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Baby Business
Sept. 14, 2000 (San Francisco) -- Deborah Osburn had been home from the
hospital for two days with her newborn son when the news came on and stopped
her cold. The same baby powder she was using on her son, Sam, was being called
a potentially dangerous household product.
She learned that many baby powders contain talc -- a mineral compound similar
to asbestos -- which can cause respiratory problems if inhaled.
Osburn, of Walnut Creek, was particularly surprised at the news because the
powder was included in a gift sampler from the hospital. "I found that
everything in my sample packet had ingredients that were not good for my baby,"
and tossed them all in the garbage, she says.
Her subsequent search through store shelves revealed that most baby products
contained talc. So, seeing a need for a "natural alternative" to mainstream
baby products, Osburn gave birth again: this time to a business.
Four years later, her company, called Little Forest, has three lines of baby
products containing botanical ingredients such as chamomile, tea tree oil,
Echinacea, and aloe vera. The soaps, moisturizers, diaper rash creams, and
sunscreen are marketed as gentle, effective products with natural ingredients.
Osburn, the chief executive and chairman of Little Forest, is so confident the
ingredients are safe, she tests the products on her own children, Sam, now 4,
and his brother Luca, 3, after consulting with a six-person board of advisers
about which ingredients will work best together. "When I make a salve, I can
test that on my baby's butt," Osburn says. "We don't use lab rats, we use our
children. We know these ingredients are safe."
The board includes a pediatrician and a pharmacologist. Two FDA-approved labs,
one in Southern California and another in Vermont, manufacture all the
products, she says.
Osburn is not the first to criticize baby powders. Last November, the
Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health filed a lawsuit in San Francisco
Superior Court, claiming manufacturers and distributors of medicated baby
powder are exposing children to dangerous levels of lead.
The complaint says the active ingredient in the powders, zinc oxide, is
contaminated with lead. Just one application can expose babies to more than 0.5
micrograms of lead, which activates a state law requiring warning labels, the
suit states.
Eric Somers, an attorney for the environmental group, says the lawsuit asks for
such a warning label, but that the organization would prefer the removal of
zinc oxide altogether. "They shouldn't be putting it in any product designed
for use on babies," he says.
Defendants named in the suit include manufacturers Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co., and Johnson & Johnson; and retailers Walgreen Co., Rite Aid Corp.,
Longs Drugs, and PlanetRx.com. The manufacturers say their products are safe
and FDA-approved. A trial date has not been set.
Howard C. Mofenson, MD, medical director of New York's Long Island Regional
Poison Control Center at Winthrop University Hospital and a member of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), says parents should avoid using powders
altogether because of the associated risk of respiratory problems. "It is our
opinion that baby powder is not necessary," Mofenson tells .
"In 1980, we found out we were getting somewhere between 150 and 200 calls a
year on babies allegedly inhaling baby powder," Mofenson says. "The majority
didn't run into any problems, but there were 13 fatal cases recorded in the
literature."
The AAP advises parents not to use talcum or baby powder in its guidelines for
preventing diaper rash because the products "could cause breathing problems in
your infant."
Osburn also finds fault with other products, including tearless shampoos that
contain numbing agents, and baby oils containing mineral oil, which can inhibit
the skin's natural production of moisturizers. Such ingredients are banned from
Little Forest because of their potential to irritate skin. Osburn says the
company does not make bubble baths because they can contribute to yeast and
urinary tract infections in babies.
At the same time, Osburn says she is not out to strike panic into the hearts of
parents. "Unlike the normal natural product industry which loves to say other
products are poisonous, we wanted to focus on making something safe for
babies," she says. "We didn't want to spook people."
She says she only wants to give parents a choice, and advises them to carefully
read the labels on the items they buy.
So far, the concept has received a warm reception, Osburn says. Little Forest
products can be found in up to 400 stores and online retailers throughout the
country, and has recently branched out into Canada. Products also are
distributed through pediatricians as free samples.
Osburn says the company earned $1 million in revenue last year, and she expects
to reach that mark again this year.
Osburn points out that many mothers already make significant lifestyle changes
for their baby's health. "My message is, if they're willing to do pretty
life-altering things, like natural childbirth, breast-feeding, and changing
their diet, let's do the best we can," she says. "Let's make sure the products
we're using are as safe as they can possibly be."
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