Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Eco-Friendly Paper Plates: A Must for New Parents

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When we brought our little peanut home from the hospital, we were struck with the irony of caring for a newborn. In our case, we had a baby who slept the vast majority of the day, and yet, we never had the time to get ANYTHING done. Making meals became a major hassle, and cleaning up afterwards could literally take a few days to accomplish, by which point we had cooked another meal, and so the vicious cycle of having a seriously gross kitchen never ended.

One solution we found was to use disposable dishware. By eliminating the majority of our dirty dishes, we were able to keep our kitchen from getting out of control, and that really did feel like an accomplishment. I would recommend that anyone who is trying to adjust to life with a baby seriously consider getting some disposable products! These products also come in handy for when you have company over for a few days.

I really do feel as though having some disposable dishware is something that parents need, at least at the beginning of their journey and for when they have visitors. However, there is something to be said for the environmental impact of such a decision. I will fully admit that when we used disposables a few months ago, they were paper. We would never buy Styrofoam plates, but paper products still take a while to decompose, and they are made from a resources that takes decades to replace. I didn’t know what other option I had, though. eco-friendly paper plates

And then I found Conserve® brand, put out by an amazing company called Baumgarten‘s. Baumgarten‘s is a company that takes environmental stewardship very seriously. Their Conserve line has cleaning products, disposable dishware and cutlery, emergency flashlights, and Plastibands (environmentally friendly rubber bands). I had the opportunity to use several items from the disposable & compostable dishware and cutlery line during the week of Thanksgiving, when my household of 3 turned into a household of 7! I knew dishes were going to be a nightmare, so I went to my handy disposables. This time, however, I had products to use that were completely guilt free!

Conserve dishware and cutlery are made from sugar cane fiber and corn starch respectively. These are resources that can be reproduced on an annual basis, which makes them extremely renewable. Furthermore, the material is 100% biodegradable and also compostable! These products can be completely broken down in a compost pile in about 6 weeks, which is just amazing. Check out where these products fall on the Environmental Friendliness Meter!

Environmentally Friendliness Meter

When my extended family started using these products during their visit, we asked them to rip up their plates and cups after use so that we could put them in the compost bin. This inspired some really great conversations with them about why we compost, and even about why we recycle (because my extended family doesn’t do either of these things). By the end of the visit my father was asking if my husband would build a compost bin for him the next time we go to their home! I could also see the act of tearing up plates and cups to be a lot of fun for children, and a great way to initiate a conversation with them about protecting the earth.

You may be wondering how sugar cane and corn starch products held up once they were holding food. Just great! I didn’t see any difference in quality between the Conserve disposable products and the heftier paper disposable plates, cups and bowls on the market. From the Conserve website, “The Conserve® Brand Promise is that our products will perform better AND be will be significantly better for the environment than other products offered on the market. We believe that sustainability should not come at the cost of performance.” My one suggestion for them is to make a larger bowl option. We ate chili one night, and I wanted a BIG bowl of chili, but had to settle for making a few trips back to the kitchen for more!

Overall, I thought these products were simply amazing. I can’t tell you how fun it is to throw your “plastic” cutlery into the compost bin, knowing that it will be gone in 6 weeks! We don’t use disposable products all the time anymore, but we do still need them when we have visitors, or on those days when we are just too lazy to deal with dishes. It’s great to know that these moments do not need to come at the cost of the environment.

Buy It!

Conserve brand dishware products are available for purchase through the Baumgarten‘s site. The cutlery can be found for purchase here. The prices may seem a bit high, at first, but just think of the long term cost of continuing to use non-renewable resources, or resources that don’t renew quickly, on products that get used for half an hour, at best. If you work outside of your home, consider passing along this information to your purchasing department, and help your place of business go green, too!

Win It!

Baumgarten‘s wants to help you take the step you need to go green in your home by offering two lucky Stuff Parents Need readers their Tableware Party Pack, including 50 compartment plates, 85 salad plates, 50 8oz cups, 100 forks and 100 spoons. That’s over an $80 value, each! Woo hoo for eco-friendly disposable dishware! The contest will run until December 30th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be drawn via random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my winning notification email. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Go check out all the amazing products in the Conserve line, and come back here and tell me one product in their line you would like to see in your own home.

Additional Entries:

1. Subscribe to this blog via reader or email (2 entries)

2. Make a purchase at Baumgarten‘s(leave me the email address you used for the purchase) (5 entries)

3. List one way that you are going green at home or at work (1 entry)

4. Grab my button and leave a link to your site so I can find it (1 entry)

5. Follow me using Google friend connect (2 entries)

6. Subscribe to the Conserve brand blog (1 entry)

Disclosure: I was provided with samples for product review purposes. The views expressed in this post are strictly my own.

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Comments

  1. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Lucy

    http://toddlergirls.net

    Reply

  29. We recycle as much as possible. The main thing we are doing is bringing reusable bags to the store instead of getting paper or plastic bags.

    Reply

  42. I would love to try their Odor Eliminator/Neutralizer Tablets & the Multi SUrface Cleaner tablets in my home.
    It's is awesome home you buy the tablets & mix with water in as bottle yourself.
    This reduces the amount of resources to transport the product & you keep reusing the bottle which mean less in the landfills.
    I think this is the direction many products should take in the future!

    zestywonderland@gmail.com

    Reply

  67. Wow what nice stuff. I like the disposable items. There are just times you need to have paper plates.

    samf36 ( at) gmail.com

    Reply

  77. I would love the Wind-up Flashlight. Toys, toys, toys take up all our batteries or the kids move batteries from one toy to another, I ever have any for the flashlights so this would be great!

    Reply

  81. I guess our biggest way of going green is to recycle and buy as many products as possible that are biodegradeable
    HobartsMama at AOL.COM

    Reply

  137. I love the idea of the Easy Squeeze flashlight for hurricane season or other times the power goes out. That's the only reason I have some paper and plastic plates in the house, too, but I could be a little more free-and-easy with use of the Conserve line. We're talking about creating a small garden area with a compost bin, and these plates and cutlery would be a great addition.

    Reply

  141. I recycle cans and use both sides of copy paper when I download coupons. I would love to win this for my step sons party when he passes his GED. Thanks

    Reply

  159. In ADDITION to the tableware, another Baumgarten product we could use a few of in our home and elsewhere is the Easy Squeeze Flashlights! 🙂

    mcj4tlj(at)comcast(dot)net

    Reply

  160. We've always been fairly "green" but recently we've tried to eliminate disposable items and replace them with reusables. This would be a big help for a party we have coming up. Thanks so much! pamelashockley(AT)netscape(DOT)net

    Reply

  172. I am about to have my third child (ages 3 and under), so you can imagine these pack would come in VERY helpful those first few weeks.
    I really like the flashlights that require no batteries. My children would especially love to have these. I may just have to order some 🙂
    Thank you for the giveaway.

    My email is sarahw56 (at) gmail.com

    Reply

  177. We are going green beause I purchased a reusable water bottle for everyone in my family. I no longer buy the plastic water bottles that just got thrown out.

    Reply

  188. I'd like to try the Odor Neutralizer in my home perhaps it would help cut down on the dog odors…trinitygsd at yahoo dot com

    Reply

  206. We have been in the process of going green for more than 5 years. I first started by really getting into the recycling mode which my family had a difficult time adjusting to because they weren't use to my being so zealous about what goes in the trash and what doesn't. Last year I started using only CFL light bulbs in an effort to save money. I've also started buy products made with bamboo because their renewable and they are antibacterial which is a great feature here in the Pacific Northwest were have so much mold and fungus due to the constant rains. There is more…but this could turn into a blog of its own if I took the time to write about it.

    noggysnotes[at]yahoo[dot]com

    Reply

  209. I love the Conserve Wind Up Emergency Flashlight. For years I've spent money replacing batteries in the flashlights I keep throughout the house for emergencies that seldom happen. With this Wind Up version the batteries never have to be replaced and you have a flashlight that is ready to go whenever you need one.

    noggysnotes[at]yahoo[dot]com

    Reply

  210. We are going green in our home by using energy saving lightbulbs and I've been purchasing green cleaning products as well!

    Reply

  218. Our house could use a wind up flashlight. My son likes to play with the flashlights and you find them on in the strangest places.

    Reply

  219. I would love the plates and flatware for my children's birthday parties. I would love to feel guilt free about throwing the stuff away!

    Reply

  224. We turn off the water in the shower while soaping up and washing our hair. And also in the sink when brushing our teeth.

    jweezie43[at]aol[dot]com

    Reply

  227. I would also love to try the Multi Surface Cleaner and the Window and Glass Cleaner.
    Thank you so much for the chance to win.

    jweezie43[at]aol[dot]com

    Reply

  269. I would like the flashlights in my home for emergencies and when my two young kids need to get up to go to the bathroom by themselves, no more stubbing toes and yelling "MOM!" and arousing me from a nice slumber!
    Jex38(at)aol(dot)com

    Reply

  301. We are going green by eliminating plastics from our home! We are also making most of our personal hygiene and cleaning products ourselves!

    clctaube @ yahoo.com

    Reply

  309. I would like to try the glass cleaner.

    Since we live in san francisco, it is mandatory to compost our kitchen waste. I've really enjoyed putting less items into the trashcan and more into the recyling and compost cans.

    contestleena at gmail dot com

    Reply

  313. I would like the Multi-Surface Cleaner, because you can use it all over the house. Thanks!

    sphinxcw at aol dot com

    Reply

  316. I would love to try the plastibands, which are latex-free. I have a latex allergy, so that's important.

    urchiken at gmail dot com

    Reply

  357. I'm going green at home by using refillable water bottles instead of the disposable ones.

    grafettekj at hotmail dot com

    Reply

  360. Thank you for the giveaway. I'd have to say the odor eliminator because, I have a tween boy, teen nephew and husband…need I go on?! lol.

    I love the idea of the paper/plastic products!! I've been trying to go green where I can

    Reply

  403. One way we are going green at home and work is that we no longer use the single serve plastic water bottles. Instead, we got stainless steel bottles for everyone in the family and we keep refilling them ourselves.
    Thanks so much.

    Reply

  408. I am so glad to see more and more stores offering green items. I really like the Wind-up Flashlight. Thanks so much for this giveaway.

    Reply

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