Week 25 & 26: Going organic

Organic or not?

On a weekly basis, you can often find me in the aisles of CitySuper or ThreeSixty buying organic fruits, veggies and meat. Recently, I’ve even noticed an influx of locally grown organic fruits and veggies at some of the chain supermarkets here on the Island. Not all of the fruits and veggies I consume are organic… I’m just more aware of what I’m putting into my body now that someone else is eating too!

I’ve recently discovered that food isn’t the only organic thing which I need to pay attention to. As I began to prepare our baby nursery, I started to notice that many of the items I picked out also came in an organic version. Everything from cot mattresses to bedding to baby carriers come in cotton or organic cotton. What was the difference (besides the price of course!)? Did my baby really need the organic variety for safety reasons? My generation didn’t grow up with organic items, and we turned out ok, right?

I decided to do some research and what I found out really made me think a little harder. I read that conventional methods of growing cotton typically treat the seeds with fungicides or insecticides. Standard farming uses about one-third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers to produce enough cotton for one tee shirt! Organic cotton fields, on the other hand, do not use insecticides, pesticides, or herbicides.

Being the neurotic person I am, I immediately looked into organic options for the baby products I planned on purchasing here in Hong Kong. I don’t believe everything that touches the baby has to be chemical free, but I think anything he will be exposed to on a regular basis, such as things he puts in his mouth or spends time being wrapped or lying on should preferably be organic.

I started with the most important thing on my list, the cot mattress. I decided to buy an organic mattress at Jacadi (Shop 328-329, 3/F, Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong, 2167 8339). It is ‘Greenfirst’ – treated without any harmful pesticides. Jacadi also makes organic sheets for different size mattresses.

Next, I looked at the baby carrier options as I figured the baby would be spending a great deal of time in there. I decided to go with the ERGObaby Organic Baby Carrier as I figured the baby would be spending a great deal of time in the carrier. Organic Baby (shops in Central, Causeway Bay and Olympic City; see full addresses here) also has a large selection of organic slings in every color and pattern!

In terms of clothing, I’m not going to go purely organic, but I have seen a lot of options out there. Today, I stopped by the store Colors (G/F, Shing Ho Building, 137 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Central, Hong Kong, 2866 6138) and they had a few cute organic options.

Organic products may not be for everyone. In today’s world, we are exposed to so many genetically engineered and chemically treated products, not to mention polluted air and water; most of the time we don’t even have an option to go organic. As an aware mother-to-be, I am making an effort to choose organic whenever the option is feasible.