Preparing for Baby, As Sustainably As Possible

The ethos behind Today We Will newsletter and my approach to sustainable living, has always been the idea that, you should live your life as normal — everyone has different needs and preferences, there can't be a one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability — but, we should always be looking out for opportunities to make our chosen lifestyles as sustainable as possible.

So, even though having children increases my carbon and waste footprint, I'm eight months pregnant.

True to form, I'm approaching pregnancy and preparing for my baby in the most sustainable way possible, for me. I'm not an extreme off-the-grid, 100% zero-waste person, so, when I say "for me", that's just to say that there are certainly more sustainable options for preparing for a baby. I find my approach most realistic for a modern, urban, sustainable lifestyle.

Preparing with this approach cost me hours of research and strange looks from my husband. So, to save others the time from research and explaining to their significant others, I've put together what I've found.

Realistic Sustainability Tips for Preparing for Baby

1. Reluctantly Have a Baby Shower. Register for Gifts.

   Gifts are going to be purchased for your baby. By having a shower with a gift registry, you can choose the most sustainable options for people to gift, and reduce the number of unneeded gifts that will go to waste.

2. Register with a Few Local Shops via Babylist.

   Babylist is an online baby registration where you can register a list of items from multiple stores across the web. This is great since most local stores won’t have everything needed to prepare for baby.

   To find a local store that sells an item you want online, search for “name of item you want + your city” in a search engine. Usually, a nearby store that carries the item will come up as a result. Then, you can add that link as the place to buy the item on your registration on Babylist. Continue for the rest of the items.

   Local Etsy shops are another way to achieve local baby registering via Babylist. Just refine your search in Etsy to your state or city and link a product from those results on your Babylist registration.

3. Make a List of Bare Minimums. Put it All on your Registry. Stick to It.

   This way you’ll only purchase what you really need, reducing waste and impact. Plus, even though you’ll have a registration, expect gifts outside of it. If you find you need other things once the baby is born, you can get it then.

   Listing everything on your registration is helpful because it puts everything in one place, so you’ll avoid duplicate purchases or over-buying.

4. Get Day-one Essentials from your Own Registration from a Local Store

   In case baby comes early, or gifts arrive late, I went to a local store and bought the absolute minimum essentials we’d need for one day with baby…and nothing else (knowing more will likely come from gifts, and that I have family or a friend to run out and get more need be).

   The essentials I got:

   One pack of diapers | One pack of wipes | Infant first-aid kit | A place for baby to sleep | A place to change baby | A place for baby to chill, other than a crib | A carseat to bring baby home | Two outfits, including one sweater | One sleep outfit

5. Reuse When Clean/Safe

   When it comes to furniture for myself, I’ll buy refurbished in a heartbeat. When it came to buying furniture for my baby’s room, I had to know, without doubt, that it was safe for the baby (Greenguard certified, for example). So, I bought more new furniture than I like, but as sustainably as possible.

   Same goes for clothes and other tools.

6. When Buying New, Opt for Local, Natural, & Longterm

   Look for things like non- or naturally-dyed natural fibers, and solid wood furniture that has a natural finish rather than a painted color. The goal is to end up with new items that required the least amount of inputs and processing to make.

   If you can’t find something in a natural material, look for other ways to make a most sustainable choice — recycled materials, long-lasting, mission-driven, etc..

7. Prepare to Breastfeed

   If you can breastfeed, this is the most sustainable option. So, first prepare for this option, and if it’s not working out, then buy and use formula.

8. Safety Comes First

   By rule of thumb, if something is not safe, it is not sustainable. There is no way it will last. There were a few things where I put safety first, like buying new furniture that I knew didn’t have harsh chemicals rather than buying refurbished.

   The other thing that was safety-driven was the baby’s carseat. I wasn’t able to find a “sustainable” carseat that I knew was also the most safe. Know of any? Please share.

9. Adjust to Baby Life, Then Try Extra Sustainability

   Example Story: You start off with reusable cloth diapers and find it’s impossible because you’ve never changed a diaper before and it’s so much just learning how to do that, and they don’t fit well, and you are so tired, and this baby poops so much more than the last, and ahhhhhhh newwww babyyyyyy!!!!! Chances are, you’ll swear off reusable diapers and never return to them again.

   Give yourself a chance to adjust to your new life. Start with disposable diapers (the most sustainable as possible), and use those at first. Once you get the hang of it a bit more, try reusable.

A Realistic List of More Sustainable Baby Products

Here’s what I bought. The rest is on my Babylist registry, which I invite you to visit if it’s helpful.

Dresser + Changer

Babyletto for solid and natural wood finish.

Crib

Babyletto for solid and natural wood finish.

Crib Mattress

Babyletto for natural mattress interior and exterior.

Rug

Gimme the Good Stuff for natural fibers and long-lasting.

Storage

Urban Outfitters for natural materials.

Stroller

Greentom for recycled and natural materials.

Carseat

Chicco Keyfit 30 for safety and long-lasting.

See the rest of my registry on Babylist.

Top Three Natural Oils, According to Tip Host 'Beauty by Tahira'

Tahira recently hosted a newsletter sustainability tip — "today we will opt for natural oils instead of creams.". She had so many wonderful things to say about her top three oils, we thought it was worth sharing them here.

From Tahira:

"My Beauty Tip is to keep One or more multi-use oils in your bathroom cabinet that can help both men and women nourish their hair, skin and body.

My top 3 oils are:

1. Jojoba - A classic light oil made from the extract of the Jojoba plant and closely resembles the structure of our Sebum (the oil in our skin). It can be used as face moisturiser, Beard or Hair oil,  or even to soothe an irritated scalp or sunburn.

2. Almond Oil: I have been using almond Oil since about 2000. It is perfect for the body, on its own, blended with other oils or mixed a body lotion for added richness.  It can be used as a make up remover by massaging onto the face and removing with warm water and a cloth. Or mix it with coarse salt or sugar for a natural body or foot scrub. It is also hypoallergenic so good to soothe irritations or flare ups of skin conditions.

3. Argan Oil: The oil of the Argan nut in Morocco has been hailed as another great oil in the last few years. Cold pressed Argan oil is used for beauty treatments while the roasted nut oil can be used for cooking. Rich in fatty acids and Vitamin E it is a fabulous hair oil or conditioner, perfect for facial hair as well. a small amount rubbed into the palms can smooth flyaways.  Apply to the scalp if you are getting dry and flakey and to the body for rich moisturising. It is beautiful before an evening out for a gentle glisten to the skin."

Get more sustainable beauty ideas on her blog, Beauty by Tahira.

Sustainable Morning Routine - Part One

So many of the tips from Today We Will are inspired by what I do in everyday life. To give an idea of what that looks like, I'm starting a routine series. Each post will illustrate how I incorporate some of our favorite tips from the newsletter into everyday. 

My morning routine is really that, routine. This allows for planning, which allows me to control my impact. Here's the breakdown of the first half and some sustainable choices that I incorporate along the way. Doing the whole thing would be too long of a blog post for our modern day attention spans, I think. 

6:45am - Wake up
I sleep usually just in underwear, sometimes a shirt if it's cold. Fewer clothes to bed means fewer clothes to wash, which means less water and energy waste. (I'd go totally nude, but I have an unjust fear of bugs in bed after watching a video in middle school biology class.)

Bed sheets are linen and none are fitted, this way I avoid plastic material, which means no micro plastic heakading into our water system when I wash the bedding. 

7am - Bathroom Stuff
I leave my bedroom light off and let the natural light in to reduce energy waste. I turn on the bathroom light because I have no windows in my bathroom (NYC apartment living). 

Brush my teeth with a bamboo toothbrush to reduce plastic waste and Tom's toothpaste because it's cruelty-free, uses natural ingredients, and can be recycled with Terracycle. I put just a pea-size amount of toothpaste on the brush so that I use less, meaning I have to buy less and therefore reduce my consumption impact.
I get the brush wet for a second, then turn off the water while brushing. Turning the water back on to rinse the toothbrush only.

Turn on the shower and hop in. Turn off the shower while soaping. Here, I'm reducing water waste and energy waste by using less hot water. I use a bar of soap rather than body wash to reduce plastic package waste. Turn the shower back on to rinse. Sometimes I then wash my hair with a shampoo bar. So far, Kalaidasoaps are the best I've found.
Finally, I use a bamboo wash cloth and wipe my face to get off dead skin cells after using glycolic gel over night. Rinse out the washcloth to reuse tomorrow.

I thought I looked like a Jedi in my robe.

Towel dry with a 100% cotton towel I wash once a week. Then wash my hands with a bar of soap and use cold water to reduce energy use that hot water would demand. I use a lotion that has no poly ingredients. I'm still searching for a homemade lotion that works for my skin. I have sensitive skin. I usually don't wear makeup because (a) I don't want to harm my skin and (b) I want to buy less, so I try and use less. I let my hair air dry and hardly ever use a blow dryer, so I save energy use there.

7:30am - Getting Dressed
I try to wear clothes made from all or 85%+ natural fibers so they don't release any or as much microplastic when washing them. I use a natural deodorant, unfortunately in a plastic tube. I used to use Schmidt's that came in a glass jar to reduce plastic use there, but the oils gave me a rash. Looking for a new one now.

7:45 - 9am - Caffeine, Breakfast, Dishes, Dog Stuff, Packing for the Day
Coming next week.

I hope this was at least a little helpful in seeing how the Today We Will sustainability tips can be incorporated into everyday life. Let me know if there's something you want to hear more about.

Plastic-free Athletic and Workout Brands

Recently shared a post on Instagram talking about plastic-free athletic clothing. The truth is we don't really need the polyester and other synthetic materials used for the category of fashion, maybe, unless we are doing some intense performance activities where our life depends on moisture wicking. 

Plastic-free athletic outfift.

Ran four miles and did floor exercises in this. Felt great.

Unless you're a high-performance athlete a lot of the benefits of athletic clothes is hoopla sold to us...that we don't really need. We are totally fine working out in things like cotton, and I'm living proof.

My average run is five miles. I practice yoga. I play tennis. I hike. And I don't do it in synthetics. We all can, too. I have yet to find a brand that is 100% plastic free, but here are places to find all or almost all natural fiber workout pieces.

Brands with Natural Fiber Athletic Clothes

1. Gap
Gap has this amazing "Performance Cotton". Outside of that, you have to check the labels or details online, but Gap has a lot of all or mostly synthetic-free workout clothes. Also, some of their light-weight tops outside of the athletic department can work for running, hiking, yoga, tennis, etc.. Leggings1 Leggings2 Leggings3 Tank1 Tank2 Tank3 TwistBackTank Longsleeve

2. Athleta

UPDATE (06/12/18) Athleta claims they DO NOT have to put all the materials used in their products online, nor include the percent of type of material used for a garment. As such, we need to go into the store and look at the label to know for sure what we are buying. Sucks. Upon a colleague of mine looking at labels in the store, she found that the one listed online that only lists Cotton as the material is actually only 67%! Here is one that is 80% cotton, better:


Athleta has some recycled polyester pieces, but washing that still leads to microplastic in water. Luckily, they also have some great cotton pieces.

3. Groceries Apparel
This brand is really transparent, so it's easy to trust their labels. Here are some finds, among many. Leggings Leggings2 Tank

4. Prana
Prana has a symbol to follow to denote when something is made from more sustainable materials. Here are some that are all or mostly synthetic-free. Leggings FlaredLeggings 

5. Pact
A few classic staples. All we need! Leggings Tank

6. Synergy Clothing
Finally, Synergy Clothing. Leggings1 Leggings2 Tank

7. Spalding (the leggings I’m wearing in the photo above)
Leggings similar to mine.

8. Satva Living
Leggings Cotton Collection

Have any more to share? Please do. We can take a look at labels, no matter where we shop. You never know which styles are ones we'll love and happen to be synthetic-free.

today we will close the curtains when leaving home.

A simple tip for saving energy this spring and summer.