Here at Organic Baby University we are always trying to find where companies hide dangerous chemicals in products so we can avoid them! Especially products that pregnant women and children are exposed to in everyday life. We have found another product made for children that is often coated in toxic flame retardants for no good reason. Why would you need a sling to be fire retardant? Especially when you consider that often the chemicals they are using are the same chemicals that were banned in children’s pajamas back in the1970′s due to their toxicity to children. Flame retardants are linked to cancer, lower IQs, impaired development, birth defects and more! Nearly of the chemicals used have never been tested ever by anyone to determine what their effects might be! Scary! Here at Organic Baby University we recommend organic slings to avoid all chemicals including nasty pesticides. However, we realize this is not a viable option for everyone so we want to provide the information so moms can make safer choices for their children. Remember, your purchase is your vote about what kind of products you support!

We have highlighted the company name in our color code according to our view of the safety of chemical choices the company has made or the information they have provided.

• Green is for companies that have answered all of our questions and do not use harmful chemicals.
• Orange is for companies that may have given us partial answers or use no flame retardants but do use PVC for example. We will change these colors as we receive more information from the company.
• Red is used for companies that use chemicals that we believe are harmful to children.

Infant Carrier Companies:

Moby Wrap

(Moby offers both organic and conventional wraps)

Thank you for your email and great question.  We do not use any chemicals, retardants or treatments on our wraps, except for the UV wraps.  They are treated with the Rayosan Process, which is tested safe for babies.

Click Here For Moby Wraps

Ergo

(ERGO offers both organic and conventional wraps)

All ERGObaby carriers are free of any flame retardants on the carrier as well as the foam in the padding as we have recently retested our products. The are no chemicals found on the carriers.

Shop Here for Ergo Carriers

Evenflo

Just the car seats are treated.

All our current products are manufactured without BPA, Lead or PVC and meet the federal Phthalates requirements.

Lead is a naturally-occurring element and small amounts may be contained in some of the metal parts.  Steel – the most commonly recycled material in the world – often has trace amounts of lead in it.  The federal limit for lead in children’s products is 300 parts per million, which is often written as “300 ppm.”  To help put that in perspective, 300 parts per million is less than ¼ teaspoon per gallon.  Evenflo tests all its products – including all the inks and paints - at independent laboratories to ensure that the company’s products have even lower lead levels at no more than 13% of the federal standard.

None of the fabrics are treated with stain, water or bacterial resistant chemicals.

Baby Bjorn

(Baby Bjorn offers both organic and conventional wraps)

None of our products contain any fire retardants or harmful chemicals. All of our carriers are made with Öko-Tex class 1 certified (materials guaranteed harmless to infants).

Click Here for Baby Bjorn Carriers

Infantino

(This is the company that had recalls on their slings due to infant smothering)

None of our carrier contains any of the following:

• Flame Retardants
• Water/Stain Repellants
• Antibacterial treatments

Sherpani

The fabrics are treated with a polyurethane coating on the inside and a water resistant coating on the outside.

Baby Trend

We use Brominated Flame retardents on all fabric. We do not sell cribs or activity centers, but the plastic used on carseats is Polly Propylene. The plastic used on the High Chairs, Strollers, Walkers, and Joggers is Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Poly Propylene, and Poly Ethylene.

Peapod

The CuddlyWrap™, Blanket by Peapod™, and Burp Cloths by Peapod™ are all manufactured from 100% certified organic cotton, exclusive of trim and are not treated with any flame retardant or other chemicals. The trim means the logo and care labels and the thread. These items too are not treated with harmful chemicals and contain no harmful chemicals or heavy metals.

Click Here for Peapod Carrier

Little Life

I have spoken to our  Littlelife Team and no the Child Carriers are not treated with any chemical.

Kelty

From Phone Call-They are NOT treated with any chemicals

Click Here for Kelty Carriers

Hugamonkey

(This could be a green but since they are not certain we have to suggest caution)

We’re all not really sure, but we don’t believe our slings are treated with anything

Graco

The Aprica carrier does not contain any FR treatment

Deuter

We do not use these kind of chemicals. In case of use the kid carrier were not approved by TÜV and authorities because these kind of chemicals are too harmful for children.

During the test procedure of our Child carriers we had several chemical test (done by TÜV) to proof the safety of our production material. And the requirements are really high!

So I can confirm that our carriers are “clean” and free to use.

Chicco

Still awaiting a response after 10 emails

Mei Tai Baby

(We give a green rating for the organic slings but rate the regular slings with an orange as their is no reassurance that they are not treated)

Hi Jennifer,

I don’t add anything to the fabric once I get it, but I don’t know if anything is done to it before it gets to me. It’s 100% cotton and I am not aware of any chemicals put on it, but I don’t know what the dyeing process is specifically. The organics are certified through the dyeing process, so I assume those are less likely to have unsavory chemicals. The straps are padded with a poly batting, not foam per se.

SUMMARY:

Unnecessary treatment of infant slings and carriers does exist to it is important to know what you are buying. There are safe products out there so support the companies doing the right thing!

To learn more about the dangerous chemicals in nursing pillows you can watch our videos on polyeurythane foams (they are on furniture and toys but the facts are the same)

Furniture Video

Toys/ Polyurethane Foams Video

FOR THE FULL SCIENTIFIC REPORT ON TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS FOUND IN CHILDREN’S PRODUCTS CLICK HERE

Or you can click the links below

MARTIN, ANDREW. “Chemical Suspected as Carcinogen Is in Baby Products – NYTimes.com.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 July 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/business/18chemical.html>.

“Potentially Toxic Flame Retardants Found in Baby Products – US News and World Report.” Health News Articles – US News Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 July 2011.<http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/environment/articles/2011/05/18/potentially-toxic-flame-retardants-found-in-baby-products>.

“Toxic flame retardants found in many foam baby products.”UC Berkeley NewsCenter: News from the University of California, Berkeley. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 July 2011. <http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/05/18/toxic-flame-retardants-found-in-many-foam-baby-products/>.

All the information is not guaranteed, rather it was received directly from the companies via email unless otherwise noted. All emails have been saved and documented by OBU. A green rating does not guarantee that there are no chemicals in the strollers. Only free of the chemicals that we inquired about according to their company. Your purchase is your vote! If you want safer products for our children, tell the companies you will only support companies that sell safer products!

YOU CAN ALSO VISIT OUR OTHER BLOGS IN THIS SERIES:

TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS IN CHILDREN’S TOYS: INTRODUCTION

TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS IN CHILDREN’S TOYS: PLUSH TOYS

TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS IN CHILDREN”S PRODUCTS: STROLLERS

TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS IN CHILDREN’S PRODUCTS: HIGH CHAIRS

TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS IN CHILDREN’S PRODUCTS: NURSING PILLOWS

DISCLAIMER:

All the information is not guaranteed, rather it was received directly from the companies via email unless otherwise noted. All emails have been saved and documented by OBU. A green rating does not guarantee that there are no chemicals in the strollers. Only free of the chemicals that we inquired about according to their company. Your purchase is your vote! If you want safer products for our children, tell the companies you will only support companies that sell safer products!