Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

When my daughter was born (May 2007), I bought and used the well-known products that most parents use, the common brands of lotions and soaps, the standard baby furniture and linens, the cute clothes that were given as gifts. I planned to make my own baby food, and maybe even buy organic foods, but I was totally unaware of the toxicity of everyday name brands and common personal care products, even the ones that claimed to be “natural.”

One day, when talking to a friend about homemade baby food and buying organic, she recommended a book to me called Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care by Dr. Alan Greene. I checked it out at the library, devoured it, and decided I needed to buy it to have on hand as a resource. The book opened my eyes to simple ways and reasons why to de-toxify and pointed me to where my little green revolution really began: Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep Database, and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Growing up, my mom sold Avon products, so I always used (and loved) them, and a few years ago I began to sell them myself for convenience (mostly I just bought my own products). When I read in Dr. Greene’s book and later on EWG’s sites about the truth about cosmetics, I was blown away to say the least.

Was I endangering my daughter by using these products that I just assumed were totally safe? You’d think that the supposedly “#1 Pediatrician Recommended Brand” would be a safe bet (rather than the truth which is that it has a very high hazard score – 7 out of 10 – on Skin Deep). Well, that’s because we are all being mislead by labels on packaging with catch phrases (such as “all-natural”) that may or may not be completely true.

You can read more about the rest of Sommer’s adventure in green parenting on Green and Clean Mom!