A Post-Consumer Recycled Baby Registry

Photo credit: @muvaepiphany

In the past, we’ve written about all sorts of sustainable and eco-friendly mom and baby products but this week we’re focusing on brands that convert plastic bottles into stylish products for your baby registry and home.

Mohawk Flooring EverStrand®
Mohawk  – a leader in sustainable and environmentally responsible flooring – uses recycled plastic bottles to make its EverStrand line of carpeting. The plastic bottles actually create a stronger yarn than other PET. So you will get a durable, long-lasting carpet that contributes to a cleaner planet: made with up to 100% recycled content. With a robust selection of textures and colors featuring exceptional color clarity and fade resistance at an affordable price, you’re sure to find one that fits your style and your budget.

Lassig Green Label Neckline Diaper Bag
The Lassig Green Label Neckline bag continues to be one of – if not THE – most popular bags for eco-conscious moms’ Gugu Guru registries. The Lassig Green Label Neckline Diaper Bag keeps you organized and looks like a super-chic handbag. Made from recycled plastic bottles, it includes 2 large main compartments, lots of pockets, a changing pad, wet pocket, zip pouch, and more.


Mitz Must Love Dinosaurs Children’s Dress with Spikes
The Must Love Dinosaurs dress from Mitz Accessories is available in sizes for infants, toddlers and kids. The dress features black felt spikes that go down the back of the dress! RAWR! The spikes comfortably fold over and are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.


Green Toys
Green Toys Inc. is an eco-friendly toy company whose mantra is “every day is Earth Day.” Green Toys are made with 100% recycled milk jugs. These non-toxic products are all BPA and Phthalate Free, as well as 100% USA Made.

Gugu Guru Loves REPREVE®
When it comes to post-consumer recycled goods, the editors at Gugu Guru are especially excited about a material called REPREVE®, which is a recycled polyester yarn made from melted old plastic bottles. Unifi, the company that produces REPREVE®, is receiving heavy accolades as the company that is turning 4 billion plastic bottles into cool products. Here are just some of those awesome products that you should consider adding to your registry:

The Stair Barrier
A must for homes with multiple stories (and also great for travel), the Stair Barrier is a specially designed, fabric gate for the bottom of the stairs. With a variety of sizing options available The Stair Barrier is a stylish and effective way to keep your child and pets safe around steps with banisters. See their collection of barriers constructed with REPREVE here.

Recycled Beachfront Baby Wrap made with Repreve®
Each Beachfront Baby® Wrap made with 100% Repreve® PC polyester contains approximately 15 plastic water bottles. All of the Recycled Wraps come with a matching drawstring carry bag, which is also made with Repreve®, and the packaging for this wrap is printed on 100% recycled paper. Made in the USA, all Beachfront Baby® “one size” carriers are sewn with care by work-at-home-moms in the San Antonio, Texas area. Available in Sky Blue as shown.

Tekhni Woven Slings

Tekhni Woven Sling Studio
Born in 2013, Tekhni is the culmination of art, design and babywearing. The babywearing mom founder, Alisa DeMarco, is a painter, graphic designer, dye artist and textile designer.  Tekhni has made the pledge to create wraparound slings and accessories from the finest resources, finished by hand in Grayslake, Illinois. A variety of yarns and blends are used in my wraps– cotton, linen, silk, Repreve®, Tencel®, and more– chosen for beauty and comfort. Everything is finished lovingly by Tekhni’s local Chicago-land seamstresses.

American Flora Shop
And for mom style, we are digging American Flora Shop. The founder of American Flora got her inspiration largely from being a ballet dancer and teacher. She wanted to create pieces that would provide a comfortable feel and feminine look in the studio, and would also pair well with lifestyle wear, and was particularly focused on finding a sustainable fabric. All made in the USA, American Flora’s Life. and Sport. Collections continue to reflect the passion for designing pieces with versatility and femininity in mind. Check out this adorable Pink Bottle Headband made with REPREVE, which assures a soft, comfortable feel.

Sustainable Nursery – Save Vs. Splurge

Having a baby in the age of environmental guilt is a daunting task. You want to buy all the right things to create the safest, healthiest, and most planet-friendly environment for your newborn. But can you afford it? From the author of Spit That Out! The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids in the Age of Environmental Guilt, here is Paige Wolf’s advice on when to splurge and how to save.

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Photo from Live Sweet Photography

SPLURGE: Mattress

With the growing knowledge of phthalates, VOCs, and toxic flame retardants in conventional mattresses, new parents are increasingly interested in organic mattresses for their babies and children. After all, babies and young children spend at least half their time in bed! Unfortunately, without proper knowledge, you might find yourself buying a fake organic mattress. Since greenwashing knows no limits –and no government agency regulates the labeling of mattresses as “organic” or “natural” several companies label their mattresses ‘organic’ when they are technically not. Look for certifications by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and GREENGUARD®.

Gugu Recommended: Naturepedic Mattresses

SAVE: Bedding

Organic cotton sheets and pillowcases are more accessible and affordable than ever. Big box stores like Target sell 100% organic cotton bedding for as low as $9.99 for a crib sheet.

Gugu Recommended: Burt’s Bees Organic Crib Sheets

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SPLURGE: Crib

Due to changing safety standards, cribs are often not a safe secondhand bet. New crib safety standards took effect in June 2011 and made most cribs sold before that date technically unsafe. And cheap cribs made from pressed wood products such as particle board, plywood and fiberboard (or MDF) typically contain VOCs as well as formaldehyde in the glues and adhesives used to bond the particles together. Though hard wood is more expensive, it’s usually durable, making it a solid investment (bearing of course crib standards don’t change again!)

Gugu Recommended: Micuna Cribs

SAVE: Bed, Dresser, and Other Furnishings

When it comes to other nursery furnishings, secondhand can be a fantastic way to save money and reduce consumption. Parents are constantly selling – and even giving away – gently used furnishings on CraigsList, local parent message boards, and even Buy Nothing Project Facebook Groups. We got our son’s convertible IKEA twin bed for $20 on Craigslist and a beautifully made wooden bed for our daughter for a steal from a neighborhood group. Just keep an eye out for anything too vintage, which could be a lead paint hazard. If you are unsure, pick up a lead testing kit for about $7.

SPLURGE: Paint

This really isn’t too much of a splurge, because no-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint is now available from most major brands with a minimal premium – especially if you are just doing one room. VOC vapors can continue to leak into the air long after the paint is dry, so it’s not something you want a baby or pregnant woman exposed to.

Gugu Recommended: Lullaby Paints

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SAVE: Clothing/Layette

I don’t care how precious that designer onesie is. It will get one-to-two wears at best before it is completely destroyed. In fact, you will be lucky if it lasts an hour. Take advantage of your community and accept all the hand-me-downs you can get. While it may not always be organic, hand-me-down clothing that has been washed several times has less residue from dyes and flame retardants. If you don’t have easy access to hand-me-downs from a close family member, explore online community groups where parents offer up gently used clothing for cheap and even for free!

Gugu Recommended: Finn + Emma 

Paige is the author of Spit That Out! The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids in the Age of Environmental Guilt and the owner of Paige Wolf Media and Public Relations, a B Corporation certified eco-friendly PR firm focused on sustainable clientele. Visit www.spitthatoutthebook.com for her blog on making green living practical, manageable, and affordable.

Product Discovery: Kurobaa Cloth Diapers (Cloth Diaper + Yooki Wool Giveaway!)

Cloth diapering has become increasingly popular in the last few years. Many pregnant moms and new moms prefer cloth diapers for many reasons – cloth diapers are super eco-friendly since you reuse the same diapers and aren’t disposing of many daily diapers in the garbage; cloth diapers are great for babies with sensitive skin; cloth diapers are extremely cost efficient and can even be used from one child to the next! Today we’re highlighting a brand new cloth diaper company founded by two moms, Kurobaa Diapers.

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Kurobaa Diapers began when two cloth-diapering mamas had tried almost every single diaper on the market and decided to create their own perfect diaper from everything they learned in their trials and errors. All of their diapers are OS – one size! What does that mean for you? It means you’ll save a ton of money because these diapers grow with your babe. Their One-Size Bamboo Fitted Cloth Diaper comes with a shell, soaker and booster included with every diaper.

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Kurobaa Bamboo Fitted Diapers have a diaper shell that consists of three layers: two layers of HEAVY bamboo velour and one layer of bamboo terry. The small, envelope-style waist flaps provide a snug fit without adding excess bulk, while two rows of waist snaps are designed to eliminate “crotch droop” and leg gaps. The diaper shell also has one set of rise snaps to extend the functionality of the diaper. On the smaller rise setting, the diapers will work well for younger babies too!

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Like the diaper shell, its long tapered soaker is also made of three layers: two HEAVY bamboo velour and  one bamboo terry. The length of the soaker can be custom folded to suit the absorbency needs of the child. And the best part? This diaper comes with a bonus three-layer OBF booster. Use the booster to extend wear time during the day, or to use overnight. All of the fabric used is Oeko-tex certified to ensure no harmful substances come in contact with your baby. The diapers come in 6 different colors, so you can choose what works for you (we suggest gender neutral colors if you’re planning on reusing again!). Since these diapers are a fitted diaper style, they are designed to use under your favorite woolies; Kurobaa suggests using Yooki Wool’s leggings and shorts with their diapers.

Like what you see here? Enter below to win a Kurobaa fitted diaper, a 4-pack of wipes and a pair of Yooki Wool Leggings of your choice (excluding Cadet, Titanium, Delta and Orchid).
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Back To Sleep Day 9: Solly Baby

One of the most popular carriers on Gugu Guru’s registry is featured in today’s Back To Sleep – Solly Baby. Solly Baby offers some of the most beautiful and functional wrap style baby carriers in the market today.  Solly Baby wraps reflect your personal aesthetic; seamlessly & luxuriously integrating all of the benefits of babywearing and the beauty of still being YOU! Read on to see if this product is a fit for your lifestyle and baby registry, then enter today for a chance to win a wrap from the new FW16 collection. Can’t wait to see if you win one? GG_BacktoSleep_2016-37 eco-minded Solly Baby wraps are made of 100% Certified Lenzing Modal, sourced from the pulp of Austrian Beechwood trees. Lenzing Modal, a modal fiber from Lenzing, is naturally soft on the skin and exceptionally ecological. The fiber is produced using Edelweiss technology. Edelweiss stands for a “symbiotic” production process – pulp, the raw material, is produced at the same site as the Modal fiber itself. Thus production can be done while going easy on energy and other resources.

Traveler

Moms love traveling with their Solly Baby wrap because it’s a lifesaver! It gives you your hands back while keeping your baby close. A Solly Baby wrap helps to calm even the fussiest babies, especially babies with reflux or gas. (A Pediatric study found that wearing your infant 3 hours a day reduces infant crying by 43% – that’s something everyone on your flight will cheer about with you!) Solly Baby Wraps provide a womb-like environment for baby when you’re on the go that makes them feel secure, safe, and comfortable.

climate Because they are constructed with Certified Lenzing Modal, Solly Baby wraps are incredibly lightweight, cool to the touch and get softer with each wash all while being strong enough to be dried in a conventional dryer on low heat without wearing down.

PRODUCT WIDGET – ID: 55ca5f076336361f60610900

GG_BacktoSleep_2016-13Note: all sleep tips are independent to all the products featured in Back to Sleep and Kim West is not endorsing these products unless otherwise indicated.

Back to Sleep Day 7: Newton Baby

We are seven days into our Back To Sleep event and we are featuring true mattress innovation today with Newton Baby. Newton’s Wovenaire technology is not only 100% breathable but it has the perfect combination of cushy firmness to cradle your little one to sleep and help them stay asleep longer. What’s more is that Newton is the first washable and 100% recyclable crib mattress. Have we got your attention yet? We thought so. Read on to get the details about this cutting-edge product. GG_BacktoSleep_2016-32

climateThe Newton mattress cover has two layers of highly breathable spacer fabric quilted together in an attractive cloud pattern to create soft pillows of air. The patented Wovenaire core is 90% air and 10% food-grade polymer and provides the comfort of foam and latex without any of the drawbacks. The Wovenaire design allows for air flow through the mattress – keeping away moisture and helping regulate temperature so no more sweaty baby backs!

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Can you say 100% recyclable? Yes, that’s right – the Green Guard Gold certified Newton mattress is 100% recyclable. Additionally, the process used to manufacture Newton mattresses is environmentally responsible, as well as safe for your family. None of the foam, latex, springs and glue common in other crib mattresses means no off gassing, toxic chemicals or allergens.  Plus it’s free of biocides and toxic fire retardants.

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We give this mattress our No Fuss badge because it is WASHABLE! What’s that you say? Yes, washable. Just unzip the polyester cover and throw it right in the washing machine. Then place your Wovenaire mattress in the shower or tub and clean using a mild detergent and cold water.  Lay your Wovenair on its side to dry for 2-6 hours and voila – you have a like new mattress that will last years to come!

PRODUCT WIDGET – ID: 554e5ae963363611b8180600

GG_BacktoSleep_2016-02Note: all sleep tips are independent to all the products featured in Back to Sleep and Kim West is not endorsing these products unless otherwise indicated.