Give the Gift of Less 'Stuff'

I just received a wonderful gift and thought I'd share it with you. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I invite you to view The Story of Stuff. This time of year is a great time to take inventory of all the ‘stuff’ in our lives. I admit I like nice stuff, but all “stuff’ comes at a price and I'm aware now more than ever that every consumer purchase is linked to consumption of land, trees, oil, and other natural resources. Of course we all need to buy things, but instead of thinking ‘what’s on sale?’ maybe we need to begin thinking “what choices can I make to reduce the stuff that’s contributing to the degradation of my health, my community, the environment and ultimately our society? Studies show that in the U.S. we have more ‘stuff’ than other country, yet we're less healthy than many living in third-world countries. Maybe it's all that stuff we're consuming that's stressing us out!

The comparison of consumption and health isn't mutually exclusive. Many people don’t realize that going organic is more than a health choice, it’s a sustainable lifestyle choice. Products cultivated from organic farming lessen the burden on our bodies, the environment, waterways, not to mention the pesticides used in traditional agricultural farming carry toxins that deposit into our bodies. Not convinced? Check out BodyBurden.org. And, when you’re out this week buying last minute 'stuff' for the holidays, I hope you’ll pass on this gift to others.

Burt's Bees & Bleach?!

Reports of mega mergers and corporate buy- outs are common, but I could not believe what I read in a report today from the Organic Consumer's Association. The well known natural product company Burt Bee's has been purchased by...of all companies CLOROX! Yes, the company that makes bleach -one of the most toxic and environmentally dangerous cleaning agents - is now going to own a natural product line?! More interesting was a search of 'clorox' on the company's site and "Recent news" turned up no mention of the transaction. Could it be this doesn't exactly fit its 'environmental and sustainability values' agenda?

This speaks volumes about the direction of our consumer purchases, the impact of established branding and the global impact of consumer purchases. Burt's is also negotiating with Wal Mart, (my opinion on Wal Mart is another issue itself I won't go into here!) Burt's has established itself an affordable, respected brand used by millions of consumers. But what you may not know is that it's common for companies to change ingredients during buyouts. This happened when Estee Lauder purchased Aveda. Aveda products are nothing more than natural imposters, but its brand retains a strong market share and loyalty and consumers trust they're buying the original product.

You can be sure I will watch the Burt's/Clorox story unfold and keep a close eye on whether the ingredients change. In the meantime, if you're interested in safer, pure alternatives, you know where to find me http://www.purealternatives.net/.

Can you still drive an SUV and be “green”??

We all have guilty pleasures and mine, unfortunately is my SUV. Although, my job requires me to lug stuff around, I don’t have a family of 10 (most of us don’t), or shop at Costco and buy 50 rolls of toilet paper, so technically I don't need the ‘cargo space’. However, when faced with a new car purchase, I made my choice based on a lifestyle of safety and convenience.

Safety and convenience. How does this translate to your daily life? Think about it. Since my purchase it now translates into making more sustainable choices. Being more aware of the products we buy and taking steps to eliminate, reduce or balance them with other actions helps.

For example, I've stopped using plastic garbage bags, I recycle everything including toilet paper rolls (I’ve really gone off the top!), I stopped buying paper towels, napkins and bottled water. I don’t buy anything made with styrofoam and other petroleum-based ingredients.

Now I focus on the sustainable choices I can make everyday. Selecting organic beauty products has also been one of the best choices I’ve made knowing that the ingredients benefit me without burdening the environment. So until I put a "for sale" sign on my SUV, I can continue down the path of conscious change.

Can germs really be good for You?

It's that time of year; kids are back in school and already the media is quick to instill panic and fear in parents about the dangers of GERMS! Last week, after NBC featured a segment on the Today Show about germs and how parents can keep their children from getting sick by avoiding germs at school, in playgrounds, lunchrooms and sports.

But what many of us don't realize, is we actually need germs (aka known as 'healthy' bacteria). Bacteria are present everywhere and optimal bacterial balance is necessary for the health and wellbeing of all living organisms. The balance of probiotic (good) bacteria must outweigh pathogenic (bad) bacteria for optimum health.

Visit www.purealternatives.net for Recent News about Triclosan and other Antibacterial ingredients to avoid and how the growing use of priobiotics are essential to optimal health.

Meyer's Baby Products contain Forbidden Five & other toxic chemicals

Meyer's has recently launched a new product line called Mrs. Meyer's Baby Clean and Dry. This is deceptive labeling and marketing at its finest. The product branding has all the trappings: attractive packaging, great key words like "organic essential oils" and 'dermatologist tested' (which we all know means practically nothing).

The Baby Blossom Lotion, states "Our Hand Lotion contains Aloe Vera Gel, Olive Oil and a unique blend of organic essential oils that hep make it naturally gentle and softening." Naturally gentle? I don't think so. This product not only contains one of the Forbidden Five, but several synthetic and toxic ingredients (see below). Compare for yourself in Pure Alternative's Ingredient's Glossary.

Deionized Water• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride• C12-C15 Alkyl Benzoate• Hydrogenated Polyisobutene• Glyceryl Stearate• Olive (Olea Europaea) Oil• Cetearyl Alcohol• Glycerin• Ceteareth-20• Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice• Dimethicone• Soybean (Glycine Soja) Oil• Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus) Oil• Orange (Citrus Auratium Dulcis) Oil• Geranium (Geranium Maculatum) Oil• Fragrance*• Polyacrylamide• Myristyl Myristate• C13-14 Isoparaffin• Cetyl Alcohol• Laureth-7• Propylene Glycol• Diazolidinyl Urea• Methylparaben• Propylparaben

Letter to Editor, Detroit Free Press

This is a copy of the editorial I posted to Detroit Free Press this week:

I was disappointed to read your “Skin Care Star” article in this week’s Twist. As a women’s resource and lifestyle publication, featuring natural 'imposters' like Malin and Goetz perpetuates the myth that beauty comes at no cost and continues to propel a billon dollar industry that’s having devastating affects on our health.

Many consumers are unaware that the FDA does not regulate skin care companies nor do they require ingredients to be approved, therefore placing voluntary guidelines in the hands of companies. I decided to check the label on one of Malin and Goetz’s ‘star’ products. Of the 27 ingredients in the Vitamin E Face Moisturizer, 17 are considered synthetic irritants including six considered to be highly-toxic or containing known carcinogens. Far from the ‘trusted natural ingredients” and “botanical extracts” (I didn’t see one listed) they promote on their website.

These guys might be great marketers, and I’m sure they don’t seek to do purposeful harm, but I’d question if they have any idea what their products are doing to women’s endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems. Twist’s audience would be better served by seeking and promoting companies that know the difference and are in a woman’s best interest. I hope you will share this with your readers.

Are there safe sunscreens?

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about sunscreens. This is a very complicated issue with many varying opinions a lot of misleading information about what ingredients are safe. I hope the following information will help you make a choose which products are best for your family.

It's important to understand that there is difference between sunscreen and sunblock . Sunscreen helps filter sun and prevent sunburn (UVA), sunblock physically blocks out UVA and UVB. Both contain synthetic ingredients so there’s really no such things as a ‘natural’ sunblock or sunscreen. It’s generally believed that mineral sunscreens are safer. These products typically contain Zinc oxide (ZO) and Titanium dioxide (TO) and contain very small traces of minerals (often called nanoparticles) that can penetrate the skin and have been linked to cellular damage and free radical formation. The horrible irony is that though mineral products block damaging UVA and UVB rays, the combination of sunlight perpetuates the formation of the free radicals when combined with the ingredients. Excess free radicals ae known to cause cancer. So...you either don’t use and risk skin cancer from exposure, or use and risk the potential cancer and other health problems from use of synthetic chemicals right?

My recommendation if you decide to use Mineral based products, be sure it does not say “micronized’. Also be sure whatever you choose be sure you do not see any of the following ingredients listed:

Any “paraben” (butyl, methyl, ethyl, propyl)
Octyl-methoxycinnamate
Octyl-dimethyl-PABA
Mexoryl SX
Parsol 1789
Benzophenone-3
Homosalate

Visit http://www.purealternatives.net/ for safer sunscreen alternatives.