Comments on: Choosing an Eco-friendly Crib: Affordable Green Options

By: Junior

Junior — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 02:31:25 +0000

Any additional info. on the Atlantic Furniture crib? Do they use water based low or no VOC stains?

By: Nat

Nat — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:19:07 +0000

I actually came across your website because I am interested in an Atlantic Furniture crib. What do you know about their products, besides the hardwood material?

By: rebecca

rebecca — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:33:41 +0000

Nat, hmmm. It sounds very much like Graco was trying to sell cribs with an “eco-friendly” label to lure in customers, but that the product doesn’t really meet all of our criteria for an eco-crib. I will put a note in the main article!

By: Nat

Nat — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:24:53 +0000

I made the same inquiry and in my opinion received unhelpful feedback from Lajobi. It represents that the paints/finishes in its products are low VOC and water-based. It did not elaborate on the levels of off-gassing which goes back to my earlier comments regarding the ambiguity of terms such as “low VOC” and “non-toxic” absent uniform regulation. “Water-based” and “Low VOC” are feel good marketing terms like “organic”. In my opinion, Lajobi’s response did not improve my confidence in their products.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:45:14 +0000

Nat, I did use the product information provided by the company when writing this up. They say the woods are FSC approved and that they use water-based finishes. I later searched around to determine what the platform of the crib was made out of and found that it is metal. It is my understanding that formaldehyde and other toxic substances are a concern with particle board and MDF, and from what I can tell, this crib doesn’t contain any.

Of course, there could still be dangerous substances in the glues or finishes. Christie mentioned upthread that the product details for Californians reveal that there are toxic chemicals in this product. She later called Graco for clarification and was given the number for Lajobi Industries, the maker of the crib. I’ll try calling them tomorrow and see what they say!

By: Nat

Nat — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:51:22 +0000

California passed Proposition 65 requiring manufacturers/vendors to provide clear and reasonable warnings when their products contain chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm, such as formaldehyde. Other states may not have a similar law in place and so such companies are not required to disclose that information except for products advertised for sale in California.

I would love to believe that the Graco Dakota crib ($150ish on Amazon) is non-toxic but it’s hard to obtain reliable information outside of buying a crib and having it tested by a neutral 3rd party which just saying that out loud seems silly. As an expecting parent mindful of these issues I am very concerned about reliable information which unfortunately is lacking.

Rebecca, your endorsement of the Dakota crib is very similar (almost verbatim) to the information published by the manufacture. May I ask what independent research you did regarding the toxicity levels in the glues, paints and finishes for this crib?

Here’s the rub – “non-toxic” is a very loose term because there are few state and federal regulations relating to toxicity levels. Actually California recently implemented some toxicity regulations which is nice. However, the term “non-toxic” remains very open for interpretation. Manufacturers therefore can be liberal with their use of such terms and unfortunately the consumer has to navigate through the b.s. Which is why, as you will notice, I’m so frustrated with all the misinformation out there.

Anyway, you have a neat website and I’d appreciate your further input.

By: Christie

Christie — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:33:33 +0000

I emailed Graco and asked for clarification of how eco-friendly could also mean toxic for my baby…they neatly sent me the number of the actual manufacturer: Lajobi Industries 877-440-2224. I’m not bothering with the crib. If the company that sells it doesn’t make an effort to defend it, just passes the buck (and possibly blame) to someone else then I don’t want it.

By: Christie

Christie — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:18:54 +0000

Under product details (on Amazon.com) there is a category for California residents which states that this eco-friendly product does contain harmful material (it elaborates). I’m not clear on exactly why California residents are more special than the rest of us to get warnings on products. I’ve looked at this crib on several other websites and there has been no mention of hazardous materials from the companies or reviewers.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:15:25 +0000

Katy, I looked into it and I’m fairly confident that the Graco Dakota crib does not contain formaldehyde. No parts are made from particle board or MDF. The sides are solid wood with a water-based finish. The platform that the mattress rests on is made out of metal, from what I understand. If anyone has any more information, please let us know!

By: katy

katy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:47:23 +0000

do you know if the Graco/Dakota crib has any particleboard or MDF? I can’t find any information about whether any of the materials may have formaldehyde…