ELLE Orient

YOU WILL BE GREEN MY DAUGTHER by Pauline Jubert

There is no doubt anymore: the XXI’st century’s baby will be green.
And it’s up to us the mummies! With just a few changes we can act for the planet and even save money …

- Viva breast-feeding! Healthier for your baby, so fashionable, easier for your social life (you don’t need to be back home at a certain time to prepare the bottle): it is with no doubt, the most ecological action you can make: no more bottles of water, no more dry milk tin, no energy used to warm it up.

- Just imagine the huge amount of diaper your new-born will use by the end of the year…you see? We have the solution! Here comes the cloth diaper of the 70’s back on the front scene. Except now they’re really pretty and easy to use. They’re as soft as the bamboo fibers they are made of,100% hypoallergenic. The outside part of it goes easily like any other clothing to the washing machine. (www.la-ptite-prairie.com )The idea is so trendy now that the VIP version of it made its way: specialized companies come to your home to take away and wash the baby’s cloth diapers. So chic!

- All right, towelettes certainly did helped the independent women we are, to work during day time and still find the time in the evening to clean the stovetop. However let’s admit it: there is nothing less ecological than these little pieces of fabric already wet. There is absolutely no chance to recycle them.
For baby’s bottom: it is the same! We know better than this! How did they do before ? You can make your own towelette using fleece wool, wet with warm water and a few drops of sweet almonds. To wash at 60°C to get rid off the bacteria.

- For the clothing, the designers who were already going the green way for grown-ups are now ready to fill in our little one’s closets. And they start right at their birth, like these little body-suit made in a cotton 100% organic, natural wool or kapok (a fiber coming from a tree growing up in Java, known for its softness and waterproof qualities). Their textures are incredibly soft and 100% hypoallergenic. (www.imps-elfs.nl or www.coqenpate.com combine not only ecologic but also ethic efforts. These brands are ultra eco-conscious, against children’s labour and pro sustainable development in countries where the raw material comes from. www.lekakapo.fr uses pure virgin wool, merinos or cashgora( (goat wool) and 1% of its revenue goes to the foundation “1%for the planet”.

- Book stores or www.amazon.com are packed with books for children on ecology, some of them are even printed on recycled paper. You’ll find the one on recycling, the one that will help your little one to reinvent toys using old household objects, the one focusing on the importance of water or nature: just make your choice! The authors saw there the new ali baba cavern following what they thought was something new. And yet, the actual and eternal green hero is not that young. He is more than 60 even though still a kid and we all read his story when we were little….The Little Prince (by Saint Exupéry – translated in more than 180 languages and dialects) ! Remember? “each of us are responsible for all the others” or “water is not necessary for life: it is life!” That’s the green life!

Last but not least, remember that if you don’t show the example, the little one will never follow, so keep it simple …. A good start for the whole family!

By Pauline Jubert
Photo : Nicolas Héron