When it comes to your baby, the bar is high – and rightfully so.
However, the baby aisle today is quite difficult to navigate with its abundance of products, each with different ingredients and promises. The truth? Many mainstream baby products – from food to diapers to lotions – still contain harmful contaminants or irritants that shouldn’t come anywhere near developing bodies.
We're not trying to scare you; this is just the unfortunate reality, with the research to back it up:
-
A 2024 investigation by Healthy Babies Bright Futures revealed that 94% of baby food items – fruits, vegetables, and cereals – contain detectable levels of heavy metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, or mercury.
-
And in a 2023 MDPI toxicology review, researchers found phthalates, VOCs, bisphenols, formaldehyde, and even heavy metals in mainstream diapers, with one study showing evidence of potential DNA damage markers in exposed infants.
And those are just a few examples.
Babies are especially vulnerable to chemical exposure. Their skin is thinner, their detox systems aren’t fully developed, and their bodies absorb more per pound than adults. This means what’s in (and on) their bodies matters a lot.
Ultimately, a lot of baby and child products simply aren't safe. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to live in fear or spend hours researching every label to find what's best for your baby.
We created the Hive Five to take the guesswork out of shopping and spotlight only the brands that meet our highest standards for safety, transparency, and environmental responsibility. Below are some of our favorite baby brands that you can place your full trust in, no compromises required.
