ABOUT
Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Written by EWG staff.
DONATE TO EWG!
Help us protect your health and environment! Please donate $5 to EWG today.
GET EWG'S TIPS & ACTION ALERTS
Sign Up here to receive email updates and tips from EWG and stay informed on the issues that matter most to you.
ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL
Join EWG's live chat with Chef Ann Cooper
School lunch: More fruits & veggies, please!
Texas Schools are Drilling for Dollars
Why do blowouts take so long to fix?
SEARCH ENVIROBLOG
FEATURED
Support the 2010 Safe Cosmetics Act. It's Urgent.
Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?
Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure
Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked
EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series
EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure
EWG on TV
Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill
Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water
Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen
BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics
What can I do about fluoride in my water?
What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?
Are stainless steel water bottles safe?
Is mineral-based makeup safer?
PEOPLE TALKING TOXICS
TALK TO US
Did we miss something? Email Enviroblog.
« FDA's moving goalposts on melamine in infant formula | Main | Where have all the bees gone »
Greening Santa's Workshop: Eco gifts in the blogosphere
Now that it's December, I feel safe discussing gifts. Just because my neighbors turn on their life-size candy canes before Thanksgiving doesn't mean I have to think about holiday gifts before the leftovers are gone. But now it is December, and Healthy Toys.org's 2008 Consumer Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys is officially out - and tricked out with handy tools like personalized wish lists to email family and friends (making it easier to tell grandma to go easy on the PVC this year).
So the time has come in this house to make some key gift decisions. Good thing the blogosphere - where I spend a good many of my waking hours - is chock full of guidance, tips, tools and tricks. Of course, if our laws were stronger (yep, TSCA again), we wouldn't need all the guidance, tips, tools, and tricks, but we're working on that.
In the meantime, it's good to see that Santa has been busy greening his workshop so my kids can have fun tree-side without me having to worry about their reproductive futures. Here are some of the resources that helped me find safer products with minimal hassle:
For starters, Safe Mama has some excellent guidance on how to select lead-free toys. While there were fewer recalls this year and progress with the more stringent control over lead in children's products effective in February, 2009 (yes, just after the holiday shopping season), we're still left to shop our way out of this one. The HealthyToys.org folks also have a great tool where you can check specific toys for their lead levels - and post it on your blog, no less.
And of course Z Recommends has some great ideas in its Mostly Green, Pretty Cheap Holiday Guide. It's sorted by age, to boot, and you can just click "buy here" from the site and presto, shopping done.
The Gift Guide over at Non-Toxic Kids focuses on online green retailers rather than specific toys, giving you a wealth of options - all located in the U.S. And SafBaby's got a terrific list of toys categorized by age, which, coupled with its green stocking stuffer guide, will have you covered. As they say, 'there's always a safer alternative.' Indeed.
And if you need to shop for the grown-ups in your life, TreeHugger's guide is extensive - they refused to give in to a dismal economy. They describe it this way: Our holiday gift guide this year is a blueprint for the best affordable, low-impact, and wonderful prezzies for everyone on your list. From energy-saving gadgets for the green geek to toys for the little ones, we have more than 100 green gift ideas in 12 categories that will help you consume wisely and still bring lots of holiday cheer.
Plenty magazine has some great suggestions perfectly timed for a recession in a green-obsessed country. And best thing about it? It includes our very own pollution solutions holiday gift bag. The ideal gift, if I do say so myself. Safe products, a tax deduction, and the joy of knowing you're supporting EWG's hard work to improve our nation's abysmal environmental health record. In future years, we hope to shop for holiday gifts without assessing their weighty impact on our children's environmental health. Because really, where's the holiday spirit in that?
And lastly, you can buy it all through EWG's Amazon portal, thereby funding our work while you shop, at no extra cost to you!
Leave a comment