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Greener Choices for Babies and Kids

Parents have a lot of tough decisions to make when it comes to their kids, but choosing organic or eco-friendly products for the little ones doesn't have to be one of them.

Luckily, there are a lot of great green options for babies and kids on the market nowadays. Here, we've featured a small selection of companies who offer products that caught our eye - not to mention their committment to the planet's well-being.

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Amenity Home

The Amenity Home nursery collection is rich with delightful scenes of the forest and beyond - all created with plush and pure organic fabrics.

The collection includes bumpers filled with organic wool, blankets made of breathable organic percale and cozy organic fleece, and all items are printed with certified organic, non-toxic dyes.

There's the Woodland Squirrel Collection (pictured), the Wetlands Collection, the Meadow Collection and the Woods Collection. Each offers crib and toddler bedding accessories, floor pillows and cotton and hemp wall prints.

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The Earth Friends

The Earth Friends are beautiful, heirloom fabric dolls handcrafted in California from organic and recycled materials.

Their thick hair is woven from organic cotton; their skin is made from a blend of hemp and organic cotton; their clothes are made from colorful recycled and organic cottons; and their stuffing is a soft, hypoallergenic blend respun from recycled plastic containers.

Each doll in The Earth Friends family comes in 100% recycled packaging that converts into a doll clothes closet and is accompanied by a backpack with a Hope Tree Planting Kit. The kit has Douglas Fir tree seeds and instructions for planting them.

The Earth Friends family includes "big friends" (about 22" tall) and "little friends" (about 14" tall) of different ethnicities. You can purchase additional clothing and accessories separately, as well.

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Baby Dipper

The Baby Dipper is a unique invention designed to help toddlers learn to feed themselves and allow parents to feed infants with one hand.

Besides being CPSIA compliant, it's made of a BPA and phthalates-free material. In addition, it's completely lead free.

The Baby Dipper is a healthier alternative to most plastic bowls and utensils, but it also uses a triangular shape and a non-slip base to help make eating easier.

The interior is contoured so food is guided to the spoon, and the sides are transparent for easy viewing of the food.

The bowl comes with a fork and a spoon (both equally safe and CPSIA compliant); the spoon fits in the lower corner of the bowl.

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Spa Baby Tubs

Spa Baby Tubs' newest contribution to the planet is the Spa Baby Eco - a second generation tub made from 100% recycled plastic.

They use the equivalent of about 50 plastic yogurt containers in recycled plastics to make each tub.

In addition to reducing the need for plastic production, the Spa Baby Eco is also non-toxic, recyclable and free of phthalates, BPA, PVC and latex.

It's an upright, European-style bath in which the water comes up to chest level. Babies will stay warm and relaxed, and bath time is a happy experience for parents and little ones alike.

The tub has a non-tip stable base and flow back handles to keep splashes in.

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ReUsies

ReUsies are reusable snack and sandwich bags made from 100% cotton and available in a wide variety of vibrant and fun prints.

They're a great way to cut down on waste and to teach kids how to be a little more green in daily life.

Pack snacks or even messy foods (they're lined with leak-resistant nylon) in your child's lunch each day and cut down on hundreds of plastic baggies that would otherwise end up in the landfill.

ReUsies can be machine washed, thrown in the dishwasher or washed by hand. The snack size measures about 6" wide and 5" high, while the sandwich size measures about 7-1/2" wide by 6" high.

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Naturepedic

Naturepedic has enlisted the expertise of pediatricians, orthopedic specialists, chemists and engineers to become an authority on infant's and children's mattresses made from natural and organic materials.

The company offers baby crib mattresses, contoured changing pads (pictured), mattress pads, sheets and pillows, and more.

All of Naturepedic's products are made, tested and certified in the USA. They've been certified by GREENGUARD® and the Global Organic Textile Standard. The mattresses are also non-toxic, fire protected and waterproofed.

The organic changing pads are a great choice for new parents, featuring firm support, an organic and waterproof cotton cover, organic cotton filling and a non-toxic/non-allergenic design (no vinyl, PVC, phthalates, polyurethane foam, latex or wool).

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Kidzsack

Kidzsack is an eco-friendly and CPSIA-compliant line of creative products for kids, including 100% organic cotton back sacks that kids can color, wash and then color again.

They come screenprinted in a variety of different designs, along with a pack of 8 washable markers for coloring.

The designs include Sea Life, Sports, Castle and Jungle, but Kidzsack can custom print designs, as well.

Kidzsack will soon be introducing an eco-friendly calendar and canvas beach bucket for kids to color, too!

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