Teaching Our Children Through Our Actions

Please scroll down the page to see information on each topic.

Reduce, ReUse and Recycle For Children

Pass the Vegetables, hold the pesticides please- Eco-Friendly Mealtime tips

Good table manners start at home 

Natural ways to remove food stains 

FAQs and Organic Bamboo Certificate

Reduce – consumption of disposable products like lunch paper bags, paper napkins, and paper towels, teach them how to conserve water when brushing their teeth and to turn off all electronics and lights when finished using.

ReUse – cloth napkins instead of paper, dish towels for spills instead of paper towels, dish cloths instead of throwaway sponges, re-usable utensils instead of plastic throwaways, reusable on the go food containers rather than polyethylene-based bags plastic and throw away bags.  

Recycle - start recycling at home, designate an area for recycling cans, plastics, newspapers, and glass, helps teach children to be environmentally aware and to be responsible. Save any recycling monies collected for a special gift or to give to a charity. Encourage their friends, neighbors, schools and preschools to have a recycling program.

Pass the Vegetables, hold the pesticides please - Eco-Friendly Mealtime Tips

Eco-Friendly Lunches, Picnics and Meals on the Go

Pack an Eco-friendly lunches, picnics and meals on the go

· Homemade lunches are the best ways to insure your family is eating healthy and choosing organic when available helps reduce your family exposure to potential pesticides and toxins. 

· Re-usable lunch boxes help minimize waste, are easy to clean, and can be quite durable.

· Avoid plastic utensils and polyethylene-based bags plastic bags, use alternatives such as on the go washable bamboo utensils.

· Use BPA-free reusable drinking bottles instead of throwaway. We love Kleen Canteen, lightweight ,durable safe stainless steel that fits in most kids lunch boxes

· Use natural pesticide free cloth napkins.  Keep clean in organic drawstring bag in your lunchbox, backpack, picnic basket or purse.

Good Table Manners start at home

Natural table manners take practice and the best place to practice is at home. If manners are insisted upon at home, they will more likely become second nature.  

Posture –Make a good impression , Sit straight at the table without sitting stiffly.

Elbows – Elbows should not be placed on the table, but kept close to the side so they don’t interfere with those sitting next to you. When a hand is not in use, place it in your lap.

Table Settings – An attractive eco-friendly table setting makes the food look and taste better and provides a positive experience for each guest. Guest will appreciate the host/hostess’s efforts.

Place Settings – Each place setting should consist of the main plate in the center, with the forks placed on the left and knives on the right. Spoons are placed to the right of the knives, and the water glass is placed at the tip of the knife. A second beverage glass would be placed to the right of the water glass. The bread and butter plate belongs at the tip of the forks, and the salad plate usually goes to the left of the forks and a little above. When no bread and butter plate is used, the salad may go at the tip of the forks. The napkin is placed directly to the left of the forks and dinner plate, but if the table is crowded it may be placed under the forks, directly on the plate or in the center of the place setting.

Napkins – When seated at the table, if you are the guest, wait until the host/hostess has taken his or her napkin before placing it on their laps, or when the host/hostess asks the guest to proceed. When the host/hostess picks up his/her fork, you may pick up yours and begin to eat. The napkin remains in your lap until after the meal and should then be placed loosely gathered on the table next to the plate, If you need to leave the table during the meal, the napkin should be placed on the chair and then back in the lap after you return to the table.

Utensils – Knowing which utensil to use will increase self-confidence and foster a more relaxed atmosphere. Silverware is placed in order of its use. Always remember to begin with the silverware on the outside of the place setting and work form the outside in. If in doubt, watch the hostess or someone else at the table who is confident in using the utensils. Cut up food as it eaten, not all at once. When finished eating, place the used fork and knife on the plate, sharp side of knife facing in, fork next to knife.

Beverages – Wait to sip beverages until your mouth is empty and has been wiped with a napkin. The only exception to this is when your mouth has been burned with hot food, you may take a drink with food in your mouth. Do not gulp or guzzle beverages.

Conversation – When talking at the table, there should never be any food in your mouth. Chew with your mouth closed, without talking. Guests should not draw attention to themselves by making unnecessary noise either with their mouth or with their silverware.

Seasonings and Condiments – Guests should always taste the food before asking for salt and pepper, so as not to offend the cook. When you use the condiments on the table, place a portion of each condiment desired on the plate beside the food, not directly on the food itself, i.e. cranberry sauce is placed on the dinner plate, not on the meat. If there are no condiments on the table, it is not polite to ask for them.

Formal Service – Guests are almost always served from their left, and plates are cleared from their left. Drinks are served from their right and cleared from their right.

Informal Service- When a serving dish is passed around the table instead of being individually plated, it should be passed counterclockwise, to the right. Your should take a reasonable portion and never take more than can be finished.

Reaching – Guest may reach for food that is close to them, as long as they do not have to stretch for it and do not reach across another guest. If the food is across the table, ask politely for it to be passed.

Finger Food – Some foods may be eaten with fingers. When finger foods are served, take the food form the serving dish and place on the plate or napkin before eating it.

Removing Food From Mouth – If a piece of food must be removed from the mouth, do it the same way that it was put in and place it on the plate. A pit or small bone should be removed with fingers. The most important thing to remember when removing food is to do it with as little show as possible

Information provided from Margie P. Memmott, Utah State University Extension, Juab County

Quick Reference of Natural Ways to Remove Food Stains

Pre-treat most stains with a dab of liquid dish soap. Add a few squirts to a spray bottle filled with water. It’s cheaper than prewash sprays, which are usually not eco friendly and works better too.

Popsicles, red wine and other red dye stains

Mix a 50/50 solution of hydrogen peroxide and cool water. Spray on and let it set for 30 minutes. Rinse with vinegar and water solution. It may take a treatment or two but it comes out. Peroxide acts as a bleach, so always test a spot first.

Coffee, soda, mustard and the likes of whatever your dish soap doesn’t remove:

First dab on liquid dish soap and let that set several hours. Blot and rinse with vinegar and water solution. If the stain insists on being stubborn, try foaming shaving cream. Spray on the spot, no need to rub it in, and wait 30-60 minutes. The foaming shaving cream has two different kinds of alcohol and they do an excellent job.

Grease, oil, ink, and magic marker

Dab on a bit of a natural orange cleaner letting it set overnight. It pulls any oil or grease to the surface. Then blot with a clean cloth. It may take a treatment or two, but it works.

Gum or wax

Freeze gum with an ice cube. Ice hardens it making removal easy. 

FAQS

Why Bamboo Organic Cotton?

Are your products Handmade in the USA?

How do I wash Bamboo Organic Cotton Fabric?

Why use Organic Bamboo & Organic Cotton?

Bamboo is one of the world's best sustainable resources with a growth rate of up to 3 feet or more per day. Bamboo can be harvested in 4-5 years unlike traditional hardwoods that can take up to 50-75 years. This naturally occurring fiber is so easy to grow, it doesn’t require chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, making it a truly environmentally friendly fiber! Bamboo absorbs up to four times more moisture than cotton and is naturally anti-bacterial, hypo-allergenic and 100% biodegradable. Bamboo fiber has a luxurious luster and is environmentally friendly, renewable, sustainable, and 100% biodegradable.

FabiKins® uses only Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified bamboo and organic cotton.  Bamboo is one of natures most sustainable and renewable resources, it’s fast growing, naturally antibacterial, hypo-allergenic, uses no fertilizer or pesticides in order to grow and is 100% biodegradable. Oeko-Tex Standard 100 bamboo has been certified and tested to not contain any harmful substances during processing. Organic cotton is the best choice and the only choice for FabiKins® because it is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment helping to avoid harmful pesticides leaching into our waterways and drinking water.

Organic cotton is soft and beautiful. Our organic cotton suppliers do not use pesticides and only use natural dyes that are eco-friendly.

Our Supplier's Organic Bamboo Certification

Are your products made in the USA?

Our Bamboo Organic Cotton fabric comes from China made under fair working conditions.  Our napkins, washclothes and handtowels are made and personalized in Northern California.

Organic cotton napkins and tablecloths cloth is from India, dyed in the USA, and made in North Carolina.

Natural Baskets are fair trade and/or made here in USA.

How do I wash my FabiKins® bamboo organic cotton napkins?

We recommend machine washing using environmentally friendly laundry products.

Tumble or line dry