When it comes to wet and muddy time of year I don’t know what we would do without mud pants also called rain pants! It is probably one of the best inventions, next to the rubber boots to help keeping kids happy and moms sane. :). Truly.

2022 UPDATE: This post features DIDRICKSONS rain pants, but since this post we had issues where rain pants by this brand lost their waterproof qualities halfway through the season. Although the seller was very helpful and offered auto send us a replacement pair, I was concerned about the waste if the new pair also would not hold up as DIDRICKSONS doesn’t offer a garment recycling program. This year we switched to FAIRECHILD for all our waterproof garments. So far we are happy with their quality, and very impressed with their sustainability practices. FAIRECHILD garments are made from recycled plastic and the company also offers TAKE BACK program for recycling of old garments.

They are very roomy and made of thin waterproof material, so could be used on a warm day just over shorts, or on a colder day over wool tights. I think some people even use them as their winter waterproof layer over thick wool pants. I love that they have strong elastic and a strap at the bottom so that you can pull them over the rain boots. This way when the boys very energetically stump in the puddles nothing gets into the rain boots. The other great feature is that they go up to armpit level covering the sweater or jacket, thus keeping them also protected during splashing or if kids sit around in mud. 🙂

Where to buy

We have rain pants from two different brands, both Scandinavian and of great quality. But the one I purchased most recently Didriksons Plaskeman Rain Pant is made with OEKO Standard 100 Certified fabric (see more below). So they are tested to be free of various toxic chemicals, which is the reason I am recommending them. You can order them from MK Nordika, they are located in Australia, but ship free worldwide.

What is OEKO-Tex Standard 100 label

In case you are new to textile labels, I wanted to share a little bit about OEKO-TEX certified labels and why I recommend trying to purchase garments with this certification whenever possible.

Here in this blog post Organic clothing: Why it matters I shared a lot of great information about the issues with textile industry and the harm it often presents to both human and environment. Only few years ago I have learned that synthetic fabrics are essentially plastics. I also learned that not all synthetics are the same. For example, the fabric used in Lea and Jojo rain coats is made with used plastic bottles. And when it comes to water-proofing there are different ways to go about it as well. Some waterproofing chemicals are quite harmful to our environment, and some could be harmful to our health also. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label ensures that no harmful substances are present in the garment.

Here is an expert from OEKO-TEX official website:

If a textile article carries the STANDARD 100 label, you can be certain that every component of this article, i.e. every thread, button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the article therefore is harmless in human ecological terms. The test is conducted by our independent OEKO-TEX® partner institutes on the basis of our extensive OEKO-TEX® criteria catalog. In the test they take into account numerous regulated and non-regulated substances, which may be harmful to human health. In many cases the limit values for the STANDARD 100 go beyond national and international requirements.

MK Nordika offers a number of OEKO-TEX certified products for children by Didricksons — rain pants as well as rain jackets. They ship for free worldwide and have wonderful customer service. Also, if you happen to run a forest school or a nature program they offer a bulk discount as well!