By Jodie Ritch

Did you know that every time you fall asleep you are breathing harmful toxins if you are not sleeping on organic bedding? Pillows, blankets, sheets and your mattress all contain toxins from pesticides. If 2 million pounds of organic cotton were used to make towels or washcloths it would eliminate an estimated 43,000 pounds of pesticides not to mention the 486,000 pounds of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers used. These pesticides and other agricultural chemicals wash into the earth and its water. They kill fish and other water life, pollute drinking water and leave remains on the cotton. Would you want to sleep on pesticides or have your children or babies sleeping on them and breathing them?

Physicians and other health professionals are becoming more and more aware of the possible effects these toxic chemicals and the increased numbers in childhood disorders as well as SIDS. Infants spend an average of 12 hours a day in their cribs and could be sleeping on a mattress that contains harmful toxic chemicals. Your family's bedding is also treated with formaldehyde and harsh industrial fire retardant chemicals. These chemicals can accumulate in your blood and cause respiratory problems as well as cancer. There are no requirements on labeling these chemicals that pollute air, cause asthma and learning disorders.

You can take control of your family's safety simply by replacing mattresses, blankets and sheets with organic bedding. This would eliminate toxic chemicals in a place where your children spend a good portion of their time. Organic cotton is naturally grown and has a low rate of combustion eliminating harsh industrial fire retardant chemicals. The naturally grown cotton used to make your family's bedding does not contain phthalates, vinyl (PVC), polyurethane foam or toxic fire retardant chemicals.

If you don't want to worry about what your family is coming in contact with while they sleep, shop organic. It is the easiest solution when fighting against the harmful toxins in your baby's and family's bedding. There are many other harmful things your children will come in contact with over the years; their bedding shouldn't be one.

Ever wonder why wool is so itchy? It's the chemicals! Wool is put though a process called carbonization, which is a chemical bath to clean the wool. A bath of hydrochloric acid and other chemicals and the normal scouring of soap are all used to clean the wool but all leave residues on the finished product. Sulfuric Acid is then used to remove dyes from recycled wool. These chemical residues left behind can be very harmful. The natural lanolin that keeps the wool soft is stripped away during this process making strands brittle and ragged which causes the wool to be itchy.

My name is Jodie Ritch and I am mother, an aunt and a homemaker always looking for the safest products for my family. I am part of a family owned internet organic bedding store specializing in toddler bedding. Visit http://www.toddlerbeddingexpress.com today for more useful information when choosing your family's bedding. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jodie_Ritch

 

Why Organic Cotton?

Did you know that approximately 1.25 lbs. of agricultural chemicals were used in growing the cotton in a single set of queen size sheets?

In fact, cotton crops are the second largest user of agricultural pesticides in the world (coffee is the first and tobacco the third). 25% of the world's insecticides and more than 10% of the world's pesticides are used on cotton. The worst part is not all of those pesticides stay on the cotton fields. It is estimated that only 25% of pesticides sprayed from a crop duster actually hit the crop. The remainder drifts for miles and lands on other food crops, residential areas and water sources.

These pesticides are harmful. Four of the top nine pesticides used on cotton, (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite) are classified by the EPA as cancer-causing chemicals. According to a 1997 study by the International Labour Organization, "14% of all occupational injuries in the agricultural sector, and 10% of all fatal injuries can be attributed to pesticides." Not to mention, in the food we eat, there are 71 known carcinogenic pesticides sprayed on food crops.

Pesticides don't just hurt humans. For example, in 1995 approximately 250,000 fish were killed in Lawrence, Alabama, when heavy rains washed lethal concentrations of methyl parathion and endosulfan from cotton fields into a 16-mile stretch of a creek that emptied into a nearby lake (C. Cox, 1995, Cotton Spraying Kills Fish).

Ironically, pesticides do not help to grow better crops. Since 1945, total U.S. crop losses from insect damage have nearly doubled. During the same time insecticide use has increased tenfold.

In 1997, large apparel companies purchased 2.15 million pounds of organic cotton, which eliminated an estimated 43,000 pounds of pesticides and 485,190 pounds of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer (Organic Fiber Council).

 Organic Wool

While there are many types of "natural" materials used in natural bedding, we find wool to be the best. It ranks far above all other products (including cotton and down bedding) in it's ability to resist dust mites. Even products that are labeled "hypoallergenic" (including down products that have undergone massive wash techniques to get rid of the dust and even synthetic hypo products) will not be able to be dust mite free for long. Once you take it home, it will naturally attract dust mites.

Now let's examine the ecological footprint of wool. There is a great difference between domestic wool and wool that is imported. Many of the larger natural bedding companies use wool that has come from New Zealand and Australia. This outsourcing has depressed the sheep farming community for years due to cheap importing of foreign wool. Where you spend your money makes a difference- so be sure to buy bedding made with domestic wool. Our company uses wool that comes from our local Pacific Northwest bio-region. Another factor that makes wool the best is proces in which wool is taken from the animal. Down bedding comes from the meat industy. The bird is used for it's meat while the feathers are plucked for bedding. Sheep however, are not harmed in the process of shearing and they grow a coat of fleece annually.

Lastly, we find wool to be superior in it's cozy quality and it's ability to regulate your body temperature. There is just something about wool that has people fall in love with it.

Natural wool is a traditional fill, used in bedding throughout the ages. Our grandmothers knew the many benefits that wool provides.

o Wool resists bacteria.

o Wool is fire resistant.

o Wool is cool in the summer yet warm in the winter.

o Unlike bedding that uses plucked down feathers, a sheep grows a coat of wool annually and is not harmed during sheering.

o Wool surpasses synthetic fill in terms of quality and durability.

o Unlike down bedding which shifts over time (ie. bare spots in a comforter), wool stays in place.

o Wool is a sustainable product helping small farmers make a living.

o With proper care your woolen bedding can last for decades.

 

 Bamboo, the Green Fabric

By Jodie Ritch

Bamboo is a very soft fabric. It is naturally antibacterial and resistant to odors making it a great fabric for bedding and other cloth items. The bamboo fiber is naturally smooth and round without any chemical treatments. Many people who have allergic reactions to wool or hemp tend not to have problems with bamboo.

Bamboo grows easily and very quickly. It can grow up to 75 feet in 60 days or less. Once the plant is harvested there is no need for replanting because just like grass is keeps growing. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are not needed for bamboo plantations eliminating contamination to the fabric and the environment. Bamboo retains water in the roots helping to reduce water pollution also making it easy to withstand droughts and floods. The roots of Bamboo help to improve soil quality and prevent soil erosion. Bamboo takes in 5 times as much greenhouse gasses as a field the same size of timber trees and releases 35% more oxygen. Bamboo bedding is 100% biodegradable and will decompose completely without producing methane gas or any of the by-products of decomposition common in landfills and dumps. The bamboo plant is boiled and crushed until the pulp is separated into thin fibers that can be spun into fabric. Bamboo fabric is very eco-friendly and beneficial to the environment.

Bamboo fabric can be compared to silk and cashmere but it is machine washable and wrinkle resistant. It is able to take in up to three times its weight in liquid wicking sweat away from the body. The fabric also holds its antibacterial feature through multiple washings, helping to reduce bacteria on the fabric and your skin. It also helps to eliminate any unpleasant odors and leaves you smelling sweet. This fabric can be worn in the summer keeping you cool and winter keeping you warm making it very versatile and comfortable. Because of the high quality of this fabric and its eco-friendly creation it has gained entry into the fashion industry.

Look for the soft, natural fabric of bamboo when shopping for your toddler and family bedding. By doing this you are helping to preserve and strengthen our beautiful mother earth while giving your family the very best in bedding and a most comfortable sleep. Once you have slept one night on this luxurious family bedding, you will not want another.

By Jodie Ritch 

My name is Jodie Ritch and I am a mother, an aunt and a homemaker always looking for the safest products for my family and others. I am part of a family owned internet organic bedding store specializing in toddler bedding. Visit http://www.toddlerbeddingexpress.com today for more useful information when choosing your family's bedding. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jodie_Ritch

This is a letter from White Lotus Home to Mothering Magazine.
Thank you and thanks James McKenna for the informative article in
the recent issue of Mothering (No. 81 Winter 1996.) I am certain that
all of his research on co-sleeping will be of great value to parents
everywhere. I find it unfortunate that he, like all United States SIDS
researchers, does not report on the conclusive evidence of the link
between SIDS and off-gassing of mattresses. Clearly, there may be
other factors contributing to SIDS, all of which need to be explored.
And clearly, some of the suggestions proposed to address these
possible factors have had some positive effect in reducing SIDSrelated
deaths. But any good researcher also knows that correlation
is not causation.
Everything from infant mortality research in Great Britain to adult
health research in the US has shown that when the chemicals found
in traditional mattresses are inhaled, health problems follow. Indeed,
two television stations (in New York and Philadelphia, both ABC
affiliates) have broadcast some of the results (laboratory rats
subjected to mattress filling have responses ranging from paralysis to
death), but still, no one in this country will make the connection to
SIDS. The British study in 1991 (biochemist and physiologist Barry
Richardson, funded by TOMY, a toy company) showed the
connection and shortly thereafter all mattresses were pulled off the
shelves throughout Great Britain and the contents of traditional
mattresses there (arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, etc.) have been
more thoroughly scrutinized. Unfortunately, unlike the mad cow
disease response, news of these events were squelched in the US.
SIDS deaths in countries that import their mattresses from the UK
have dropped since then and other manufacturers outside the US
may have also gotten the hint, increasing the positive effect of this
research, though McKenna and others may attribute these results to
other research.
Domestically, many people have applauded the results of suggesting
that babies sleep on their sides in a room that is not too warm,
without many blankets or swaddling. (Babies tend to aspirate [inhale
their own vomit] and choke when put on their backs, so the choice
has been side or stomach for quite a while.) The fact is, the warmer
the room (or the body lying on the mattress) the more likely the
increased amount of gas will be released from the mattress filling.
And if you turn the baby's face away from the source, she is more
likely to breathe fresh air and oxygen, not the off-gassing from the
mattress. While the researchers who suggested cooler, side sleeping
had their own, different, reasons for believing it would help, the result
has been the same - reduced infant mortality.
One fact that James McKenna did touch upon, was that SIDS is
almost unheard of in Asian countries and the incidence of SIDS
increases when Asian migrate to Western locales (particularly the
longer they have lived here.) In most of Asia, mattresses have not
changed for thousands of years. The "futon" or "shikibuton" as they
know it (loosely meaning "bed" in Japanese) is a thin layer of cotton
encased in a cotton shell. It is quite firm and contains none of the
chemicals that we take for granted as "necessary" in this country and
other Western nations. (It should be noted that when mattress
executives were interviewed for the ABC-TV investigations, they said
they had "no idea" what chemicals were put into their mattresses and
written requests have yielded a "those are proprietary trade secrets"
response.) Barry Richardson's additional research in Japan found
that SIDS is "no problem" in Japan. Babies who sleep on futons
don't die of SIDS. And when their parents move to the West and
eventually buy Western mattresses (or Westernize in their country,
because emulation is quite the rage) it seems the Asian babies die.
(Here, I am reading between the lines of McKenna's report.)
I am not a researcher, but a parent who has voraciously consumed
the little information that has filtered into this country. My guess is,
you would find that anywhere the mattresses are not made of springs
and chemicals, SIDS has a lower incidence. Horsehair, straw, wool
and other materials were used in this country for centuries and SIDS
was never an issue. SIDS is a relatively new phenomenon, coinciding
with all of the rest of chemical-, radiation- and pesticide-based
"improvements" we have been the guinea pigs for in this modern
society. I think you will find that wherever mattresses are simpler and
more natural, SIDS is less prevalent.
It is important to note the genuine difference between a Japanese
futon and the American version. Today, the converting couch market
demands a very plush bouncy cushion, so the "futon" your local strip
mall or furniture discounter is offering is not what is appropriate for
babies. (In fact, these may be so soft, they will allow a side-sleeping
baby's vomit to pool, leading to aspiration-death.) As well, since the
popularity of the futon couch has exploded, traditional mattress
manufacturers have tried to dominate futon offerings nationwide and
in an effort to give the American people what they think they want,
some of these "futons" may contain some of the same chemicals a
true futon is supposed to avoid. Indeed, a futon properly designed for
the crib is very, very different from a smaller version of an adult futon.
Look for a company that makes futons by hand (they will be better
made and the seller has a far better idea of what she is actually
selling) and ask what they know about crib futons, rather than 'do you
carry futons in crib size?'
Organic cotton is great stuff, but the price is still quite high, especially
on the East Coast (organic cotton is still not grown east of Texas.) A
good futon shop will use Green Cotton, which simply means
traditionally grown, but no further processing (dioxin-laden bleaches,
heavy metal dies, etc.) has occurred. White Lotus Home designed
our crib futon after many, many prototypes and we sell them
nationally. We are listed in the Coop America Green Pages and are
more than happy to UPS a crib futon (or any size, of course)
anywhere, but as of right now, our futons are only available through
us.
It has been a personal crusade of mine to make a change in the
crib mattress world for children and their parents in the same
way that Earth's Best exposed the baby food industry. (It is
unfortunate that they lost control of their company and now
Gerber owns it!) If you discover any more research on the link
between SIDS and mattresses, particularly domestic, please give
it to your pediatrician and forward a copy to us