Hi Cariboo fans, The publisher of Organic Baby Resource, an informational guide for parents interested in organic baby care is currently gathering reviews for Cariboo.

From now until October 31, they are having a contest and giveaway that encourages parents to submit reviews on organic or all natural baby products.

Do you love your Classic Bassinet? Can't say enough good things about your Cariboo Activity Gym? Tell the world and possibly win a prize.

For more info on Cariboo, check out Cariboo.us.

We have a national obsession with the issues of Phthalates, BPA, Lead and more. And understandably so, because it affects what goes into our children's bodies from their bottles, mattresses, and even the air. But, before these issues surfaced, I had my own personal obsession with corn syrup. From everything I read and saw on TV, you would think that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)was one of the worst ingredients we can give ourselves and our kids.

I embarked on a crusade to eliminate it from our lives, but quickly found that you can hardly avoid it without going 100% organic (at significant expense). I went through every granola bar, fruit strip, and cracker on my grocery store shelves and found very few options. I even discovered that almost all ketchups have corn syrup as a key ingredient. I did find a few key products that have become staples in my kitchen including Organic Heinz Ketchup, Archer Farms Fruit Strips, etc.

Then I decided to write a blog article about my attempts to avoid of HFCS and went to do some research online. To my surprise, I couldn't really find any evidence to support what I have been hearing all these years. Here are a few pieces I found online:

A Wikipedia posting, which cites some of the anti-HFCS studies, most of which have been refuted.

The conclusions of these articles basically say that HFCS is not worse than the "natural" sugar it replaces. In fact, since it is made from corn, it might be as natural as sugar or honey, just less expensive to make. In fact, taking it a step further, you might even say that it is better for the environment because it can be produced locally in most places.

The conclusion might just be that it is just that sugar, in general, is bad for you,not HFCS specifically. Wow. This makes me re-think my hunt for non-HFCS foods.

And then, the other night, I came across a campaign from the Corn Refiners Association. They pointed to this website: www.sweetsurprise.com. I know you have to consider the source, but facts are facts and, in this day and age, I can't believe that any association would make themselves liable by posting inaccurate information.

So, in the end, maybe this posting is less about sharing my great finds and more a cautionary note to do your research before jumping to conclusions about things.

If you have more information on HFCS, I welcome comments and input!

Since the JPMA trade show ceased to exist this year, the JPMA Innovation Awards Ceremony was moved to the ABC Show in Las Vegas last week. The ABC Show also marked an important milestone for us, as this marks the fifth year anniversary of our launch of Scandinavian Child and the Svan High Chair. For each of the past five years, we have always submitted a product for the JPMA Innovation Awards. And for five years in a row, our entry did not win. This year, we had two products selected as finalists for the Innovation Awards  the lillebaby EveryWear and the Beaba Babycook.

The first year that we didn't win was really hard on me because I truly believed that the Svan High Chair was going to win. I knew it would be a trend setter for wooden and 'modern' high chairs. Five years later, there are several wooden high chairs on the market and several modern high chairs that make the Svan Chair look traditional. In other words ... I felt robbed. (I have since learned more about the stringent criteria the judges use to determine the winners and fault the process at the time, which allowed very limited information to get through to the judges. The feedback I received? The judges thought a child could not fit in it! It was so much smaller than the oversized plastic high chairs we are used to.)

Do I sound bitter? Okay, maybe just a little. But this year we finally did it! WE WON an Innovation Award! And it was well-deserved.

The winner is .. the BEABA Babycook, the Original Babyfood Maker! I must have looked like a fool, grinning from ear to ear as I approached the stage to receive the award. What a wonderful feeling! The Babycook is both a trend setter and tool for making life easier. It has been available through William Sonoma for a few months and will go into wider distribution through juvenile stores like giggle.com and others over the next few months.

What's so great about the Babycook? Here is my personal opinion  it is amazing! I did not make homemade baby food for my kids, but this would definitely have made it possible. It is incredibly easy to use for both steaming and chopping food in one bowl. It can even reheat frozen food and be used to mix several ingredients together for more complex feedings. More information will be on our site soon as well as at www.BeabaUSA.com, which will launch in early October. Check out this innovative award-winner; you and your baby will be glad you did!

We are about to launch product, after product, after product and I can't keep it a secret any longer! Check back here over the next several weeks for sneak previews of these great new products.

First up, the Cariboo Kiwi Cot Collection. It is finally (almost) here ... the product Cariboo has always needed - a crib!

I fell in love with this crib line when I was in New Zealand last summer. The concept is so fitting for Cariboo because it is both environmentally conscious and design conscious at the same time. Like their amazing bassinets, the Cariboo Kiwi Cot Collection is made from local wood and manufactured in New Zealand ... which explains the price tag ($1595 for the crib!). The finish is an eco-finish and the crib has optional conversion kits to turn it into a toddler bed or a sofa. Plus, you can get bassinets and a changing table that attach to the crib itself. What a space saver.

The matching dresser is a stunner and you can always pair it with the Cariboo Classic Changing Table or the Cariboo Folding Changing Table. Finally, our Cariboo dreamers are realized: you can create an entire Cariboo nursery suite!

Guest Blogger: Georgina

As part of my job, I have to stay up on the trends in the juvenile products industry. This is easy for me as the mom of 4 children under the age of 5 as it is a natural part of my other job as "Mom". As any mom knows today, we are all looking at how to "green" our homes, our food, products for our children and well, basically how to make lifestyle changes that will not only be better for us and our children, but better for the planet.

I really started getting into these issues last year with the beginning of the Bisphenol-A controversy and comments from consumers who bought our products due to their great design and sustainability factors, only to evaluate how to take some of our products to the next level. As I started my due diligence I quickly discovered, like anything in the "greening" process, little changes can make a bit impact. From this, the Cariboo Earth Bassinet was conceived.

I started talking with our Cariboo manufacturer about what could be done to make the Cariboo bassinet more eco-friendly than it already was. The bassinet was already hand made from sustainable Radiata pine in a family-run business in New Zealand. So we added a water-based, biodegradable finish, a zero-emissions, formaldehyde free MDF bassinet support board, 100% unbleached cotton bassinet bag and sheet and an organic New Zealand wool bassinet pad. This product was the answer for the parent with a raised sense of eco-consciousness and for those looking for the most natural sleep environment for a newborn. We have been so pleased to offer this product as part of our Cariboo collection and the response from retailers and consumers has been wonderful. In fact, so wonderful that the newest models of ALL the Cariboo bassinets contain 100% cotton sheets and zero-emissions, formaldehyde free MDF bassinet support boards, and several models come with organic wool bassinet pads as well.

We are continuing down this path with all of our product lines, looking for little changes we can make to create products which appeal to parents who are concerned with environmental issues. All of our wooden high chairs are designed for years of use, are made from sustainable woods or from FSC managed sources, and all of our plastic tray covers are Bisphenol-A and phthalate-free. We made sure these chemicals were not part of our plastic components long before all of the current controversy over these chemicals, and we plan to continue down this road making products that are good for families and good for our planet.

I could write books on this topic, so this will definitely just be the first in a series of these going green comments. I would love to hear your comments. If you own any of our products and have ideas about how we can make them "greener" or products you would like to see in our brand collections let us know. Watching the trends and communicating with parents is how we continue to evolve our products and brands and how we will continue to provide families with "designs without compromise."

I am often asked to write about the 'green' phenomenon and what my company does to be green. One part of our eco-friendly philosophy that seems to stump people is my firm belief that simply buying quality, multi-purpose products is the best way to be green, regardless of the materials a product may be made from.

For some reason, this message seems to get lost amongst all the talk about chemicals, sustainable materials, the definition of organic, etc. But what is more basic than buying one all-in-one product instead of two or three individual products? Or buying a product that is of high enough quality that it will be handed over to another user rather than tossed in the garbage?

This was the fundamental philosophy behind the Svan Chair (use as a high chair and as a booster seat) and it continues to be a feature throughout our collection.

Don't get me wrong, we always strive to carry products made from the most environmentally and child-friendly materials and processes possible, but shouldn't we give a 'hats off' to all the products that collectively cost less and create less trash than their single-use counterparts?

Just something to think about  it is a simple way to be green and save money as well!