You’ve probably seen them – Squishies are the current toy craze for elementary school kids. They have the texture and feel of “stress balls”, but come in all sorts of kid-themed designs, and kids love to squish them. Sensing that the odd smell coming off of them could be a sign of something dangerous, the… Read more »
We recently hosted a discussion led by Dr. Sharima Rasanayagam, Director of Science with Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP). BCPP is the only national organization focused on the prevention of breast cancer and is unique in its focus on a science-based approach to prevention. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Rasanayagam walked us through the known causes… Read more »
On April 25th, 2018, a new federal regulation went into effect banning phthalates in plastic toys. As this made almost no news, we wanted to explain it to you. What are Phthalates? Phthalates are a class of chemicals used in many plastics. They are often used to make plastics soft, hence their use in many… Read more »
March 2018 Update: For the past 9 years, we have been wary of lavender at Sprout for all of the reasons expressed in our initial article below. A recent study by the NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), a part of the United States NIH, confirms these concerns. It showed that regular exposure to… Read more »
At Sprout, we’ve done our own extreme vetting to ensure that the Household Cleaners and Personal Care Products we carry do not contain quats or any other harmful additives. Quats could be the next group of chemicals to be banned from soaps and cleaners. In 2016, the FDA finally banned triclosan from hand soaps. Triclosan is a… Read more »
Sprout's growing selection of Household Cleaners & Personal Care Products has been thoroughly vetted to ensure every item is free of all harmful chemicals. For years, there has been no transparency regarding what is in the cleaning products we use in our homes. California has finally passed a law that will change this. The Cleaning… Read more »
We spoke with Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a Senior Research Scientist at MIT, about her research on the chemical. (Watch clips from our interview on our YouTube channel: Toxicity of Glyphosate & Washing Out Glyphosate.) What is Glyphosate & Why is it Bad? Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, produced by Monsanto. In… Read more »
Often, when we talk to customers about toxins in children’s products, they feel less concerned when it’s a product that their child is unlikely to put in their mouth. Even the most recent law governing children’s toys (the CPSIA) only outlaws certain phthalates (a class of hormone disrupting chemicals) in toys likely to be sucked… Read more »
The above images are scans of a cross-section of baby teeth from myself, my husband, and one of our daughters. Yes, my parents saved my baby teeth and I married a man whose parents saved his as well! When my daughter Hannah lost her first tooth, I asked our families to find ours and I… Read more »
Recently, Sprout’s head buyer, Andi Rothfeld, visited the factory of Sprout’s long-time partner, Naturepedic. Naturepedic makes GOTS-certified organic mattresses and bedding for the cribs and beds we sell at Sprout. We have long believed that Naturepedic was the ideal partner for Sprout as they seemed to have the highest quality standards in this important product… Read more »
