Eco Pregnancy and Baby

When you’re pregnant or caring for a newborn, you need all the sleep you can get. Thinking about toxic chemicals in your bed linens won’t keep you up nights-if you go organic. To minimize toxins: “Sheets shouldn’t be permanent-press or made with nylon or synthetic materials,” say Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu, co-authors of The Complete Organic Pregnancy. The manufacture of conventional cotton sheets requires large amounts of formaldehyde, bleaches, dyes, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

{GREEN} Launder linens with nontoxic laundry products, such as Seventh Generation Baby Laundry Liquid and Chlorine-Free Bleach. “Many families use separate laundry soap for their newborn’s clothing, but you can use baby-safe laundry soap for the rest of your family’s laundry as well,” says Kimberly Rider, author of Organic Baby: Simple Steps for Healthy Living. If you buy only one thing for the nursery, make it an organic mattress pad or cover, advises Rider.

{GREENER} Replace worn-out linens with organic-cotton varieties, which are now widely available and more affordable than ever. Cotton grown in the U.S. uses 25 percent of the insecticides in the world, so going organic will lighten the toxic load on your pillow and the planet.

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Reuse and recycle natural-fabric baby linens from friends and family and you will help reduce the huge amounts of water used to manufacture new fabric. “The fabric finishes will have been mostly laundered off, so they are less likely to emit fumes or be laden with toxic coatings,” Rider says. When it’s time to replace linens, buy from companies with responsible manufacturing practices.

Tags: environment, Green Home, green linens, green pregnancy

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