Similar Posts


Before commenting, please read our Comment Policy.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

38 Comments

  1. Hi Irina?

    What do you think about The Wave Crib from Nestig. The crib is “constructed from sustainably harvested solid Brazilian Pine.”

    Thank you!

  2. Hi Irina,

    After TONS of research, I found a completely non-toxic crib, dresser, changing table and nightstand (Romina furniture)! We’ve had them for a year now and absolutely love them! Their furniture is truly the highest heirloom quality and completely safe.

  3. Hi Irina! Thanks for such a helpful article. What are your thoughts on an iron crib? I’ve only been able to find one that is Greenguard Gold Certified but it is rather expensive. My thought is that even if an iron crib doesn’t have GG Certification, the only two concerns would be (1) toxicity in the paint/finish and (2) if the mattress support is made of something other than solid wood. Do you think that’s a fair assumption? I’d like to reach out to the companies with metal cribs that are in my price range but am unsure about what specific questions to ask to obtain the information I need to move forward. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you so much!

    1. Hi, Ainslie: I do not think I like iron for cribs. It seems to be such as an unforgiving and cold (temperature-wise) material. I would be afraid that my child would hurt himself. A wool bumper would need to be used. And those are very expensive. And also if you have EMF issue in your house, iron cribs would probably make it worse. That would need to be investigated. ~Irina

  4. Hi Irina,
    What you do takes a great deal of time, effort and dedication, so thank you for that. I would love it if you could write an e-book on non-toxic furniture in general. I’d be first one to buy it. I’ve been searching high and low for some non-toxic and affordable furniture (specifically, for a sofa/sectional and some furniture for my toddler’s room), but I run into some sneaky or just cost-prohibitive stuff (i.e. $6,000-$7,000 for the sofa is a bit too pricey for me). I believe you reported buying a Cisco Brothers sofa some time ago. Does it have coils and what is your opinion on coils (acting as antennas) in sofas? Also, what is your opinion of the ‘The Futon Shop’ furniture? Just a bought a bed from them for my son, but now i am worrying that the linseed oil they use as finish might not be the true boiled linseed oil without heavy metal driers… Appreciate your feedback! Tatiana

    1. Hi, Tatiana: The Cisco Brother model of sectional that we own does not have coils. It is pricey but we love it, and it will last a lifetime. You can get a discount if you buy it through Rowena Finegan of the Pine Street Natural Interiors. We have coils in our mattresses though. I did a very extensive research on the issue including hiring specialists with EMF measuring devices. In short, coils do not act as antennas. However, they may increase electric fields that are already present in the house, especially if your bed is close to electrical outlets. We turn off circuit breakers at night. I can’t speak about the Futon Shop. I would have to revisit them. And I can do that, and answer all your other questions in a phone consultation: https://ireadlabelsforyou.com/pick-brain-product/ ~Irina

  5. Hello,

    I came across this blog after extensive research for non-toxic cribs. I’m assuming that it’s possible there may be newer models since I am reading these articles 2 years after the research.

    I am curious as to the most budget friendly option for non-toxic cribs for 2017. I’ve noted that some companies have some of the models as Greenguard certified, while other models not having it. Is it safe to assume that any crib being “Greenguard” would be to acceptable non-toxicity standards?

    I looked at Green Cradle and they look perfect, however, I cannot afford the $1200+ price for the crib alone.

    Does anyone recommend the cribs from Land of Nod? Again, expensive. I am more interested in seeing if the other less expensive cribs are recommended (Da Vinci, Nest Crib, Baby Mod, Million Dollar Baby). If one is better than others, what one?

    Thanks
    -Kristen

  6. Ikea has an unfinished wood crib called the singlar. Coat it in some mineral oil and it’s ready to go. It does use a board to hold up the mattress, but for 79.99 you can just air it out really good and top it with a good mattress.

  7. Hi Irina, many thanks for your quick reply. I will buy your e-book, without a doubt. Are you writing another article where these two cribs will be included? If so, when? Since I am very keen to make this purchase soon! Thanks so much!

      1. Thanks Irina, I bought your ebook which contains very useful information, also about the cribs I had mentioned before. Many thanks. One question please regarding the IKEA Singlar crib, do you know if they use any glue which contains formaldehyde or if it is 100% formaldehyde free? This crib almost seems too good to be true!

        1. Singlar crib used to have mattress support made of pressed wood certified to CARB II. Now it is all 100% solid wood. Because the crib has to be assembled, I do not believe much glue used in the construction if any. I sent them a message to confirm that. Thank you for asking! It is a great question! Oh, and the “catch” is that not much wood is used to make the crib. So it is flimsy looking. But some of my followers bought it and they like it.

          1. Hi Irina, did you get an answer about the glue? I inquired but the person I spoke to didn’t know. Thank you!

  8. I really love reading your webpage with all this interesting info. Thank you! I know this article is already over two years old but I am currently searching for a non-toxic crib for our first baby and I came across the Nest Crib by Room and Board http://www.roomandboard.com/catalog/kids/cribs-and-changing-trays/nest-crib/241220?articleNumber=241220&CHAR_241220_NEST_COLL_WOOD=WHT

    and the Baby Mod Modena crib seen on the Walmart page http://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Mod-Modena-3-in-1-Fixed-Side-Crib-Choose-Your-Finish/15529737.

    I would really appreciate hearing your opinion. Many thanks!

      1. Hi Irina,
        I have spent hours researching trying to find a safe and non-toxic crib as I am due soon with my first. I would be very interested in your e-book, but when I click on the link, it says the page is no longer available. Help please! Thanks!

  9. Would you recommend the green cradle organic footprint crib innerspring mattress? I know you had previously recommended the naturepedic mattress but I noticed that it contains polyethylene and hydrated silica. The green cradle organic crib mattress seems like a good option but I could be missing something.

    1. I’ve looked at footprint crib mattresses before and did not see anything concerning in them. It should be good. I confirmed with Naturepedic that their crib mattresses do not contain hydrated silica any more. As for polyethylene, I also prefer plastic-free mattress and Naturepedic carries non-waterproof mattresses. In fact, we have it and are very happy with it.

  10. My husband and his father are building our baby’s crib and we bought boiled linseed oil as the wood finish, I was wondering if you had to put an additional varnish or finish overtop to protect the linseed oil or can we simply put 3 coats of linseed oil and it will last through the baby scratching or chewing on it?
    Will the linseed oil yellow a lot after drying?

    1. Hi, Tammy, this is very timely question because I found some products that would work great on a crib. Did you buy the linseed oil that I recommended on my site? The reason I am asking is that boiled linseed oil is generally made with lead containing drying agents. Please let me know which linseed you bought. Thanks.

        1. Ironically they call linseed oil that was never boiled “boiled.” Instead, it has heavy metal dryers. Confusing terminology. I am glad you did you not use it yet. What is your time frame? I can publish a post on this with details and links to specific products I recommend. Make sure you are subscribed to the blog so you do not miss the post. Thanks.

          1. My due date is in 2 weeks we were planning on applying the varnish tomorrow but not sure what would be the best choice for a clear safe varnish

          2. I recommend Tried and True. They are sold on Amazon or hardwood stores. I do not know your location so I can’t recommend a place to buy them. I will change my schedule to publish a post that would be helpful to you. May I ask why you decided to buy unfinished crib and what crib it is? Alternatively, you can contact me privately for paid consultation. Again, I highly recommend staying away from linseed with lead in it. Lead is very toxic to pregnant women and infants and everybody else.

  11. $845 is entirely too much for a wooden crib built of wood subjected to a 1/3 of the manufacturing processes other woods are subjected to, IF that. That’s just greed.

    The alarmist tone of the Green Cradle site was also deplorable. This from the site:

    WHAT SORT OF ROOM IS YOUR CHILD BEING BORN INTO?

    -SIDS, also known as ‘Crib Death,’ is still the Number #1 cause of death for infants 1 month to 1 year.

    -In older children, rates of Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Cancers, like Leukemia, have all exploded.
    Rates of Autism have risen to staggering rates of 1 in 110 according to the CDC.

    “CRIB DEATH”??? Really?? Classless! I will never reward these dirt bags with $850 for that kind of mean, crappy profiteering. Posting a floating list of facts in such a way that new parents might draw specious correlations to the product in question just so you can turn a buck is gutter level exploitation of the anxiety new, inexperienced mothers and fathers bear over the wellness of their newborns!

    I was actually and seriously debating spending almost a grand on a flipping crib until I read that. Embarrassing.

    And zeal is one thing, but if they were genuinely concerned about getting these cribs out to new parents in order to PREVENT CRIB DEATH they’d price their NON-LETHAL cribs more reasonably so that more babies could be SAVED(!!).

    I hate immoderate capitalism.

    1. Solid wood pieces cost more money than the leftover scraps glued together to make plywood. If you know anything about real wood furniture, you know it’s always more expensive for better, bigger, more artistic pieces. You can think of it like diamonds, tiny little diamonds (cheap), tiny little diamonds made to look bigger by settings (cheap but more expensive), one big diamond (expensive). I’m guessing I know which one you bought your partner.

  12. When I try to use the MSDS site, what should I be typing into the keywords? Names of products? Materials they list?

    Also, were you able to find dressers that also fit these criteria?

    1. MSDS site is a library of MSDS (material safety data sheet) forms with data regarding the properties of a particular substance. In the product keyword field, you can type any chemical you would like, e.g. sodium laureth sulfate. And if there are too many results, you can narrow them down by the name of a manufacturer. I hope it helps. Thank you for asking!