Every Ecoista’s Must-Read: Healthy Child Healthy World
Would you trust this dad with the health of your kids? We would. Photo: HealthyChild.org
Even if you’re not a parent, you’ll find a world of practical wisdom in “Healthy Child Healthy World.” That’s because you don’t have to have—or be—a kid to benefit from “Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home,” which just happens to be the book’s subtitle.
Christopher Gavigan, former CEO and executive director of Healthy Child Healthy World—the nationwide nonprofit dedicated to protecting the health and well being of families and the planet they inhabit—is the book’s author. Full disclosure: EcoStiletto’s founder, Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, who moonlights as Mommy Greenest, is also involved with the organization.
But Christopher’s not alone in spreading the green gospel. He’s got a boatload of high-profile help in the form of A-list celebs and world-renowned medical, environmental and public-health experts whose contributions fill “Healthy Child Healthy World’s” smart, sensible, totally engaging 322 pages. This book is essential to the eco-parent’s library, and makes an awesome baby shower gift, to boot.
Many of these, like Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer’s first-hand account of switching to non-VOC paint, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipes for homemade brown-rice baby food and organic roast-veggie sticks, fall into the book’s repeating “Parentblog” feature. Other pop-ups that run throughout include “DIY” (homemade bubble bath, nontoxic pet cleanser, olive oil furniture polish), “What The Heck Is…?” (volatile organic compounds, parabens) and, our personal fave, “Burning Question” (“What is the best natural way to fend off mosquitoes?” “Why is organic more expensive?”).
While the non-moms among us might have limited use for advice on, say, eco-friendly diapering or the benefits of breast milk, about 90 percent of Healthy Child Healthy World covers issues—clean air, resource conservation, home furnishing and cleaning, nutrition—that affect 100 percent of us, as citizens of the world. A world we can make a whole lot healthier for ourselves and everyone else (children, adults, pets, adults that behave like children, children that behave like pets, etc.) by reading and applying the lessons packed into this one exceptional book.
Christopher Gavigan’s “Air Freshening Spray”
10 drops essential oil (lavender for calming, orange and bergamot for freshness, lemon and pine for bathroom or kitchen, etc.)
7 tablespoons water
Combine in a bottle, shake well and spray. Ahh!
Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating A Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home ($25.95)
Want more? This month, we cover green beauty, health, food, beauty (again), and parenting books, plus scored nearly $500 in freebies. Check back next week!
Natasha Garber is a contributor to numerous lifestyle publications, where she covers green events and event planning, sustainable catering and cuisine, and fashion and design trends. A passionate proponent of eco-conscious living, Natasha lives, writes, plays and parents in Los Angeles.
