The baby and I were at Babies R’ Us at the Irvine Marketplace the other day and I noticed they’ve dedicated a small product stand for “green” products near the checkout registers. Like a mosquito to a flame, I automatically walked over to ooh and aah at the stuff. Most of the stuff was organic cotton things, with mottos like “Green is the new black” and “It’s easy being green” (with Kermit the Frog’s mug) were emblazoned on the front of bibs and onesies. Cute, I thought, and took one of the Kermit bibs for Ethan.

I took a couple of steps away and realized something … while he goes through them like there’s no tomorrow, my son already has a ton of bibs which have been graciously donated by his cousin in New York. The bib ended back up on the stand because after the hype, I remembered something important: the rules of living green is REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.

REDUCE:
As consumers, we are SO trained to buy what we want, not what we need. Again, while it wouldn’t hurt to have more bibs, Ethan certainly did not need any more.

REUSE:
Nearly ALL of Ethan’s bibs (as well as most of his clothes) are hand-me-downs. OK, so my son doesn’t have the latest and greatest, but for goodness’ sake, all he does is barf on them anyway. He’s a baby, not a fashion model. Besides, he has some spiffy outfits — just because they’re used doesn’t mean they’re ugly.

RECYCLE:
Well, this doesn’t really apply now, but it’s a safe bet that if we have any other kids, Ethan’s things will be handed down to him. If we have a girl, a lot of things are gender-neutral so they can still be handed-down, but if we can’t use them again, there are still plenty of options to prevent old baby clothes from ending up in landfill. Donating to other parents who need them, Goodwill, or the Salvation Army are just a few. Things that are too worn-out to resell can be made into rags or shredded into fibers to make new products.

So while it’s nice to see more organic products being sold in big chains such as BRU, it’s a shame that they’re not also promoting the three rules of green living. Buying new things just because they’re organic or even recycled doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making the greenest choice. Yes, organic material — especially those that have been fairly produced — is better than non-organic, but the first question should always be: is this really needed?

Categories: ideas, baby, shopping, environment
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I’m posting this mostly to save it somewhere where I can find it again easily …

This is originally from Greenopia.

Party Planning Guide: Green Baby Shower

By Stef McDonald

Invitations

• Go paperless and send e-mail invitations.
• If you want to go with old-fashioned paper, buy invitations made on recycled stock or print your own invitations on plain recycled cards or paper.
• Include a note to invitees encouraging them to choose organic and eco-friendly gifts.
• Include a note to invitees asking that they bring gifts that are unwrapped. As the host of the event, you can provide guests with reusable brown paper gift bags, raffia ribbon, and a minimal amount of tissue paper for a splash of color. It’s au naturale and you and your guests will be impressed with how the gifts look.

Decor

• Place fresh-cut flowers from your local farmer’s market or nursery or garden supply source on tables with food and drinks.
• Get small pots of native flowers and plants and place them around the room.
• Place soy candles on tables.

Food and Sweets

• Get food from a local restaurant or catering service that uses organic ingredients. Or make your own dishes using organic ingredients.
• Serve bowls of fresh fruit.
• Get baked goods from a local business that uses organic ingredients. Check your local farmer’s market for bakers as well. Or make your own baked goods using organic ingredients.

Gifts

• Buy clothing made from organic cotton or organic bamboo. Get bath and body products that are all-natural, organic, or chemical-free, without artificial preservatives and fragrances.
• Avoid wasteful wrapping paper and instead wrap your gift in an organic cotton towel or blanket.
• Don’t discount hand-me-downs. If you’ve had a child and have clothing or other items in storage that you’re willing to part with, bring them along.
• When the time comes to open gifts, hand out one gift to each of the guests and allow them to be opened as a group.

Extra Touches

• Bring a blank notebook and ask guests to write personal messages to the baby-to-be in crayon.
• Send leftovers and flowers home with the guests.
• Send the soy candles home with the guests and ask them to light them when they hear the happy news of the baby’s birth.

Categories: ideas, baby, events
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I just noticed that on the sides of these plastic bags, there’s a REUSE logo and a list of “10 WAYS TO REUSE YOUR TARGET BAG”:

1. Tiny Trash Can Liner
2. Doggy Duty
3. Water Balloon
4. Road Trip Rubbish
5. Soggy Laundry
6. Ice Pack
7. Toiletry Tote
8. Kitty Litter Liner
9. Tomorrow’s Lunch Bag
10. Care Package Padding

The best idea would be to bring your own shopping bags, but if plastic bags are a must, I suppose the ideas above are good ways to reuse what you already have. And to make each bag go even further (think of it as prolonging it’s demise in a landfill), I like the ideas where you can easily keep reusing the bags, such as 6, 7, 9, and 10.

Categories: ideas
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