We are all familiar with the 3Rs of Recycling – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What about the 4th R? I think it is the most powerful statement we can make – refuse. Refuse that shiny new item, plastic bag, that tempting, but useless giveaway. Just say no!
I have three children and we have attended three parties in the past few days. I woke up and decided to declutter a bit and was ASTOUNDED by the amount of useless plastic crap we have received in the form of goody bags. Goody bags from three parties. This makes me sad on so many levels, but let’s tackle the environmental problem first.
We probably received at least 2 pounds of plastic at these parties and that is just what we brought home. The decorations, plastic cups and plastic cutlery and all the presents the birthday child received aren’t taken into account. The carbon footprint of a 5 year old’s birthday party should not be this big or outlive generations. How long will that Frozen themed insulated drinking mug be around? Forever. Petroleum based plastic products will never completely biodegrade. They will breakdown eventually (after about 500 years), but they will just be smaller pieces of plastic.
Not only are we giving our kids “favors” that are harmful to the environment, but we are giving them items that are actually harmful to their bodies. My daughter received a beautifully hand decorated plastic case full of candy. She was so excited
to have it until I turned it over and found the label about DHEP. DHEP is a type of plasticizer that gives plastic flexibility, strength and bondability. Why is it harmful? It can leach out if it comes in contact with fluids or chang
es in temperature. DHEP has been found to cause reproductive issues (lowers sperm count) and interferes with testosterone in males. It is harmful to the liver, kidney and lungs, as well. Children under the age of 18 were found to have levels of DHEP twice as high as levels found in adults and children under the age of four were found to have the highest levels overall. This might be due to the fact that babies mouth objects more frequently.
What would you say if a stranger walked up to you on the street and handed you an object and said “Here take this; it only has a little bit of poison in it. Your kid can play with it and will probably be fine.” You wouldn’t accept the object. You would shield your child and run away. You would report him to multiple agencies. Should party favors be any different?
Aside from the environmental factor of goody bags – I just can’t figure out why children going to a party need to receive a gift for doing so. Why can’t the party, cake and entertainment be enough? Often you see the poor frazzled mom rushing round making sure everything is perfect for her little prince/princess and then inevitably she can be found handing out gifts to a herd of children as they exit.
I sat my children down in front of the pile of goodies (pictured above) and we talked about the 4th R. We talked about how next time we are going to exercise our right to refuse. It might be hard and the Frozen or Spiderman themed goody bags might be tempting, but as Nina Badzin of Brain, Child Magazine states, “The revolution has to start somewhere.”
greentexasmom 