The Best Eco Friendly Baby Cribs

With the changes to our earth's atmosphere from climate change, making an eco friendly choice for your baby crib is an important decision that can help alleviate prevent old growth from being cut, as well as to ensure a new tree is planted for the wood that was taken. The task of scouring the internet for the best deals on cribs, where they are manufactured, and reading every consumer review can be a huge task. That's why I've compiled this list of the best eco friendly baby cribs here, and narrowed them down to just a few earth friendly choices. Each of these cribs has received great reviews from buyers, and has been JPMA certified. They are also constructed of sustainable wood, so the impact on the environment will be a little less.

Whether your crib is farmed from a rainforest in Brazil or from a sustainable tree farm makes a big difference in how the crib effects the earth. If your crib is made from a sustainable forest, this means that trees are replanted after one is cut down to ensure there is new growth to replace the tree that was chopped down.

Another great choice for your crib is to buy local. Locally made cribs have to travel less to get to you, so there's less travel energy used to get the crib to you. An even greener choice is to borrow a crib from someone. This way, you'll save the money and the tree from being cut down to make your crib. However, if that's not an option, sustainable wood is a great choice.

The task of choosing a crib can seem daunting at first. However, user reviews do help simplify and complicate the process at the same time. With sometimes hundreds of reviews for a product, both good and bad, it can be hard to discern between which crib you should and should not purchase, all things considered. When looking for your crib, here are some main points to keep in mind:

• Is the crib JPMA certified? This means that the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association has reviewed and approved the crib, deeming it safe for babies to sleep in.
• Would you like a crib that is convertible, or one that's stationary? In other words, a crib that will convert into a bed down the road when your baby becomes a toddler.
• Will the crib match other baby furniture in your nursery? Is this a priority to you?
• Can you register for the crib on your baby shower registry?
• Has the crib been well reviewed by other parents who have tested it out? What do they have to say about it?

When you add up all of these things, it can seem like a lot of work, but the crib is one of the most important parts of your baby's formative years. Getting the right one will pay off, and will last for years to come if converted into a toddler bed, or passed on to future generations.

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There are hundreds of different cribs to choose from online, but I was trying to keep price, quality, and how eco friendly the cribs were when I was purchasing them. Online reviews make the process much more reassuring, however, I did spend a lot of time researching them. From what I read, I was most impressed with what the DaVinci Emily crib had to offer. Setting it up took about 90 minutes from start to finish. You will definitely need two people to help carry and setup the crib - it's quite heavy.

What drew me first to the crib was the looks, then I read the excellent reviews and the fact that it was more on the eco friendly side than some of the other cribs. Reviewers agree, that this crib is also durable, and is a smart choice financially since it converts to a toddler bed with the help of the conversion rail kit (sold separately). I have the black Emily crib, or ebony, which is beautiful piece of furniture. It's also available in cherry, oak, natural, and espresso. I chose the ebony color for the crib because I thought that it would be one of the easiest colors to match for other furniture down the road. Black, or ebony, is fairly easy to match, but wood grains, textures and stains are a little bit harder.

Is the Conversion Kit Included with the DaVinci Emily Crib?

Unfortunately, no, it is sold separately. The conversion kit will be needed when you want to convert the crib into a bed, so you can hold off or buy it with the crib.

Is it hard to set up the crib?

No, not at all. The manual was pretty straight forward, and all of the pieces were included with my order. With two people, it was very simple. Expect it to take anywhere from 1-2 hours. The only piece of equipment you'll need is a phillips head screwdriver. Power drills aren't recommended, since they'll drive the bolts too tightly and can strip the threading.

Did the crib ship okay?

The crib arrived in perfect condition. The box was in pretty good shape. The Super Saver shipping advertised is Ground Shipping, so leave yourself plenty of time for it to arrive if you're choosing this free shipping method.

Does it have any strong smells?

When I opened the box, I was half expecting a strong fresh paint smell, but I didn't smell any of that. There were a lot of packaging materials included with the crib, which is necessary to make sure the crib arrives in one piece. If you can, reuse the packaging material, or give it to a local shipping store. You can always put the packaging on Craigslist, too (there's a lot of it).

How heavy is the Emily DaVinci crib?

80 lbs. per their product description. When it's set up, you can move it easily since the weight is distibuted over a larger area, but when it is unassembled, it's dense and hard to lift. Get some help lifting this one, and if you're pregnant, have two other people lift it for you.

How durable is the wood?

The wood is New Zealand pine, and pine is a soft wood. It can dent, but you are much more likely to dent it than your kid will during assembly. Some careful hands will prevent that. It's also a price that can't be beat for a convertible, sustainable crib, so keep that in mind too.

How safe is the crib?

The crib is JPMA certified, and most reviewers, along with Consumer Reports, seem to agree that this crib is very safe.

If a crib is JPMA certified, it means that the crib meets regulations set by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. Products that are JPMA certified are tested by the official certification laboratory, along with random retail tests, to ensure the crib is safe for your baby. Read more about the JPMA certification process here.

Additional eco friendly products for your baby and you can be found at TheGreenerEarth.com!

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