Healthy World Healthy Child - CHEC Creating Healthy Environments For Children

Thank You

Thanks for passing our newsletter along!

Pocket Guides

Click on the pocket guides below to download a printable version

5 Easy Steps Pocket Guide
Teethers and Pacifiers
Mommy Care
Sunscreen
Toys
Baby Products
Healthy Food

 

 

 

 

Partner Guides

Huddler's Collection of Green Guides (Pocket AND Mobile)

Mercury in Fish Guide - NRDC

Organic Food Guide - Earthbound Farm

Healthy Pet Guide - NRDC

Guide to Home Tissue Products.  Shop Smart.  Save Forests. - NRDC

 

Healthy Child Times - Fall 2007

HCT - Summer 07
Healthy Child
Healthy Child
Healthy Child Times Quarterly Newsletter: Fall 2007
GREETINGS


There's Something in the Air...

For the past several years, October has been heralded by the US Environmental Protection Agency as Children's Health Month. They've always shed light on environmental impacts on child health and development; last year they even focused on healthy school environments, but this year there hasn't been a peep from the office about this very important issue.
Fall

The US Department of Health and Human Services is promoting National Child Health Day on October 1st, and although they are touting "prevention", nowhere in their materials do they mention health risks associated with chemicals in our everyday environments.

What's going on? Why is our federal government getting quieter and quieter about the issue despite the increase in evidence and the growing chorus of scientists arguing for action? You can try to answer that one with other parents at your next play date. In the meantime, turn to Health Child Healthy World for advice on how to protect your children and to celebrate Healthy Child Day every day.

We look forward to creating a healthy future for our children, families, and planet.

Kind Regards,
Healthy Child Healthy World


HEALTHY CHILD NEWS

Host a Healthy Home Party! 

Luna HCHW Logo

Healthy Child in strategic partnership with LUNA, makers of whole nutrition products for women, are excited to announce the launch of our Healthy Home Party Program. These include:

  • an instructional DVD
  • action booklets
  • fact sheets
  • free product samples 
These will help you learn and share great information for a fun and healthy event.  Click here to find out more about this program or contact Mandy to sign up.  Let us help empower you to provide the healthiest environment for yourself and  your family!

EMERGING HEALTH FEATURE

"Mommy, what is global warming?"

Melting Glacier

Children are very curious creatures and as they grow up, you will find yourself trying to answer a wide array of questions.They begin with a simple (albeit sometimes irritatingly redundant) "why?" and from that one word springs forth years of inquiry. Often benign: "Why is the sky blue?" Occasionally embarrassing: "Why is that man so large?" And, over time, increasingly difficult to answer.

One subject area that takes particular finesse is that of environmental issues. Luckily for parents, there is a growing library of books that answer the questions for us. One of the newest additions to the annals is The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming. Written by the producers of Al Goreís An Inconvenient Truth  Read more >>>
DR'S VIEWPOINT

Dr. Alan GreeneWhich Diapers Are Better for the Planet?

By Dr. Alan Greene, M.D.

As a father and pediatrician, Iíve changed many diapers - enough to teach me that diapers are a daily reminder that as humans we deplete resources as we consume, and we make messes with our waste.Diapered Baby

Those landfill diapers that are so easily tossed into the trash are clearly a major ecological issue. But what about the energy, water, and often chlorine involved in laundering cloth diapers?

Read More >>>

HEALTHY CHILD
guide & tips


3 Simple Steps for Fall (and the whole year round!)

  • Get your school (or child care center) to clean green. Okay, it doesn't sound simple, but it really is and thousands of people are doing it across the country. It saves schools money, it improves staff and student performance, and it protects health and the environment. Find a quick and easy guide and much more at Green Clean Schools.
  • Buy local. If you havenít seen the recurring headlines of toy recalls due to lead contamination in products from China, you havenít been awake. Millions of toys have been pulled from store shelves after 26 recalls since the beginning of the year (all toys from China). Protect your child by buying safe toys. Download a Smart Shopper's wallet size toy guide. 
Plastics
  • Breathe easy. With the chill of fall in the air, many of us are battening the hatches at home to keep our toes cozy as the temperatures drop. Sealing up the house can increase levels of indoor air pollutants and put your childís health at risk. Opening a window, even a crack, for even five minutes a day lets in fresh air to help your family breathe easier.

KEEP IN THE KNOW
We are teaming up with Naturepedic  for the Healthy Mattress Donation Project, where Naturepedic will donate $25,000 worth of baby mattresses to hospitals nationwide in 2008. 

 
Mattress
Naturepedic Mattress
SustainLaneNaturepedic mattresses, newly certified by GreenGuard,  are designed and constructed with the utmost care to be the healthiest possible without harmful plastics, phthalates, and flame retardants which are linked to illnesses such as cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD / ADHD, and learning and developmental disabilities.
EVENTS
project7ten - LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY EVENT

Join us for these exciting green home tours. Learn about certified green building and get a hands on experience with one of the country's only Platinum LEED certified custom homes.  For a limited time this October 2007, come tour project7ten.
project7ten
This custom home serves as an educational model that creates a forum for smart discussion about environmental awareness and is a collaboration of green developer Tom Schey, Architect Melinda Gray and environmentalist Kelly Meyer.

Please join us to take a first hand look at project7ten and be inspired to make healthy and GREEN changes in your own lives and communities.  The best part is you can also support us because 100% of all proceeds from the tours will be donated to us!

SHOP FOR CHANGE
SHOP FOR CHANGE Innovative, green designer Alice Heller of Zooey Tee's is generously donating 5% of every shirt sold from her new Green Line. 
Think Green Tee
If having awesome clothing and doing a good deed isn't enough, know that your donation can go even further! Participating retailers will be matching Zooey Tee's donation!

LEGISLATION UPDATES
CALIFORNIA TOXIC TOYS BILL AB 1108

It is a critical time for Californians to encourage Governor Schwarzenegger to pass the California Toxic Toys bill (AB 1108), authored by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma.

Toxic Duck

This bill, which would ban six types of phthalates (chemicals that make plastic soft) from children's toys, passed the Assembly on June 6th and the Senate on September 4th. Read More >>>
COMMUNITY ACTION
HOW TO SHOP FOR ORGANIC AND NATURAL FOODS ON A BUDGET

Join us for the debut of this ongoing effort on October 24th, 2007 for a free 60 minute teleclass hosted by Healthy Child Healthy World Executive Director, Christopher Gavigan,  and natural foods expert, Laura Klein of Organic Authority

organic foods
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
WEE GENERATION
ECO-BABY BAG

Aiming to create a product uniting convenience and green living, Healthy Child Healthy World has teamed up with Seventh Generation, babystyle, IDEO and William McDonough to create the ultimate baby bag through the Wee Generation Project.

Wee Gen Logo
Watch videos from the creators here! The collaborative overarching goal is to advocate for a healthier environment for children by focusing on the "living home" and a transformation of ecosystem-impacting consumer products.


Become a partner


Donate
Designed by Namaste Interactive

Thank You For Subscribing!

Thank you for subscribing to the Healthy Child Times. If you are also interested in receiving our First Steps Newsletter, just enter your child's birth-date on this page and we will send you timely updates marking milestones in your child's development. 

 

 

Healthy Child Times - Summer 2007

HCT - Summer 07
Healthy Child
Healthy Child
Healthy Child Times Quarterly Newsletter: Summer 2007
GREETINGS


In case you haven't heard yet, CHEC has grown and expanded!

This year CHEC turns 16 years old! With many achievements under our belt and with much that still needs to be accomplished, we decided to take a close look at how to build on our strengths and increase our effectiveness. We have been working diligently on planning for the next 16 years of action and results and after 9 months of development, we are ready for re-birth! This self-assessment process has been an incredible journey (kind of like that other nine-month journey we are working to make healthier). One of the most significant and apparent changes is that we chose to clarify our name.  We are quite pleased to announce that CHEC is now Healthy Child Healthy World.

This certainly is an exciting change that was completed to make our image  clear, memorable, and impactful.  Our new improved name and strategy will connect with more people, impact more lives, be associated with more press, and generate more awareness – all to create more action on behalf of children’s health.  If only all 16 year-olds looked deep inside themselves to see how they could improve the world!

We look forward to creating a healthy future for our children, families, and planet.

Kind Regards,
Healthy Child Healthy World


HEALTHY CHILD NEWS

Check out our new DVD! 

Creating Healthy Environmental For Children

Creating Healthy Environments for Children: Easy Steps for Homes, Child Care Centers and Schools is a 20-minute educational DVD which includes informational presentations on how to protect children's environmental health, tool kits, fact sheets, and quizzes for child care centers and schools, community action guides, and effective ways to make your voice heard and spread awareness about children's health issues in your community. 
EMERGING HEALTH FEATURE

Weather and Well-Being: How Climate Change is Impacting Health.

Climate
What is Climate?

"Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get" seems an adequately simple explanation.  Ironically, this definition is from a 1973 science fiction novel and today, climate patterns and weather are becoming increasingly unbelievable.  Read more>>>
DR'S VIEWPOINT

Dr. Alan GreeneDr. Green's Organic Rx

Good News!  Growing our foods organically has proven to be one of the hottest, fastest-growing movements of the 21st century. Already, more than 4 million acres of American farmland have been dedicated to raising our food more sustainably, with an eye toward our health and our future. That's four million acres farmed intelligently without the use of toxic pesticides or other toxic chemicals; four million acres nurtured with both ancient and modern techniques that are in balance with nature, helping to reduce the production of greenhouse gasses and reduce the threat of global warming.
Read More>>> Emerging Health Feature
HEALTHY CHILD
guide & tips
Summer Tips


It's summertime again and while it's prime time for pests, here are some healthy ways to keep them out:
KEEP IN THE KNOW
Healthy Child, Healthy World is teaming up with SustainLane, the nation's largest community-powered directory of green product and business reviews, to bring you a series of informative, timely, and engaging articles about sustainability and green living.
SustainLaneSustainLane
Expect to see new articles from SustainLane published weekly on Healthy Child for the next year. Topics like natural pest control,  easy tips for healthy eating, and non-toxic art supplies are just a few of the subjects in store. Stay tuned for more! And, after you check out the articles on Healthy Child, head over to SustainLane to read and write your own reviews of green products that you use to raise your healthy child!
EVENTS
In late April, Healthy Child celebrated its recent brand launch at Steve Glenn's Platinum Leed Certified  LivingHome in Santa Monica.  It was an exciting, star-studded event to help raise awareness about how important it is to create a healthy environment for children to flourish in, from the ground up! 

Below is a photo of Healthy Child Healthy World Executive Director, Christopher Gavigan with mommy-to-be, Jenna Elfman.

April 26, 2007
Many gathered to celebrate Healthy Child Healthy World's new name and expanded mission. Attendees got to walk through a real-life healthy home and checked out the latest and greatest in "green lifestyle" products and home design, while learning about The 5 Easy Steps to take to make the home safer and healthier.
SHOP FOR CHANGE
Purchase a beautiful and unique gift and support our cause!  25% of all proceeds from Helen Ficalora's beautiful butterfly charm support Healthy Child Healthy World. 
Helen Ficalora
LEGISLATION UPDATES
BAN ASBESTOS IN AMERICA ACT OF 2007
Even though Asbestos is no longer used, Americans are dying at the rate of one per hour from past use of asbestos and the continuing contamination it leaves behind.

National and international authorities agree that even slight exposures to asbestos carry some risk of cancer, and there are many tragic examples of this. Read More>>>
COMMUNITY ACTION
Be one of the first 50 to share your story about your interest in and personal relationship to environmental issues and receive a year’s subscription to Kiwi Magazine, a great magazine for easy and fun ways to keep families healthy.
Kiwi
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
Whole Foods Market, the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket, celebrates the third year of its "Whole Baby" program by partnering with Healthy Child Healthy World and Seventh Generation to spread the word about five simple steps and positive solutions to make your home safer and healthier for your newborn or toddler by helping minimize environmental toxins that can affect your child's growth and development.
WFFrom May 1 through June 30, some of our great partners (all natural baby product companies) have contributed coupons to a free in-store booklet called Your Guide to Natural Choices for a Healthy Home, for a Healthy Baby. The booklet is a collaboration between Whole Foods Market, Healthy Child Healthy World and Seventh Generation.


Become a partner


Donate
Designed by Namaste Interactive

Healthy Child Times - Winter 2007

Healthy Child
Healthy Child
Healthy Child Times Quarterly Newsletter: Winter 2007
GREETINGS

A Happy Healthy Holiday to You!


While children eagerly anticipate the fun and festivities that winter brings, parents are equally excited to indulge little ones at this time of year and would love to be able to give them every gift on their child's wish list. But with over 25 different toy recalls this year alone, parents need to be evermore vigilant in choosing healthy, safe toys for their kids.  Despite the recalls, toxics can still be found in alarming quantities in everything from toys to furniture to holiday decorations.Winter

Parents can take the initiative to buy safer products, but with toxic products still on the market, it makes this process more difficult. With the support of concerned parents like you, promising legislation such as the proposed ban on brominated and chlorinated fire retardants (AB706) have been proposed and gives us hope for more stringent laws being enacted to protect our children. Families can continue to look to Healthy Child Healthy World for the latest updates and information on keeping their children's environment toxin free.

The need for industry transparency about ingredients used in their products is more important now than ever as we see more and more toy companies exposed as manufacturers of toxic toys.  This is a critical moment in time for us to use the widespread awareness to encourage policy-makers to follow Europe and California and put protective policies in place that make harmful chemicals illegal for use in children's products.  

Our dedication to stopping toxic exposure where it starts is only made possible by contributions from loyal concerned citizens like you!  We know you have endless demands on your resources, but you make it possible for us to continue to educate, support protective policies, and help consumers safeguard their children's health - please donate today!

We look forward to creating a healthy future for our children, families, and planet.

We wish you and your family joyous, safe and healthy holidays,

Healthy Child Healthy World


HEALTHY CHILD NEWS


2007 Legislative Victory!

Banning Toxic Toys: Did you know that Healthy Child sponsored the
precedent-setting Stop Toxic Toys Bill (AB 1008-Ma.) that was signed by Gov. Schwarzenneger on Oct. 14th?  Following Europe's lead, the bill is the first in the nation to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of children's toys and feeding products that contain phthalates.

Our Upcoming Book 

We are gearing up for the release of our upcoming book: Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Greener, Cleaner, Safer Home and we wanted you to be the first to hear about it! 
Pre-order your copy now.  

Book
Filled with easy steps and simple solutions to improve family living without wreaking havoc on schedules or budgets, this book includes inspiring ideas for safe, eco-friendly cleaning methods, choosing healthier food, pet and garden care, nursery and home building materials, plus extensive tips for energy saving and family fun.

With contributions from environmental science and public-health experts as well as many celebrity supporters, Healthy Child Healthy World is the essential guidebook for parents and children’s health advocates.

EMERGING HEALTH FEATURE

Plastic Toys - Some Answers.

Baby w Plastic Keys

We've heard a lot about toxic toys lately in the news and it's no wonder parents are a bit overwhelmed by it all and wondering: how can I best protect my child? What is safe to bring into my home?  A great article by Dr. Jonathan Weinkle of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh helps to answer these questions step by step and points you in the right direction to help you make the best and safest decisions for your little ones.  
Read the Full Article>>>

DR'S VIEWPOINT


Dr. Alan GreeneThe Laundry Room

By Dr. Alan Greene, M.D.

As the holidays approach there are opportunities for green purchases beyond the usual toys and special gifts. The world surrounding a new baby, in particular, the laundry room, is full of choices for green purchases.  For such a little person, a baby sure goes through a lot of laundry: diapers, bibs, sleepers, undershirts, blankets, sheets, socks, pants...and of course all the items the baby spits up on that also need to be cleaned—often.  Read More>>>

Diapered Baby
HEALTHY CHILD TIPS


3 Simple Ways to Help You Enjoy Healthy Holidays:
  1. Keep Holiday Lights Out of Childrens' Reach! All four of the top American holiday light manufacturers tested by Quantex Labs were found to have excessive levels of lead - surpassing Consumer Products Safety Commission's recommended child limit for toys.  Read More>>>
  2. Retire that old, plastic tree. Plastic Christmas trees may appear to make environmental sense, because they can be used for many years. And about 20 million households put up a tree that is 9 years old or older. But old Christmas trees, which are made of PVC, are a potential health threat to children. 
    Child Lights
  3. To perfume the air with a holiday fragrance, simmer spices such as cinnamon sticks and whole cloves.  Special scents create a festive holiday mood. However, scented candles, incense, air fresheners and other fragrance products are filled with chemical cocktails that can pollute indoor air, causing headaches, fatigue and other symptoms.
For these and more great tips, visit our Healthy Holidays Checklist.

KEEP IN THE KNOW
Whole Foods Market and Healthy Child Healthy World Partner with Kiwi Magazine and American Airlines to Bring Healthy Fun To The Holiday Skies!

Kiwi Cares
From November 2007 through January 1, 2008 kids and parents alike can enjoy the Kiwi Care Package when traveling on select American Airlines flights nationwide. 

AA_Kiwi_Logos
LEARN MORE
Medical Approaches in Autism: Clinical Implications of Environmental Toxicology for Children's Neurodevelopment in Autism

Autism Ribbon

We encourage parents and members of the general public to learn more about the latest information on environmental implications in the diagnosis and treatment of autism.

What a great opportunity for the public to be exposed to the important scientific and clinical information provided at this Symposium.


Learn more and sign up to attend the symposium on:

Friday February 8, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
San Francisco, California

SHOP FOR CHANGE
Organic Bouquet Christmas Wreath

Support Healthy Child with an organic wreath or sustainably grown holiday bouquet this year from Organic Bouquet.   A 10% donation will be given to Healthy Child on each purchase by Organic Bouquet.

Anna Getty Yoga DVD

We are excited to announce Anna Getty's debut Yoga DVD 2-disc collection for both expectant mothers and new mommies post partum.

Equally ideal for beginners or seasoned practitioners, the approach is smart, insightful and utterly invigorating.  You can purchase them and learn more at AnnaGetty.com. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the DVD will benefit Healthy Child Healthy World.

LEGISLATION UPDATES
CRYSTAL GOLDEN-JEFFERSON FURNITURE SAFETY AND FIRE PREVENTION ACT - AB706

This act calls for the immediate phase-out of two classes of toxic fire retardant chemicals used in our everyday home furnishings: brominated and chlorinated fire retardants (BFRs and CFRs).

Baby Sleeping on Couch

In order to meet California's strict fire safety standards, companies use toxic BFRs and CFRs. However, exposure to BFRs and CFRs is dangerous to children's health and the environment because it bioaccumulates and is a probable human carcinogen. Safer alternatives exist that are just as effective and economical. Support firefighters and environmental groups by helping to pass AB706 and ban the use of these toxins!
COMMUNITY ACTION
SCREEN YOUR TOYS WITH THE HEALTHY TOYS DATABASE

Baby In Tub

Michigan-based Ecology Center has just released new research on over 1,500 toys in collaboration with Healthy Child Healthy World and other leading environmental health groups across the country.

Parents will be able to easily check how products rank from highest to lowest in terms of lead, cadmium and other chemicals that are associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer. Toys made with PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, were also tested.

PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
PURE HOME PRODUCTS - GIFT REGISTRY

Use the Pure Home Products Gift Registry and 5% of your purchase goes to support Healthy Child Healthy World!  

Pure Home Products Logo

The mission of the family owned company is to provide the healthiest home and baby products available in the marketplace.  The store carries everything from non-toxic and organic mattresses, bedding, towels and furniture to a wide selection of the purest baby products. 
PHP Baby Room


Become a partner


Donate