Top 3 Tips when Shopping for Baby Products
By Lauren Mulenos, Colgate Mattress Brand Advocate & Guest Blogger
So you’ve already made the great decision to go with Colgate for your baby’s crib mattress. If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, here are 4 things to consider when buying a crib mattress and why to go with Colgate. Now what? You still need crib sheets, a crib, and more so, where to begin? You likely picked Colgate for its quality and standards, so it makes sense you’d desire similarly crafted products for everything else. But where to begin? Researching and acquiring baby necessities is like a full-time job; plus, words like “natural” and “nontoxic” aren’t regulated, making it hard to discern what to buy.
First of all, go ahead and buy a couple Eco Cover-Organic Cotton Fitted Crib Mattress Covers to go with your Colgate bed. These are great to put on top of your mattress, before you put on your fitted sheet. Have at least one backup per mattress (I grabbed four total for my twins). This way you can change the sheets immediately without downtime, while the soiled one goes in the wash. After that, let’s get the rest of the nursery outfitted. Here are 3 tips to keep in mind when shopping for baby products, be it anything from cribs to clothes.
- Read the label. I can’t stress this enough. Go to listed materials or fiber contents and see what it says. This will tell you exactly what is used in the product. If it is confusing or doesn’t list them, try reaching out to customer service. Typically if it isn’t listed, that is a red flag and means they don’t actually want you to know. Why not list it otherwise? They have nothing to lose if there isn’t an issue regarding materials! While it is a requirement to list fiber contents on clothing tags, this isn’t the case for all products and even sometimes websites don’t list the details.
- Go for Natural Materials.* Man-made fibers may be great and are often cheaper, but look for natural fabrics like 100% cotton, 100% hemp, 100% wool. Common man made fibers are rayon, spandex, polyester, etc. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these, but natural fibers tend to be more breathable, have less chemicals, and cause less irritations. Baby skin is so sensitive, anything you can do to help, you should. This also applies to hard goods too. When you’re buying furniture looking for contents like 100% wood without any chemical finishes is best. Avoid plastic where you can.
*Once you choose natural fibers, some “nice to have” features are organic (GOTS Certified) and made in the U.S.A. Organic means there are less (harsh) chemicals on the products. Made in America products not only support local companies, but also ensure the highest standards in production since it can be more easily monitored versus overseas. Another call-out that is nice is “no flame retardants”. This has become increasingly important in mattresses (Colgate doesn’t use them!) and car seats.
- Find Greenguard Gold Certified. This is a certification put on by UL, a company that has been around for over 100 years in the safety and security space. When something is Greenguard Gold Certified, it means that it has low chemical emissions, making your home (or wherever the product lives) better to be in. All products have Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which often cause the air in your home to be worse than even the most polluted air outdoors. This is great to look for in all of your nursery furniture! Children’s lungs are so sensitive, and they often put things in their mouth that don’t go there, so these certifications offer a better sense of security and safety. For the record, Colgate is Greenguard Gold Certified AND CertiPUR Us certified safe.
Once you know these things, it is a lot easier to find products for your sweet babies. Well, maybe not easier, but at least you know what to rule out! Seek out companies (like Colgate) that implement the standards you desire. Whether they are a brand or retail store, you can often find companies that choose items within your quality level, which take out the guesswork and searching. Some of our favorites are Milk Street Baby, The Tot, and Maisonette. While some places may not carry items based solely on my recommendations above, they often have organic or more nontoxic collections within their product lines. Just look for it and you’ll likely find something in your style and budget. The more you know… Happy shopping!!
Lauren Mulenos is an expectant twin mom located in Los Angeles, California with a background in apparel merchandising and production. She runs the lifestyle blog LMents of Style where she discusses everything from fashion to travel, and now baby! You can keep with her and her twins on her Blog, Instagram, and YouTube channel.
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