Eco-Friendly Plated Dinner

Here is a guest post I wrote which posted March 19th 2013. If you are planning a wedding, please follow The Sweet Christian Bride to help you along the way! You can apply the concepts to any party, dinner, or large function to GREEN your event! The Sweet Christian Bride

Dangers of Wrinkle Free Clothes and Sheets...Formaldehyde!!!

You bring that new baby home and the last thing you want to do is iron your husbands clothes while the baby naps right??? So you think...buy some wrinkle-free shirts and pants and maybe sheets? WRONG!!! This is the last thing you ever want to bring into your home. These items contain FORMALDEHYDE to give them that crisp look!! It is a human carcinogen...need I say more??? A few years back 180 items were tested. Results: from New York Times Article "about 5.5 percent of the items — primarily wrinkle-free shirts and pants, easy-care pillow cases, crib sheets and a boy’s baseball hat — exceeded the most stringent standards of 75 parts per million, for products that touch the skin. (Levels must be undetectable, or less than 20 parts per million for children under 3 years, and can be as high as 300 parts per million for products like outerwear that do not come into direct contact with the skin.)" Just think what happens when your husband is burping the baby while he wears his wrinkle-free shirt or what baby is breathing as you place him/her on toxic sheets. You may not know it but Formaldehyde is hiding is many household items like your upholstered sofa, curtains, and the construction materials in your walls. What you can do is limit your exposure and chose not to buy wrinkle-free, wrinkle-resistant, no iron, or permanent press items. Organic cotton, bamboo, and wool are your safest options for clothes and sheets and are becoming more readily available.

Identlfy GMO labels when you shop for fruits and veggies!

Do you know what the label on your fruit or vegetable means??? It actually tells you more than you think. It is a price look-up code that also tells you how the food was grown. If the label has a four digit code it is conventionally grown with chemical pesticides or fertilizers. If it starts with a 9, it is organic which is what you should strive to buy. Certified organic food is the safest option for your children. If it starts with an 8....drop that food and run...it means it is genetically modified. The food was altered genetically to make it bigger or more colorful. Genetically modified foods are causing concern because we do not know the long term affects they may have on our bodies. More articles on dangers of GMOS. Food should be left as mother nature intended. In Europe foods are clearly labeled so you know if they are GMO. To see what foods the Environmental Working Group suggests you should buy organic and which contain the least amount of pesticides...read more.