It shocked me to learn that cotton is considered the world’s dirtiest crop due it’s incredibly high level of pesticides. Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in this country are known to cause cancer.  I can’t even begin to guess what they do in other countries. While natural fibers are always better than synthetics, clearly organic cotton is better than treated cotton. Organic cotton can be much more expensive at times though and sometimes the things you really want are, well, not organic.

There is a happy ending in the case of aiden + anais though. Aiden + anais makes swaddle blankets, hooded towels and burby bibs in chic, playful prints.

Some of their products are “organic,” others are not and they are priced accordingly. The organic swaddle blankets retail for $26 each, for example, while the regular swaddles retail for $49.95 for a four pack. All are made from 100% cotton muslin, however knowing this discouraging truth about your average cotton, I felt guilty not spending the money for the organic ones. Turns out, no need to fret. I wrote the company to ask what the difference was. The classic cotton is relatively pure, it just hasn’t been Global Organic Textile Standard certified. Turns out that’s not the end of the world in this case. Here is the background I recevied via email from the aiden + anais Sales Coordinator & Customer Service Manager on 8/15/11:

“There is no formaldehyde, nor do we treat with flame retardant chemicals. There are no heavy metal traces and we use azo-free low impact dyes.

Our classic line cotton hasn’t been treated with pesticides and are not genetically modified, but unlike our GOTS certified our classic cotton has no certification.  Without certification, we cannot make that claim 100%- as that is what certification is meant for.

However, all of our products are tested by Intertek according to 

the CPSC’s requirements and are safe.”

Good enough. Register away ladies.

By the way, the burby bibs are genius because they have snaps and do double duty as a chic burb cloth and a bib. The sleep sacks are much more attractive than the fleece variations out there, most of which are made of toxic polyester. More on the dangers of polyester to come!