chemicals in clothing

Natural materials such as cotton and wool are naturally fire resistant and let our skin breath. Kid's PJs that are made from synthetic materials are required to be made fire resistant - this involves the use of toxic fire retardants (sometimes sewn into the synthetic material itself). There is nothing in the labelling to say this. Make sure you buy 100% cotton baby clothes.

Wash all new clothes and sheets before use, as they are often coated in formaldehyde to make them sit flat in their packaging. Avoid any crinkle-free clothing or bedding.

Cotton growing is a big environmental problem, seek out organic cotton. These organic cotton clothes from Purebaby are a good choice. Note they still come with a 'Low Fire Danger' label, this is due to cotton being naturally resistant.

a good non-stick coating?

Neoflam looks interesting - a non-stick pan surface made using ceramic instead of teflon, claiming to be totally non-toxic.

non-stick everything

Stop using Teflon coated pans, this convenient black stuff is toxic. Heated teflon pans are known to kill pet birds! This is something that has apparently been known for many years, in fact Teflon have to carry a pet bird warning on their packaging. Despite being called safe, this carcinogenic stuff leaches and causes birth defects. It is now in other products too - avoid any hand soaps or plastic containers that say 'Antibacterial' this means they have Teflon in them!

Stick to cooking pots and pans that are stainless steel or cast iron.

Read more about what the Teflon story in Slow Death By Rubber Duck.

miessence

Miessence scores very well on the Skin Deep website, being the number one Australian skin care product that uses truly pure ingredients, even the plastic bottles it comes in are BPA free, and delivery if you purchase online is carbon neutral. Their deodorant is one of the most effective deodorants you can get, even for the stinkiest of us! BUT confusingly what I have found is that some natural products which don't contain parabens can give you skin rashes, it's a matter of finding the right product for the individual.