Rocking the Cardboard Cradle
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 02.22.08
Treehuggers love flat-pack furniture and even houses. We rave about it all the time. We also love anything made from recycled materials. When we found Green Lullaby's flat pack Eco Cradle made from 100% recycled cardboard boxes, we nearly flipped our lid.
This baby furniture gives new meaning to the term 'cradle to cradle.'
With products available at the Georges Pompidou Center, the MOMA and more, their cradle which is certified "baby safe" by European safety standards bodies is also coated in enviro-friendly flame retardants.
Mindful of both babies health and the earth, can this cradle – the Eco Cradle - be any cooler? Unless you have heirloom furniture to pass down, why not bypass the trip to IKEA and buy or even make your own cradle?
Self-proclaimed "Ecomum" Sophie who writes for the Israeli environment blog Green Prophet, summed up her love for the cradle: "This week Ecomum falls in love, but it’s not a man, it’s an ecosolution for nursery madness.
"Being an ecomum, buying new furniture for my daughter is not really my style, but when something like an EcoCradle comes along I am seriously tempted and definitely recommend this as the eco-guilt-free solution for parents or grandparents who would like to buy new furniture.
"To make it even better the EcoCradle is blue and white brought to us by cardboard furniture company Green Lullaby (and another ecomum). It’s made from recycled cardboard and toxin-free fire-retardants.
"When Ruti Keenan (an Israeli) became pregnant with her first child, she looked for a career change. Working with wood, she was exposed to dust and chemicals every day. It became a necessity for her to look for a healthier greener idea. She was inspired to become a leading innovative designer of children’s furniture made from recycled cardboard.
Continues Sophie who is soon to sell the products through her company Tinok Yarok, "The EcoCradle is ideal for baby’s first three months. Easily placed next to your bed for rocking and soothing, it is easy to put together, packs flat and reassembles easily (no tools required). We think this is great for visiting grandparents or friends because the bed just comes along too. And of course it is recyclable. Ahhh heaven."
TreeHugger related::How to Green Your Baby
this looks to be a very practical idea: easy to bring to Grandma's house or ship to another family member after the relatively brief cradling period of a child'slife.
I question the usability of baby furniture made out of cardboard. Babies are fluid distribution machines. One diaper failure and this cradle would be trash.
I know their heart's in the right place, but this is not a particularly green solution. Making furniture out of cardboard requires approximately the same amount of wood, energy, and effort as making it out of real wood does. But making something out of wood means it will last many years, and can be passed down on the second-hand market. This thing will be in the recycling bin within 3 months, or probably much sooner if (when) you have a messy diaper blowout in the middle of the night. Stuff like this is cute, but ultimately useless.
And I'm sure it's expensive all out of proportion to its value too- a large doublewall cardboard box costs a few bucks. If this costs more than about $20, you're getting ripped off, badly.
I'd also be curious to hear what "enviro-friendly fire retardant" they use. Typically it would be boric acid, which is environmentally fine, but not necessarily healthy- a lot of people try to avoid exposing their babies to it. Wood furniture, of course, requires no flame retardant, because it doesn't catch fire instantly like cardboard does.
Um, diapers leak.
Flame retardant is one thing, but is it waterproofed?
Maybe this is better used as a toy than for "real" babies. Didn't think about the diaper "blowout" possibility. Sounds disugusting.... :)