droolicious : bpa-free

Spa Baby Tub for Your Little Upright Citizen

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:00:00 GMT

One of only a few such European-inspired bathing gizmos we've seen, the Spa Baby Tub features a bucket-shaped design that allows wee ones to sit in a natural fetal position. You support baby's head, but nature and buoyancy do the harder work of keeping her at ease. (If only our grown-up tub could surround us with so much warm water..)

Oh, and unlike the $4 paint bucket you're about to pull out of the garage for the same purpose: Can't say we blame you, but it's worth noting that the polypropylene Spa Baby also arrives free of polycarbonate, BPA, paint and other potential health hazards.

$44.99 ($39.99 Canadian) from Spa Baby.

More Proof That Baby Toys Are Just Like Pet Toys

Erin Behan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:19:00 GMT

It's a running joke around our house that if it makes a good pet toy, then it'll make a good baby too. The folks over at Little Alouette seem to have been inspired by the same kind of thinking, as their Maple Doggie Bone Style Teether isn't for dogs, it's for babes. And, of course, giving your little one a wooden teether instead of a plastic one avoids that whole "will this plastic give my boy a third testicle/make my girl go through puberty at age 7" problem we're currently dealing with. Organic seed oils have been used to finish the product, which is five inches long and $15 at the Little Alouette Etsy shop.

Coupon Code: Free Shipping On Glow Mama Natural Juice Drink

Aaron Burgess — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Glow Mama natural juice drink is designed to keep moms and moms-to-be healthy and hydrated, but taste-wise, it's also not too shabby from a dad's or kid's perspective. Made from 15% juice -- specifically kiwifruit juice concentrate, white grape juice concentrate and cane juice concentrate -- it packs just 70 calories per 12 oz. bottle and is loaded with essential pre- and postnatal nutrients, (including C, B3/B6/B12, calcium, iron, and folic acid) and fiber (4 grams per bottle).

Though it's not organic, Glow Mama contains no caffeine, fat, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners, and the company's packaging standards are also pretty nature-friendly: Soy-based inks are used in the bottles' labels, and the bottles themselves are recyclable and single-use, made from BPA-free PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic.

OK, but how does it taste? Well, strangely enough, you don't really taste the kiwi at first -- despite its rather deep gold color (due in part to the color change the normally green kiwi juice goes through in the pre-bottling heating process), Gold Mama has a crisp, subtle, refreshingly neutral flavor that actually seems well-suited to mixed drinks. Obviously that's not an option for mamas-to-be or nursing moms, but clearly someone at Glow Mama HQ had mixology in mind, 'cause there are a number of awesome mocktail recipes on Glow Mama's site that'll do the trick without alcohol.

The Mom-ito's been a hit in my house -- stock up on Glow Mama yourself via our exclusive coupon code for free shipping (see below), and whip up a refreshing, vitamin-loaded glass for yourself:

Mom-ito (courtesy of Natalie Bovis-Nelson, a.k.a. the Liquid Muse)

Ingredients:
10 large mint leaves
1 oz. lime juice
3 oz. chilled Glow Mama
1 oz. soda water
6 Glow Mama ice cubes (freeze your own)

Directions:
Muddle mint leaves, sugar and lime juice in the bottom of a hi-ball glass. Drop in the Glow Mama ice cubes. Pour in the Glow Mama and soda water, and garnish with mint leaves.

Glow Mama is $14.45 for a 6-pack and $28.90 for a 12-pack. Visit the Glow Mama store to order, and enter coupon code "babble" for free shipping.

Every Day’s a Beach with Green Toys Sand Play Set

Heather Kuldell — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:04:00 GMT

With Memorial Day coming up, my thoughts drift to the beach. Stumbling across this Green Toys Sand Play Set only increase the urge to hit the sand. The four-piece set includes the essentials: a bucket, a rake, a shovel and a sand-castle mold. To make the sun a little more enjoyable, the entire set is made from recycled milk jugs, which is a safe plastic free of phthaltes, BPA and lead. Now all I need is the sunblock.

Available at Wild Dill for $20.

Wee*Go's Soft-Shelled Glass Bottle Defies Toxins, Breakage Alike

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:04:00 GMT

On first glance, this Wee*Go bottle from Babylife looks like another questionably safe plastic drinking implement, but appearances can be deceiving. Not only is the bottle itself 100% glass (which, of course, immediately takes it off the "may leach dangerous chemicals" list), but even the soft protective sleeve that houses it is also non-toxic and free of plastics.

The Wee*Go's latex-free silicone nipple is also free of toxic materials, and the plastic ring, plug and cap are food-grade, polycarbonate-free and recyclable. While such attention to safety should please anyone who's tired of Googling bottle manufacturers' names for BPA, phthalate, PVC and polycarbonate findings, it does create one slight drawback: The softer, safer plastics Babylife uses in its cap and ring may not hold up under repeat boiling or automatic dishwashing, so hand washing is recommended. The sleeve and bottle, however, can take whatever high-temperature fury you unleash on 'em.

Available in the six sleeve colors pictured here, the 9 oz. Wee*Go is $18 from the Babylife store. Enter coupon code SIXORMORE at checkout for free shipping on orders of six or more bottles.

7 Days of BPA-Free Plastics: CamelBak Better Water Bottle

Chris Ford — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:03:00 GMT

My kids are (almost) completely done with sippy cups, so now I'm starting to think about how I'm going to bring a drink for them to the park without using a sippy cup. Luckily I found a BPA-free option at Amazon - The CamelBak "BPA- Free" Better Water Bottle.

The CamelBak water bottle comes in a 16, 25 and 32 oz. size, has a handle that you can clip to a carabiner or back pack, and is made of BPA-Free plastic. It even has a standard size cap that will apparently allow the lid to fit other bottles.

CamelBak "BPA-Free" Better Water Bottle, $6.95 from Amazon.com for the 16 oz. version

Think Summer: BPA-Free Ice Pop Molds

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:03:00 GMT

I live in Austin, Texas, where we've been making ice pops to stay cool for at least a month now; but even if you're still digging your car out from the snow, it'll soon be time to start enjoying frozen confections somewhere other than on your windshield. And since this week Droolicious is celebrating all things BPA-free, what better time to grab a set of these polypropylene Star Ice Pop Molds, on sale now at Crate & Barrel. Each set lets you whip up six 3 oz. treats, and the handles' oversized drip guards help to keep sugar water from leaking onto fingers and floors.

$12.95 (regularly $14.95) at Crate & Barrel. (Kudos to Safe Mama for the tip.)

Vice Versa Binky + Case: Safe Storage or Germy Harbor?

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:03:00 GMT

I like the idea behind Vice Versa's Binky + Case set ($14 from A+R Store), and not just because said binkies are BPA- and Phthalate-free: Each pink or blue pacifier in the Italian-made line comes inside its own bubbled housing, which includes a clip to keep it from dropping on the ground. Simply pop the binky back into the housing when baby's done sucking, and you've presumably got a way to keep germs at bay until it's time to suck again.

But what happens if baby has a cold? If Mom or Dad has germy fingers? If you drop the binky on the ground? (No, the five-second rule doesn't count.) It's hard not to imagine that housing turning into a Petri dish for all sorts of gruesome bugs unless you wash it regularly; and when you're out shopping and need a quick place to stash the binky, what are the odds you'll actually do that?

Green Tea, Thumbs Part of Green Toys' Spring '08 Line

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:03:00 GMT

A while back, we covered San Francisco-based Green Toys' venture into corn-based bioplastic playthings -- well, the company's resources seem to have changed a bit since then, but the output is as green as ever. This 27-piece Green Toys Cookware and Dining Set ($39.95 at Rabbit Kinney) is part of a new line of recycled-plastic toys that also includes a Tea Set, an Indoor Gardening Kit, and a Sand Play Set. Though it's not corn-derived (the actual material is high-density polyethylene, or HDPE), each set is made in California using recycled milk containers as its primary material. The toys also feature no external coating (and pose no lead-paint risks) and undergo testing to ensure no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA.

And thus concludes today’s chemistry lesson – for more information on Green Toys, including info on where to find them locally, visit the company's site.