Top Green Parenting Stories of 2009

It was a busy year-- so much happening in the world of environmental health and green living. From deciding whether to vaccinate your child for the Swine Flu, to the continued Saga of BPA, and the increased reporting on green and environmental topics, there was never a lull of topics to write about. But maybe that is just me!


1. Sigg, Giaim, and BPA:

Oh this one had me in a tailspin! After using (and promoting) Sigg bottles on  I was outraged to learn that all along they had contained BPA. Sigg had actively denied any bad press and ponderings about BPA in their products in the past. It wasn't until they sublty tried to introduce consumers to their new BPA free bottles that everyone went huh? We thought that's what they were! I wasn't sure if I'd even use the replacements, but that didn't matter, because I shipped ours (at a cost of 10 dollars to me) without the form! So I will never see that 10 bucks or their new BPA free bottles (that chip anyway). Sigh. I did get quoted about this in an AP story that appeared in many major newspapers. Then we found out that Giam bottles also contained BPA as well. Zrecs covered this outrageous story quite well here and here.

2. Swine Flu:

This was one I was covering for awhile here, then gave up. It was just too hard to keep up with all the news about it, and even harder to deal with the emotion around vaccinations. I wrote way back in the fall about how rushed the vaccination development seemed, and how I needed to research and make a decision. Then wham! It was picked up by the Washington Post parenting blog. The amount of comments and their volatility (on this blog and at the Washington Post) made me realize this was a topic for people to discuss with their doctors, other health care professionals, and families.

3. Baby Einstein Not Making Kids Smarter:

This one was no shocker to me. After all, the American Academy of Pedriatricians recommend no televison for kids under 2. But Baby Einstein marketed their videos so well, making us all think that we were doing a disservice to our babies if we didn't let them watch these videos with shapes, classical music, and other calming images. Turns out there is no benefit for babies-- and Baby Einstein offered refunds and suffered lots of bad press.

4. BPA Scare Tactics from Mega-Corporations:

This was more than eye opening--the revealed notes from a meeting of major canning and food companies discussing how to make BPA more appealing, and how to fight the bad press its been getting. The target was the American mom, and how to convince them to still buy food that contained BPA.   Hundreds of thousands of dollars were being spent on a BPA PR campaign to keep our money flowing their way at th expense of our families' health. And boy, were we mad and blogging about it!

5. Melissa and Doug Toys:

I've covered on this blog a few safety concerns that have come up with Melissa and Doug toys.  There's been recalls in Canada, and there's been healthytoys.org links sharing problems with toxins in some of their toys.  I've not been happy with Melissa and Doug's track record as of late.

Many times, I am posting late at night after teaching and parenting all day.  Sometime I don't have the time or resources to follow up on stories of great interest to me. Like this Melissa and Doug Canadian recall covered by Zrecs.  They did an outstanding job covering this. I am happy to see a commitment to toy safety from this company, but I am just choosing not to buy any Melissa and Doug toys anymore. I might not ditch the ones I have, but I will not buy anymore. It's just that their safety has been brought up several times, and they are made in China. I know that Alicia from the Soft Landing assures me that per the quantity of toys made, China does not have the most recalls, but I want companies to think local, slow down production to promote better quality, and utilize stringent sustainablity standards. For me, this means buying from companies that are run by green parents, use minimal paint or finishes, that abid by strict green business practices, and use sustainable materials. For me, that is just not Melissa and Doug.  Thanks to Zrecs for the thorough reporting and to Health Canada for their fine work keeping Canadian children safe.

6. New Toy Safety Standards in 2009 (but unsafe toys still on the shelves):

We've made lots of great progress in the area of toy and chemical safety. According to VPIRG's Trouble in Toyland report:

"In 2008, Congress responded to an unprecedented wave of recalls of toys and other children’s products by passing the first major overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission since it was established during the Nixon Administration. By passing the landmark Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008,1 Congress not only expanded the agency’s budget, it also gave the CPSC more tools to hold corporate wrongdoers accountable and speed recalls, moved toward banning toxic lead and phthalates except in trace amounts, and greatly improved import surveillance."

That's progress. But VPIRG also discovered unsafe toys still on toy shelves in Vermont. Toys that were damaging to young ears, were chocking hazards, contained lead and phthalates. And that is just in little old Vermont with very few toy retail locations.

These are just a few important stories in the green parenting and environmental health arena from 2009. We are making slow and steady progress, and it seems more folks are paying attention. I'm glad there are more and more green parent writers that are able to collectively share important information about these developing issues.

What stories stuck with you this year, readers?   Best wishes for the new year!