World's First Allergy-Friendly Childcare: A Safe Environment for Sensitive Skin

Approximately 27% of Dutch people have a skin allergy. This is a significant problem: it causes a lot of discomfort and never goes away. Many of these allergies are caused during childhood. This happens through contact with allergens in everyday products such as diapers, skincare, and cleaning products.

To tackle this challenge, the Danish certification AllergyCertified and the Dutch wholesaler IBD (Ik Ben Duurzaam) have launched a project: Skin Heroes. The goal? To provide every childcare center with an allergy-friendly product range.

Last week, the launch of this campaign took place at the Villa Bloom childcare center in The Hague. With a completely AllergyCertified product range, this childcare center now offers a safe environment for children to develop without worries. Founder Annemieke van der Vaart was extremely enthusiastic:

"Villa Bloom stands for healthy and safe child development. By participating in Skin Heroes, we consciously choose skin-friendly products, both for the children and for our professionals."

Why are allergy-friendly products important in childcare?

More and more children are developing chronic skin allergies at a young age. This happens because they frequently come into contact with certain substances called allergens. These substances are mainly found in everyday products, such as diapers, baby wipes, skincare, and even cleaning products. In children, this leads to redness, itching, or eczema: about 20% of children suffer from eczema, for example.

Yet in many cases this is easily preventable. Prevention through the Skin Heroes project is crucial; an allergy-friendly product range at childcare centers contributes to this. As AllergyCertified puts it: "Easy to prevent, impossible to get rid of." A protective environment contributes to the child's health and gives parents the assurance that their child is being well cared for.

What does hypoallergenic mean and what is AllergyCertified?

The word hypoallergenic is increasingly common on children's products. It means that a product contains as few allergens as possible and has been specially developed for sensitive skin. These products thus prevent the risk of skin irritation and allergic reactions.

The Danish certification AllergyCertified goes one step further. This label guarantees that a product has been carefully tested and is safe for people with allergies. For parents, this offers extra assurance: they can use products that are genuinely proven to be skin-friendly, without having to worry about potential risks.

Villa Bloom: the first allergy-friendly childcare center in the world

Villa Bloom is the first participant in the Skin Heroes program, with two different locations. This makes it the first childcare center in the world to consciously focus on developing a skin-friendly environment for children.

The Dutch company IBD has developed a completely allergy-friendly product range that is also fully available at Grace is Green. This consists of skincare from Derma and Dermaknowlogy, cleaning products from Ecogenic, and diapers from Moomin Baby.

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AllergyCertified products at Grace is Green

Grace is Green has been working with AllergyCertified products for a long time. We do this because we believe that sustainable products should be good not only for the environment, but also for the user. Because much of our range consists of an (almost) completely natural composition, many of our products also have the AllergyCertified certification. In addition to Derma, Dermaknowlogy, Ecogenic, and Moomin Baby, these include:

Byoms probiotic detergent

Probiotics are 'good bacteria' that multiply faster than nasty odors and dirty stains. They battle your grime and always win! Byoms offers probiotic detergent for all kinds of uses.

Ginger Organic menstrual products

Ginger Organic is known for its sustainability and quality certifications. These menstrual products are reliable, comfortable, and very skin-friendly. And importantly: they are 100% biodegradable.

AllMatters natural soap

Soap is one of those things your skin has intensive contact with multiple times. Unfortunately, many types of soap contain microplastics or chemical allergens. AllMatters soap doesn't: it's formulated with gentle ingredients for an effective wash.

Canva insert in Lightspeed van 1 product van alle 3 de merken

The benefits of an allergy-friendly routine

An allergy-friendly routine allows children in childcare to grow up carefree, with significantly less risk of contact allergy. But even at home, it's important to pay attention to the amount of allergens a child is exposed to daily. Contact allergy is no fun, and we'd rather prevent that.

By consciously choosing hypoallergenic products with an AllergyCertified certification, daily exposure is significantly reduced. This can help prevent skin irritation, redness, and itching, especially for (young) sensitive skin.

As a parent, such an allergy-friendly routine provides great peace of mind: you know that the products you use are mild in nature and support the skin rather than burden it. Whether it's changing diapers, washing, or cleaning at home; small, conscious choices together make a big difference for wellbeing.

FAQ: frequently asked questions about allergy-friendly childcare

What is the difference between hypoallergenic and allergy-free?

Hypoallergenic means that a product is formulated and developed with as little risk as possible of allergic reactions. It contains no or as few known allergens as possible. Allergy-free suggests that there are no allergens in it at all. However, that claim is difficult to substantiate. That's why hypoallergenic in combination with a reliable certification like AllergyCertified is a good choice for sensitive skin.

Which products are suitable for children with sensitive skin?

Products suitable for sensitive skin are mild, fragrance-free, and free of irritating substances. These include, for example, hypoallergenic diapers, gentle skincare, and cleaning products developed with young children in mind. AllergyCertified provides additional assurance here.

Does an allergy-friendly childcare center also help children who already have allergies?

Absolutely, an allergy-friendly approach reduces the exposure of sensitive or allergic skin to allergens. This way, the skin can calm down and new reactions are prevented.

Why is skin protection important from a young age?

The skin of babies and young children is thinner and more sensitive than that of adults. Repeated contact with irritating substances can therefore lead to allergies or other skin problems more quickly. That's why it's important to choose gentle, skin-friendly products from a young age.