The fast growth of the organic industry puts pressure on the authenticity of organic products.

While it’s good news for organic companies that the industry is growing so fast, this does bring into question how to keep the organic standard high.
www.pbs.org Quotes:
‘In an industry where typical growth is around 1-2 per cent, organics have recently seen growth in the 20 percent range.

The “100 Percent Organic” label allows only organic ingredients and organic processing aids. The “Organic” label allows only foods containing 95 percent or more organic ingredients and only a limited number of strictly regulated non-organic ingredients.

Finally, food labeled “Made with Organic” must contain 70 percent or more organic ingredients.

Quoted from www.pbs.org

With any fast growing industry, there is pressure to conform. Pressure to dilute the reason the industries were formed in the first place.

The question is whether organics can retain their intrinsic worth in face of economic pressure.

The reason this law is controversial is that many of the fire retardants used as a matter of course have questionable health benefits. In fact, many of them are proven carcinogens.

The justification for using carcinogens in a mattress is:

1. They prevent mattresses from burning. (Statistical mattress fire fatalities are 1 in 1.11 million.)

2. The toxins stay in the mattress and are not absorbed by humans.

While reason 1. is a valid argument, reason 2. remains doubtful. It’s been proven by the CPSC itself that every night we sleeping humans absorb from our mattresses;

.802 mg Antimony (similar to arsenic – a known poison)
.081 mg Boric Acid (the active ingredient in Roach Killer)
.073 mg DBDPO (also known as DECA, a suspected carcinogen)

These may seem like tiny amounts, but they are cumulative. After all, that is one of the main characteristics of a carcinogen. And babies are more sensitive than adults of strong chemicals: their skin absorbs more, their organs are still developing, and the metabolism is faster.

To meet this new regulation, crib mattresses can contain up to half a pound of Boric Acid and Antimony. To me this seems like a back-to-front logic.

What is the desired outcome? Healthier, safer homes. Fire safety is important, but so is chemical safety.

Links: Organic Mattresses

]]> http://naturebeds.com/blog1/2008/02/27/boric-acid-in-crib-mattresses/feed/ http://naturebeds.com/blog1/2008/02/26/nursery-design-color-theory http://naturebeds.com/blog1/2008/02/26/nursery-design-color-theory#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:34:57 +0000 Naomi Nursery http://naturebeds.com/blog1/2008/02/26/nursery-design-color-theory The fun part - messing around with paint. The color of a room can change its whole feeling. In fact, color is so important, there are whole design courses devoted to it. Colors have trends and emotional associations. Colors can feel ‘warm,’ ’spacious,’ ‘light,’ ‘heavy,’ and so on.

So how to choose color when designing a nursery? Well, it’s generally agreed that baby’s rooms should feel warm, light, cozy and safe. These are all subjective qualities. However, within color theory lie a few basic rules that should make a color choice a little easier.

The color wheel. Color is divided into three basic colors - red, blue and yellow. All other colors can be made by mixing different percentages of these colors. To create shades and tints of a color, colors can be lightened or darkened by adding white or black.
The color wheel is divided into warm colors and cool colors. Warm colors are made from yellow, orange, brown, green and combinations of these colors. Cool colors are derived from of blue, green, pink, blue-greens, magentas and blue-based reds. However, depending on the makeup of a color, it can be seen as cool or warm.

For instance, yellow could go either way, depending on whether you add red of blue. Purple can be cool or warm depending on the addition of red or blue. It seems a contradiction in terms to talk about a ‘cool red,’ but here’s one I prepared earlier…

Traditionally, cool colors are considered calming. They make the space appear bigger. Warm colors are thought of as more friendly, energetic and, well, warm. Where the real fun comes in though, is when you combine different colors.

In an overall warm palette, eg. light yellow or soft peach wall color, you could add a cool green or blue window sills or curtains to complement the color. For a cool color scheme, eg. a cool white walls and light slate trim, you could add a dash of a warm brown skirting.

And there is an exact science for what constitutes a complementary color. A complimentary color is one that is opposite another color on the color wheel.

So have fun, explore the color wheel and do some paint tests on your nursery wall before committing to a few tins of paint. I’ve found that you usually need to paint a good 2 x 2″ section of wall before I can get a good idea of how a color works in a certain space.
Links:
Make your own color schemes at Adobe.com
An excellent tutorial on color theory by Worqx
Color Combo Library

A bed for babies from about 0-4 months old. A bassinet is perfect for babies before they are able to roll themselves over. It forms a cocoon like resting place.

Why Bassinets are a good idea.

They are portable, safe and their nest like quality can be comforting to a baby.

Types of Bassinets

Bassinets usually come in two types - the portable type, often called a moses basket, and the larger, non portable type. The portable type can be very handy when visiting friends with a baby. As well, it can be an easy way to keep your baby close by when working in different parts of your house. These bassinets are usually made out of wood or wicker, and part of their charm is that they haven’t changed much since biblical times. (Hence the Moses basket.)
The larger, less portable bassinets are useful in that they are usually on a stand. This sets the baby higher up - this is especially helpful if you have pets. Some models also have wheels, this can be useful for portability. Before getting one, check that the bassinet can fit through your corridors and doorways, otherwise it has limited usefulness.

Choosing a Bassinet

• Make sure the bassinet is very stable and has a wide base
• The bassinet mattress should be firm and fit inside the bassinet. There should be just room enough to fit a finger between the mattress and the bassinet side.
• If the bassinet has screw fastenings, check them periodically to make sure they are tight.
• If it has wheels, always lock them in place when stationary.
• Check for anything sharp or any rough edges that could harm your baby

Link: Organic Bassinet Sheets

Children house building is one of the best things to do - if you have a back yard, and are even a little inclined towards DIY (do-it-yourself.)
And it’s really not that hard. While buying a ready made may be a tempting and time saving option, I still remember how cool it was building a kids house with my dad when I was a little.

It’s something that brings all the best qualities you’d want to teach your kids to the fore - initiative, creativity, problem solving and how not to speak when you hit your thumbnail with the hammer.

So next time you’re at the home depot, or equivalent timber yard, check out how much some plywood, 4×2″ timber and some concrete cost. The return on investment can be hours of entertainment and priceless childhood memories.

Kid’s bedding should be soft, cool light and comfortable. The color can be soft and cool, or bright and cheerful.

It’s important to make sure the bedding is non toxic and hypoallergenic. Babies skin is so delicate, you wouldn’t want put them close to anything else.

Kids bedding can come in many different forms. From the South American hammocks Japanese tatami mats, they have one thing in common - to provide a safe resting place for a child.

Here’s a story about a favourite piece of kid’s bedding, back when organic bedding wasn’t known.

Before organic became a option, I had one piece of great organic bedding for you kids. A friend of mine got organic wool and knitted a most beautiful sleeping bag. It was hand spun wool with handmade dyes. She gave it to me and I was delighted. I could zip a baby into this bag, and I knew that even on the coldest night baby was warm. Even if they got wet, they would stay warm because of the wonderful qualities of wool.

So, although organic is now the new boutique bedding, in reality, it has been around since before sprays, tractors and combine harvesting were invented.

Links: Nature Beds Organic Baby Store

Glow in the Dark Star Stickers
You can stick these on the nursery ceiling or walls. These stars add a real character at night - not quite like you’re under the night sky, but pretty close. They are phosphorescent - absorbing light during the day, and giving it back at night.

Night lights.
These are comfort lights. I remember having one when I was young. You plug them into the wall and the give out a soft glow. These can be part of a ritual that makes turning out the light and shutting the door on a child not so daunting.

Colors
Nursery color schemes - peaceful and neutral or cheerful and sunny yellow. There are many color schemes that can transform the feeling and space of a nursery.

Finger puppets
These are great for telling stories and getting kids imaginations going.

Space savers
Bunk beds are good for kids who share a room. Beds with drawers underneath are also useful. This also makes good use of a space that otherwise gathers dust.

Organisers
Toy boxes. This helps the dreaded ‘room tidy’ when all the toys get shoved in a wardrobe by a kid in a hurry.