Eco-friendly Supplies for Baby

When it came to creating our baby registry, there were a few different factors that went into a lot of our decisions. We ended up registering with Buy Buy Baby and Target, even though they're big box stores, because of ease for our family and friends and because they do offer a selection of natural brands and organic products.

I always read how first-time moms go overboard getting every product talked about, recommended and advertised, but I tried to remain somewhat minimalistic and stick with the tried-and-true items. Through research of other moms' registries and asking my mom friends what their most used items were, I spent a couple months putting together our registry lists. Researching organic or eco-friendly options did take some extra effort, but it was worth it!



As my friends were planning my baby shower, I requested that the invitations request guests to not use gift wrap. We did the same for our engagement party/couples shower, and it worked extremely well at cutting down the amount of trash we had left over, plus it didn't spoil any surprises.


At my shower, I still "opened" all of the gifts for guests to see, and to help keep track of who gave us what. Even with unwrapped gifts, it was still a surprise to see which gifts had been purchased. There was a very limited amount of waste left behind, which was refreshing. 


A few guests used gift bags, which I happily saved for my own future use, and some guests put their gifts in nice baskets, which are being reused in some way in our nursery. I'm a big fan of this tactic when I'm a guest at other baby showers - I love to stock up on a few of the smaller items on someone's registry, then put everything in a nice basket that can hold diapers, wipes or other essentials in their nursery.


I also noted for the invitation to ask guests to sign a book rather than a card. My intention was to establish Baby's library, which is something I've seen at showers before. I love that we've already got a library built up, and each book has a special note from a family member or friend. I'm looking forward to reading bedtime stories that were picked by our loved ones!

Many of the clothing and bedding items from Target are marked as OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, meaning they are free of chemicals and other additives. It's comforting to know that her items are safer, although it makes me wish that adult clothing were widely marked as Oeko-Tex certified too! Many of the items from Buy Buy Baby are made of organic cotton.





I leaned toward crib sheets, waterproof crib covers, changing pad covers, towels and wash cloths that are made of organic cotton or other organic materials. I've learned that Burt's Bees has an organic textiles line for babies - definitely something I didn't know before. Some of the bibs we were gifted are organic cotton as well - and they are so cute!



The changing pad liners we received are washable and reusable rather than disposable.



For bath and diapering products, we received some Babyganics items like hand sanitizer and wipes, and I had previously purchased some Seventh Generation diaper rash ointment and lotion. Because we are doing a combination of cloth and disposable diapers, I did register for Babyganics, Honest Company and Pampers Pure diapers because they are free of many chemicals that conventional diapers contain. I also stocked up on Water Wipes.


My husband and I went back and forth for awhile on a diaper pail for the room, and I did some research before finding the Ubbi pail. It's made of steel and doesn't use special deodorizers or bags. Rather, it seals out the smells through the locking lid, and it uses standard kitchen size trash bags (and I already use eco-friendlier trash bags in our kitchen). I didn't want something that would just incur more waste than I was already comfortable with, and this fit the bill.

We ended up finding this one at a great price during Babies R Us' closing sale. I also foresee using it as a general trash can for the room. You could even outfit the pail with a cloth laundry bag and use it to store cloth diapers before washing them.


One of my good friends and shower hostesses gave us this extremely adorable dinner set made of bamboo. The color is perfect, and it looks like it is extremely durable. I'm so excited about it that I might just use it myself before we use it for Baby's mealtime.


One of the earliest eco-friendly baby items I purchased was this Klean Kanteen baby bottle. How adorable is that!? And it's perfect for family Klean Kanteen photos, obviously.


I spent a lot of time researching eco-friendly options for diaper bags, and it was one area where I struggled to find something that fit the bill. I'd find vegan leather options that would be ridiculously expensive, or find more budget-friendly options that either didn't have features I needed or would just not be the style I wanted.


I ended up going for a reasonably priced convertible backpack that's not specifically a diaper bag, but has features that can be adapted for carrying baby supplies. It also has a bunch of interior pockets that will allow me to keep both my things and the baby's things organized. The Summit Convertible Tote is made with Repreve, a type of recycled polyester, and is sold by United By Blue.



Looking in Baby's closet, some of the eco-friendly outfits come from Kate Quinn Organics (I took advantage of a 50% off sale), and I picked up a newborn hat from EarthHero. We were gifted a nightgown made of bamboo rayon (it's the softest thing ever and I want one in my own size) and some onesies and dresses made of organic cotton.


I've also written briefly about how I chose Charlie's Soap for my baby laundry detergent. It's fragrance-free, made of nontoxic ingredients, is reviewed well online and is apparently very good at removing stains in cloth diapers. I ordered the powder version from Amazon. (Side note for those of you with pregnancy brain: it comes with a scoop. I did not realize this the first three times I washed baby laundry, instead using a kitchen spoon. One day, the spoon hit something hard and I unearthed the scoop from the detergent. I cannot claim to be smart 100% of the time.)

A few eco-friendly baby and toddler brands/shops

I know there are going to be many more brands out there, but these are brands I've either shopped or followed on social media over the past few months.


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