Does Your Baby Furniture Have Toxic Gas? Orbit Baby can help!

Babies sometimes have stinky gas but their car seats and strollers shouldn't! I'm expecting, and as I strolled down the aisles of a big-box baby store recently, I noticed a weird, chemical smell that made me a bit lightheaded. Later that week at a girlfriend's house, I again sniffed a similar unhealthy scent as she opened up her toddler's new car seat. I put my nose against the fabric and was overwhelmed by the odor! Of course, I then turned to Google, which offered up lots of information and studies about the dangers of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), which are toxic fire retardants sprayed on almost all stroller and car seat systems - except for Orbit Baby, the world's first stroller and car seat system to be PBDE-free and PVC free!

Kids put their mouths on any and everything, so why on earth does the government mandate that these toxic chemicals cover items that children spend so much time in? It turns out that while fire-proofing is mandatory, there are green and non-toxic ways to do so. Still, 99% of companies use the chemicals because they're cheaper, which disgusted Joseph Hei, one of the Orbit Baby founders and father of two, leading him to make Orbit Baby the greenest system available in America! As a concerned mother-to-be, I decided to see what the Orbit Baby G2 system was like myself, and Joseph Hei was generous enough to let me ask him a couple of questions, too!

Nancy Redd: Why did you decide to make Orbit systems the first to be certified chemical-free?
Joseph Hei, Founder of Orbit Baby: "As a father of two young girls myself, I felt a responsibility to go above and beyond the existing regulations against potentially harmful chemicals. At Orbit Baby, we always start by asking if we would put our own children in any product we develop. When I had my first daughter, the BPA-free movement in baby bottles was really gaining momentum. While parents were paying so much attention to bottles, I realized that they were not being educated on the chemical safety of car seats and strollers that children spend thousands of hours sitting and napping in. My wife and I were using BPA-free bottles, and I wanted to use PBDE-free car seats and strollers – as more and more studies were showing that PBDEs and other brominated fire retardants are harmful to children – but could not find a PBDE-free car seat or travel system for sale anywhere in the world."

Nancy Redd: Was it difficult to do?
Joseph Hei, Founder of Orbit Baby: "It was very difficult on many levels to deliver eco-certified products – every step from finding the right suppliers, to developing the right testing protocol, to complying with rapidly changing regulations, to designing new and innovative green materials was extremely challenging for a new company. Ultimately, Orbit Baby delivers the highest quality and safest products we can. Few companies openly discuss the chemical safety of their products, and I am proud of giving parents a PBDE-free car seat and stroller choice that they can be confident in."

Aside from being green and non toxic, the Orbit Baby G2 system is amazing for other reasons, too. Not only is it beautiful, easy to handle, and cutting-edge in style, but it has a bunch of features rare in stroller systems - the seat not only can rotate 360 degrees on the stroller but also fits perfectly into the car, meaning you only need one device! As Joseph Hei informed me, "unsafe or incorrect car seat installation is around 90%," and Orbit Baby's StrongArm™ technology achieves the easiest and most consistently safe installation because it pulls the seat belt super tight. We tested the car seat in a couple of different cars and were amazed by how well it worked - it was virtually foolproof! Best of all, with the new rear-facing carseat regulations, Orbit Baby G2 systems are impossible to place incorrectly in the car - the only way the base fits is rear-facing, and the patented SmartHub rotating car seat design makes it a cinch to get kids in and out safely and without tears.

There are lots of cute, non-toxic accessories too - I registered for (and received!) the Orbit Baby bassinet and rocker attachments, so that my newborn can be comfy and so that I can turn all my seats into a soothing rocking station at home! Color-wise, Orbit Baby just came out with a variety of Color Packs to customize your stroller system, so your "green" stroller can actually be bright green if you want!

So what are you waiting for? Think about the hours your child spends in its carseat and stroller - you don't want that time to be covered in chemicals, or unsafely positioned, so check out the alternative option today!

Check out a video featuring the Orbit Baby system below!