Your Baby's Nursery

If parents-to-be were to make only one major organic purchase, experts agree that it should be an organic crib mattress because a baby will spend so much time in close proximity. Conventional mattresses "have a number of potential dangers," says David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany.  "The danger is greater when they're new – the new plastic smell is primarily phthalates, which are particularly dangerous for the nursery because they're estrogenic compounds that can interfere with the development of an infant's sexuality."

Conventional crib mattresses, often made out of polyurethane foam and covered in vinyl, can contain products that emit petrochemical fumes, which can cause serious allergies; toluene disocynate and formaldehyde, both of which are possibly carcinogenic and can irritate eyes and skin; and flame retardants containing compounds that could affect a baby's nervous system and brain development.

Organic mattresses come in a variety of materials, among them natural foam rubber, natural latex, organic cotton, wool or silk, although if your baby will be at high risk for allergies, you'll want to avoid latex and wool. If you can't afford an organic mattress, Carpenter recommends buying a mattress – as with any products you're going to buy that contain vinyl – well in advance of the birth so the products "have time to age." The most powerful emissions, he says, come early in the life of the product.

If you already have a non-organic mattress, you can at least protect your baby's skin by stacking organic layers on top of it. Kimberly Rider, author of Organic Baby recommends a natural rubber moisture barrier such as Talalay (a latex she says does not cause allergic reactions), an organic cotton mattress pad, an organic cotton mattress barrier cover and organic bedding. Carpenter points out that this layering probably will not reduce the amount of chemicals released from a conventional mattress that a child inhales, but that organic layering is "better than nothing."

If the organic bedding fabrics are subtler than you'd like your nursery décor to be, you can add color by using conventional fabrics in a cribskirt, valence and various other decorative spots around the room. But organic designers caution against trying to make up the color difference by using regular paint on the nursery walls.

Most paints contain VOCs: chemical compounds that evaporate into the air under normal temperatures. Once VOCs, which can be carcinogens, neurotoxins and/or endocrine disruptors, are in the air, "you can breathe it in. Once you breathe it in, it can get into your body.  People don't think about this," explains Linda Greer, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's health program. "When you breathe it in, your blood is going right by those lungs and can pick up the chemical along with the oxygen and take it to all kinds of cells and organs in your body. Breathing chemicals as a general rule is more dangerous than swallowing them because they get delivered to your organs without stopping."

If you must paint the nursery, use low- or, better yet, no-VOC paints, which don't use formaldehyde or petroleum-based solvents. It is considered common knowledge in the organics trade, however, that some large companies add potentially toxic chemicals to low- or no-VOC paints to mask paint odor. Before purchasing the paint, you might contact the manufacturer to ask about ingredients. Another option is to try a natural or milk paint or color wash.

Finding eco-friendly nursery furniture has never been easier, thanks to an influx of new alternative sustainable materials such as SDF, or sustainable density fiberboard, says Kelly LaPlante, founding partner of jak, a high-end environmentally sustainable furnishing company.

Many durable wooden cribs, chairs and case goods include recycled materials and/or don't give off toxic emissions. The trick is to avoid pressed or "manufactured" wood products made, for example, out of plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard or chipboard, which typically use adhesives that give off formaldehyde. Or seek out furniture that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the Rainforest Alliance Rediscovered Wood Certification Seal, or Greenguard, or that carries a Green Seal. Another easy way to tell whether new furniture is emitting toxic chemicals is to sniff it. "Items that smell strongly of chemicals," Rider writes, "are full of chemicals."