Win Earth Friendly baby products

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March 11, 2011 | Mrs Green | 104 Comments | Bodycare

baby-with-natural-toiletires This week we’ve been using some of the Earth Friendly baby Toiletries sent to us by Health Quest.

Even though Little miss Green is 10, I don’t see any need to resort to harsh chemicals. In fact, as she hits pre pubescence, it is even more important to use gentle, natural products on her skin. The Earth Friendly baby range of products do not use SLS, parabens or artificial colours and fragrances.

Degradable baby wipes

Funnily enough, I was most interested in the wipes! I know cleaning bums ready for nappies is thankfully a dim and distant memory now, but I’ve always been intrigued by disposable wipes – I mean, they have to be the ultimate in convenience, yet terribly bad for the environment.

We covered this topic a while ago when we were challenged to give up wipes as part of our ‘Change the World Wednesday’ challenge where you’ll be able to find my home made recipe for baby wipes.

Greenwashing

Earth Friendly stock baby wipes are backed up by certificates of biodegradability. In addition, Which? magazine, who are notorious for cutting through non-scientific claims from companies backed up the Earth Friendly biodegradability when they were investigating greenwashing.

The wipes are made from cellulose and are fully biodegradable. These wipes have gone through stringent tests and have been registered and listed by DIN CERTCO as compostable materials.

Wherever possible, Earth Friendly source wood and wood pulp from certified forests and avoid using wood which has been harvested illegally or is in violation of traditional and civil rights. The don’t use wood from forests of high conservation value and they avoid wood pulp from forests or plantations growing genetically modified trees.

So back to the products:

The Good:

The smell – these products are really mild. As a family of people who are put off by strong smells, these were perfect for us. The delicate scent of mandarin in some of the products is lovely.

Packaging for products in bottles. Clearly labelled PETE, this makes recycling easy.

Ingredients – ingredients are listed in both Latin AND English. This makes it easy to decide whether or not you want the product because you know exactly what it in it.

Price – for all natural products the price is very competitive and should sway some ‘non green’ people to try them too.

Multi purpose – so what if the Earth Friendly range is for babies? My hands are now lovely and soft thanks to the calendula day cream! In addition I’m happy to use the shampoo and massage oil on the entire family.

Performance – We have very hard water, but these products perform well.

Organic – up to 70% of the ingredients in some products are organic which is better for you and the environment.

The Bad:

Packaging for daily care cream and wipes will probably end up landfilled as there are no recycling instructions.

Bubble bath takes some getting used to as it is extremely runny! This isn’t a problem now, but initially we wasted quite a lot.

The Verdict:

When Little Miss green was a baby there were very few natural products around and I ended up making most of them myself. I also learned to separate wants from needs and discovered you actually need very few skin care products.

However, there were times when I would have liked the convenience and choice of some ‘off-the-shelf’ goodies. Earth Friendly baby certainly fill a gap in the market. Not only are these products effective and natural but the price is spot on. I’ve also seen rave reviews from parents whose children have eczema and are finding this product range helps soothe their skin.

In order to get full marks I would like to see the packaging improved throughout the entire range so that it could all be recycled easily.
If you want to try some for yourself, we have a great giveaway for you worth £27.50!