An eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle is often thought of to be expensive. Luckily, there are some great affordable options to incorporate eco-friendly and sustainable items in your baby and/or toddler’s everyday life! Here are a few small changes including clothes, toys, diapers, and food, that you can make regarding baby and toddler items to help mother nature and your bank account too!
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Cloth Diapers
It can take a diaper around 500 years to fully decompose! Newborn babies use approximately 10 diapers per day. By the time a child is potty trained, they’ve used about 7,000 diapers. And this is just for one baby alone! The amount of diapers sitting in landfills decomposing is mind-blowing.
To be honest, it didn’t even cross my mind with my first child. But with my second, we are choosing to use cloth diapers. For one, they help keep an extra 7,000 diapers out of the landfill. Secondly, cloth diapers are truly the more affordable option. Buying cloth diapers will save you hundreds of dollars in your child’s first 2 years of life.
We use WeGreeCo Cloth Diapers. I’ve found that Leekalos are almost exactly the same, so you can’t go wrong with either one. Cloth diapers can also be stripped and used for your next child or passed on to a friend to prolong their eco-friendly life.
Affordable, Eco-friendly, and Sustainable Baby and Toddler Clothing
Fast fashion has become hugely popular in the last few years. People want to keep up with what’s on trend, not really thinking about what it is doing to our environment. The quality of clothing you receive when paying “fast fashion” cheap prices is often rough, scratchy, ill-fitting clothing. I don’t know about you, but that isn’t what I want my baby or toddler wearing.
I prefer my children be comfortable, in soft to the touch, well made clothing that has been sustainably sourced and made with environmentally friendly fabrics.
It is 100% possible to find baby and toddler clothing that checks all those boxes, with an added bonus of being affordable. The best I’ve found is from Gerber Childrenswear. They have a line of baby and toddler clothing that is focused on the comfort of your child, the affordability of clothing, and the environment. The way they make this clothing saves water and reduces CO2 emissions.
I can not express to you how buttery soft these baby and toddler clothes are! I wish they made adult sizes. It’s made of viscose fiber, predominately from eucalyptus blended with a small amount of spandex. The colors are vibrant, and the quality is high. Gerber Childrenswear is now my go-to place for affordable and environmentally friendly baby and toddler clothes since coming out with this new clothing line.
Gender Neutral Clothing and Baby Products
Buying gender neutral baby and toddler clothing and baby products saves you money in the long run. Having a collection of gender neutral baby and toddler clothing allows you to re-use for each child.
I regret not buying more gender-neutral things with my first child (girl), and now I have to buy a whole new wardrobe for my second child (boy). He will also have to ride around in a girly stroller and car seat for a few months because I’m not wasting money on a second one! I’m sure he won’t mind looking at flowers for a few months.
Learn from my mistakes and incorporate more gender-neutral items when purchasing baby gear and clothing. Gerber Childrenswear’s new environmentally friendly clothes include tons of gender-neutral items, with solid colors and adorable, vibrant patterns.
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Home Made Baby Food
Making your own baby food is a great way to save money and be eco-friendly. When buying pre-made baby food, it is purchased in serving-size plastic or glass containers. This creates an excessive amount of unnecessary waste unless you are repurposing the containers.
There are many benefits of making your own baby food. One of the most important benefits is that you can control what goes into it. You can make sure there are no preservatives, additives, or other chemicals in it. You can also make sure there is no contamination of allergens your baby may have issues with.
Making your own baby food is not difficult and you don’t need any special equipment to do it. All you need is a regular blender or food processor that you probably already own, and some fresh ingredients from the grocery store such as fruits, vegetables, meats, beans, and grains.
To prepare the food, all that’s needed is to clean, peel, and cook the food (using only water, such as steaming or boiling in unseasoned water). Remove the food from the water and puree them in the blender or food processor. If extra moisture is needed, add some breastmilk or formula for added nutrition.
To store your home-made baby food, simply pour your purees into small glass mason jars, and place them in the freezer until ready to use. When you’re ready, thaw the food and give your baby what they need! Re-use the mason jars for more baby food storage.
Trade Plastic for Natural Material
There is so much plastic used in baby and toddler products. From toys to baby bottles, baby food containers, eating utensils, hairbrushes, the list goes on.
It may be harder to find environmentally friendly baby and toddler items, but it is worth the search. They last so much longer, enabling many children to enjoy, instead of plastic products breaking soon after purchase and throwing them away.
Plastic has also been shown to be an endocrine disruptor and can leech chemicals from it into the air and into skin. These chemicals are linked with developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems, according to the NIH.
Not only are plastics not good for the Earth, but they’re also harmful to our bodies. Two huge reasons to use as many natural materials as possible.
Affordable Ways to Raise an Eco-friendly Baby and Toddler – Final Thoughts
Small changes made over time can get you to where you want to be with creating a more natural, eco-friendly environment for your children. Start with one thing at a time and eventually you will grow to having the eco-friendly lifestyle you desire!
Whether you start with diapers, clothing, food, or baby gear first, as long as you start somewhere, it’s a great stepping stone for creating a better life.
