My friend was visiting her pregnant niece who was showing her the baby’s bedroom. My friend had offered to buy something for baby’s room and her niece was saying what was planned. My friend noticed that there was black mould on the walls and window frames and was most concerned. “I’ll clean that off with bleach, “said her niece airily. Though there were obviously no water penetration problems (say, by problems in the slates) in this newish house my friend was really concerned and went to get some advice.

Basically damp is caused by moisture and lack of ventilation. It often occurs when moisture-laden air from inside the house meets the cold of the walls or windows and condenses. This makes a fertile ground for mould and fungus. This is not good for young babies as asthma can be triggered by sensitivity to mould spores. A very dilute solution of bleach WILL remove mould but it is no use if it still keeps coming back. It appeared that the problem was the elderly double glazed units which were sealed so tight they didn’t allow any air exchange in this small room. My friend decided to buy as her present some new units and asked her to get a number of prices for double glazing. Nowadays these have to be fitted with in-built ventilation, called trickle vents, and if the problem is severe it is worth fitting an air-brick too.

The important thing is to manage an eco-friendly baby’s bedroom by opening the window for ventilation in the summer – and even using a humidifier if there is still condensation in the winter.

Damp, in a word.

There are disposable nappies, and there are re-usable nappies which many mothers will choose because they are environmentally less harmful. So what are eco disposable nappies? Basically some mothers are concerned that there are chemicals used in the production of disposable nappies and they wonder about the effect of their sensitive baby’s skin. On the other hand they feel they don’t have the time to deal with reusable nappies.
A disposable nappy is lined with white granules of an acrylic acid polymer which become gel when wet. They increase the ability of the nappy to absorb liquid, but the gel can get onto baby’s skin. There is no evidence that this per se is harmful, but some mothers will prefer eco disposable nappies for a number of reasons;
Eco-disposable nappies tend to made from sustainable eco-friendly materials with little or no treatment with chemicals. They also are not usually manufactured using bleaching agents.
Most eco-disposable nappies have less or no gel and are free from dye and latex
Some eco-disposables may well break down more quickly than other disposables – though they will still produce methane, a primary greenhouse gas as a by product
It is said by some manufacturers that their eco-disposable nappy products can be broken down in a wormery – and thus avoid landfill altogether, but it is important to remember that only wet nappies can be put into a wormery –it is illegal and dangerous to put poo-filled nappies into a wormery.
Mothers should read the small print of the manufacturer’s claims before buying eco disposables

By choosing particularly to buy organic cotton – for baby clothing, baby bedding or baby towels you are not only choosing to make a principled stance for your child’s health and a small contribution to the benefit of the environment. However, the benefits are tangible and measurable.

• Pesticide free and non-irritant: Cotton grown in the conventional way has up to nine applications of insecticides sprayed onto the crop each season. This is the reason that clothes made of such cotton can sometimes lead to skin problems and eczema in sensitive baby skin. On the other hand organically grown cotton is much more protective of a baby’s skin.
• Sustainable lifestyles – we are now suffering from many years of poor agricultural practice – where farmers use potentially harmful pesticides and fertilisers – and the soil is getting poorer and less sustainable in the long term.. As more and  more mothers choose to buy organic products for their babies the demand will help farmers to make different choices and reverse the trend.
• Built to last – Organic clothes tend to be of good quality and are her for the long run! This baby wear is going to wear well and therefore has a built-in recycling capability – these clothes will stay in shape for passing down to sisters and brothers as well as cousins and friends (and finally to the charity shop) . AND cotton is biodegradable and earth friendly in landfill.

Mostly, eco-friendly toys are made from organic materials as opposed to synthetic or man-made materials such as plastic. So they will be made of wood, or cotton, or wool, not mixed with any synthetic material in the manufacture. They also variously will be made from wood from sustainable forest developments are painted with no-toxic paints and varnishes. Many of the manufacturers will be associated with Fair-trade products and practices.

Eco Friendly toys, unlike more complex electronic and technical manufactured material will focus on helping children to explore their world with stimulating and manipulative toys, and toys that encourage activity such as push and pull toys and develop creative and imaginative play – such as puppets and traditional soft toys and dolls. There are brilliant eco friendly cardboard play items made from recycled cardboard and are fully bio degradable, and make up into great play houses such as rockets and igloos and castles. Any toys made from such materials are really just designed to be used indoors but can be superb for imaginative play in the garden is summer.

There are more and more wood play items available where in the past we may have bought plastics – play sinks and play cupboards and ovens – as well as wood doll’s houses and wood castles – these are not only more robust and will last to pass down to siblings and be in the Antiques Roadshow’s of the future – but they will also recycle when their life is over – unlike the similar toys made from synthetics and plastics.

Why choose reusable nappies for your baby? Is this just a retro fad designed to make mothers feel virtuous and keep them busy. Not at all. Parents who started off with disposable have swopped to washable cloth nappies and found them brilliant.  The modern nappies are shaped to the baby and have Velcro or popper fastenings and can be made of quick drying microfibre or organic cotton or the latest ecofriendly bamboo or hemp. So what reasons could make a mother choose reusable nappies?

Good for the environment – washed in an environmentally supportive way these reusable nappies reduce the non biodegradable disposable nappy mountain in landfill. Wastewatch estimate that babies nappies account for the equivalent weight of 70,000 double decker buses every year, which would stretch from London to Edinburgh. Groogh!

Significant savings on cost – even though the initial cost is higher, the fact that these nappies are used from baby to toddler means that there are huge savings in costs over disposables.

Eco-friendly and softer – bio-friendly washing will mean that there are fewer chemical next to the soft baby skin as compared to disposables – and cloth is much softer to baby’s skin than paper. There is also less small (unlike the pong of disposables with the expansion of gel) and better performance.

More convenient – Mothers won’t run out of nappies when using reusable nappies – and mothers can always choose to use disposables when convenient –say when travelling or on holiday.