I have a few reviews up today:
And
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Showing posts with label Shopping/Product Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shopping/Product Reviews. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
A Couple of Reviews
I have a few reviews up today.
The backyard Safari Netgun can be found here.
Click here for Mia's Reading Adventure Software
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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Which Pots and Pans Are Safest – Unearthing My Mother’s Cookware
It turns out I was right…which is neither here nor there but, means that I never ended up pitching many of the pots and pans my mother bequeathed to me. And now I’m glad.
As a paranoid health conscious parent, I tend to evaluate anything that comes into contact with my son’s body. My latest concern is food preparation brought about, in part because of my regrettable tendency to put food in a pan on a hot stove and promptly forget about it.
The last episode required not only an evaluation of cookware but, the need for new. So, I began my research and found this helpful information.
Non-stick pans – Don’t even go there. In 1997, the National Toxicology Program reported that tetrafluoroethylene – a major component in Teflon® – causes "carcinogenic activity" in rats and mice (nonstick Silverstone and Excalibur coatings are the same resin).
Aluminum – .. .possible association between aluminum and Alzheimer's disease ( though anodized aluminum is apparently safe)
Copper cookware is esteemed for its heat conductivity but should not be used unless it is lined with tin or stainless steel. Copper residues in foods can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Very expensive too as I found out after a trip to my local cookware store.
Anodized aluminum is generally considered safe…manufacturers claim that a final stage in the anodization process seals the aluminum, preventing any leaching into food.
Stainless steel cookware is made from a combination of iron and other metals. The result is a durable product that is safe to use. .. most stainless steel cookware is made with copper or aluminum bottoms. But…this stuff isn’t cheap either!
And then…
Glass, stainless steel, and cast iron are all tried and true for safety. In fact, cast iron can add needed iron to your diet. Enamel-coated cookware is stain and scratch resistant, does not absorb odors, and is safe to use
Wait a minute! Don’t I have some of these?
Sure enough a little digging revealed:
A set of three cast iron skillets
Two big enamel (Corning) pots
Three glass baking pans
Hey Mom! I’m almost set! Do you have any stainless steel small and medium post you’re not using?
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Monday, May 12, 2008
What to Do This Summer – Ask Toys R Us
A few months later, they announce these trends, which are picked up by other marketers through a variety of methods. These then ricochet around the marketing community until all agree and begin madly producing toys to meet the yet unknown needs of tiny consumers. But, don’t worry; massive advertising campaigns will make sure they do.
So, I was pleased to find that Toys R Us has announced what I’ll want to buy for my son this summer. That takes a load off of my mind!
It seems there will be several different trends taking hold. As identified in the Toys R Us Summer Play Trend List
BACKYARD BANDS
With the Jonas Brothers and the Naked Brothers Band exploding on the scene, kids are coming together to mix their musical talents in hopes of becoming the next pop sensation. This summer, from
NATURE FIRST
Many of this summer's must-have toys are aligned with this lifestyle and teach kids about nature and the planet.
GET YOUR MOVE ON
Today, more than ever, children are encouraged to participate in physical activity to help them lead healthier lives, and there is no better time for kids to be active than summer. Although games of it-tag, hide-and-go-seek and hop-scotch are still popular, there are new ways for kids to have a great time while getting their move on.
TECHNO-CATION
Active young minds continually look for easy and fun ways to be quickly "in the know," utilizing a mash-up of technology and education toys that can be taken anywhere this summer.
Along with these descriptions, Toys R US offers a variety of samples of new toys in each category. Some I found interesting, like Crayolas new “earth friendly colors and kid sized gardening accessories. Some I found great for moms busier apparently than I, like the Grow Your Own Tomato Plant all-in-one pack from Buzzy – I’ll probably just go buy some seeds and use an egg carton but, I DO like that this type of toy is offered. Some made me cringe – LeapFrog electronic books that “read” to preschoolers.
While Nature First and Get your Move On seem like trends that well….happen every summer, I’m intrigued by the Backyard Band trend – I’ve always loved having the kids select instruments and march around the neighborhood.
And, as I’m researching ways to keep my son up to speed over the summer, the idea behind the Techno-cation idea, educational activities that can be taken anywhere, strikes me as a good idea, as I look forward to spending the summer in the car traveling from activity to activity.
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Friday, April 11, 2008
Assorted Product Reviews
I have a few product reviews up on my review blog that you may want to check out.
Book Review: Only Child
The Senseo Coffee Maker
Baby Jamz microphone
It's an interesting selection of products- One of which I really liked....
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Saturday, March 15, 2008
Everything Natural...Isn't
Since I started writing for Green Options Media, I been spending some a fair amount of time following news in the natural products industry and writing about it on a few of their blogs.
(Which means...I haven't been writing about them on this blog...now, I gotta decide what the focus should be of this blog...sigh.)
Anyway...There are however a few posts I've made that I think would be of interest to readers of this blog so...mosey on over if you're interested in deciphering labels that proclaim, "natural" and "organic" and check out a few of these posts.
Natural Means Nothing
Natural Means Nothing What Does Everything Else Mean?
Half of All Natural Products Contain Cancer Causing Chemicals
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Friday, March 14, 2008
Book Review: Your Child's Strengths
N
“Hurry,” says his teacher.
“Hurry,” say I.
That’s what first came to mind when I started reading Your Child’s Strengths – Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them, by Jenifer Fox.
As I delved further into the book I’ve found myself changing my attitude toward his slow, meticulous work Summing up, this book shows parents and teachers how to implement the, truly American, method of accentuating the positive while raising one’s child.
Jenifer Fox, a struggling student in High School, now a Harvard educated teacher and author of “The Strengths Movement” curriculum, preaches following the path of the positive. Rather than focus on a child’s deficiencies, as we tend to do, especially in school, she recommends focusing on his or her strengths.
Her book is filled with practical advice and thoughtful exercises to help parents change the way they and their children approach life, learning and relationships. This book primarily though, is about a vision. Ms. Fox’s vision is one of seeing things in a positive light.
This is usually not that difficult for me. My sister proclaims a visit with me is like a trip to “The House at Pooh Corner’s. “ My husband claims I am undeservedly optimistic, perhaps to a fault.
They don’t see that this does not necessarily apply to how I deal with my son.
So, this book came a great time for me and I find myself pouring over it endlessly and distributing the 6 or 7 copies I received from The Parent Bloggers Network to all of my friends (Don’t ask me why I received so many copies, I don’t know…perhaps they thought, rightly it turns out, that I would love the book and want to share it without loosening my grip on my copy.)
While I still worry that my son seems to take sooo long to complete anything. I’m trying a new attitude these days. I cheer his meticulous work. I praise him for being thorough. I still worry though about those timed tests looming in his future.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Washing Zipper Bags With Bag-E-Wash
Awhile back I wrote about how I spent a Week Without Ziplock . Briefly, my point was that I was somewhat appalled at how many plastic zippered bags I was using and made an attempt to give them up..
Luckily, in the process of researching that post I discovered a product called Bag-E-Wash. An attachment that lets you clean your zippered bags by popping them into the dishwasher, I was thrilled.
I wrote to the company asking for a sample to review and gave it a try. We tend to use gallon size bags and sandwich bags the most and while, the Bag-E-Wash is intended for quart and gallon size, I gave the sandwich bag size a try too.
You may be smarter than I am. My husband had to explain to me that without the attachment, the bags would fly off the dishwasher prongs and land in the bottom of the dishwasher on the heating coils and melt.
Oh.
That said, the one of the smaller bags I perched on the Bag-E-Wash did fly off but, apparently late enough in the cycle that it didn’t end up in a molten mess in the bottom of the dishwasher. The larger bags stayed on the Bag-E-Wash through the entire cycle and came out clean and shiny – Yippee!
So, what does this mean in savings? Well at 23 cents each, washing them makes sense. Freezer bags are even more expensive. On the Bag-E-Wash they contend that:
Made of 100% nylon, Bag-E-Wash™ could last a lifetime. One box of 30 gallon-size bags washed with Bag-E-Wash™ and reused 50 times each saves $150.00 and keeps 1,500 bags out of the landfills.
I’m not sure I’d wash them that often but, it sounds like a great savings to me!
Any thoughts on nasty chemicals leaching out of zipper bags?
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008
My Favorite Not-Quite-Crunchy Shopping Sites
I'm often asked where I buy toys for my son. Since our collection of toys is not exactly mainstream, most cannot be found at Target, Wal-Mart or Toys R Us. Which generally means I shop at teacher supply stores, independent toy stores and online.
Thank goodness for online..or maybe not..we'd probably have fewer toys if I did not have internet access. Though I, more and more shop, online by "Googling" whatever I'm seeking, these are a few of my favorite stores for non-licensed, not made-in-China, open-ended toys.
My Favorite, Not Quite Crunchy shopping sites
Willow Tree Toys
Farm Goods For Kids
Hearthsong
Playmobil
Magic Cabin
Blueberry Forest
Lego
Sensational Beginnings
E-Bay
Craigslist
Nova Naturals
Rosie Hippo
Where do you shop?
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Friday, February 01, 2008
Inca Kids Finger Puppets
Aren't these just the cutest! Read my review here.
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Amazon’s Anti-Parent Antics: Why Are They Listing Toys Below Even The Manufacturer’s Suggested Age?
Not in the usual: “WHERE ARE THE BOOKS I ORDERED THREE WEEKS AGO AND ASKED TO BE SENT STANDARD SHIPPING?” way.
Today my concern is in regards to the way Amazon.com helpfully enables parents to search for toys by age on their site. And then lists toys, CLEARLY LABELED BY THE MANUFACTURER as, “age 4 and up”, in the “appropriate for ages 2-4” category.
It’s already a problem that manufacturers market toys based on PG-13 movies to preschoolers (as I raved about here) – Now Amazon compounds the issue by dropping the age even further.
On Amazon, I found a Pirates of The Caribbean 3 Ultimate Jack Sparrow action figure manufactured by Hasbro with a recommended age of 4+. (This is, of course, rather ridiculous in and of itself since Pirates is a PG-13 movie.) But, on Amazon, when you choose to display toys by age range 2-4 years…guess what shows up?
A Jack Sparrow action figure.
Also on display in the, “ages 2-4” category a nice selection of other toys from PG-13 movies:
Hasbro Transformer’s Cyber Stompin Bumblebee
No wonder parents think Transformers is a kids’ movie…the toys are appropriate for 2-year-olds apparently.
The empty rhetoric is, of course, “Parents should evaluate whether the movie and/or toy is appropriate for their child”. If that’s the case then why bother with ratings at all?
We, as a society have some minimum cultural mores. Movie ratings should reflect those mores. I don’t think they now reflect the way most parents think. And I think parents should be made aware of the fact that…the movie rating they grew up with doesn’t exist anymore.
So, shame on you Amazon for making a bad situation worse. And incidentally opening yourself up for lawsuits – that age appropriate rating includes the small parts safety issue too. Your Little blurb, " Our recommended age: 4 - 10 Years" doesn't negate the fact that you display these toys in the ages 2-4 Category.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Fair Trade- A Fairly Easy Explanation
I was reading a post, Bringing Fair Trade Into The Classroom, today when it occurred to me…”do I know what, “Fair Trade” means?”
Like with so much in life, I have a somewhat fuzzy idea. Sure, I have seen the Fairtrade Certification Mark on my coffee. I also became aware of the term “fair trade” being tossed about by various folks in and out of the know. I too, would blithely toss it around, as long as it wasn’t obvious that I only had the vaguest idea of what I was talking about.
Well, now I’ve made a concerted effort to try to determine exactly what it IS that I am talking about…for a change. OK.
Fair Trade products are loosely defined as those that are manufactured or raised by companies that practice environmental and social responsibility and pay a fair wage. Fair Trade goods usually are those produced in developing countries where we, in the
Use of The Fairtrade (note that little difference – Fair Trade vs. Fairtrade) Certification mark we see on all sorts of , usually agricultural goods is granted by, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International , a non-profit network of producers and labelers that certifies that products are grown in accordance with fair trade principles. The actual audit of working conditions is done by Flo-Cert- based in
In other words, a FairTrade Certification Mark means neither the workers, the land nor the culture of the producer country is getting screwed over by some grabby, greedy entity. (You can replace entity with: “soulless large corporation” or “uncaring capitalist” if you like.) And somebody has gone down there, checked it out and verified that this is the case.
The Fair Trade Certification mark, however, is only for agricultural goods. Makers of toys, clothing and household goods are out of luck. Or are they?
There are a variety of organizations including The International Fair Trade Organization that will certify all sorts of products as being made by companies following “Fair Trade” principles. Or, more or less following the golden rule.
The term, “Fair Trade”, however, it appears can be tossed around with impunity, by just about anybody. I’ve found, as in the case of organic vs. “certified organic”, that most small companies tend to just not be able to afford to pay for the certification process yet and use the more generic term, minus any mark or logo, in the meantime. You can read more about this here.
Now, as grubby tales of overworked teenagers in
While in many cases, Fair Trade goods tend to be more expensive, there are a few ways to look at this. When large corporations, such as Wal-Mart which, in a radical change of heart and under the suspicious eye of consumer advocates, is doing all sorts of socially responsible things these days, offers Fairtrade certified goods, you can be pretty sure, you’re paying a little extra but, it’s worth it to salve your conscience. Goods produced by companies using The International Fair Trade Organization mark also are perhaps a bit more expensive but more ethical.
In general, depending on how suspicious you are, you can assume that most people are using the words, “Fair Trade” fairly…if perhaps a bit loosely. Until I see it plastered on every chemical containing, plastic encased product on store shelves, I’ll assume somebody’s paying attention to the people, the culture and the environment of the country in which it is made.
BTW- After writing this post, I found a great site called Ecolabelling.org, a global directory of 295 ecolabels. See a label on a product you want to but, don't understand what it means? Enter it on this site to find out.Share this post:
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Clorox Goes Green with Green Works – Is It a Stretch?
Clorox has been busy recently – busy going green. Last week, an article in the New York Times asked:
Can Burt’s Bees Turn CloroxGreen?
Apparently the answer is, “yes”, since today Clorox announced the launch of an entire line of eco cleaning products, Green Works.One has to wonder about the timing of the Burt’s Bees article though. Clorox acquired Burt’sBees last fall from the quirky couple that started it in a turkey coop in
A few lines from the article:
Clorox executives have been fighting what they call “misinformation” about bleach for years. The company says that 95 to 98 percent of its bleach breaks into salt and water and that the remaining byproduct is safe for sewer systems.
But as companies rush to put out more and more “natural,” “organic” or “green” products, consumers and advocacy groups are increasingly questioning the meaning of these labels. Clorox, for one, will face plenty of skepticism. Environmentalists have long said that bleach is harmful when drained into city sewers.
“Who likes Burt’s Bees now that it’s been bought by Clorox?” Alison Stewart, a host on National Public Radio, said in November. “You know, just slap some bleach on your lips, it’ll all be good.”
But as one of the founders of Burt’s Bees put it:
“If we think about the Greater Good,” … “one lesson we’ve learned is, if you set your mind to the goal of more natural and sustainable practices, you might actually surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.”
I think Clorox has probably done that. As one who has been a Product Manager, a Product Development Manager and a Director of Marketing I am both more and less skeptical than advocacy group members and old and new media journalists. I’ve seen what a determined product manager with a dream can accomplish. And remember, the folks that come up with new product ideas aren’t fusty old men in suits…the typical marketing manager is in her 20s or 30s and….more often than not…female.
The face of Green Works is a young mother herself, Director of Marketing, Jessica Buttimer. And she did everything right. The new line is priced appropriately…that is…cheaper than other natural products and boasts the endorsement of The Sierra Club.
“One of the Sierra Club’s primary goals is to foster vibrant, healthy communities with clean water and air that are free from pollution,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. “Products like Green Works help to achieve this goal in the home. We’re looking forward to working with Clorox and the Green Works team to promote a line of natural cleaning products for consumers who are moving toward a greener lifestyle.”
Bittmer also chose to list ALL of the ingredients on the package, something that is not required but, the FDA kindly left her some wiggle room, because they have declined to attach a meaning to the word, "natural", as I discussed at length, here .
...there is no government standard for products that call themselves "natural." Nor does the government require companies to list the ingredients of cleaning products on their labels.
The road ahead is surely bumpy as Clorox tried to change its image. But, like an "ecopreneur", Clorox just needs to stay on message, clean up after their mistakes and expect to make them.
Meanwhile, be on the look out for Clorox Green Works line which will be available in stores, starting with Wal-Mart, (who is also attempting to “green” its image) soon.
- Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
- Green Works Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
- Green Works Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- Green Works Natural Dilutable Cleaner
- Green Works Natural Bathroom Cleaner
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