Donating them is better than throwing them away at least!

Yes, why is donating them hypocritical?

Donate them to a homeless shelter for families. They might not be as "green" as you would like, but compared to not having anything, they would make a big difference!

I understand you feel strongly about your green lifestyle... They may not be made of eco friendly materials, but no one using them seems even less green to me... definitely donate. They already exist, so let someone else put them to good use.

Return them! Even without a receipt you'll likely get store credit to get the kinds of things that do fit your lifestyle.

Donating polyester items feels hypocritical to me because I wouldn't use them for safety reasons. If I wouldn't envelope my child in highly flammable materials like 100% polyester, it seems strange to give them to someone else as if I'm saying, "These aren't good enough or safe enough for me, but here you go ahead and endanger your child."

-jean

As someone frequently on the recieving end of "non-obnoxious" greener-than-thou teachings, let me just say this: Get off your high horse, bite your tongue, thank the nice people who brought you presents and donate what you won't use. Let others make their own decisions as they let you make yours.

I agree, donate them. Is cotton not flammable?

I think donating them or returning them are the best ideas. Anything else seems like a waste, since they are brand new. Most store will accept returns without a receipt and will give you a store gift card with the refund on it. I think the best thing to do would be to talk with any of the people you expect to give you gifts for the baby again and explain why you won't use their gift and tell them what you will use. Of course, do this as nicely as possible. Even if they feel upset about this, I think most people would be more upset to hear you didn't use their gift. Next time you have some type of gift giving event (birthday, holiday), send out reminders on what type of fabric you are willing to use, so they don't have to remember.

High heat is used to create polyester - 270 degrees F according to Wisegeek. And Wikipedia says "While combustible at high temperatures, polyesters tend to shrink away from flames and self-extinguish upon ignition". So I don't see how they are especially dangerous. PET plastic is made of the same stuff. If you donate it, people can still choose to not use it, so you aren't forcing it on someone. As for feeling hypocritical, I like how wikipedia has it described.

How is it a high horse to worry about this stuff? God forbid somebody actually care about other people... What a rude person you are, Tiamat_the_Red.

Cotton is flammable but like any natural fiber will turn to ash rather than melting and fusing to skin. This isn't a green issue as much as it is a safety issue. What if Jean told us she had received toys which contained lead and wasn't sure what to do with them?

Lead is recognized as a dangerous substance (which can be disposed of as a hazardous waste), whereas polyester is not (which may be evident in the sheer amount of it that is legally on the market - not that the market is always right). Polyester is also flame resistant until whatever the melting point is which I unfortunately can't find. I wouldn't be surprised if the temperature needed to ignite polyester would be high enough that a baby would die from the environment causing it first. The only thing I've found about polyester and problems with melting is in relation to bombings.

I don't really think this is really a safety issue, so much as a difference of opinion which is more likely to cause people to be defensive. Everyone has a good point even if they said it with anger.

As a child I wasn't allowed to wear polyester in my pajamas for the flame reason. Because sometimes children are burned and the polyester melts onto the skin and fuses. Cotton ignites and burns away, and obviously the skin underneath is burned too, but without melted plastic particles fused in. Imagine if not your whole baby caught fire, but your baby's arm? My mom found that risk unacceptable. Some people do.

I'd go with donate the things you find not green but not dangerous as in "hate plastic toys with battery for my child" and shred the things you feel wouldn't be okay for any child's safety- however you define it. I'd say it's creative re-use time. Polyester plant ties? Polyester doll clothes? Polyester wiping clothes you can use to mop up baby puke?

For those interested in the fiber discussion, here is some information regarding polyester and cotton in children's clothing and pajamas:
http://www.essortment.com/family/flameresistant_sknw.htm

Thanks kdelap.

Jean . . . if its REALLY the fire thing you are worried about and kdelap's info didn't change your mind . . . have baby wear the polyester stuff during the day, when she'll/ he'll be with you and presumably not on fire.

If its really the fact that the polyester is produced in an unsustainable way . . . then, its probably less green to not use it and buy something else, than it is to just use it. After all the environmental cost of 5 polyester onsies 5 new organic cotton ones is still more than just the cost of the original, already purchased polyester ones.

If its really that polyester is just not as cool as organic cotton . . . then . . . I hear ya . . . I would much rather friends and family gave tiny amounts of really awesome stuff instead of crappy stuff in bulk (one organic cotton onesie, instead of ten polyester ones). Quality over quantity. However, once you own it, it really is less sustainable to pass on it then to just use it.