Why Eco-Strollers?
DID YOU KNOW?
Toxic Flame Retardants are in 80% of Baby Products, including strollers.
“Most moms have no idea that over 80% of baby products contain toxic flame retardant chemicals….for really no reason. These chemicals have been linked to a variety of health problems including cancer. Why would a stroller, nursing pillow or high chair need to be coated in toxic flame retardants anyway? Shouldn’t it be the parents right to buy safe products that don’t toxify their children if they don’t keep open flames or smoke in their homes?
The chemical companies would have you believe that it saves lives, but even flame retardants in general have been shown to do quite the opposite. Flame retardants make the smoke much more toxic when it catches fire, and flame retardants only slow the fire if it has already begun. Firefighters, pediatricians and other organizations have all been fighting to have these toxic chemicals removed from our products, but the chemical companies continue to scare consumers and bully and buy lawmakers. The only way to protect your child is to buy products that are NOT treated with these chemicals. They do exist! ”
Text from Organic Baby University
Interesting link to read:
Guide to non-toxic baby products.
We love everything about being eco-friendly, and growing our babies green from the start. It has become a permanent trend in our culture. We've all heard about recycling, using reusable bags, buying organic cotton clothes for our little ones, even using an organic mattress. But, can a stroller be "green"? Absolutely!
We are happy to introduce our eco-friendly strollers, that are made of the greenest possible fabrics. However, all other strollers we carry are green too - they are simply made to last through several children, made with minimal use of plastic components, and do not contain any harmful chemicals.
Through Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 on most of our strollers, we are committed to providing products with fabrics that are chemically-clean and safe for both your child and the environment.
We are concerned about a chemical-soup that babies are exposed to on everyday basis. Of all the materials in baby car seats, carriers, and strollers, you should be most concerned about the chemical safety and environmental credentials of the fabrics. This is for the simple reason that the fabrics are primarily what your child sits on, sleeps against, and touches on every day.
At Stroller Boutique, we have taken a leadership position by committing to offering strollers with fabrics that are certified to Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 (also known as Öko-Tex Standard 100). This is an international certification that sets limits on close to 200 potentially harmful substances and chemicals. Besides being the only valid certification of its kind, the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is very thorough in the substances it addresses. There are tests for compounds ranging from harmful heavy metals like lead and arsenic, to many known allergy-inducing and irritating chemicals. The list includes pesticides, phthalates, dyes, and VOC emissions.
ALL OF OUR STROLLERS ARE FREE OF FLAME RETARDANTS, AND DO NOT CONTAIN ANY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES FOR YOUR CHILD.
What is the difference between Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and Organic?
In a nutshell, Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification means that textile and fabric products are SAFE for human use.
Organic certification means that textile and fabric products are GROWN according to strict guidelines on the use of petroleum based fertilizers, pesticides and synthetic products.
To attain Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification, the fabric has been tested and certified to be free from harmful levels of more than 100 substances known to be harmful to human health.
- The certification is voluntary
- It must be updated annually
- certification is conducted by independent third party laboratories.
However, fabric that is certified as Oeko-Tex Standard 100 does not mean the same as organic.
To be certified organic, fabrics such as cotton, wool, bamboo, flax and other natural fibres must be grown and produced under stringent standards that relate to the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. To be labelled organic, the fabric must also meet fibre production and processing standards from the likes of GOTS.
However, fabric that is organic has not necessarily been tested for harmful substances as per the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification. It could have been grown as organic, only later to be treated with harmful chemicals.
Organic certification and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certifications are different, but useful ways for consumers to understand more about how the products they buy are produced, and about human safety.
The test samples are tested by the independent Oeko-Tex institutes for their ph-value, formaldehyde content, the presence of pesticides, extractable heavy metals, chlorinated organic carriers and preservatives such as pentachlorophenol and tetrachlorophenol. The tests also include checks for any MAC amines in azo dyestuffs and allergy-inducing dyestuffs.
ECO-LEATHER:
We use the term "eco-leather" to describe many fabric areas of our strollers, such as the handles, footrest, or even the entire exterior of the stroller. However, many are not familiar with this term, or what makes up the "eco-leather".
Eco-leather is a material that imitates the natural leather. It is made of polyester, and covered with a thin layer of PVC. The surface has a texture that imitates the real leather. It is often used as a finishing material, as it's much less expensive than real leather, and where the leather look is desired.
It is waterproof, so it has this advantage over real leather, especially when we're discussing its use in strollers. Natural leather looks awful when wet, and gets easily damaged by water. On the other hand, it is not breathable like natural leather, which makes it as a disadvantage (eg. in vehicle seats). In our strollers it is used only on the outside, where breathability is of no concern, but the stroller "leather" look is desired. The baby/toddler is not sitting directly on the "eco-leather", but rather on a regular stroller fabric.
