Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash

I’ve been trying out the products those nice people at Earth Mama Angel Baby sent me, and I love them!! Tonight I used the shampoo & body wash on Madeleine who has JUST enough hair to necessitate washing…okay, not really but ALMOST! HA! Anyway…I love the smell of it and it’s a self-foaming bottle! As I send in a previous post…what’s not fun about foam soap?

Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash is a gentle, real castile soap, And like everything in the baby line, it’s made with only organic (it’s 86.4% organic) and natural ingredients. Earth Mama wants you to know: this is not a no-tear formula because it has no anesthetizing ingredients. So you’ll need to use extra care around your angel baby’s eyes!

• No sodium lauryl sulfate
• No artificial preservatives (parabens)
• No artificial fragrances or dyes
• Cruelty-free
• Toxin-free
• Certified Vegan

Here is the list of ingredients:

Saponified oils of Cocos nucifera (organic coconut) Oil, Olea europaea (organic olive) oil, Butyrospermun parkii (organic shea) butter, kosher vegetable glycerin, Aloe barbadensis (organic aloe) leaf juice, Vanilla planifolia (vanilla) bean extract, Citrus sinensis (orange) essential oil, tocopherol (Vitamin E)

Can you see why I love the smell of it? I felt really good about using it on Madeleine’s skin and it has this yummy vanilla orange smell…what’s not to like?

Earth Mama Angel Baby fabulous and phthalate free!!

I contacted Earth Mama Angel Baby to ask if they could provide me with sample products since they get such low numbers on the Environmental Working Group website, Skin Deep. Unlike the SATs a low number is a GOOD thing in this case! The person, Suzanne, I emailed with was SO nice and sent me some products which I can’t wait to try out!! Their website is beautiful and cozy and their products are innovative and fun! I just got the products in the mail yesterday so I’ll be reporting on them soon, but they forwarded me this recent press release about their products being phthalate free which I wanted to share.

NO PHTHALATES IN ANY EARTH MAMA ANGEL BABY® PRODUCTS

Founder Melinda Olson Pledges Not Now, Not Ever to Dangerous Chemicals
February 4, 2008 – Clackamas, OR – Representatives from Earth Mama Angel Baby®
announced today that none of their products has ever included phthalates and pledged
that the company would never include phthalates in the future. “Due to the study
released today by Pediatrics, I wanted to reassure all of my customers that Earth Mama
Angel Baby® has never used any ingredient containing phthalates. And I promise you,
we never will,” said Melinda Olson, founder of Earth Mama Angel Baby®, a
manufacturer of organic, all natural products for pregnancy, delivery and baby care.
Olson added that evidence that phthalates are harmful has been out for some time.
“Phthalates are often hidden on ingredient lists,” explained Olson. “Artificial fragrances,
which often contain phthalates, are exactly the type of ingredient that we would never
consider using. We publish on our web site and on every label a complete list of every
ingredient. I believe that our mamas should be able to buy our products and feel safe
using them on their biggest miracles – their angel babies.”
The study in question was released in the February issue of Pediatrics, and is available
online at the publication’s website. The research concluded that phthalate exposure was
detected in every baby studied, and that over 80 percent of the babies studied had
exposure to seven or more phthalates. In addition, those performing the study pointed
to use of baby shampoo, lotion and baby powder as the source of higher concentrations
of phthalates in the babies’ systems. Even more alarming, the findings were strongest
for babies younger than eight months who may be more susceptible to developmental
and reproductive toxins.
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals commonly found in PVC plastics, cosmetics,
personal care products (as fixatives, binders and solvents) and plastic toys. Most major
retailers have now banned the use of phthalates in toys and other products sold for
children, because of the exposure as children suck on teething rings and other toys with
the chemicals.
“This study specifically points the finger at artificial fragrances in personal care
products,” said Olson. “Artificial fragrances stay on your skin much longer than pure
essential oils – in part because of the presence of chemical additives such as
phthalates. These are on a long list of ingredients that our company has never, and will
never, use in our products. Manufacturing pure, safe, organic products for mamas and
babies has always been our #1 concern. We encourage everyone to be educated about
what they put in and on their bodies, especially when carrying a precious new baby.”

Phthalates are everywhere (not just teethers!) and it’s awesome to know that Earth Mama Angel Baby is committed to  keeping them OUT of their products.

Why should I spend more for organic cotton??

Not that my wardrobe (or Madeleine’s) contains many articles of clothing made from organic fibers YET (baby steps baby steps), but I am realizing that we should all start paying a bit more attention to how the fabrics we wear are made. I always like a quick read with bullet points so thats how I’m going to do this.

Here are some reasons I found on the web to buy organic cotton clothes:

• natural and organic fiber fabrics use fewer chemicals
• organic cloth creates less of a negative impact on the environment
• buying these natural and organic fibers supports environmental causes
• 84 million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 14.4 million acres of cotton grown in the U.S in 2000
• one pound of conventional cotton has been sprayed with an average of 1 1/4 pounds of pesticide
• Seven of the top fifteen pesticides used on cotton crops in the USA have been classified by the EPA as probable human carcinogens
• it takes 1/3 pound of pesticides to produce just enough cotton to make ONE 100% conventional cotton T-Shirt

Check out the adorable organic cotton toys at Essere Organics or the organic cotton sheets at Baby Center!!

Dirty Dozen

This is super important information!! The Environmental Working group has put out a list of the best (best=least amount of pesticides) and worst (worst=the highest levels of pesticides) fruits and vegetables. They have named this list the “Dirty Dozen”. If you are only able to buy certain organic foods for your family, this is good information to have because it will allow you to avoid the worst offenders!

If you click here you can see the list and print out a copy for your wallet.