Archive for October, 2008

To ‘g’ or not to ‘g’

We’ve had a lot of inquiries lately regarding gDiapers.  Hopefully I can offer a little bit of clarity, without stepping on too many toes.  Let’s start with what I like about these diapers:

Tushies, the end of the only gel-free diaper

We have received many questions about what is happening with Tushies/Tendercare Diaper company over the last couple of weeks. In addition to the questions, we have also received a lot of orders for Tushies, far more than usual. We had no idea anything was happening until we went to reorder from our supplier and they told us that Tushies was no longer being manufactured.

Perplexed by this, I went to the Tushies website and didn’t find any information. I googled about the web trying to find something out and all I could come up with was that Tushies/Tendercre had been bought out last January by Earth’s Best (who turns out is owned by Hain Celestial, FYI). This was starting to make sense to me because in my googling I found a new alternative disposable diaper called, “Earth’s Best Tendercare“.

After all this, I called the Tushies/Tendercare customer service number and was told by the rep that they basically found out they were losing their jobs because of all the phone calls coming from Canadian parents trying to find out how to get Tushies since the stores were no longer carrying them. They were not told that Tushies was being discontinued or anything that was happening for that matter. Their office will be closed as of tomorrow. I was quite distressed by the phone call. Those poor people.

In a strange twist of events, an Earth’s Best rep was at the Baby Purity conference we attended on the weekend handing out their new diapers. Needless to say, the rep had limited knowledge of the product, whose samples were wrapped in plastic btw, and told us that indeed they had purchased Tushies/Tendercare and that Tushies was no longer being manufactured. She also told us that the new and improved Tendercare diapers are no longer being manufactured in the US of A, but now in Mexico instead. She also told us that the diapers were gel free which we can assure you they are not as we cut one open and low and behold, SAP gel crystals.

Needless to say Earth’s Best is now in my bad books. The way they have treated the former long-time staff at Tushies/Tendercare, getting rid of the only gel-free disposable diaper on the market, reps that don’t know the product, and the lack of information available to desperate parents that have been using Tushies all along is deplorable.

While we are always considering new product so we can offer our customers the best selection in natural baby products, I am not so sure you will see us offering Earth’s Best Tendercare. We received some to try and thus far it is not holding up to the others we offer. We also do not feel comfortable carrying a product that the sales rep doesn’t know much about. The packaging says that the absorbent fibres are derived from corn and wheat and makes no mention of the gel. We will try and do some more research but the fact that it is a plastic-based diaper in plastic packaging does not make it a hopeful candidate for our site. Furthermore, reviews I have read on amazon have stated that the gel leaks out all over the baby’s bum. If any of you have tried these diapers we would love your feedback.

So in closing, farewell to Tushies. Another great American family company bought out by a giant whose improvements take us that much further from why we supported it to start with.

If you are a Tushies follower and are trying to find a gel-free alternative other than cloth, I will recommend Nature Babycare diapers. These diapers do have gel but it is not a polymer gel, it is a cellulose-based gel which makes it more natural. I am sorry that we have not found a gel-free alternative for you but we will keep hunting.

RIP Tushies.

Tip of the week #2- Disinfecting Naturally

While I consider myself mainly a friend of the feared “bugs” that reside in our world, there does seem to be an undying need to conquer their existence by many of my friends. While there are times where it is certainly appropriate to disinfect things, not all bugs are bad and it is important to realize that many of them help us maintain a healthy balance of good and bad.

I have to admit I am not a fan of Clorox anything. I see people buying the 3 packs of their wipes at Costco all the time and it makes we wince. I watched in horror the other day when a mother wiped her child’s face with one after wiping down the shopping cart. It really seems that these cleaning product companies have an entire civilization completely fooled and are recklessly putting families at risk.

Do you know what is actually in many of the commonly found cleaners and disinfectants? The answer may surprise you. NO ONE does. The odd thing about laws in our fine country is that while you have a right to know every ingredient in any food product you buy, cleaning product companies do not have to list a single item as it has the right to keep its formula top secret. Meanwhile our children and pets are crawling all over surfaces cleaned with them. Oi.

One thing we do know is that most mainstream cleaners are composed of petroleum-based products. Yes, you read correctly. Petroleum. In fact, many cleaners contain petroleum-based products also found in pesticides. Essentially, when using these products, you are using pesticides in your home. In my mind, this is worse than using them in your garden. At least outside you have a breeze blowing the stuff away from you and bringing you fresh air. Inside, you are sealing it up to breathe in over and over. Yum. Not surprising that childhood asthma and allergies are now being linked to exposure to these sorts of substances. I have read a number of stories now written by mothers with children that have respiratory problems that have gone to natural cleaners and have seen a rapid improvement of their child’s condition.

So what do we do? The answer is simple and in many cases cheaper! Make your own. All you really need is some vinegar and essential oils and you are ready to go. There are many websites out there that have great recipes for cleaners on them. Google “natural cleaner recipes” and have at ‘er. You will find recipes for cleaning your bathroom, kitchen, children’s toys, cloth diapers, air fresheners, you name it.

I personally use essential oils for most of my disinfecting needs. There are several out there with disinfecting properties such as cinnamon, pine, tea tree oil, lavender, lemon, and cloves. I use 4-5 drops of tea tree oil in a bucket of hot water to wash my counters, floors and kid’s toys. I love the smell of it and it makes me feel good to know that I am cleaning my home without putting my children’s health or the natural environment at risk. I also use vinegar to clean cute little finger prints off my mirrors and windows.

So before you go for the bleach, give this a try. Sometimes convention isn’t right and the long term effects of using conventional cleaners are starting to manifest themselves. Keep your home and family clean and safe and did I mention smelling great!!!???

Learning from moms

Yesterday Corina and I packed up my dad’s truck full of the best of Better Baby Bums gear and our new display (beautifully designed by my husband), and headed for the Baby Purity conference in downtown Vancouver.

This was the first year of the conference and it was fabulous. They had great speakers on allergies and how they relate to food, plastics, and lowering our daily exposure to toxins. To top it off, there were lots of great booths with natural products available, great food and great atmosphere! We look forward to seeing the conference grow in coming years.

Because we run an online business, we don’t often get to communicate directly with our customers, namely moms like ourselves. It was fantastic for us because we got lots of great feedback on our products, which products moms would like us to carry and why and which products (namely g-Diapers) they didn’t like so much. We would like to thank you all for your feedback as we want to be able to have great stuff and only great stuff on our site.

It was exciting to see all the interest in our favourite brand of diapers, Nature Babycare. We handed out a lot of samples and sold several cases worth as well. Being at the conference, and seeing other products out there really made me realize how superior Nature Babycare really is. A 99% plastic free diaper (except for the tabs and they are working to eliminate this), compostable, complete with biodegradable packaging that uses soy-based inks, and a non toxic- cellulose-based absorbent gel. WOW. No one else can come close to that in the disposable department.

Networking is always a great part of going to these conferences. We met a few great, new Canadian companies that have some exciting products we are hoping to add to our line in the near future. Stay tuned for more stainless steel food containers, and possibly another brand of alternative disposable diapers.

Be sure to come next year!

Jen

Reducing Your Baby’s Bumprint Tip of the Week!

It is my goal as a parent to try and reduce my baby’s ecological “bum”print on this here earth. I think that this is an important goal as a parent. Not only from an environmental perspective, but from a social one as well. If we raise our children to be conscious of the way they live their lives and how this relates to the health of our planet right from the start, we have an opportunity to raise a generation of people that don’t know how to think any other way.

Think of how far the 3 R’s have gotten us. I remember being in elementary school, learning about reduce, reuse and recycle. Lord help my parents if they dared to throw away an aluminum can after that. It pains me to this very day to see my mother throw away a Becel container. What is so hard about putting it in the recycling bin instead? She shrugs at such a question. Sometimes she recycles, sometimes she doesn’t. It doesn’t bother her either way.

So my question is, what is the difference between her generation and my own? I seriously think it comes down to the 3 R’s being drilled into my school-age brain. They literally became a part of who I am. It isn’t that my mom doesn’t care about this planet, it just isn’t automatic for her to reuse an aluminum pie plate for something else later.

So… in my attempt to help us to raise a generation of automatic recyclers, reusers, “bum”print reducers, fuel consumption reductionists, lovers of nature, and the best stewards in the history of this planet, I will now come up with a weekly tip to reduce your baby’s “bum”print on our Earth.

Tip #1- Buy Bulk
Not only is buying bulk easier on your wallet, it is way easier on our planet. Just think of the packaging you are saving from our landfill and the natural resources you are saving that would have been used to make the packaging. So next time you need to buy some quick oats for some yummy oatmeal, head for the bulk section! (p.s. I reuse my plastic bags from the bulk section)
It also makes shopping more fun, what kid doesn’t like to help scoop the goodies into the bag?

See you in the bulk section.