So many of our personal care products are filled with toxic ingredients like lead, mercury and carcinogens. Trying to stop using products with these ingredients can seem impossible.

Annie Leonard has produced another great Story of Stuff animation – this time focusing on cosmetics and the ugly truth of toxics in, toxics out. (more…)

I have to apologise for being away from Greenfoot for so long. My lovely little daughter (feet pictured) was born 10 weeks ago. However, since then a newborn and three year old have kept me incredibly busy. Also, my back has been playing up a bit so I’ve not been able to spend too much time sitting at my computer.

Never-the-les, I’ve got loads of updates for Greenfoot so I aim to get cracking on them soon. Plus I’ve got a few book reviews to write.

Thanks for all your ideas about green nappies, I will definitely check them out.

Next week I’m due to have a baby so I’ll be a bit quiet on the Greenfoot front for the following few weeks or so.

I’ve been reading a book called Raising Baby Green, which has some interesting tips on how to have a green baby. It’s American so some of the information is not so relevant to Australia but some interesting tips never-the-less.

One thing I’m planning to do once my baby is born is to try out some of the newer cloth nappies on the market. These days cloth nappies have come a long way since the good old square white, towelling ones, which we used with my son. We also experimented with other more eco friendly disposable nappies, however, this ended up getting pretty expensive.

Carly over at Buddlebums kindly sent me a sample of her cloth nappies, which I will definitely be trying out.

I’m sure there are loads of great cloth and eco alternatives to the regular disposable nappies out there. Please if you know of any let me know in the comments below so I can check them out.

Cheers and see you soon.

Ever since I had my son two and a half years ago there has been a growing pile of plastic on our balcony. The pile started off as a box of soft toys and things to chew on but soon grew into two overflowing boxes of plastic toys, things that make noise, blocks, balls, teddies and books. My husband and I don’t really buy a lot of toys; most of the things have come as presents from generous family members and friends.

As I watch the pile grow I am becoming more conscious not to buy my son extra toys that he doesn’t really need. Not because I want to deprive him but just that a lot of the toys he has he doesn’t really play with. Or he plays with them briefly and then discards them for something else.

Besides his prized Buzz Lightyear doll (which is made of plastic) his other favorite toys live in our kitchen drawers - a pair of cooking tongs, which he refers to as a crocodile, and chopsticks, which he swings around like a sword and then flings into our garden.

One way I have managed to keep our toy collection down is to provide him with things around the house. The cardboard roll inside an aluminum foil container makes a great pretend telescope. I also filled some washed out plastic milk bottles with a variety of dried pulses and pasta. These make great rattles for older babies to shake and also work well as tenpins to bowl over when baby grows a little older.

However, one of the best resources I’ve found is the local toy library. It’s part of the normal library - just an extra room full of great toys (mostly wooden) that focus on helping children up to six develop their skills. At my library I can borrow a toy for up to three weeks, which is probably just enough time until my son gets bored. Then we just take it back to the library and get another one. It’s an excellent way to provide young children with the experience of playing with lots of toys but not having to keep them. The kidspot.com.au website has a handy listing of toy libraries in Australia.

Below is a list of nappy related resources. This list is a work in progress and by no way a representation of all the relevant resources in Australia. To add a link, please post it in a comment below or email me at: greenfoot at email dot com. Or visit the feedback page.

Green Nappy
Reusable, environmentally friendly cloth nappies that have a self-unfolding design and are designed by an Aussie mum.

Below is a list of children related resources. This list is a work in progress and by no way a representation of all the relevant resources in Australia. To add a link, please post it in a comment below or email me at: greenfoot at email dot com. Or visit the feedback page.

Eco toys
Non-toxic wooden and organic cotton toys that encourage babies and children to learn through imaginative play and interaction with nature.

Kidspot.com.au
Toy library locations in Australia.