Journal Entry

Organic Crib Bumper

These days, Americans are becoming increasingly eco-conscious, and it’s happening quickly too. New parents would have to be one of the “greenest” groups out there, since you’ve got baby’s immediate health and long-term welfare to think about. This new direction of thinking has lead to the production of an extensive range of organic baby products, including organic crib bumpers.

First, for parents still not sure what any crib bumper does, much less an organic crib bumper, you should be aware that the crib bumper is a padded buffer that circles the inner perimeter of the crib. Originally, these were meant to block infants from accidentally getting their head stuck between the crib slats. Today, however, cribs are all manufactured to meet US Government regulations, one of which ensures that crib slats will be no more than 2 3/8” apart, which is too thin for even a small infant’s head.

So what’s so great about organic crib bumpers? Depending on which manufacturer you buy them from, organic crib bumpers will be padded with natural materials like unbleached organic cotton or organic Pacific Northwest grown wool. This is in dramatic contrast to non-organic crib bumpers, which are typically made of materials like foam and vinyl. Average prices for organic crib bumpers are, not surprisingly, a bit higher than those of attached to your typical crib bumper. The examples of organic crib bumpers that we found ranged from $80 to $150. None of the organic crib bumpers that we looked at used any dye, meaning that they were all a natural, white cotton color. All organic crib bumpers that we looked at were machine washable, which we feel is essential before we even consider buying any baby bedding product.

Retailers we found who carried organic crib bumpers included: Natura World, The Natural Bedroom, Eco Baby, Montgomery Ward and Dandelion Summers. Dandelion Summers also offered organic crib bumper accessories, which included a washer/dryer safe organic crib bumper pad cover designed to save you the trouble of washing the whole, bulky bumper pad. Many of these manufacturers also offered broader collections of organic baby bedding and organic nursery ware.

We do feel obliged to point out here that parenting wisdom seems to be turning against crib bumpers, even organic crib bumpers. Several prominent parenting advocate groups have concluded that, since their original purpose is no longer valid, crib bumpers pose a potential smothering risk for infants. Some parenting groups also believe that they cut down on the fresh airflow that reaches the baby’s level. Whether to use an organic crib bumper is, obviously, up to you but you may want to do some more research about the benefits and drawbacks of crib bumpers in general.