Eco-crastination: The Naturally Green Holiday Budget

I’ve walked the malls more this holiday season than the last 10 years combined.  Believe it or not, I haven’t purchased a single item!  Since I am such a winter wimp, I go to get out of the house, walk a little in warmth, and just observe.  Usually observing others is quite entertaining this time of year, but actually I’ve been more entertained and enlightened by my own thoughts and actions.

Choosing a greener and healthier lifestyle has significantly changed my perspective on accumulating “stuff”.   In addition, shopping for others has been more difficult because I can’t just purchase an item that I fear may go unused, or is full of chemicals, or isn’t earth-friendly somehow.   Most would call it procrastination, I call it eco-crastination!  Instead of spending and spending, by being more eco-thoughtful, I will ultimately choose one nice item rather than buying three of four different items for each person.  Usually, the longer I have to think about gift-giving, the more I want to buy and give.  In reality, just one thoughtful gift is worth more to the receiver than mounds of stuff!

Of course, I am speaking from a perspective of years of studying the benefits of being eco-thoughtful.  Perhaps my brother wouldn’t agree??  

Here are a few of the gifts under my tree:

1. Home-made granola for my husband’s clients, our friends, dog-sitter, favorite waitress at a local restaurant, and post carrier.  The granola was packaged in jars I saved from the past month.  I boiled water and sterilized them, filled them with granola, and made cute little tags from old greeting cards.  Extremely economical… 25 jars of granola for less than $12!   I’ve even received requests for the recipe!

2. USDA Certified Organic Rose Hydrating Mist (beautiful smelling chemical-free body spritzer) for my sister-in-law.  The bottle is a very light-weight airless pump that is wonderful to keep in her purse!  Purchased at www.organicology.com.

3. Splendid art work by my 8-month-old son for his Aunts & Uncles.  We printed a picture of him with each person on a separate piece of recycled paper.  Gave him a few crayons and let him put his own touch on it!  So cute!  (Of course, we made sure the crayon stayed out of his mouth…)

4. Hand & Foot Impressions of my son on home-made non-toxic play-doh for Grammy, Poppy, Grandma, & Grandpa.

5. Locally-made tote for my sister.  Purchased at www.SalwaOwens.etsy.com.

6. Restaurant gift-cards for our parents.

7.  Everything wrapped from paper and bags saved from last holiday!

Love it! Love it! Love it!  Just writing this puts me in the Eco-holiday mood!  Let’s turn up the tunes, dance to Let It Snow!, and enjoy a truly green Christmas!

Organic – More than a Personal Choice

What’s the big deal about organics? As the daughter of a dairy farmer in the Midwest, my lifestyle choices have caused quite a stir among family and friends.  They just don’t quite understand what is at stake, but I love sharing and learning and educating and learning more.  Honestly I still consider myself an organic beginner.  I have so much to learn and the majority of my journey has been focused on learning about my dietary choices, the cleaning products I use, and the dozens of personal care products that cover every inch of my bathroom counter-space.  The most profound lesson:  my choices in each of these areas directly impacts my environment, but more importantly I also impact the environment for all other living creatures.  So I have a choice – will I positively or negatively impact the environment?  That’s a significant question with a very important answer.

Choosing to wisely spend my $$ on products that are certified organic benefits more than just me.  Each decision to choose greener, specifically certified organic, alternatives supports a sustainable means of producing products.  The 6-second decision between a certified organic moisturizer and a typical moisturizer holds consequences that are quite eye-opening.  Once I understood, I no longer had a decision to make.  The decision was made for me.

What exactly does certified organic mean?

Organic agriculture is quite simply farming without the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides.  Yes, it can be done even in the 21st Century!   Therefore, eliminating chemical application to crops, eliminates them from the soil, water contamination, food contamination, as well as the negative (an unknown) affects on our health and the health of other living organisms as a result of the chemical exposure.

My 6-second purchasing decision directly affects my health and indirectly affects the health of the fish in the streams, the birds in the trees, and my relatives a few hours away.

It’s natural, pure, AND organic!

“Cosmetics products and ingredients are not subject to FDA premarket approval authority, with the exception of color additives… [the] FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetics before marketing.” (FDA website).

Long story short, the dozens of lotions and potions that have consumed every inch of counter space in our bathrooms are concoctions of thousands of chemicals that have not been tested for safety.  Just that thought alone is enough to make my skin tingle!  All along we’ve assumed that someone somewhere had a high paying job making sure that our stuff was safe.  Not so true after all.

Not to mention the following excerpts from Healthy Child, Healthy World:

•    The average American uses about 10–15 personal care products daily.  I counted more than that for myself… remember this involved everything that goes on the skin.  Soap when washing your hands, dish soap, lotion, lip moisturizers, antibacterial gels, cleansers, make-up, toothpaste, mouthwash, and so on.

•    The FDA approves an average of seven new chemicals every day, and 80 percent are approved in three weeks or less, with or without safety tests.
Wow!  Less than three weeks of testing… are you kidding me?

•    Industrial chemicals are the basic ingredients of personal care products that contain carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, plasticizers, degreasers, and surfactants.

So, in a self-regulated industry where terms like ‘organic’ and  ‘all natural’ appear on products contaminated with toxins like 1,4-Dioxane, how are consumers to navigate the so-called-’Green’ cosmetics industry and avoid green washed products?

The most important first step is knowing the difference between the following: natural, naturally-derived, organic, certified organic.

Natural: A natural material that is harvested and processed without chemical reaction. Therefore, for a product to claim to be “all natural”, each and every ingredient would have to exist in nature the exact same way as it was used to make the final product.  An example would be Aloe.  Aloe is extracted from the plant and applied to the skin without processing.

Naturally-derived: Since the cosmetic & personal care industry is not regulated, often times, they claim that “naturally-derived” ingredients are natural. For example, the ingredient Cocamide DEA, which is a known human immune system toxicant as defined by the National Library of Medicine, is derived from coconuts. It is used in most cleansers and soaps. Therefore, naturally-derived is not natural at all. It is a synthetic that involved a chemical process regardless of the source. The danger of using a naturally-derived/synthetic ingredient is that the processing aids and impurities are linked to asthma, learning disabilities, infertility, birth defects, and cancer.

Another fun example is vodka.  Vodka is “naturally-derived” from potatoes.  Would you want to give your child vodka?  Legally they could say it’s natural!

Organic: Organic refers to a system of ecological farm management that promotes biodiversity, enhances soil fertility, prevents soil erosion, protects groundwater, conserves energy, and protects our next generation. Organic agriculture prohibits genetic engineering, pesticides synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, and growth hormones. Many companies now claim to have “organic” products. Without the third-party certification, most likely the product has one or two organic ingredients. Again, this is all unregulated and a product does not have to have any organic ingredients to have the word “organic” in the title. For example, a shampoo can claim to be organic with lavender. The product is most likely 70% water, which has been infused with organic lavender tea bags. In this case, although water in not included in a certified organic product, this shampoo label may claim to be made with 70% organic ingredients. This is a huge problem and is currently legal.

Certified Organic: This is the consumer’s guarantee that they are not being greenwashed. It is a guarantee of authenticity and integrity that every ingredient stands up to the claims made by the manufacturer. The “certified organic” stamp should be visible on the label. The type of certification is also important. Currently the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and ACO (Australian Certified Organic) are the most stringent in the world. The products bearing these logos are edible and certified to food grade standards. Certified Organic products are minimally processed, naturally extracted, WITHOUT artificial ingredients, synthetic processes, synthetic preservatives, animal testing, and irradiation. Certified Organic Processors must: keep detailed written purchasing, production, and sales records (audit trail), develop stringent quality systems to maintain organic integrity of ingredients, ensure traceability of organic ingredients (from seed to consumer), maintain strict physical separation of ingredients to prevent contamination, undergo periodic on-site inspections (audits).

NOTE: There are various certifying agencies with their own rules and regulations.  The next few posts will contain such information.