introduce new parents to go green clothing and products. When you give a gift to a new baby, consider the many options in green baby products. Giving green gifts is increasingly becoming popular, because it offers an opportunity for your gift to stand out from the usual baby gifts, while making a positive impact on the Earth.
Your choices in buying green baby clothes are just so many and increases almost daily. These days, you can find organically-grown cotton clothing fairly easy. Organic cotton is free from toxic chemicals and grown with natural fertilizers. Bamboo is also an excellent choice for baby clothes, as it is not just softer that the softest cotton on the market, but eco-friendly too. Bamboo fabrics have a natural sheen and are often compared to cashmere and silk. Another wonderful benefit of using bamboo fabric for baby clothing is that it has naturally-occurring antibacterial properties.
With climate change, global warming, and pollution as increasingly hot topics in the mainstream, organic clothing (clothing made from natural materials with no chemicals) is growing in popularity. Cotton, as one of the most common clothing materials, is now available in organic cotton. Organic cotton clothing, as the name implies, is made without chemicals during both the manufacturing of the shirt and in the harvesting from the actual cotton plant.
When buying an organic cotton shirt, or any article of organic cotton clothing, you can rest assured that you are doing a small part to help the environment. And while it is a small part, a lot of small parts can add up to a big difference.
Over the years, my husband and I have developed a Sunday morning routine that I wouldn’t trade for the world. As busy as we might be with social functions on Saturday night, there’s always a sense of comfort and assurance knowing that Sunday will be lazy and laid-back. I like to start things off early by getting up and collecting the New York Times from my doorstep. The arts section and the crossword puzzle are my favorites.
From there I’ll turn on some light jazz music while my husband fumbles around with the coffee pot. Then one of us will begin cooking a breakfast with all the weekend essentials - eggs, bacon, toast and maybe even a pancake or two. Of course it goes without saying that I never change out of my organic sweats throughout this entire process. I’ll start worrying about fashion again when Monday morning comes around.
When shopping around for quality bedding materials, it’s important to be able to separate the marketing fluff from the genuinely useful information. The “thread count” phenomenon is a perfect example. For many years, consumers swore that having a high thread count automatically ensured that a set of sheets would be soft and durable. That belief is misguided at best.
Thread count refers to the number of threads per square inch of material, and it fails to factor in the construction of the sheet and the quality of the material used. Fiber quality and yarn size are much stronger indicators. Organic cotton sheets made from long-staple cotton are easily the most durable and softest type of bedding available. Lighter fabrics are made from finer yarn, so keep that in mind when you’re looking at insulation and breathability.
On average, I spend 10 to 12 hours of the day at work or at least en route during my commute. For that reason, I make sure to spend every spare moment catching up with my family. I think my son and daughter appreciate all the work I do to help them afford the nice things they enjoy, but there’s still an occasional pang of guilt when I miss soccer practice or a ballet recital.
“Business casual” just isn’t an option at my office where my job entails wooing wealthy corporate clients. I have to look my best all the time when I’m on the clock, and that means three-piece suits, pressed slacks and wingtips. The second I get home, all that formality goes right out the window. I slip on a pair of organic sweatpants and help my wife with dinner preparations. I figure it’s an indulgence I’ve earned.
There are few joys in life that compare to the feeling new parents experience when they bring their baby home for the first time. In their earliest stages of infancy, children are so fragile and tiny that one can’t help but be charmed. Most parents plan for the baby’s arrival well in advance, setting up a nursery with all of the furniture and other essentials. Even before the baby grows old enough to be mobile, it’s essential that parents make the nursery child-proof.
When tackling such crucial safety measures, you’ll need to begin by fitting any sharp edges in the room with padding. This means encasing the corners of furniture with some sort of barrier. Use heavy-duty tape or special plastic inserts to block off electrical sockets. Move any furniture that’s near a window away to the other side of the room. With these steps completed, you’ll be ready to deliver the child to his new home, securely covered with an organic baby wrap.
If you’ve spent any time comparison shopping for sheets, you’ve probably been confronted with confusing claims regarding thread count. Don’t be embarrassed - it’s a tricky subject that often involves misleading information and subterfuge. For many years, conventional knowledge suggested that the quality of sheets was solely determined by thread count. But things became a bit more complicated when bedding manufacturers started twisting threads into two-ply sheets. Suddenly a set of sheets with 200-thread-count softness could be marketed as having a 400 thread count.
Today, thread length represents the most reliable way to determine the quality of flat sheets. A long cotton fiber tends to come from better cotton and in turn creates stronger, smoother fabric. Short fibers are prickly and scratchy to the skin. When comparing fabrics, hold them up to the light and judge them based on their level of transparency. The more solid and opaque the fabric, the more likely it is to be soft and more durable.
There’s been a bit of a backlash against organic products in recent years. It’s true that organic food can be pricy and its benefits dubious at times. But the same cannot be said for clothing and linens. Organic cotton is remarkably different in terms of look and feel. It’s remarkably soft and comfortable, but the environmental and safety impact are what really matters.
The cotton fibers that go into making organic cotton shirts are cultivated without pesticides or genetically modified seeds. Once the shirt is finished, it’s never treated with bleach or other harsh chemicals that can be harmful to the skin. As a result, organic clothing represents the safest, most environmentally friendly alternative on the market.
We all get a little tired of how our bathroom looks, but the truth is, redefining the bathroom is easier than most people think. Start with a fresh coat of paint. Paint is inexpensive and can add a splash of cover or revive the look of the bathroom. Make sure to get some painters tape as well to avoid those ugly splotches and marks on the countertops and bath tile. Next, address the towels. A new set of organic towels to complement the new coat of paint can go a long way. Choose a color that either provides contrast or blends with the paint. Next address the knobs on the cabinets. Some new cabinet pulls and knobs can go a long way towards redefining the look of the bathroom. For people who have a little bit more money on hand, see about addressing the lighting. A new lighting fixture will change the lighting scheme and the aesthetic of the bathroom.
With these steps, just about anyone can have a redefined bathroom with just a couple hundred dollars, or even less for people who are thrifty.