Monthly Archives: June 2007

Free Anti-Racist Parent Handbook

While it’s not exactly a “Green” topic as such, I think most people who are concerned about the environment can appreciate this offer for a free Anti-Racist Parent Handbook. You don’t have to sign up for a newsletter or anything, just download it directly from their site.

The advice in this ebook comes from submissions by readers of the anti-racist parents website. The varying viewpoints should make it easier to choose the things that would be most workable for your family.

Racism is still a tragically real problem, and it’s easy to let the minor bits of racism slide because you just don’t think they are that bad. But you should try to help your children understand that sometimes they will see or hear things that should not be acceptable. How else will they know how to cope?

Race and kids can be an interesting issue. One day at the grocery store my daughter looked at the girl bagging our groceries, who was black. Now, my daughter had seen black people before, but for some reason this time the question came out… Continue reading →

Why Are Antibacterial Products So Hard to Avoid?

I’ve tried for years to avoid antibacterial products. They’re just an annoyance to me, as I trust soap and common cleaning to take care of the germs that matter. I don’t need a sterile home.

Heck, if I wanted that I wouldn’t have had kids!

But antibacterial products are all over the place. And there’s an article in Scientific American that my husband pointed out to me that confirms my own feelings on the matter – that antibacterial products are not good to use.

The trouble is that they tend to produce resistant bacteria. That’s always a bad idea.

Triclosan is a common one you should be checking ingredient lists for. Not all products that use it call themselves antibacterial. It hasn’t been shown to be a problem in humans so far, but the potential is there. It may act as an endocrine disrupter in bullfrogs and rats.

Too few bacteria also means that children don’t develop the natural immunities they need for a healthy life. Continue reading →

How Organic is Organic?

I like the idea of buying organic products. They don’t always fit into my budget, but when they do it’s an easy choice to make. Better for me, better for the planet. What could be better?

The trouble is that “organic” is not as definite a term as it would appear in some ways. The USDA standards for organic have loopholes that allow things that are not organically produced to be included in products labeled as “organic”.

The loophole is quite simple and wide. An organic version of the product must simply not be “commercially available”.

Frankly, if that’s the case I don’t want them to produce a supposed organic version of that item. I can cope with things not being organic if they aren’t available. Claiming organic when something clearly is not is merely USDA-allowed (encouraged?) false advertising. The USDA has been working on changing the standards, but this has been a highly controversial process, in large part due to the products they want to allow and the short comment period they attempted.

I do find this frustrating. As I said, if it can’t be produced organically I don’t want it labeled that way. Use an intermediate lableling, such as “produced with organic materials” or something similar for those things that by their very nature cannot be 100% organic.

I know that much of this really has to do with the companies wanting the freedom to reach the organic market, no matter what it is they are really selling. I don’t care what they want. I care what my goals are when I choose organic.

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