Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I just spent the last few days corresponding with a representative from Million Dollar Baby (the crib manufacturer). Daniel, the customer service representative really went out of his way to address my concerns and questions about the crib. So for all of you parents out there looking for an affordable green crib, here's what I found out. 1. The Jenny Lind crib is made of all solid wood (except for the models with a drawer which has an mdf panel). The wood is New Zealand Pine which is sustainably grown and forested in New Zealand. 2. The crib is made in Taiwan. 3. The glue used to adhere the crib slats is formaldehyde free, is water-based and non-toxic. 3. The finish on the crib -- here is a direct quote from the company -- "For all of our paints and finishes we use a non toxic sealer with lacquer. Our paint is ultra-safe. We exceed JPMA regulations and go through annual paint tests. Paint is called safe when it has toxic materials under 300 parts per million [ppm]. For a company to claim low toxicity means they have paint with toxicity below 90 ppm. Here at Million Dollar Baby, our paint levels come in at less than 2 ppm." -- Just to give you a comparison, Benjamin Moore Eco Spec paint which is LEED certified and has a toxicity level of .1 ppm. So although the finish on the crib is not that low, it is still very, very, very good. 4. Million Dollar Baby was willing to sell me an unfinished crib to help allay my fears about off-gassing -- which really impressed me. However after the $189 crib price tag, the $103 shipping cost and the exorbitant amount of money/hassle to get the crib painted or do it ourselves, we started to wonder if we were going overboard. I then had a chance to speak with a LEED certified builder/architect in our area who is really passionate about his work. He was really impressed with low toxicity levels of the crib's finish and told me that formaldehyde would be my biggest concern and since the glues were water-based we shouldn't worry. He said that the non-organic paint finishes pose the greatest health dangers to workers who apply the finishes and not to consumers who purchase the products. He suggested that we save the money we would spend painting the crib and shipping it and invest it in an organic mattress. He said fabric off-gassing is exponentially more dangerous. So, we just ordered the crib from Amazon and are anxious to have it arrive. I suggested to Million Dollar Baby that they offer an unfinished version of the crib on Amazon -- as it would be the only crib of it's type on the market and may attract sustainably-conscious parents. So, if you're interested in a unfinished crib, I would suggest getting in touch with the company directly -- you can request this from Amazon. Maybe if more of us speak-up, we'll create a demand for more affordable green baby products that are safe for us and for those manufacturing them. Toxin-free baby cribs should not be just available to the very wealthy. In the meantime, I feel like I'll be able to rest easy knowing that our little baby will be sleeping in a safe crib. Update 7/29/2012: The crib arrived yesterday and it's put together. It was super easy to assemble and it looks exactly like it does in the on-line photos. It seems sturdy and I imagine it will feel even more so after the mattress is in place. We're really happy that we made this purchase -- it's perfect.