With all this talk these days about lead paint and toxic chemicals, it makes you wonder what exactly IS safe? I was just in the states for the holidays and watched an entire show about toxic toys. My head was literally spinning! You wouldn’t believe the amount of toys that are bad for your kids. It makes you wonder how we all survived!?!

Thankfully, most of my kid’s toys are wooden; I must be in the clear, right? WRONG!!! Apparently plastic dishes and cutlery are big no-nos too! (Which means all those cute, plastic dishes I’ve been collecting over the years are not so amusing any more….)

Now I know that one could worry themselves crazy over all this stuff, and I really shouldn’t become too obsessed… but I DO have an enviromentally-conscious husband who DOES care about this stuff, so I decided to do some research…

I found this article in the Grist (an environmental news site), and had a look at my safer non-plastic options.

These mini-me Bambu Bowls from Branch are cute AND toxic-free. They’re made from 100% organically-grown bamboo, and have a natural lacquer derived from the cashew nut tree (who knew?)! They also make bamboo cutlery for kids.

The only problem is, they’re not dishwasher-safe, which means you’ve got to do the good ‘ol-fashioned hand-washing… (which could potentiall drive me more mad than the chemicals in plastic… but at least my husband will be pleased).

-Courtney