Archive for the ‘Women's Issues’ category

Why Buy Organic and Fairtrade Baby Food?

February 15th, 2010
Davinos Greeno asked:


The new Plum Baby product is made from organic mango, banana and quinoa grain from South America. Many mums want to feed their babies organic and healthier food as a pure organic diet can be more beneficial during the first few months of life than at any other time. Babies have immature systems and need the very purest and safest foods.

Organic produce is one of the fastest growing food retail sectors in the country. Health scares such as BSE and foot-and-mouth, plus fears of GM crops/food and synthetic dyes and ingredients such as Sudan1 have led to considerable growth in the organic and the healthy food market as worried consumers seek out more healthy and natural products for both adults and children. This has lead to Organic baby foods becoming increasingly popular. Once only available in health shops or via online, organic baby foods are becoming much more widely available and you can now find them in local conveneice shops. Sales of organic food now account for half of the entire baby food market. Organic baby foods are not necessarily an improvement on organic home cooking, but are more convenient. It is worth noting that descriptions on products — such as natural, traditional, or environmentally friendly — do not mean they are organic.

How do I know its Organic or Fairtrade?

The term organic is defined by law – all organic food production and processing is governed by a strict set of rules. Look for symbols such as the Soil Association symbol for your guarantee of the highest organic standards. The Soil Association organic symbol is the UK’s largest and most recognizable trademark for organic produce. Wherever you see it you can be sure that the food you have purchased has been produced and processed to strict and rigorous animal welfare and environmental standards. Other symbols to look out for include the Organic Food Federation and Certified Organic Ingredients.

The Fairtrade Foundation exists to ensure that producers are guaranteed a minimum price for their goods irrespective of world prices. This means that Fairtrade goods are often more expensive in the UK than those without the Fairtrade logo. Although people are now arguing that supermarkets are fuelling their excessive profits by adding large mark-ups to these products This premium that the producer charges covers the basic food, housing, health and education needs of the local communities in countries such as India and Brazil. The Foundation awards a consumer label, the Fairtrade Mark, to products which meet internationally recognized standards of Fairtrade. It is the only such certification in the UK. The fairtrade label is often a black box with a half yellow, half blue circle with the text Guarantees a Better Deal for Third World Producers. Look at the Fairtrade Mark

Most people dont have enough time to read the labels of all the different food products that they buy to check for organic or fairtrade ingredients. So look for the various symbols.

The use of such symbols is entirely optional and a product can still be organic or fairly traded even though it doesnt carry the symbol of a certifying body. That means if you want to be 100% satisfied that what you are eating or using is organic or fairtrade, always read the label or speak to the vendor.



Make Yours an Organic and Eco Baby

January 7th, 2010
Davinos Greeno asked:


Organic and Fairtrade Baby Food

Organic baby food has been around for decades and fairtrade baby food has only recently been launched. Why feed your baby with chemicals, additives and possibly genetically modified ingredients when you can feed them fresh, organic and healthier food? By buying fairtrade it also enables you to put something back into local communities where the ingredients originated from, so that they can look after their families better due to being paid a fair price for their food and hence they are able to reinvest the funds into their community and families.

Organic and Eco Friendly Baby Care

Babies have extremely sensitive skin that requires a mild and gentle touch – which is why it makes sense to treat them with products made from the purest ingredients. The skin is the largest part of the babies body and is often prone to sores and nappy rash in the early days. Minimise the amount of chemicals coming into contact with the babies skin by buying organic or natural baby care products.

Organic and Fairtrade Baby Clothing

A babys skin is thinner than that of an adult, so make sure the clothes against their bodies are free from harmful pesticides and chemicals by buying clothing which are made from organic or hemp fibres which are made with the minimum or no chemicals in the production and processing. By buying Fairtrade or ethical baby clothes from companies such as HUG ensures that other babies in developing countries may benefit as well from the clothes that you buy. Cheap, brand new clothes from supermarkets etc. are often made in China in low cost production facilities where workers are paid the minimum wage and where the term sweatshops originated from. Buying second hand or using donated clothes is the ultimate form of recycling and is cheaper too at this expensive time of life.

Environmentally Friendly Cloth Nappies

Cloth nappies can be washed and reused hundreds of times. Millions of disposable nappies are used throughout your country and you can imagine what size of landfill is needed to bury them all! Cloth nappies can reduce nappy rash and have no suspect chemicals. By washing them with your normal clothes, you again minimise your babies impact on the environment.

Breast feeding

Breast milk is very economical, constantly available at the right temperature and if your diet is organic then so is your milk which is therefore better for your baby. If you have to buy formula we wary of buying Nestle as an International Nestle Boycott is in effect in 20 countries. The boycott will continue until Nestle ends its irresponsible marketing of breast milk substitutes world-wide and abides by the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent Resolutions in policy and practice.

Looking for more information on baby milk action or organic things for babies then see GuideMeGreen.com.