VOC-free paint - safer for pregnancy and babies - let the nesting begin!

While I've been busy with my baby (now 8 months, 4 teeth, and virtually eczema-free - more on that soon!) and 5 year old, I've asked some friends to write guest blog posts. Here is the first, from Melissa Wittig, an eco-friendly interior designer at Relish Designs and author of the very informative Healthy Home Insight Blog.  Enjoy :-) 

Ahhh... everyone loves the excitement and anticipation that comes from a freshly painted room, a change of colour and scenery can be as good as a holiday.  With the bombardment of reality renovation shows and spring just around the corner [in Australia at least] great painting weather is fast approaching.  While being inspired by the plethora of colours available take a moment to consider the contents of the emulsion that will be painted throughout your space.  Buying paint can be likened to food choices, some cause health problems and others contribute to a healthy future.

Paint formulas all vary,  brands are made differently and use different ingredients. These ingredients can vary in their performance, durability and ease of application along with a vital difference – potential for indoor air pollution.  Most paints on the market once applied have that new paint smell that we are all familiar with. This new paint smell is the paint off-gassing which is referred to as VOCs - Volatile Organic Compounds, essentially a health warning from your nose.

Paint within the home environment has been a silent contributor to unhealthy homes for far too long, a fact that has conveniently escaped many colourful marketing campaigns. It is only in recent times that VOCs are being understood by the wider public as detrimental to human health.  Paint fumes have the potential to cause and worsen respiratory conditions among other illnesses and once paint is on the wall it has the potential to off-gas for years after application, long after the new smell has gone.

There are “healthier choice” paint options available in the market place although some detective work is required to cut through green washing.  There are low VOC paint products on the market, but make sure that the product is still low VOC after the tint (colour) has been added. The ultimate “healthier choice” is to buy paint that is ZERO VOC. There is a ZERO VOC product on the market that is comparative in price with other paints, is Australian made and uses a recycled ingredient: Ecolour. The company is a smaller corporate identity than some in the paint world but a company with a commitment to healthy people and a healthy environment. 

The biggest decision when you are about to paint is not the colour, it is what the paint is made from and how it may impact on your indoor air quality for years to come.  Energy efficient homes are important, but healthy homes should be sharing the spotlight.  Ecolour have stockists around Australia, but they have just opened a Melbourne store and are offering a 10% discount valid until the end of October 2011. Contact the Melbourne store at 3 Evans St, Braybrook, 1300 937 686  and let them know that Melissa from Relish Designs sent you.

Avoiding non-ionizing radiation during pregnancy with Belly Armor

Ironically I didn't get a mobile phone until I was pregnant with my first son.  I held out until I was one of only about 3 people (one of whom was my husband) I knew who didn't have one at the time (2005).  Now all three of us have mobile phones (I have the lowest radiation-emitting phone I could find in Australia - a Nokia 6700c SAR value 0.410 W/Kg), but I still try to avoid using it as much as possible, and when I do use it I always use speakerphone and set the phone down as far from me as possible.  I never carry it on my body.  But I do spend a lot of time at a computer, including while pregnant and breast feeding, and I do worry about the effect of this on my baby.  


I try to minimize the radiation from the computer by using an ethernet connection to my broadband instead of wireless.  We have also gotten rid of our cordless phones at home and replaced them with traditional landlines.  But there's only so much you can do in a world full of radiation, and sometimes where you live or work has wireless internet that you can't turn off, or lots of cell phones (or even worse, power lines or a mobile phone boosting tower).  Thankfully there are some products that you can use to cut down the exposure of your baby in utero.  Sadly I wasn't aware of these products when I was pregnant, but I've discovered them now and hopefully you can benefit from them.  (And I can use them if I have another baby!)


When Belly Armor CEO Aileen Chen was pregnant with her first child, she was working as a banking executive.  She became concerned about the impact of her frequent travel and use of electronic devices and started researching what the experts were saying about everyday radiation, and became more and more concerned with what she found. So, after looking for something to shield this everyday radiation, and not finding anything, she decided to create it herself and Belly Armor was born.

Aileen partnered with a company that creates radiation shields for industrial purposes and worked with them to create something for consumer use.  The resulting textile is incredibly light, breathable, machine washable and shields against everyday radiation with 99% effectiveness.  Belly Armor's products include maternity tops, a belly band, and belly blankets.  Aileen was named #11 in the Babble 2011 list of the top 50 Mompreneurs ("They cook, they clean and, between naptimes, they run kickass companies."). 

There is some fantastic information on the Belly Armor website, including a great collection of recent news items about radiation from cell phones and wireless networks, and an interesting/scary list of possible health risks from radiation exposure, especially during pregnancy.

Belly Armor were kind enough to provide me with one of their belly blankets to test, and I can confirm that the cell phone test works. I would recommend these products to any pregnant women wanting to avoid radiation, along with other radiation-minimizing tips such as these.  


*** You can get 10% off all purchases from www.bellyarmor.com with the promo coupon code Annies until June 24th 2011.  ***


I asked Belly Armor some questions to find out more about the company and their products:

"Q: Where are your products made and what mechanisms do you have in place to ensure safe working conditions?

A: Our products are made in our own factory in Indonesia and our CEO makes frequent trips out there.  It adheres to GMP standards (good manufacturing practices) and we have programs in place to ensure our processes are socially and environmentally responsible. This includes balancing our carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offsets through a great program called TerraPass.

Q: Would you ever consider using organic cotton or other eco-friendly materials in your products?

A: Yes, we will be introducing an organic cotton product later this year.  We also use eco-friendly recycled packaging and processes.

Q: Are you planning on expanding your range in the near future?

A: Yes, in addition to the organic product we plan on launching, we'll be doing another product launch with a next generation technology this summer that we are very excited about.

Q: Do you recommend using the blankets on babies after they are born?

A: Right now our products are only for use during maternity.  Risk from radiation exposure is also a big concern for babies and young children, so we do hope to expand our line in the near future to help address this as well.

Q: Any other tips on avoiding radiation exposure?

A: Use headsets or speakerphone while on your cell phone, especially when pregnant. When you have the option, use a landline and limit the time on your cell phone.

Don't set your laptop on your pregnant (or non-pregnant) belly. Always work with it on the desk or at least with a lap desk or laptop cooler between you and the laptop.

Be aware of the time spent using electronics and, when possible, increase the distance between yourself and electronic devices - particularly appliances that use high rotation or air flow, such as hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, blenders, etc."

Finally, I love this quote from a mom named Christine who was interviewed for another Belly Armor review: "It really is sad how unavoidable it is — unless of course you live in a bubble and even then, your bubble may be made of BPA plastic, therefore negating the whole bubble thing!"  Sad but true.  At least with Belly Armor there is something relatively easy you can do to reduce your exposure to radiation :-)

'tis the season for giveaways and reviews...

I'm 37 weeks pregnant today, which means I'm all wrapped up in trying to get ready for a baby and get ready for xmas, and trying to do both in the most ecological and economical way possible... which is doing my head in!  In between researching advances in eco-diaper technology in the 5 years since I last looked at the issue, and trying to find non-toxic presents for my son, nieces and nephews, I'm trying to write a birth plan (which I will post once I've finished) and figure out who is going to look after our 4 year old when I go into labor!

I'm excited to tell you though, that I have some giveaways planned through 29 Diapers (I'm one of the 29 Days of Christmas giveaways that have already started...)  On day 19 (14 Dec)  I'm going to be giving away two of my favorite Miessence Certified Organic baby skin care products - a baby bottom cleansing gel and baby bottom mist, so check back here or at 29 Diapers for the details.  There are lots of other cool giveaways happening at 29 Diapers every day until Christmas.


I'm also planning product reviews of organic baby slings, organic diaper bags, organic eco-diapers, and much more, as I actually start using them, and I'll review some of my favorite baby books, such as Wonder Weeks, and  Ecofrugal Baby. [Can someone please tell me why I keep getting these white boxes when I link to books on Amazon?]


Better go work on that birth plan and starting packing a bag for the hospital... (or maybe I'll just watch an episode of Mad Men and feel good about myself because I'm not drinking and smoking my way through the pregnancy....)