Oprah's marketing machine misleading to consumers

How many of you have purchased a product or service or admired something because it's been endorsed by someone you respect? I've done it countless time I'm sure. Just last week, I purchased Oprah's recent book club. (I actually learned of it before I knew Oprah endorsed it!) There's a lot of buzz now about 'natural' and organic products, including Shaklee which although they don't claim to be organic, they've made a huge comeback thanks to Oprah's endorsement a few months ago. The New York Times published an article today and other recent reports of an emerging trend in home parties, called the EcoMom Party which promotes 'natural products' primarily Shaklee.

Now, I'm not out to knock anyone's business, but this is where I get revved up. I cannot help but wonder if the people making and selling Shaklee and other natural imposters really think or know if their products are truly natural? I recently contacted Shaklee to ask for a copy of its product ingredients. Nothing is listed on the company's website which as a 'natural' company you'd expect they'd want to promote and market. They provided me with a glossary of definitions listing general terms like 'emulsifiers' and 'humectants' with no specific ingredients breakdown. When I asked for a specific list of what ingredients were included, I was told they do not provide that info. Huh?? You're a 'natural' company right? Don't you want to market that? Isn't that something your customers would want to know? Obviously not. So, instead they choose to market an image of ambiguity and the perception of purity to consumers. We need to do better.

Consumer purchases are based on choices. Until companies begin to ethically promote transparency in product ingredients and government better enforces labeling standards, we need to continue education in order to help people understand that safer and pure alternatives are available.

Toxic ingredients in common Cold medicines too

I just learned today, that many of the chemicals I've been advocating against and educating you to stop using are not only in personal care products but in medicines too.

The last few days I've been strugging through a cold. The worst I've felt all winter with a fever, sweats and congestion. I don't like taking medications, so instead of trying a natural herbal remedy, I wanted more immediate results, afterall who has time to be sick right? So, I broke down and took a couple Tylenol. It's been a long time since I've taken over the counter meds and Tylenol is a reputable company, so when I looked at the ingredients on the box I was amazed. In addition to the active ingredient Acetamiophen, there are 25 'inactive ingredients', 7 of which are considered toxic including: propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, pothethyelene glycol, butyl and propylparaben and polysorbate 80. All of these are found to cause respiratory, nervous system and neurological problems so what benefit are these ingredients providing me at the expense of some other harm to my health? They provide zero benefit that's why they're 'inactive'. Many of these chemicals only treat the symptoms of the problem rather than helping build imnunities to better combat the problem to begin with.

If you really want to know what's in the products you're buying that are supposedly helping make you better, be sure to check out my Toxic Ingredient Directory which Material Safety Data Sheets . These are great resources where you can search for thousands of ingredients and their harmful affects.

So, it's a toss up: Continue taking the meds or take the natural approach knowing I'm not creating a bunch of future health problems. So...I'm off to concoct an herbal remedy. I'll let you know how it goes.

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