Reader Question: Non-Toxic Baby Stroller

Now my question is where do you get the information on the materials and products that are toxic? How do you become an eductated consumer, especially when it comes to baby toys?

http://www.mbdc.com/ could certainly help designa non-toxic stroller, but I don't know if they have.

There are lots of great resources online for info about products and practices that are less toxic for children. Check out The Green Guide and Mothering Magazine's website. A great print resource is Safer for Your Baby.
It is almost impossible to raise a baby without giving in to the massive overuse of plastic, I consciously avoid plastics and still have several hulking chunks of the stuff in my home. I would suggest avoiding vinyl at all costs and looking for numbers 1, 2, and 5 when plastics are unavoidable.

After I found out that 1/3 of entire world's pesticide production are being used to treat cotton, I spent some time looking for organic baby clothing. There are some online retailors, and I shopped at Cupcake
with good success. Organic cotton feels very soft and durable. Ones I got from Cupcakebabies.com is also dye free (natural color) so I think it's safe to assume that these are quite safe for babies...
It's very hard to dress your baby entirely in organic cotton clothes, so I'm buying everything organic for my baby girl's basic clothes such as onesies, t shirts...
Please share your knowledge about organic clothes.

I just did extensive research into this topic in May and June, regarding baby car seats, gliding chairs for nursing, etc. I found it to be incredibly challenging... but I did come up with companies who were willing to tell me via telephone or email that their products were PBDE-free. Companies that made this claim were Graco and Brittax regarding their baby seat, along with Dutalier for the gliding rocking chair. They did not have the information readily available. It took various means of investigation; with calls made to suppliers in Asia, etc. I CAN NOT VOUCH FOR THE VERACITY OF THIS INFORMATION. If these companies get lots of calls and emails regarding these questions, hopefully they will make it part of their public statements on their websites.

Good luck.

You can check out www.GreatGreenBaby.com for eco friendly baby products. Lots of organic cotton and non toxic toys. Also GreenBite is doing a feature this week on baby products.

Michael,
You post a list of questions that other treehugger.com visitors can ask these companies. Because I am sure that my wife and I would call to ask these questions. The hard part is knowing what to ask. Plus I would be highly interested because we are about to buy the next size carseat and we are highly considering the Brittax.

Forget about the stroller completely. Hold your baby in your arms, or use a sling if you need your hands free. The constant contact is soothing for everybody. I did this for years - the only baby containment device I used was a car seat.
Quentin

yes, use a sling..the only containment device we need are car seats. Cover them with sheep skin or organic cotton covers. Buy organic reusable diapers which save $$ and are good for the bottom and the environment.. Also organic clothing as mentioned above.. Im doing my best to find toxic free carseats..Il let you know

kaia

Hi all,
We're compiling information on PVC-free alternatives so if anyone here comes across any PVC and/or phthalate free strollers I'd love to hear about it so we can include it in our materials.

You can learn about the hazards of vinyl in consumer products at www.besafenet.com/pvc

Best,
Mike Schade
PVC Campaign Coordinator
Center for Health, Environment and Justice
www.besafenet.com/pvc
mike@besafenet.com

This post is a year old but since I found it doing a search someone else might benefit from this:

The company Baby-planet.com has a free-recycling program once the stroller's life is over, or they donate it to charity. They also sponsor endangered species etc etc. It's made out of all recyclable materials something like that.

I too am looking for an eco-concious stroller. Babies get too big for carriers.

What a great question. I may also be a year too late but I thought I would add my 2 cents!

I am researching this topic as well and although I don't have a list for you I will suggest to look at European made strollers. The std's for European made products are more stringent as a result, many will tend to us less toxic chemicals. Look for textiles that have been Oeko-Tex certified. and lightweight aluminum frames vs cheap plastic ones. I will admit that it is difficult to find out which companies are using less toxic but don't give up. Call/email/fax the European companies. Most strollers are now made in China, which can explain the rampant use of toxins in our children's products.

I would starting with German companies who overall seems to offer the most eco-friendly options.

As for toys, check out HABA, Plan Toys & Selecta for starters. Stay away from the super stores! US readers can purchase a variety of non-toxic wooden toys (non-toxin stains/paints) online at reasonable prices.

I will be featuring non-toxic toys on my website so feel free to browse.

Thank you
Tarryn

NOOOOOOOoooooooo don't get Britax. They spray their carseats with all kinds of crap. Check out the above link for chemicals found in car seats and cars. It's quite fascinating, considering that many of these are found side by side at your local Target or WalMart (ew, hate both but can't live without them for this kind of stuff) - and one's toxic, the other is not.

Know what your child is chewing on.
Peace.

Most items that have been around for several years are finished "off-gassing." It's similar to the new car smell experience that most people get. That smell is actually the parts of the car settling and/or breathing. Same with these plastics. They will most likely have some latent chemicals in them (e.g. chewing) but the VOC's and other toxins that are found sweating from new items are done after a while.

In other words - go with a hand-me down. Not only is it safer from a toxicity standpoint but it saves some cash and keeps the item of the collective "heap." If you really want to go new or have a hard time finding a good used stroller then BabyPlanet's recycling program is pretty clutch. And, if you do go new, try to get a light (but sturdy, think aluminum) combo stroller that can carry from infant all the way up to toddler (40-50 lbs.). If you take good care of it you can even hand it down to someone in several years who's having the same trouble you are now.

Second hand works great for a lot of those big ticket baby items (e.g. high chair, crib) but definitely go for a newbie with the car seat. No need to put the child at risk. Driving is the most dangerous thing any one of us do on a daily basis. Graco SnugRide "Emerson" is one of the better models that has recently been tested to have no VOC's. It also happens to be named after a transcendental naturalist. Target audience? Hmmm...

Has anyone bought or researched the ORBIT stroller?

I have multiple chemical sensitivities so have to be really careful about everything we buy for our baby. I've carried her in an organic sling for 9 months but now my back is really giving in so we've had to go for a stroller. having looked at loads, and been totally blown away by the new pram smells, we've finally gone for a bugaboo which does seem to smell less. I'm a bit of a canary really as if there's really toxic stuff on there I get ill pretty quickly, and so far I've been ok with the bugaboo fabrics once they've been through a cold wash. There is definitely a big gap in the baby market as far as natural strollers go, and also with regards natural footmuffs. With VERY few exceptions (the kaiser?), they all seem to be made of polyster or have teflon coatings. Does anyone know of an organic cotton footmuff, I wonder?

Have a look at the Naturkind stroller. Manufactured in Austria.

all fabrics and mattress are from organic sources

You can also design your own stroller ...

http://www.naturkind.at/navigation/cms,id,1,nodeid,1,_language,en.html

Where can you get the Naturkind stroller in North America ? The retailer listed on their website are all european.

It looks like a great stroller! I own a Baby Planet one but I am getting unhappy with it as I used it much more lately.