SAF Baby (Safe Alternatives For Baby and Child) and Eco Child’s Play have both reported on a new web site called What’s In My Food. This site has been created by the a non-profit group, Pesticide Action Network.
What’s In My Food is a searchable database that allows you to see residue data from pesticides on food and information about each of the chemicals. You can check a list of 89 foods or search by pesticide name.
I don’t have stairs in my apartment so I haven’t needed to purchase a safety gate for my daughter. If I did though, this one seems to fit the bill environmentally.
Nature Text Bamboo Gate
The Nature Text Bamboo Gate is made from bamboo and 100% recycled materials. It can be used in doorways and openings anywhere from 28 – 42 inches wide and is 24 inches tall. The Nature Text Bamboo Gate can be purchased at Amazon and directly through Safety First Shop.
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
Once again, my good friend, Jen from Eco Women, is here to tell you all about something we all love and how to love it even more.
People who know me, either in real life or through my blog, know that I love chocolate. Not a little, but a lot. So much so, that if my house were burning and I had time to grab only one thing before I headed for safety, I might waste a moment or two trying to decide if I should bring my chocolate stash with me. Yes, that’s how much I love the product of the cocoa bean. (Don’t worry, my children always come first in my priorities!)
If you’re reading this blog, the chances are that you are looking for ways to live a bit greener. Maybe you’re new to this or maybe you’re an eco pro. Either way, I’m going to talk about three different ways you can make a difference with your chocolate consumption.
Chocolate Tip #1: Go local
In my mind, one of the best ways to be environmentally friendly is to be a locavore. I shop locally — local stores owned by local citizens — whenever I can. Are you lucky enough to have a locally-owned gourmet chocolate shop? If so, shop there.
Here in my community, we have an amazing chocolate shop that is just a little slice of cocoa-scented heaven. The owner got his start making desserts for a local restaurant and, when he was ready to strike out on his own, the owners of the restaurant helped him get started. To this day, that restaurant offers chocolate truffles on their dessert menu. Really, it doesn’t get any more local than that.
Chocolate Tip #2: Go organic
Okay, so maybe you don’t have a great local gourmet chocolate shop. Do you have an organic grocery store, whether it’s a locally-owned shop or Whole Foods? If so, check out their offerings.
Why should you go organic? Organic chocolate was grown with no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, which means a safer and healthier Planet Earth and a safer and healthier YOU. And, if you choose organic chocolate, chances are that it is also Fair Trade chocolate, which means that the farmers growing the cocoa beans were paid living wages and worked in safe conditions.
Chocolate Tip #3: Be wise
What if you need chocolate right now and there are no local or organic options? Then make some smart choices.
I personally don’t buy chocolate made by Hershey’s and Nestle because I have issues with some of their corporate practices. Instead, I prefer Cadbury’s and Ghirardelli. What you do or not buy is up to you, but if you’re committed to making a change to benefit Planet Earth, do your research. Find out where different companies buy their cocoa beans. If they buy from Central America, do they buy Fair Trade cocoa beans? Or do they get their cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast, which has a sordid history of human rights violations and use of child labor in the cocoa industry.
If you follow just one of the tips above part of the time, you’ll be making a difference while still eating delicious chocolate. For more information on organic and Fair Trade chocolates, click here.
As you can imagine, I have some favorites. Okay, that’s an understatement, but here is a list of my five favorite chocolates that are either 100% or partially organic or the companies have corporate ethics that I admire.
Lake Champlain Chocolates – I’ve never had anything but the most amazing chocolates from this company. Not all of their products are organic, but they’re trying to get there. In the meantime, LCC uses high quality ingredients, many of which come from local sources. If I had to choose just one thing — and it would be a hard decision — I’d go for their truffles.
Vosges — Vosges makes a variety of gourmet treats, but my personal favorite is the bacon bar. I am not kidding. Rich creamy chocolate with nibs of smoked bacon. To quote Homer Simpson, “Mmmmmm, bacon.” [Excuse me while I drool a bit here.]So that’s the skinny on chocolate from an eco-friendly chocoholic! If anyone else has any recommendations, please leave them in the comments so that we can all give them a try.
Jennifer is not employed by any of the companies mentioned here, nor was she paid to review their products. All photos courtesy of the companies’ websites.
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
Once in a while, you find a company that really goes out of their way to help you find a product that will work for you and provide you with information that leaves you feeling that you made the right choice. That’s Bubble & Bee, a company that makes personal care products with “no bad stuff” and never tests on animals. They also go above and beyond with their commitment to the environment.
A few months ago, I read about their deodorant. I wasn’t sure which one to get, though, and I was also interested in finding it locally. Stephanie Greenwood, owner and operator of Bubble & Bee, “chatted” online with me to give me all the answers I needed. I ended up choosing the Geranium Lime “Pit Putty”, which has the most amazing scent and only contains organic arrowroot powder, organic coconut oil, organic lime essential oil, and organic geranium essential oil. Deodorant won’t prevent you from sweating, which a natural process for the body. Instead, it prevents body odor.
Bubble & Bee now has a “Chemical of the Day” site where one chemical each day typically found in personal care products will be highlighted. We all love the Environmental Working Group’s site Skin Deep for rating the safety of ingredients in personal care products, but Bubble & Bee’s site will show you how some of their findings should be adjusted and why.
Educating ourselves on safer ingredients just got a whole lot easier!
I am not an employee of Bubble & Bee and the product mentioned in today’s post was purchased for my own personal use.
Bubble & Bee
Last week, over on Eco Women, I wrote about how Coca-Cola, Campbell’s, Del Monte and other manufacturers of canned foods and beverages, met to come up with a public relations and lobbying strategy to stop the government from banning the use of Bisphenol-A, or BPA, from being used in the linings of metal lids and cans. The level they’re willing to stoop will shock you.
BPA is an endocrine disruptor which mimics estrogen. It has been shown to cause impaired brain and neurological functions, testicular and breast cancer, chromosomal and reproductive system abnormalities, early puberty, adult-onset diabetes, and obesity and resistance to chemotherapy. Take a look at my earlier post for examples of where you can find BPA.
Safer States is group of environmental health coalitions and organizations that works to protect citizens from toxic threats, such as lead, PBDEs, phthalates, and bisphenol A, at a state level. They believe a national chemical policy reform is urgently needed; however, they aren’t standing by waiting for it. Their site will keep you up to date with studies, new locations, and places where these toxic chemicals are being banned. Their site also has a link for you to easily contact members of congress and ask them to ban BPA from food and beverage containers.
In addition, you can follow Safer States on Twitter or Safer Cans, another organization working to ban BPA, to keep youself informed.
Go on over to Eco Women today where I’ve written about how Coca-Cola, Campbell’s, Del Monte, and other manufacturers of canned foods and drinks, met to come up with a public relations and lobbying strategy to stop the government from banning the use of Bisphenol-A, or BPA, from being used in the linings of metal lids and cans.
You really need to see what they came up with and what you can do about it.
ABC News reported last tonight that the city council of Washington D.C. has just approved a 5 cent tax for each plastic bag requested by customers in stores. The implementation of this plan is to encourage people to use reusable bags instead. San Fransisco banned plastic bags 2 years ago. Since Ireland started charging 33 cents per bag, 9 out of 10 shoppers began using reusable bags.
It was also reported that 100 billion plastic bags and 10 billion paper bags are disposed of every year.
Physicians Formula has a line of cosmetics called Organic Wear. The line has many products for the face, eyes, and lips. All Organic Wear products:
I personally have used their Tinted Moisturizer and Eye Shadow Duo, which I’ve liked very much.
Would you like to try their Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara for free? Just purchase one with the “TRY ME FREE” label attached to the packaging. Mail your original receipt with the purchase price circled, this form, and the packaging before December 31, 2009 to the company for a mail in rebate.
Organic Wear Mascara
Unfortunately, Skin Deep does not have a listing for this mascara where you can see how “safe” they rate the product, but there are some other items from the line for you to see. Just be sure you’re looking at the Organic Wear line and not the basic Physicians Formula brand.
Physicians Formula Organic Wear products can be found at many drug stores. You can see a complete list of where to find them here.
<a href="http://tryingtobegreener.wordpress.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u342/tryingtobegreener/Tryingtobegreenericonspirals_vector.png" border="0" alt="Trying To Be Greener"></a>
