Growing green
Holly Givens says that for many parents, having a child is one
of the “triggers” that makes them go green. Givens is the pub-
lic affairs advisor for the Organic Trade Association,
headquartered in Greenfield, MA. Parents worry about BPA,
about conventional cotton (often grown using potentially
carcinogenic pesticides), and about baby lotions containing
parabens, a widely used preservative. There is controversy about
the carcinogenic side effects of parabens.
Once news has broken linking a substance to a disease, it
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seems almost irrelevant whether there is sufficient evidence to
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prove the claim. Parents are still worried. According to Givens,
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they don’t want to take a chance when it comes to the safety of
their children. Parents don’t want their children to be the
guinea pigs, she says.
Chemicals that are allergy and asthma triggers for their
children, are also of concern to parents, says Dr. Renee
Hackenmiller-Paradis. She is the program director for
environmental health for the Oregon Environmental Council
in Portland, OR, an environmental, state-based non-profit to
educate consumers about environmental issues and provide
tools to reduce overall environmental impact. “I think new
parents have a heightened awareness of what comes into their
houses and their lives. They take a harder look at what they are
doing,” says Hackenmiller-Paradis.
Parents also “go green” because they see the direct benefits
of contributing to a world that will be their children’s for the I
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next 50 years, says Kathleen Raulin, owner of Lotus Bebe,
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wholesaler of luxury blankets in
Moorpark, CA. It’s also one of the
reasons why companies develop
eco-friendly products. “We live in an
area where it’s so awesome we want to
protect it,” says Leesa Valentino, vice-president
of Pedoodles, wholesaler of eco-friendly footwear,
in Kalispell, MT.
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GiftShopMag.com
Spring 2009 n GIFT SHOP 109
Organic Baby 109 3/24/09 12:34:06 PM
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