Healthy Child Just Said “Yes to Carrots!”

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Healthy Child Just Said “Yes to Carrots!”

Healthy Child

Sunday, February 28, 2010

We're thrilled to announce that we've officially teamed up with Yes To Carrots, a natural skin and hair care brand, to help promote safe, natural products that protect babies from harmful chemical exposure.

Because they're still growing, children are at the greatest risk of developing diseases and illnesses caused by exposure to toxins such as phthalates, lead, and pesticides. This special vulnerability means that it is increasingly important to protect them from hazardous substances in consumer products. Some baby care products are loaded with unnecessary and toxic chemicals, like parabens, phthalates, fragrance and preservatives.

“Parents need to know that what they’re using in the bath tub, what they’re putting on their child’s skin, is safe,” said Christopher Gavigan, our CEO and Executive Director. “With Yes To Carrots, they won’t ever have to worry about how harmful additives or ingredients might affect their baby.”

And with the recent arrival of Yes To’s newest “addition”, Yes To Baby Carrots, a 100% natural baby care line, the partnership with Healthy Child couldn't come at a better time.

Yes To Baby Carrots’ range includes a Naturally Cleansing Bubble Bath, Nourishing Baby Lotion, Gentle Foaming Shampoo & Body Wash, Soothing Diaper Cream, and a Daily Natural Sunscreen (SPF-30). All five products are all 100% natural and free of parabens, petroleum, and SLS. Formulated with organic fruits, veggies, and vitamin-rich nutrients, all five products are hypoallergenic, use all-natural fragrance, and are completely tear-free. The Baby Carrots line is guaranteed to keep even the most sensitive little one's skin glowing, soft, and snuggle-ready.

And we love the fact that Yes to Baby Carrots is affordable (check out their competitive prices) and available widely at retailers like Target, Walgreens, Duane Reid, and Rite-Aid.

Yes To Baby Carrots was founded by concerned parents who wanted only the gentlest, most pure, and safest products for their children. Co-Founder Ido Leffler agrees with the synergies between these organizations. “At Yes To Carrots we believe in working with groups that share a positive view of the world. Healthy Child is the perfect match for our growing family of products, especially Yes To Baby Carrots. We are thrilled to become a Trusted Partner of such an amazing organization and look forward to build a long term exciting relationship.”

But don't take our word for it - check out these mom-approved reviews, here and here, including one from the gals at The Safe Mama.

Posted by Emily Lynne Ion on 03/30/2010 at 11:21 AM

Hello Judi,

Thank you for your concern and comments. We’re sorry that the Yes to Carrots line doesn’t meet with your approval, but as an organization we align with companies that support our mission and are attempting to shift the marketplace toward safer, more widely available products.

As a policy, Trusted Partners of Healthy Child donate to our cause and financially support ongoing programmatic efforts. We continue to be selective and carefully weigh each partnership according to our stringent quality standards. (http://healthychild.org/live-healthy/standards/).

We’ll soon be shining a spotlight on the details of our partnership program, so please stay tuned!

Many thanks,
Emily

Posted by Judi Bikel on 03/29/2010 at 10:09 AM

I find this post of great concern. I’ve placed a lot of faith in HCHW rec’s in the past and I really, really dislike your decision to partner a company making such suspect products. I assume “partner” means “paid for our endorsement.” But these products are really very suspect and your “apology” above really, isn’t very apologetic.

You made a big mistake in this endorsement and you need to make it much more clear. Did anyone at your organization even look at the ingredient lists as you cashed the check? It simply isn’t good enough to say the baby line is “less bad” than the adult line.

Posted by gladys on 03/06/2010 at 07:00 AM

Kathy, could you (or someone) offer some alternatives?

Posted by Kathy on 03/03/2010 at 06:57 PM

The Yes to Carrots line has improved since last year. Some of their formulations contain propylene glycol, SLS, Peg-40 Stearate, and dimethicone… despite being paraben and phthalate free. Newer formulations of some products, like their shampoo, have eliminated these ingredients(according to their website). That said, these products are NOT 100% natural but rather an affordable alternative to mainstream and comparable products. For $7.99 you simply aren’t going to get the safest most natural product on the planet. If that is what you are looking for there are great alternatives available.

Posted by hmc on 03/03/2010 at 11:06 AM

I absolutely love the Yes to Carrots line, but after reading these comments maybe I should think again. Could someone recommend another product that is more safe?

Posted by Jacek Argasinski on 03/02/2010 at 05:37 PM

Thanks for very informative article!

Posted by Emily Lynne Ion on 03/02/2010 at 12:11 PM

We are grateful to have a community of intelligent, activated parents who help us identify these learning opportunities for our partnership companies and Healthy Child Healthy World. We apologize for not living up to your expectations and our own organizational standards.

This experience highlights the necessity of continuing to upgrade our vetting process. Please know we won’t ever become an inappropriate source of “advertising”, as we always strive to be the trusted, clarifying, and inspiring voice that provides healthier, budget-minded alternatives to everyone, everywhere. We also see this as a learning moment for our product partners, as we seek to help them continually evolve and improve their products.

Nobody’s perfect, and there’s always room for improvement. We have been helping parents improve the health and well-being of their families for almost 20 years. During that same time, parents just like you have been helping us improve our organization and the effectiveness of the work we do. Together we can improve the marketplace by encouraging companies to do better and create safer products for our children.

Sincerely,
The Staff of Healthy Child Healthy World

Posted by Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama on 03/01/2010 at 12:24 PM

There is a substantial difference between the Yes to Carrots for adults, and the Yes to Baby Carrots, in terms of ingredients. I’ve learned from the company that the products do not contain cocamidopropyl betaine - the website is wrong (hmmm . . ) but still waiting for answer on the phenoxyethanol.

This highlights another issue - what does 100% natural mean? I don’t think that it applies to a product containing phenoxyethanol,

Posted by Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama on 03/01/2010 at 10:12 AM

I’ve got a problem with Yes to Carrots adult line, though the baby products are better. However, for example, the baby lotion has phenoxyethanol, which is an ethoxylated ingredient and can be contaminated with the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane. And another product contains cocamidopropyl betaine. Cocamidopropyl betaine isn’t really natural, and is associated with irritant and allergen responses. So I’ve got an email in to the company to verify its natural claims and I wouldn’t give it the thumbs up unilaterally.

Posted by Jenn Richter on 02/28/2010 at 05:11 PM

I find it interesting that a site so highly rewarded for bringing important information to parents on raising healthy children would, in fact, say ‘yes to carrots.” I have seen these products at my local bullseye store and thought they were initially great. Unfortunately, when leaving out the parabens, they forgot to leave out all the other questionable preservatives. Propylene glycol has been flagged as a potentially dangerous ingredient, as has TEA. I would love to buy Yes to Carrots products if they would clean up their ingredient list.”

Posted by Sheila on 02/28/2010 at 07:48 AM

Hmmm…Worried about the ‘fragrance’ ingredient…

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