With contamination and safety risks piling up, Made in USA baby goods let you sleep like a baby.
Is the baby sleeping enough? Is she drinking enough? Is she meeting her developmental milestones? Was that rasping cough really a sign that she’s struggling to breath? Is she going to roll over without me knowing and suffocate to death on that extra fold of fabric in her crib sheet?
Everyone’s experience of parenthood is different, but mine in this first year of parenthood? Utterly riddled with anxiety.
The unknowns of my child’s life are endless, and, accordingly, so are my worries. Ahead of the birth of my first child, I attempted to seize some measure of control over everything that I could to ensure the safety and wellbeing of my child. That meant that I spent hours and hours researching the best of the best when it came to baby products. And, without surprise, that also meant shopping Made in America.
There’s no lack of reasons to buy Made in America for your general needs. But when it comes to caring for your infant, buying Made in USA could ensure that the items that your child’s safety depends upon are made under the purview of America’s stringent safety standards.
As if I needed further impetus to seek domestically made goods, just a few days ahead of my daughter’s birth, the Washington Post published an exposé on the lethal hazards of one of the most popular baby items at the time – the now infamous Rock ’n Play. Though I wasn’t planning on purchasing the angled sleeper that had been deemed a godsend by so many desperate parents, I was truly shocked that an item marketed for babies, the most vulnerable consumer of all, could be so dangerous yet widely available.
But perhaps I shouldn’t have been. Just this October a study revealed that 95% of baby food from 61 brands were “contaminated with one or more toxic heavy metals.” Even more alarmingly, in 2008, 300,000 children in China were poisoned by milk formula that was contaminated by melamine, a toxic chemical used in plastic. In the U.S., that same chemical was found in Chinese-manufactured candy that same year. This year, coronavirus containment efforts have further compromised the operations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's efforts to supervise manufacturing facilities in China.
Needless to say, I went into research overdrive before the distractions of parenthood claimed my time and have kept researching as much as possible since. Thankfully, my colleagues at the Alliance for American Manufacturing made the task a great deal easier and readily offered a Made in America solution for nearly every aspect of my child’s first year needs. And now we’re sharing them with you in the most recent episode of The Manufacturing Report podcast.
Some highlights? BPA-free glass baby bottles designed to easily convert to a sippy bottle for toddlers, a clever teether that doubles as a super safe baby toothbrush, and a baby monitor mount that ensures you never have a blind spot.
For more of our tried and tested baby items that would be the perfect addition to any baby registry, check out the latest episode of The Manufacturing Report and our Pinterest board.
Editor's Note: Blogs like this one are intended to highlight companies that support American jobs and that make great products in the United States. We rely on companies we feature to provide accurate information regarding their domestic operations and their products. Each company is individually responsible for labeling and advertising their products according to applicable standards, such as the Federal Trade Commission's "Made in USA" standard or California's "Made in USA" labeling law. We do not review individual products for compliance or claim that company products comply with specific labeling or advertising standards. Our focus is on supporting companies that create American jobs.