Recipe for nontoxic furniture oil

Leslie over at The Oko Box Blog invented a great recipe for a natural nontoxic wood oil. “I really believe there is a way to make what we need in a less toxic, chemical free way,” she says. “We just need some imagination and to stop buying into the marketing BS of big corporations.”

Leslie’s recipe:

Here is what you will need:

*Soy Oil
*Sunflower or Olive Oil
*Kosher Salt
*Vinegar (I use ume vinegar, but I think apple cider would work good too)

Doesn’t it sound too simple? I came up with this theory/formula knowing about treated wood being mainly salt and oil being a time tested preservative for centuries.

• Take all the ingredients and put them in a pot big enough to hold the amount you need (depending on whether you are doing wood floors or a chair…).
• You will use more soy oil then the others at approximately 50 -70% more in your recipe.
• Then add a ton kosher salt… meaning if you poured 1.5 Liters of oil in your pot, then you will want to ad at least 1.5 cups of salt.
• Then add a cup of the vinegar and bring to a boil.

The easiest way to apply the wood oil is with a sponge which will be able to be squeezed out and creates less waste. The cool thing is it won’t harm your skin, your brain, or your lungs & it won’t be outgassing any smell except one you might want to eat! If you would like to add a scent to your wood oil try throwing in a branch of lavender or rosemary.

Photo of stacked chair sculpture by jasoneppink.

And check out the holiday savings at Leslie’s hip clothing shop The Oko Box! If you are planning on buying green presents this season, some affordable and fabulous ideas are organic undies, hemp snow hats, scarves, and reusable shopping bags. With the coupon code “okoholiday” you can get an additional 25% off everything at The Oko Box - making shopping just a little bit easier!

A good HEPA air filter is a bare essential

I replaced the charcoal wrap in the bedroom air filter the other day and I’m not going to tell you how long it’s been since I replaced it (pic below of the dirty filter, ugh). I don’t think I’ll go that long between changes again! The charcoal wrap is supposed to be replaced at least every three months and the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) unit every three years.

This is a very basic HEPA air filter that helps control particulate matter, i.e. dust, which works very well for me because I have trouble if there is too much dust in the air. The main HEPA filter is at the center of the unit, and then the charcoal wrap goes around the HEPA unit (see pics below).

I run it about a half hour a day, and I also run it while changing the sheets and when vacuuming the house. I don’t close up the windows while I run it and it still cleans the air very well. I love the air after running the filter!

I don’t have any problems with VOCs in the house, so I don’t need a VOC air filter. If you are trying to figure out what type of air filter to use, you need to evaluate what type of contaminants you need to filter out (biological? chemical?). At the very least, you should be using a HEPA filter, and that goes for your vacuum, too because there can be a lot of contaminants in dust. Be sure that you are buying a true HEPA filter and not a “HEPA-type” filter, which does not do as good a job. A good HEPA filter is not cheap, but the results will amaze you.

I don’t have any product brand recommendations but would love to hear from those of you who do because I’d like to buy a unit for my livingroom.

White House food garden petition

Join in on this great campaign to petition President-Elect Obama to turn the White House lawn into an organic fruit and veggie garden. Go sign the petition!

We, the undersigned, are petitioning President-elect Obama to plant a large organic food garden or Victory Garden on the White House lawn with part of produce going to the White House kitchen and the rest to local food pantries. The White House is “America’s House” and should set a healthy example. President-elect Obama would not be breaking with tradition, but returning to it (the White House has had fruit and vegetable gardens before) and showing how we can meet global challenges such as food security, climate change, and energy independence.

Organic dairyman uses birds for pest control

Another wonderful and creative way to control pests without the use of toxic pesticides.

A long string of pink bird houses line the Bansen dairy farm. Not merely for decoration, these bird houses provide nesting grounds for the swallows that feed on flies, using nature to control insect pests naturally.

Link

Be a smart cosmetic shopper

Yesterday’s post in Enviroblog entitled “Tips from the make-up artist” makes a good point about the importance of paying attention to the ingredients in our personal care products. Those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity are probably more concientious than the average shopper, but I have to admit that up until very recently, I relied more on what my nose and body told me than what was on the label.

But now, I not only do the sniff test for all my cosmetics and personal care products, I also check labels and consult the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, the bible of concientious shoppers. I do this because it’s not just the toxic chemicals that trigger MCS symptoms that I need to eliminate from my life, it’s all toxic chemicals and products.

Here are some practical shopping tips from Skin Deep, most of which I’m sure you are already following, but it never hurts to review, especially for those of you who do not have MCS but are interested in living a healthier lifestyle:

Use our What Not To Buy list to avoid especially problematic ingredients - like mercury, lead, and placenta - and the products that contain them.

Use fewer products. Is there something you can cut from your daily routine, or a product you can use less often? By cutting down on the number of chemicals contacting your skin every day, you will reduce any potential health risks associated with your products.

Use the “Advanced Search” feature of Skin Deep to find products that have fewer potential health issues. Choose a product category and exclude the hazardous ingredients - carcinogens and neurotoxins, for instance - and Skin Deep will generate a custom shopping list for you.

Read labels. Marketing claims on personal care products are not defined under the law, and can mean anything or nothing at all, including claims like organic, natural, hypoallergenic, animal cruelty free, and fragrance free. Read the ingredient label carefully to find evidence that the claims are true.

Use milder soaps. Soap removes dirt and grease from the surface of your skin, but also strips away your body’s own natural skin oils. Choosing a milder soap may reduce skin dryness and your need for moisturizers to replace oils your skin can provide naturally.

Minimize your use of dark hair dyes. Many contain coal tar ingredients that have been linked to cancer in some studies.

Cut down on your use of powders; avoid the use of baby powder on newborns and infants. A number of ingredients common in powder have been linked to cancer and other lung problems when they are inhaled. FDA warns that powders may cause lung damage if inhaled regularly.

Choose products that are “fragrance”-free. Fragrances can cause allergic reactions. Products that claim to be “fragrance free” on the packaging may not be. They could contain masking fragrances that give off a neutral odor. Read the ingredient label - in products truly free of fragrance, the word “fragrance” will not appear there. Find “fragrance”-free products with our advanced search.

Reduce your use of nail polish. It’s one of the few types of products that routinely contains ingredients linked to birth defects. Paint your toenails and skip the fingernails. Paint nails in a well-ventilated room, or outside, or avoid using nail polish altogether, particularly when you are pregnant. Browse our custom shopping guide for advice on nail polishes that contain fewer ingredients of concern.

Link

Photo by smcgee

The hunt for nontoxic air fresheners and carpet cleaning

I worked on a question today from Ruth (at left), one of our flock with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, who emailed me about two problems she’s having in her apartment building. The first problem is about the toxic air fresheners used in the common areas, and the second is the landlady’s plans to have the hallway carpets professionally cleaned.

In Ruth’s first email, I could feel her frustration:

…after speaking with the assistant manager and the land lord late last week, they have decided that they would just remove one of the gel type fresheners…the one that is in the main entry that I come in from my car in the parking lot….they said that there are just too many odors in the building coming out of people’s apartments, so it is necessary for them to use these. They thought of other things (those perfume mounts on the walls that spritz out fragrance periodically, like in the nursing homes…that is one of the reasons I am not working now!) and they came up with having the hall rugs cleaned….I asked that they not use fragrance in the solution…they can’t honor that because the rugs are so dirty and stinky…thus they “have to use it.”

They asked me if I knew of an alternative….I thought perhaps there was an essential oil air freshener (solid?) that could be placed in the hallway instead, but have not found anything…

Luckily, Ruth’s landlady is open to alternative solutions. While I was researching air fresheners, Ruth emailed me with an update on the carpets:

The carpet cleaners are scheduled to come on Thursday, the 6th, and they will do just the halls. I spoke with my land lady just now, and she said she called them right away after I spoke with her the other day, explained my situation to them and they understood that there should be no fragrance used. It is a dry type of cleaning that they do, apparently…they don’t use water. Not sure what that is about. But it sounds like she did her best to let them know about  my issue with fragrance. So we will see what happens.

I was so happy to hear this! What I was most impressed with was the way Ruth got proactive, went to speak to her landlady. Brava, Ruth!

Meanwhile, I asked my Twitter community (an online social network) about any suggestions for nontoxic air fresheners. I received many suggestions, some ideas more suitable for home use than for an apartment building, but they are all good ideas. As always, people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity should be very careful when using any product; what might work for one person might be problematic for another.

Allie at Allie’s Answers recommends the Everyday Stain & Odor Remover from Earth Friendly Products. Is there a canary out there who has tried this product? Please give us your thoughts in the comment section.

Of the rest of the suggestions, some involve natural scents, which may or may not work for people with MCS.

Adonya Wong at Healing… Through the Eyes of Autism says she uses “Pure Citrus Orange by North American, it’s 100% natural & non aerosol. If the halls are carpeted, sprinkle baking soda on it. If not, mop with vinegar & water. Great odor fighters. Or dab your fave essential oil on a cotton ball & ‘hide’ it in several places.”

Recycle Your Day says, “We use Uni-Fresh, Air Freshner, Lavendar Scent by Earth Friendly Products - non toxic!” Lavendar is one of the very few natural scents that I can tolerate.

Two true Earth mamas recommend herbs straight from the garden. Arwen at Musings on the Tarot recommends fresh rosemary and sage (I grow both in my garden and LOVE them!), or DIY air fresheners with essential oil and distilled water. And Rose at A Little Bit of Green suggests fresh eucalyptus, which she says she’s always loved from her father’s floral shop, but would not work for me personally because I have a bad reaction to eucalyptus and other menthol type botanicals (up my nose and in my eyes!).

And in my hunt, I found natural Aromatherapy Refreshing Sprays at Vermont Soap Organics.

Your thoughts?

Photo from Ruth. Used with permission.

UPDATE!!!: Leslie, aka La Mama Naturale, at Recycle Your Day, has found just what we are looking for! It’s a nontoxic air freshener made my Method: no phthalates, in a container that 80% recycled paper, lavender scent (which as I noted is a botanical that I can tolerate).

I need to confess that the Method product was suggested on Twitter yesterday by the nice folks at Aquatic Eco-Systems, but I couldn’t find the link to the Method website to check the ingredients. And now we know! Yep, nontoxic!!

Mommie blogger tackles toxic home products

Alison (at left with family), an excellent “mommie blogger” at GreenMe.vg, wrote this week on using nontoxic products in the home. It’s a fabulous post! Those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity are always very excited to see the topic of toxic home products recognized and discussed within the green mommie blogosphere; green mommies are the savviest consumers around, they know their stuff!

I love Alison’s suggestions for nontoxic products, and she includes a very smart warning about not trusting the “green” label, which has no standard guidelines whatsoever.

…the lung is a working organ and the only way for humans to get oxygen into our blood stream. Every time we inhale a chemical irritant we damage our lungs. Enough damage and the lungs start to lose their ability to repair themselves. Furthermore airborne irritants and toxins can aggravate the lungs for folks who already have breathing problems, such as asthma, even worse they can induce asthma in folks who were previously not at risk. Smoking may be the most common cause of lung cancer but it is not the only cause.

According to research collected by the EcoMom Alliance over 150 toxic chemicals are common to the average household. What is really bad news, is that many of these chemicals have been connected to increased incidence of asthma, allergies, cancers, and behavioral disorders.

Link to Alison’s whole post for chemicals to avoid, nontoxic replacements, and info on the “green” label. Brava, Alison!

Birthday as Thanksgiving

Today is my birthday. As I grow older, I’ve come to love birthdays more and more.

Photo: Me with one of my first horses, on Kauai in 1966

When a kid, of course, my birthdays were all about presents and cake and fun parties; as a teenager and 20-something, it was all about presents and good food and crazy partying; but as a 30-something maturing adult it became more about meaningful gifts and quiet dinners, tinged with a nagging reminder of growing old. I was beginning to understand why many adults dislike birthdays, seeing them as a reminder of death rather than a celebration of life.

To compound things, the 30-something decade was the age when I developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and my life became difficult in ways I could have never imagined. I had to close up my wonderful bookshop, retreat to the confines of my home, conduct an exhaustive search for someone to diagnose what was happening to me, come to grips with becoming disabled. My life as I knew it was derailed. Birthdays? Not so fun. In fact, completely ignored.

Then, as a 40-something, I discovered a small lump in my right breast. A couple of weeks later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember when the doctor called to give me the news, she sounded so depressed, her voice low and sad while I tried to understand what she was saying.

“So what you are telling me,” I said to her on the phone, “is that if we remove the breast, then I am free and clear of the cancer? No chemo? No radiation? So, this is good news! You are telling me good news! We caught it in time, and I get to live! When can I come in for the surgery?”

She later told me no one in her experience had ever reacted that way to news about a cancer diagnosis. But what had happened in that phone call was an amazing transformation of my entire perspective on life. I understood in that moment, that life is precious, and even if you have a disability, it’s better than death. I realized in that moment, if I’m still alive, I have options.

When you have a breast removed, obviously there’s a breast missing on the front of your chest. In it’s place is a big scar, like a centipede, undulating from under the arm across the now bare ribs, to the heart center of your being. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see that scar at least twice a day: when I dress first thing in the morning, and when I undress last thing at night. I am never allowed to forget that I was kissed by death and that a very precious body part has preceeded me to the grave.

Which brings me back to the topic at hand: birthdays. Birthdays are a totally different thing for me now. They are days of Thanksgiving. I become introspective, everything around me seems more beautiful than ever before, it is a day of recognizing exquisite beauty, even at this moment, when the neighbor just lit a BBQ and I am being hit with fumes as I write this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be alive. If I can smell that poison, I’m alive! That’s why I lept out of bed this morning and shouted “52!! Woohoo! I made it to 52!” Huge happy feeling.

I haven’t revealed my inner self to you very much here on The Canary Report. That may change as things progress and grow with this, my latest project, and I will tell you why. Because one of the things I feel grateful for today is the community that is growing here at The Canary Report: I am grateful to you all for all you’ve brought into my life. I thought that I was building a platform to support others with MCS, but little did I know that I was creating another thing in my own life that would trigger an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I love you guys! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have brought into my life.

Happy Birthday to me and to each and every one of you! Be well, my friends.

Aloha and mahalo,

Susie

New physical activity guidelines released

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announces new exercise recommendations.

This is always a good reminder: even if you’re not feeling top shape, its important to get some exercise every day.

I’m not a good example of this, but I make the argument with my husband all the time that my activity out in the garden every day– tending the ponds and chickens, weeding, puttering around with the plants, watering– must count for something!

I will admit, though, in writing, here on my blog, for the world to see: I always feel much better when I make the effort to get off my ass and go take a brisk walk for at least a half-hour. Even when I feel sick from an exposure to something, I always feel better after a good walk.

Here are some excerpts from the HHS report, including recommendation for people with disabilities and/or chronic illness.

“It’s important for all Americans to be active, and the guidelines are a roadmap to include physical activity in their daily routine,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. “The evidence is clear — regular physical activity over months and years produces long-term health benefits and reduces the risk of many diseases. The more physically active you are, the more health benefits you gain.”

Regular physical activity reduces the risk in adults of early death; coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression. It can improve thinking ability in older adults and the ability to engage in activities needed for daily living. The recommended amount of physical activity in children and adolescents improves cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness as well as bone health, and contributes to favorable body composition. [...]

Adults with disabilities — Those who are able should get at least two and one half hours of moderate aerobic activity a week, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. They should incorporate muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups two or more days a week. When they are not able to meet the guidelines, they should engage in regular physical activity according to their abilities and should avoid inactivity.

People with chronic medical conditions — Adults with chronic conditions get important health benefits from regular physical activity. They should do so with the guidance of a health care provider.

Link to full report

Photo by danagraves at flickr

Greenpeace says new Macs less toxic but not perfect

Bravo to Apple for reducing toxic components in their new Macs; now let’s get them totally nontoxic so I can buy one!

I was just about to buy a new Mac but am going to wait now until the end of this year when they’ve totally phased out PVC and flame retardants.

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Greenpeace welcomed Steve Jobs’ announcement today that Apple’s latest set of notebook computers - the MacBook Pro, MacBook and MacBook Air - as well as the LED Cinema Display will now be free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) internal cables and will no longer contain internal components containing brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

While not completely PVC and BFR-free, these new Mac models mark a significant improvement in toxic chemical phase-out for Apple, progress that is in line with the company’s pledge to phase-out all PVC and BFRs in its entire product line by the end of 2008. This commitment is in large part due to Greenpeace’s “Green My Apple Campaign.”

“Apple has raised the bar for other desktop and notebook companies, specifically on the phase-out of toxic Brominated Flame Retardants in internal components, whichsets a new industry standard for PCs,” said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner. “Now Apple competitors such as Dell, HP,Lenovo, Toshiba and Acer need to show that they can meet or exceed Apple’stoxic chemical phase-out.”

Electronic devices are a complex mixture of several hundred materials. Many of thesematerials contain certain toxic heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium, and hazardous chemicals such as BFRs and polluting PVC plastic. These dangerous substances cause significant pollution and put workers andrecyclers at risk of exposure when the products are produced or discarded. Ofparticular concern is the exposure of women and children to lead and mercury, metals that are highly toxic and can harm children and developing fetuses even at low levels of exposure.

Link

Link to MacBook Environmental Report and photo credit

Link to related story at InformationWeek

Meet Jessica, she won over the governator

In 2005, Jessica Assaf built a campaign to lobby senators and the California governor’s office to pass SB484, a bill that requires cosmetics manufacturers to inform the Department of Health Services if their products contain carcinogens or other toxic substances.

Jessica was shocked to learn that many personal care products contain chemicals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive ailments. Working with the Teens for Safe Cosmetics Campaign, Jessica created “Operation Beauty Drop” during which large bins were placed in public malls for teenagers to drop off their toxic beauty products. The collected products were sent back to the manufacturers with a petition signed by the teens demanding the reformulation of products without toxic chemicals.

As support for Jessica’s program grew, so did her belief that she could institute change on a larger scale and in individuals’ lives. With four of her friends, Jessica lobbied senators and the California governor’s office to pass SB484, a bill that requires cosmetics manufacturers to inform the Department of Health Services if their products contain carcinogens or other toxic substances. After the successful and unexpected passage of SB484 on October 7, 2005, she organized a Teens for Safe Cosmetics Summit educating teens from around the country on how to conduct their own safe cosmetic campaigns. Over thirty students took part in the workshops and began their own projects in their communities.

Link

Chronic illness and your personal identity

When struggling with chronic illness, it’s tough to keep it from swallowing up your whole identity. It’s not just the battle we have going on in our own heads, it’s also how other people view us and relate to us when they take in the social cues: uh-oh that person is different. When someone is seeing just the illness or disability in you, it becomes almost impossible to get them to see the real you. I hate that!

I came across two bloggers this week who tackle the subject head on.

Lou Cheese at Living w/ Multiple Chemical Sensitivity blogs about going out in public with a respirator and having his true identity erased by passing strangers to the point of becoming “invisible”:

The hateful glaring people notwithstanding, I became invisible. Nobody would look at me, nobody would talk to me. I understood it completely, after all I was one of them once. But at the same time it was very strange, because I was still the same guy, I just had to wear a respirator when out in public now. And that’s when it snapped, I realized that most disabled people, regardless of what got them there or what they’re dealing with now, just consider themselves a regular person who simply has to do a couple of things differently. We’ll take the extra challenges we have as a way of life and keep pushing through like we always did. We don’t want to be treated as special, be pampered or patronized, but more than anything else, we don’t want to be ignored. We don’t want to be made invisible, because one way or another, we will always be here, right with you and everyone else.

And Kitrona at her blog, Warning: Schematic Inaccurate, says, “To help aid those of you who wonder how to interact with a chronically ill person, allow me to present the Ten Commandments.” All ten are fabulous in-your-face commandments, written by Susan Williams of PublicHealthAlert.org, and the 10th addresses the identity problem of being seen only as “the sick person” :

10. Thou Shalt Get To Know The Person Behind The Illness.

The illness may be a part of us, but it’s not a part of who we ARE. We want to be known as more than “that sick person”. You may discover that we have a wickedly funny sense of humor, a creative imagination, musical talents, or any number of things that better describe who we are, and what we would rather be remembered for. (It makes for better gift ideas too — rather than presenting us with yet another self-help book on the power of positive thinking, now you can give us a CD from our favorite singer or movie of our favorite actor instead.)

Most of all, please remember that the chronically-ill person is more than worthy of love, friendship, and support. Most chronically-ill people I know are the toughest nuts I have ever met. Indeed, I have come to believe that a chronic illness is not for wimps – rather, only the toughest of the tough can continually face the struggles of life while battling a debilitating disease. That kind of grit deserves nothing less than pure respect and admiration, even from our toughest critic — ourselves.

Go visit Lou and Kitrona’s blogs and read the full posts for more meaningful insight on this topic.  And when you read Lou’s full post, you’ll know why I chose Superman in a wheelchair for the photo!

Photo by A. Currell

Natural, nontoxic swimming pools

Waterless car wash is clean, green and nontoxic

Lisa Peri, mother to a kid with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, invents a waterless car wash that’s clean, green and nontoxic.

Jennifer Hadley, while at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, skeptically watched a demonstration on Lucky Earth Waterless Car Wash and then tried it on her own dirty car. The results will surprise you (in a good way).

I’d like to note that Ms. Hadley calls MCS a “disorder” and an “allergic reaction”– nope, wrong. MCS is not an allergy, it’s a reaction to low level poisoning by toxic chemicals. Although people with MCS can also suffer allergies, the physical symptoms of MCS are not consistent with allergy symptoms. Just sayin’.

While I doubted that Lucky Earth would be any match for the dirt mobile I was driving, I figured it certainly couldn’t make it look any worse. I bought a 32-ounce bottle on the spot for $16.99.

Before I tested Lucky Earth for myself, I gave CEO Lisa Peri a jingle. After she explained how she came up with the idea for the waterless carwash, (her daughter was diagnosed with multi-chemical sensitivity disorder, causing her to have allergic reactions to chemicals), then sheepishly admitted that she used to consider the whole green movement “a big marketing ploy,” I deemed Lisa a woman after my own doubtful heart. I admit that it didn’t hurt that she praised Pasadenans as “very forward thinking” when I asked how sales were going at Whole Foods in Pasadena. Apparently, Lucky Earth has sold quite well at the two stores since its debut in February.

After 20 minutes of talking with Lisa, I was feeling even better about buying Lucky Earth. It’s hypo-allergenic, environmentally safe, prevents toxic run-off and eliminates water waste (a typical car wash uses between 20 and 45 gallons, while those who wash at home waste up to 140 gallons).

But I still doubted it could clean my hot mess of a car.

To my complete surprise, in 31 minutes flat, the X-Terra was cleaner than it’d been in months, windows and all.

Link to full story at Pasadena Weekly

Chlorine-free natural swimming pools

Look at this beautiful, no chlorine, swimming pool that’s rimmed with water gardens! The video is of a pool made by a company called Biotop in Austria. And here’s an article in The New York Times about natural pool companies in America doing a booming business. I want!

Link

Botanie organic soap recommended for canaries

Catherine, one of our canary flock, who blogs over at Breathez, posted some timely info about an organic soap she recommends for peeps with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. I was just thinking that I need to find some soap, so I’m going to put in an order and try some (unscented). I’ll let you know how it goes. Here’s what Catherine has to say about it:

I just have to pass on a little tidbit of information about the “greatest soap on earth.” Well, I think it’s the greatest anyway, and I’ve converted a good friend here too, who splits a wholesale order with me every six months or so. Botanie Soap is made by a small company in Missoula, Montana, and is available in several natural fragrances as well as no-fragrance-added. It has an olive oil base and just feels yummy on your skin. And it actually cleans, even my four-year-old grandson’s grimy fingers after he’s been digging in the dirt. Best of all, even Randl likes it, so we don’t have to have two separate bars of soap in the shower.

Here’s some info from Botanie:

I have sensitive skin and can’t use soap. Can I use Botanie’s organic herbal soap?

Although we cannot guarantee it, chances are, yes. Most skin sensitivities are aggravated by the synthetic ingredients in lotions, creams, make-up, and soaps. Without these ingredients, however, there is nothing left to irritate your skin. Many people who have had trouble with dermatologist recommended soap or “sensitive skin” soap have found success with Botanie’s Herbal Soap. This is because even doctor recommended sensitive skin soaps contain many unnecessary chemicals that can, and do, irritate your skin. Again, always read the list of ingredients in your soap. Although many people with sensitive skin enjoy using our scented herbal soap varities, we recommend our Unscented Soap for people with extreme sensitivities.

What does Botanie mean by “all natural soap”?

To us, natural soap means a soap whose ingredients are plant based, and we further define our product as an herbal soap. We oppose the body care industry’s use of the word “natural” to include synthetic fragrances, colorants, and preservatives. We add no artificial substances to our soaps, such as synthetic fragrances, dyes, and preservatives, and where possible, we use organically grown products. Our purely herbal soap is scented with essential oils only and colored with organic herbs and plant extracts only. The soap base recipe is made from 100% certified organic oils. Our products contain no parabens. Read through our ingredient list to see what we mean by “natural soap.” Then, to really see what we mean, take a copy of our ingredients with you next time you go to the store and compare them to the ingredients of soaps on the shelves. Your skin will know the difference.

How organic is your soap?

We make every bar with a minimum of 85% organic ingredients. Due to the chemistry of soap, it is almost impossible to go much higher than that. Within the natural products industry, there is a conversation taking place about whether soap can be technically defined as “organic” (since soap is the result of a chemical reaction and most of the original organic materials have been transformed). For our part, we commit to making soap using ONLY organic base oils and keeping our soap’s ingredients above 85% organic. A soap’s raw ingredients are either organic or they’re not, regardless of the definitions, and Botanie commits to using certified organic oils.

Link to Botanie home page

Link to more about Botanie natural soap

Link to Botanie organic soap page

Celebrity to launch kid’s nontoxic clothing line

I hope you visit Eco Child’s Play often, a greenie website for parents where you can get excellent “advice for an organic, fun and chemical-free life for your kids, [with] reviews and suggestions for toys, education, nutritional foods and family activities.”

Here’s great tip about the upcoming clothing line from celebrity Jenny McCarthy.

Though Jenny McCarthy may have hit it big originally for her bad girl image, now she wants to go good. Too Good.

McCarthy signed with Brand Sense Partners to launch a children’s lifestyle line, Too Good by Jenny, next Spring. The line will be focused on providing children with safe, non-toxic surroundings.

Ever since McCarthy’s son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism in 2005, the star has taken a very holistic, earth-friendly approach towards raising him. She wants her line to reflect these beliefs with non-toxic linens, toys, cleaning products and gluten-free food and drinks.

While organic and non-toxic children’s wear has been finding a market in high-end boutiques, McCarthy’s line will be sold primarily at mid-tier stores with an emphasis on affordability for all parents.

This is a guest post by Kelly Duneavy, a reporter for MarinScopes newspapers.

Read More on Non-Toxic Care for Children:

FairyTales Organic Hair Care for Children
A Safe Non-Toxic Bug Repellent for the Little Ones
Green Family Values: Natural, Wooden, Toys by Plan Toys

Link

Nontoxic face paints for Halloween

This gives me some ideas!

One of the greenest ways to dress up for Halloween is to try face painting. There’s no resource draining costume to purchase, plus it’s fun, and you can use face paints for dress-up games, long after Halloween ends. Of course, you’ll want non-toxic and safe face paints. A very good choice (maybe the best out there) is a set of Lyra Face Paint Pencils.

Lyra Face Paint Pencils are not tested on animals, dermatologically tested for safety, and are certified nontoxic by the Art and Craft Materials Institute.

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Eco-healthy lunch box kit for kids

The Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) offers an Eco-Healthy Lunch Box Kit to help reduce exposure to toxins and impact on the environment, and increase the amount of healthy, local, and tasty foods kids eat.

What’s in the kit?

• Stainless steel lunch box
• Klean Kanteen® beverage container
• Spudware® biodegradeable, compostable, reusable utensils
• Reusable sandwich wrap
• Environmentally friendly stickers
• Healthy lunch recipe guide
• Environmental health tip magnets
• Green cleaning wallet guide

What we packed…

Stainless steel lunch box + Klean Kanteen®

Many lunch boxes today are made with vinyl. Vinyl is a plastic that releases harmful chemicals throughout its life cycle. During production of vinyl, carcinogenic dioxins are released. Vinyl also incorporates plasticizers called phthalates.

Phthalates mimic hormones once they get into your body and are linked to a number of undesired health outcomes ranging from early onset of puberty to decreased sperm counts and breast cancer. Vinyl lunch boxes have also been found to contain heavy metals such as lead. Lead is a strong neurotoxin and when ingested or inhaled can reduce IQ and interfere with brain development. This stainless steel lunch box is a safe, toxic-free container for your child’s food.

Many common beverage containers contain bisphenol-A (BPA). Examples include see-through, hard plastic sports bottles (those labeled #7) and stainless steel containers that have a BPA lining. BPA mimics estrogen in human bodies after being ingested. BPA has been linked to reduced fertility, breast cancer, prostate cancer and obesity. Klean Kanteens® are BPA-free and reusable. This helps reduce waste created from single-use beverage containers and reduces your family’s exposure to harmful chemicals.

Spudware® utensils

Unlike regular plastic utensils, these potatobased utensils break down in the environment over time, rather than existing for centuries after they are disposed of, or finding their way into our oceans and waterways where plastic can contaminate and injure ocean creatures. These utensils are also reusable!

Reusable sandwich wrap

Designed with a safer plastic (low-density polyethylene or LDPE) and kid-friendly cloth, these reusable sandwich wraps are far better than single-use disposal plastic bags. Plastic bags are petroleum-based products that release potentially harmful chemicals during their production and clog up our waste disposal systems and oceans. The ocean-themed sandwich wraps help remind us that plastic packaging and products increasingly contaminate our oceans as well as kill sea turtles, ocean birds and other sea life. By reducing use of plastic bags, we reduce pollutants in our environment and protect Oregon’s ocean.

Environmentally friendly stickers

Oregon-themed stickers teach children about our natural resources. They can be cut out and organized to create a uniquely personalized Eco-Healthy Lunch Box. The reference sheet provides identification of wonderful places and species that need to be protected in our state. The stickers are made of a vinyl-free material, have a recycled paper backing, and are coated with natural food starch.

Healthy lunch recipe guide

In partnership with New Seasons Market^TM, we’ve provided eight healthy, delicious and easy-to-make lunch box recipes. Each recipe will help you keep the food in your child’s lunch box nutritious and fun! For more nutrition tips, recipes
and seasonal shopping advice, please visit www.newseasonsmarket.com.

Green cleaning guide

Once you get your lunch box home, someone is going to have to clean it. This guide helps you see common kitchen products, such as baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice, as dirt- and germ-fighting cleaning machines. Using this green cleaning
guide, you can reduce harmful chemicals your family breathes and reduce the chemicals that go down our drains and get into our waterways and harm wildlife.

Environmental health tip magnets (3)

We’ve included three magnets to help you make informed consumer decisions.

1. Seasonal buying guide

Thanks to the Lake Oswego Farmers’ Market, this magnet helps you know what produce is in season. By buying produce that’s in season, you help reduce pollutants related to the transport and storage of food, as well as supporting local
farmers. See www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org.

2. Organics purchasing guide

The Environmental Working Group’s organics purchasing guide shows you the types of produce that tend to have higher pesticide residue even after washing. By choosing to buy organic for produce that has higher levels of pesticide residue, you can reduce your family’s exposure in a cost-effective way.
Buying organic also helps to reduce pesticides that end up in Oregon’s wildlife and water. To learn more, please visit www.foodnews.org.

3. Safer plastics guide

This guide helps you choose “safer” plastics. Specifically, we recommend avoiding plastics labeled #3 (Polyvinyl Chloride or vinyl: contains phthalates that mimic hormones in the body), #6 (Polystyrene or Styrofoam: releases carcinogens during production and disposal) and #7 (Bisphenol-A: mimics hormones in the body). In general, avoid plastics.

Click here to order the Eco-Healthy Lunch Box Kit

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How to keep your baby safe

Here’s a great post at Enviroblog taking the Consumer Product Safety Commission to task for omitting mention of common toxic chemicals in child safety information. The Enviroblog post is chock full of links and good info on keeping babies safe in a toxic world.

Thanks to Nature’s Child for reminding me that September is Baby Safety Month at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). I feel a little safer now, don’t you?

So it’s no secret that I’m less than impressed by their recent performance. But what’s so ironic about this honorary month is the total absence of any guidance from the CPSC for keeping babies safe from the toxic chemicals commonly used on and in baby products.

They remind us to take the standard precautions that our parents and grandparents took (stay away from cords and sharp objects!), plus some newfangled additions like back sleeping and narrow crib slat widths. All good advice, yes. But not one word about environmental health in the midst of a consumer firestorm over toxics? A time when some chemicals are so commonly reviled that Wal-Mart is discontinuing baby bottles that contain BPA and Congress up and banned phthalates? When laypeople talk about endocrine-disruptors, and understand them. OK, so it’s not that surprising. Just disappointing and, uh, not completely baby safe.

Well if the CPSC isn’t going to give us the skinny on what else we can do to keep our babies safe, we will. For starters, check out our For Parents web page, taking special note of our Baby-Safe Bottles and Formula Guide, mercury safety guide, and our newest 10 Tips for a Healthy Home. And last but not least, check baby’s personal care products in our Skin Deep database or peruse our 1-page cheat sheet with ingredients to avoid and safer product tips.

And don’t forget! As Acting Chairman of the CPSC Nancy Nord reminds us, “Parents should be especially vigilant when preparing for a new baby. Babies represent our most precious and vulnerable population.” We couldn’t agree more. To see how much, read about the Kid Safe Chemicals Act. Now that would make for some safer babies.

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Link to photo by massdistraction at flickr

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