If you’re a new mom (or mom-to-be) looking for products to use on your little one, you’ve likely come across the Babyganics® brand. Babyganics® was founded in 2002 with a mission to keep products off the list of things that parents have to worry about. I applaud this noble mission! With the majority of mainstream brands using less than perfect ingredients, there’s a lot of room for improvement, but I maintain that Babyganics® could be doing a lot better. Read on to find out what’s wrong with Babyganics®.

What’s Wrong With Babyganics?®

As is the case with many amazing small brands, Babyganics® started out with humble beginnings. Founded in 2002, the company was bought out by a large consumer conglomerate in 2016: the S.C. Johnson Company. S.C. Johnson is also the parent company of consumer brands Glade®, Fantastik®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Pledge®, Windex®, Raid® and Saran Wrap®.

Call me crazy, but it’s hard to wrap my brain around a company that makes toxic cleaning products, noxious insect repellants and plastic wrap suddenly having a soft spot for organic baby skincare products.

Regardless of their portfolio of brands, it’s common for large corporations to seek growth by purchasing smaller brands.  However what tends to happen in these cases is that ingredients often start to change. I’ve seen this with Tom’s of Maine® (bought by Colgate in 2006); Burt’s Bees® (bought by The Clorox Company in 2007) and Native® (bought by P&G in 2017). Typically the changes are related to preservatives, because large companies gain economies of scale by manufacturing product in large batches, which means the final product needs a long shelf life.

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Don’t get me wrong … I don’t fault the companies for making changes like this, because they have a fiduciary responsibility to deliver shareholder value. I just think it’s unfortunate that consumers are largely unaware of the tradeoffs made that could ultimately affect their health.

Since Babyganics® wasn’t on my radar until after it was purchased by S.C. Johnson a few years ago, I can’t speak directly to ingredient changes that were made as a direct result of that transition. However what I can tell you for sure is that their ingredients leave a lot to be desired.

But before I talk about ingredients, I want to talk about branding.

What’s Wrong With Babyganics?®: Branding

The name Babyganics® is a playful blend of baby and organic. What’s not to love, right?!

A 2018 class action lawsuit filed against Babyganics® reveals the answer to that question!

The name implies that Babyganics® is all about organic products, whereas the ingredient listings actually include many laboratory derived chemicals. According to the suit, “The Babyganics® business is built on the idea that consumers will pay more for organically-based products, because they perceive them to be more healthful and life-enhancing, the [lawsuit] states. The Babyganics® name, itself an artificially contrived admixture of baby and organics, was deliberately selected to suggest to consumers that Babyganics® differentiates itself – falsely – by making products free of synthetic chemical intrusion or composition, says the complaint.”

Babyganics® settled this class action suit for $2.2 million, and they were required to update their products’ packaging and advertising to help consumers understand which ingredients actually are organic. These updates include:

• The front of each bottle has a sentence that reads: Discover which of our ingredients are certified organic on the back panel.
• Ingredient listings now show a (ꝉ) endnote indicating which ingredients are certified organic
• The end of the ingredient listing includes the words “Unless otherwise specified, product not labeled as organic”

If you ask me, the changes are not enough. A company whose products aren’t MOSTLY certified organic should not use a play on the word “organic” as its name.

What’s Wrong With Babyganics®?: The Ingredients

The organic issue aside, Babyganics® products contain more than a few ingredients that I wouldn’t want to use on my kids … even now that they’re teenagers! Rather than show you a handful of Babyganics® ingredient listings and highlight the ones I take issue with for each, I thought it would be easier to simply pull out a few ingredients I found in several items in the line, and explain why I recommend avoiding them.

Let’s start with ethylhexylglycerin and methylisothiazolinone, and then we’ll tackle “fragrance” ingredients.

Babyganics® Uses Ethylhexylglycerin

Ethylhexylglycerin is a weak preservative that’s often used alongside phenoxyethanol to improve the shelf life. EWG rates this ingredient a 4 out of 10 for moderate non-reproductive organ system toxicity, ecotoxity, and irritation.

Although found in many naturally branded products, this ingredient has never sat well with me. It’s a known skin irritant, can possibly irritate or even damage eyes.

Babyganics® Uses Methylisothiazolinone

Methylisothiazolinone is what’s known as a skin sensitizer, which means that it can cause terrible skin reactions from anywhere from mild dry skin and eczema to all out blisters, welts and peeling skin.

If you were to Google “methylisothiazolinone skin reaction” and click “Images”, you’ll see a staggering number of photos of people sharing what this ingredient has done to their skin.

Methylisothiazolinone is also thought to be a neurotoxin, which means that it may be toxic to nerve cells. It’s hazardous to aquatic life, which is concerning because Babyganics® uses it in products get rinsed down the drain and end up in our water supply, such as their Foaming Dish & Bottle Soap and their Laundry Detergent.

Babyganics® Discloses Fragrance Ingredients

On the plus side, Babyganics® discloses its fragrance ingredients!

As I’ve shared elsewhere on the blog, fragrance is considered a loophole in the labeling laws, and companies don’t need to tell you what’s in the fragrant portion of their products. Babyganics® (alongside Mrs. Meyers®) is leading the charge by listing all the ingredients in the fragrant portion of their products, which is great.

However, it’s not easy to find safety information on specific fragrance ingredients! Meanwhile, researchers have found that many, in fact, a large majority of, ingredients used in fragrance are carcinogenic and have other health issues related to them.

Two fragrance ingredients in Babyganics® that I *could* find information about are aldehyde C-14, and allyl caproate. According to EWG these ingredients are skin/eye/respiratory irritants and are toxic to aquatic life. Toxic to aquatic life is relevant if a product is to be washed down the drain, however why are we allowing toxic ingredients in products used on our most vulnerable population – babies — in the first place?

In Closing …

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably convinced that Babyganics® isn’t the best option for your family. After all the research I’ve done on ingredients over the years, I have to admit that Babyganics® is a better option than much of what you can find in retail stories, but they’re not a truly safe brand that I can comfortably recommend.

Thankfully there’s a truly safe line of baby products that I CAN wholeheartedly endorse.  Lemongrass Spa offers baby lotion, bath wash, a best selling Healing Elements cream that’s perfect for the most sensitive areas, and a whole lot more. You can shop the line HERE (affiliate link), contact me directly with questions, or learn more about toxic free living in general by joining my Toxic Free Friends Facebook community.

Have you ever discovered that a product you thought was safe for your family actually contained harmful chemicals that you’d rather avoid? If so, drop a comment here on the blog. Your story deserves to be heard!