[1]
Today I’m getting on an airplane with my oldest son to take him to overnight camp. He’s going for four weeks, two weeks longer then last year. I wish I could say that I’m not freaking out, but I am. Thankfully, there’s a level of comfort sending him to this camp-he’ll be with two of his cousins and it happens to be the camp that I spent most of my summers during my own childhood. But four weeks is a long time. There doesn’t seem to be any apprehension on his part-he’s excited, packed and ready to go.
We’ve been packing for weeks. Two huge duffel bags are filled to the brim with the ‘stuff’ the camp suggests bringing on their packing list. If you and/or your children have gone to camp (overnight or day camp) you know that most camps have a “packing list”. This list includes everything to pack, from how many pairs of underwear to number of stamps.
Whether it’s day camp or overnight, when you send a child to camp it means giving up control over that child for a few weeks. They will eat what they want and probably do things that they wouldn’t normally do at home. That’s what camp’s all about.
There are few essentials that I’m sending with him to try to keep his camp experience as non-toxic , eco-friendly and green as possible.
Here are a few of my summer camp favorites:
Sunscreen 
Purple Prairie SunStuff SPF 30 [3]
Bug repellant 
I’m sending my son to camp with a DEET free bug repellant [7]. Buzzaway [8]
DEET [9] is the most widely used insect repellent in the US and is the leading ingredient in most conventional bug repellants. The Environmental Protection Agency [10](EPA) claims that as long as consumers follow label directions, insect repellents containing DEET aren’t dangerous. The tricky part is following the directions-most of us don’t and we end up applying too much bug repellent and leave it on our skin for far too long. DEET then becomes highly toxic.
Bug bites
There are also natural ways to treat bug bites. Check out a few of my favorites HERE [11].
Shampoo 
He’s going to camp this year with shampoo that doesn’t contain any toxic chemicals. [13]
Our go-to shampoo this year is Earth Mama Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash [14]
Deodorant 
He doesn’t wear deodorant yet, but if he did he’d go to camp with Tom’s of Maine Deodorant. [16]
I’m just thinking how smelly a cabin filled with 11 year old boys [17] will be. Conventional deodorants and antiperspirants [18] contain controversial aluminum, their ingredient list is long and filled with other suspicious chemicals that I don’t want on my son’s body. Fortunately, there are safer alternatives [18].
Toothpaste 
Toothpaste is a tough one. He’s going to be brushing with The Natural Dentist Cavity Zapper in Groovy Grape . [20]This toothpaste does have fluoride, but doesn’t contain sodium lauryl sulfate or any harsh ingredients. Thanks to Suzanne of Mommy Footprint. [21] we have a few new fluoride-free brands to try out when he comes back from camp.
Do you have any natural or organic favorites to pack for camp?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy anything through the links it will put a few pennies in my pocket. Thanks!
© philipus – Fotolia.com