If you have a new baby in your family, you can find eco-friendly, natural baby products that are safer and healthier for babies and for the environment.

1. Washable diapers

They are just as effective as disposable ones with less environmental impact. They are easy to clean and have many adjustable features to fit your baby better.

Available brands are Fuzzi Bunz or Happy Heiny’s.

2. Nontoxic crib mattress

Try to avoid mattresses that contain the toxic flame retardants PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers).

No Compromise crib mattress is made of organic cotton with nontoxic polyethylene plastic surface that is waterproof and stain-resistant. It also uses baking soda and silica to replace PBDEs as natural flame retardants.

3. Baby bottles

Plastic bottles often contain BPA which has been linked to many health problems (click here).

Use glass bottles or Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottles with a soft non-leaching plastic cap that is designed just for babies.

4. Baby carrier

ERGO baby carrier is available in organic fabric. It can be converted to different positions and evenly distributes weight on parent’s body.

5. Toys

Foundlings stuffed animals are stuffed with unbleached cotton clippings and wrapped in organic cotton.

To find more organic and natural baby products, read the original article or go to www.ecobaby.com

Nowadays, many university applicants look at how environmentally responsible a school is before they decide whether they’d enroll.

Seirra Club ranks colleges and universities annually based on their planet-preserving efforts, including efficiency, energy, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management and administration.

Many schools have taken all kinds of measures to be more eco-friendly and energy efficient.

For example, CU Boulder encourages students to use buses and bikes, and utilizes biofuels in its vehicles. Yale provides local and organic food in its dining hall. It also has a market garden that produces more than 300 varieties of fruits and veggies. Harvard is using moisture-sensing sprinklers to save water, CFLs to save electricity and solar panels to use clean renewable energy.

The first 10 universities on the honor roll of the 3rd annual ranking are:

1. University of Colorado at Boulder

2. University of Washington at Seattle

3. Middlebury College

4. University of Vermont

5. College of the Atlantic

6. Evergreen State College

7. University of California at Santa Cruz

8. University of California at Berkeley

9. University of California at Los Angeles

10. Oberlin College

To see the whole list and read more about the green steps the schools are taking, go to http://sierraclub.org/sierra/200909/coolschools/default.aspx