New in store this week is the Gaia Skin Naturals range.

GAIA Skin Naturals manufacture pure, natural, organic skin care products formulated especially for sensitive skin, for everyday use, at an affordable price. They’re made right here in Victoria, and were developed by a mum for her baby who was suffering from eczema.

GAIA Skin Naturals have chosen NOT to use ingredients known to cause skin irritation or that are suspected to be harmful so there’s NO sulphates, petrochemicals, lanolin, paraben preservatives, propylene glycol, phthalates or artificial fragrances in any of the Gaia range of products. All products are cruelty free, too.

We love the fact that you can use the same products for baby and toddler, and even for mum and dad!

Check the range out here: www.hellocharlie.com.au/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=285&cat=Gaia+Skin+Naturals

I especially love the traveller packs - 50ml sizes so they’re great for travel. Fantastic gift idea, too!

It’s official!  Bambo Nature has been recommended as Choice Magazine’s ‘Green Buy’ as part of their recent nappy trial.  We have always been certain of Bambo Natures green credentials, it’s quality and of course it’s competitive pricing but now the Australian public has spoken! 

The Choice magazine nappy trial tested 14 popular disposable nappies, including three brands claiming green credentials.  The review assessed each nappy on price and various elements of performance such as fit, durability and leakage. 

The Choice eco review stressed the importance of an independent certification and to “ignore broad vague claims” relating to environmental impact. Only two of the three nappies claiming green credentials were independently certified.  It also confirmed Bambo Nature as the cheapest of the three nappies with green claims.

Key points from the eco review:

·         Moltex “the most expensive nappy in our test, it’s performance is also comparably poor as it is the third last in overall performance.” Source: www.choice.com.au

·         “Seventh Generation is not independently certified and only deals with the environmental impact of chlorine bleaching.” Source: www.choice.com.au

·         Bambo Nature “Environmentally friendly nappy…. 62cnts per nappy…..cheaper than the other two nappies with green claims.”  Bambo Nature “achieved its best ranking against other brands for fit.” Source: www.choice.com.au

Bambo Nature is the only eco friendly disposable nappy to be awarded the Nordic Swan Eco Label.   In order to reach the standards of the Nordic Swan Eco Label, the manufacturers of Bambo Nature have been tested on:

· Energy and resource consumption

· Factory emissions into air, water and land

· Limits on the creation of waste products

· The content of environmentally hazardous substances in the product

· For anything that may be hazardous to humans

Approximately 75% of a Bambo Nature nappy is biodegradable, compared to 35% for a standard disposable.  There are many factors that affect the environmental  impact of a product and biodegradability is just one of them.  As a consumer trying to reduce your eco-footprint, it is important to look at the entire lifecycle of the product, rather than a single factor.

To learn more about Bambo Nature or the Swan Eco Label or to view the manufacturer’s certificate of biodegradability, please visit the Bambo Nature website:

www.bambo-nature.com.au

Check out our lovely new range of Melissa & Doug wooden toys. This range has great wooden peg puzzles, and we have shape puzzles, number puzzles and alphabet puzzles in store now.

A staff favourite is the wooden magnets. So much nicer than those horrible plastic magnetic letters, these lovely magnetic wooden alphabet letters come in a great little wooden box, with both upper and lower case letters. Brightly coloured, too, so you’ll be able to use them to learn the alphabet, sort colours, and generally have fun with! I’m also loving the animals - this box contains both domestic and wild animals, causing one of our 18 month old testers to squeal with delight!

I especially like the ’see-inside’ wooden peg puzzles. Melissa & Doug make lovely quality wooden puzzles, with a little twist by having illustrations on the puzzle board as well as on the puzzle piece. We have shapes puzzles, number puzzles and letter puzzles in store right now. These are perfect for developing the skills of hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and visual perception skills.

One of my son’s favourites from the Melissa & Doug range is the Alphabet Nesting and Stacking Blocks. In his opinion, you can use them for stacking, sure, but they’re much better as garages for cars, and as places to hide small objects (small pieces of Lego, Meccano and marbles seem to be common!). Occasionally he’ll even check out the animals and letters down the side. I was amazed at how long he will play with this, and the sheer variety of uses that his imagination can come up with. A truly versatile toy from Melissa & Doug.

The Green Toys Dump Truck has a workable dumper and no metal axles (so no rusting if it does get left out!). The Green Toys Recycling Truck helps encourage even little children to sort bottles, cans and paper. With a moveable recycling bed and open and shut rear door, little guys can play eco!

 

• 100% recycled plastic
• environmentally friendly
• produce less greenhouse gases
• saves energy
• safe and non-toxic

Green Toys use recycled milk containers as the main ingredient in creating their toys. Yes, the exact plastic milk jugs that you and your family drink from every day. When you finish your milk and toss the container in the recycling bin, these milk containers are collected at your curb by a local recycling company, who then sorts them from all the other types of plastic. Next, the milk containers are reprocessed into super clean fresh plastic. For you plastic geeks, the plastic material Green Toys use is called high-density polyethylene (or HDPE). This material is considered one of the safest, cleanest plastics around.

Crocodile Creek is a child safe company manufacturing a great range of non-toxic children’s products. We particularly love the stainless steel water bottles (Bisphenol-A free, naturally!) that are just perfect for school and kindy.

The range also includes a range of wipe-clean bibs. These are great for getting out and about with your little one, simply wipe them down and pack them away. The lovely Crocodile Creek baby bibs are free from toxins like PVC, vinyl and phthalates. The bibs have great designs (we particularly love the dinosaurs!), velcro neck closures and a very handy pocket at the front.

Coming soon to Hello, Charlie! are great PVC-free lunchboxes to match the stainless steel drink bottles. More on those soon!

Just landed - new BPA-free Baby Nova products! We’re loving the new Straw Cups and Trainer Cups.

Baby Nova Trainer Cups have ergonomic, non slip handles for little hands to grip and a recess for the nose to allow for comfortable drinking. This lovely leak proof cup also has a lid to make for easy, spill proof travelling.

Baby Nova Straw Cups have a silicone straw and integral lid that closes to make the cup spill proof, and the straw stays hygenic and dirt-free. Perfect for getting out and about!

Because they’re made by Baby Nova, these sipper cups are bisphenol-a (BPA) free, and free from phthalates and PVC. They’re the safe plastic alternative. 

Wearing Baltic amber close to the skin is a traditional European remedy for baby teething. A natural analgesic, amber can help calm a baby without resorting to drugs. Used for centuries in Europe, amber’s natural anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties are perfect to soothe teething babies. Amber is a fossilized resin, which warms against the skin, releasing its therapeutic properties safely and naturally.

Baltic amber teething necklaces and bracelets are made for wearing (not chewing) when a baby or toddler is teething. The warmth of the skin releases the active ingredient in the Baltic amber, succinic acid. Recent scientific research has proved that succinic acid has a very positive influence on the human body. It improves immunity and the balance of acids when absorbed into the bloodstream, it stimulates the thyroid glands to help reduce drooling and soothes inflamed red cheeks. Amber’s anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are recognised by allopathic medicine as a natural analgesic, which will help to relieve teething pain and calm a baby without resorting to drugs. The skin’s warmth releases healing oils from the amber, a resin, which is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Our amber teething necklaces and bracelets are sourced directly from Lithuania, and are made of genuine Baltic amber. Necklaces measure approximately 35 cms and weigh around 12 grams.

One of our lovely Hello, Charlie! staff members recently took home a teething necklace for her 14 month old daughter, who was having a rough time teething. She has reported back that new teeth have been appearing without incident, and the amber necklaces have been pronounced miraculous!

We have recently introduced elasticated amber bracelets for littlies, too, especially good if you are concerned about using a necklace. Bracelets, like necklaces, must always be used under adult supervision and removed for sleep times. The bracelets are lovely, and are proving very popular!

Organic materials…Simple styling. This is the motto of Dandelion toys, new this week into Hello, Charlie!

Dandelion toys are natural toys created especially for baby’s small hands. Dandelion’s rattles and teethers feature subtle sounds, touchable tags and feel-good fabrics; soft, snuggly & stimulating. Babies can shake, touch and teethe safely, while developing hand-eye coordination and learning about cause and effect.

Dandelion toys are made of organic fabrics with natural corn filling and feature 100% recycled packaging with vegetable inks. And Dandelion toys are MACHINE WASHABLE! Earth-friendly can be adorable, safe AND practical.

About Dandelion Organic Toys

Parents are more concerned than ever about what their babies touch and teethe. The Dandelion brand gives you peace of mind: quality materials and processes, and thoughtful, earth-rriendly choices. Better still, Dandelion does it all with sophistication, in a back-to-basics, eco-conscious style.

Creative designs, appealing colors, simple shapes…a comprehensive line of natural and organic products, specially wrapped in innovative packaging: minimal by design, made of 100% recycled paper board. Fresh ideas at eco-nomical prices!

We have to agree. Dandelion…better for your Baby, better for your Environment.

New in store this week is the organic BabyBjorn range. The new family of BabyBjorn products enables parents to be kind to the earth for the next generation, while keeping their little ones safe and content using BabyBjorn favourites. BabyBjorn’s organic line features three of their most popular products, made from organically grown cotton: BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Original Organic in Walnut, and BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Organic Active in Walnut and Khaki, as well as the BabyBjorn Babysitter Balance in Walnut and Khaki. The fabrics all meet the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). They are also Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Class 1 certified, meaning that they are absolutely safe and free from any hazardous substances.

We don’t think you can go past BabyBjorn products - the quality and ease of use is legendary, and using organic fabrics means a much lower eco-footprint.

All new organic BabyBjorn products are available at Hello, Charlie!

Hello, Charlie! stocks bottle feeding teats made of silicone and latex.

The good news is that silicone doesn’t contain BPA, so the silicone teats that come with baby bottles are BPA free. Silicone is a popular choice for teats - it’s soft, easy to sterilise, and is free from BPA, PVC and phthalates. Baby Nova silicone teats are made of hospital grade silicone, so they’re made with the best possible materials.

Some latex products have been linked to a carcingon called nitrosamines. Rest assured that the latex products we stock are free from nitrosamines.