The Lilou Organics team found a great article by Samantha Critchell at the the Associated Press that we wanted to share with you.
Increasing popularity of organic products for infants
A test program at select Target stores is another example of the increasing popularity of organic products forinfants.
Pink and blue are passé. The hot thing in the children's market these days is green.
Parents are increasingly turned on by the idea of organic products -- clothing, creams and food made without chemicals that they feel are too harsh to be used on their pristine and delicate children.
While organic baby food has developed a strong following -- a $206 million industry last year, according to the most recent figures available from the Organic Trade Association -- interest in organic clothes and cleansers is growing as quickly as the kids they target.
Sales of organic fibers for infant clothes and cloth diapers rose 40 percent between 2004 and 2005 to $40 million; fiber sales for the child-teen market grew 52 percent to $3 million. Meanwhile, organic personal care products, including baby care, rose 34 percent to $26 million.
Whether organic products offer any health benefits is unclear; most experts say only the most sensitive children could have a problem with conventional clothing or personal care products. But parents seem more motivated by a desire to keep their kids untainted by the harshness and artificiality of the world for as long as they can.
"This is the first time -- and I've been in business 10 years -- that we're catching up to organic food," says Janice Masoud, founder of Under the Nile, an organic clothing company based in Milpitas, Calif., that specializes in children's items.
Under the Nile will launch a test program in 150 Target stores this coming holiday season with towel sets, swaddle blanket sets, a sherpa two-piece cardigan set and flannel footies. "It gives me chills that people are realizing organic cotton really is something special," she says.
From her regular collection, the most popular items are bodysuits, buntings and baby gowns that can be worn home from the hospital. Masoud thinks that's because they're all pieces that are right next to a baby's skin for long periods of time.
She cringes at the thought of the pesticides and insecticides used to grow some cotton. She also notes that formaldehyde is sometimes used in fabric's finishing process, as is polyvinyl chloride, known as PVC.
"Cotton is supposed to be a 'natural fiber,' " says Masoud, who obtained "fair trade" certification for her brand, meaning that she pays a premium to the co-op of Egyptian farmers who supply her cotton -- and they, in turn, invest in their land.
But as organic products go mainstream, their price is decreasing, Masoud says, noting that even price-conscious Wal-Mart is embracing organic baby clothes.
That said, manufacturers still pay 30 to 50 percent more for organic than conventionally grown cotton, according to Anne Dorsey, merchandise manager for Hanna Andersson's baby apparel. "It's not as easy to come by, farmers take a greater risk and there is a smaller yield," she explains.
Hanna Andersson extended its commitment to being green by adopting a European ecological certification process called Oko-Tex, which tests trims and fasteners for more than 100 substances.
A change for the better
Jessica Iclisoy, founder of California Baby, an all-natural line of bath and skin products, went into business 15 years ago after talking to the farmers she'd meet at markets when she was buying organic produce. She says she learned from them that there were botanicals that could accomplish the same thing as the chemicals in personal care products -- lemon eucalyptus in place of DEET for insect repellent, for one.
It was as she was preparing to give birth to her first child that she decided to make a lifestyle change to be green.
"Women are told to clean up their lifestyle before they have kids," Iclisoy says. "You're told to stop drinking coffee, eat healthy. I read some books then that really scared me. They talked about pesticides and hormones in meat. ... I looked at everything in my life. I looked at the skin care ingredients; a lot were allergy triggers or known carcinogens."
Rachel Hayes, Cosmopolitan magazine's beauty editor, is a fan of Earth's Best Baby Care by Jason, a partnership between two well-known companies specializing in natural products.
"The Jason organic baby products, I do like their stuff. It smells good. For organic beauty products in general, they've come a long way. Ten years ago, you'd be wondering, 'Is there a hair in it?' It had a grungy, hippie vibe," Hayes says. "Now organic products are high end, well done." However, Hayes, whose daughter Amanda is a year old, notes that many baby products -- organic or not -- often are gentle, fragrance-free and hypoallergenic.
She's also not as strict with clothes. "I do feel good about putting her in organic cotton, but I think regular cotton like Carter's or Petit Bateau can be just as good. It's more about how soft it is."
Reactions to chemicals rare
Hayes' maternal intuition is right, says Dr. Susan Bayliss Mallory, pediatric dermatologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital. It's rare for babies to have a genuine allergic reaction to the chemicals used to treat fabrics, even formaldehyde, she says. They're much more likely to suffer from irritant dermatitis, essentially sensitive skin. The children most susceptible to irritants are those considered atopic, which means they have a predisposition to asthma, hay fever and eczema.
As for absorption of chemicals from clothes and toiletries, Mallory says it can happen but, again, it's uncommon. "To be absorbed, skin has to be moist. Otherwise, the skin has so many good layers of barriers." She also doesn't believe there to be a long-term effect on the skin.
But, to avoid skin reactions altogether, Mallory suggests seeking out the simplest and gentlest cleansers and lotions. In addition, choose fabrics that are soft to the touch and launder new clothes before kids wear them, which softens fibers and washes out chemicals.
Resources: This article was found on the www.startribune.com website
