Hi, you may have noticed that we haven’t been blogging here tha much recently. OK, like not at all. The main reason is that we have become rather infatuated or shall we say obsessed with our new blog at Earth Friendly Shopping. We’re not quite ready to turn this one off yet, though we might soon. In the mean time, we invite you to head on over to Earth Friendly Shopping, and check out the news.
OK - I know that was a big lead up, but this was pretty outstanding.
Kate just came home with a pallet of fresh, organic strawberries. Now that is pretty good all by itself, but then, we pulled our jar of Robin’s Organic Chocolate sauce out of the fridge. Kate went for the Ginger Pear Chocolate Sauce, while Lee used the Tropical Dark Chocolate. We spooned some into a bowl, heated it in the micro wave for 14 seconds, and poured it over the sliced strawberries.
Oh m GOD (as our daughter kept saying) barely does this justice. It was incredible. Simple, fast, delicious, and ZIING. No kidding, give it a try.
The kind folks at UV Natural just sent us some great information about their sunscreen. We thought we would share it with you
No sunburns! No eye sting! No white or pink face! No reactions!
UV Natural delivers maximum protection with maximum safety: no chemicals & no questionable ingredients. Committed to complete health & safety, UV Natural is the most conscious sunscreen choice for infants, children, adults & the environment: cruelty-free, completely biodegradable, non-threatening to the ecology & 100% gentle to precious coral reefs.
Did you know? Zinc oxide is the only truly reflective/physical active sunscreen ingredient. It is also the only one that will not absorb into your bloodstream. Titanium dioxide may be touted as a physical/reflective sunscreen; but it absorbs 70% of UV radiation & only reflects 30% and therefore behaves like a chemical sunscreen! It absorbs into your bloodstream in all forms! So don’t be fooled, titanium works like all other chemical/UV absorbing sunscreens. What’s wrong with sunscreens that absorb UV radiation? The chemical process of absorbing UV radiation creates free radicals that can then damage cells. Free radical damage is linked to many degenerative illnesses including immune system dysfunction, precancerous and cancerous cell growth. Other than getting burnt, skin cancer is what you’re avoiding, right? Don’t be fooled by crazy claims either – no sunscreen protects you all day! If the formula contains sunscreen ingredients other than zinc oxide then it’s most likely a chemical sunscreen. Any other fancy new sunscreen name is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
What’s So Special About UV Natural?
A true zinc oxide formula w/ SPF 30+, UVA/B/C protection. No eye sting, no breakouts, no rashes! Rubs in clear, not white. Very water-resistant & won’t run when you perspire. No perfumes, no parabens, no PABA, no chemicals, no titanium dioxide. Packed with antioxidants to protect your skin. Most importantly, UV Natural works as a sunscreen should! With the highest combination of both zinc oxide & antioxidants, UV Natural contains the most comprehensive ingredients to defend against sunburn, free radical damage & skin weathering.
The added UV Natural benefits are?
Won’t look white on your skin! Won’t sting your eyes! Won’t give you a rash! Won’t make you break out! Won’t run when you sweat! Won’t wear off in water! Doesn’t smell like chemicals or perfumes! Safe for Babies & Nursing Moms! UV Natural even enhances your production of collagen & elastin to combat the drying, weathering effects of the sun. After all, a sunscreen made to preserve health & beauty in the harshest elements of Australia – can be depended upon anywhere!
UV Natural Sunscreen
|
Zinc Oxide (coated): 24.8% in Newest — We use Nano particle coated Zinc Oxide that is not photoreactive and will not produce hydroxyl ions (free radicals). Coated with ingredients from coconut oil . UV Natural Zinc does not absorb into the blood stream and affect serum zinc levels. Zinc assists in the growth and repair of skin tissue. Acts as a broad spectrum UV (A,B,C) deflector. Zinc Grape Seed Extract Green Tea Grape Seed Oil Macadamia Oil Vitamin E Zinc Stearate Silica |
SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. When wearing SPF 15 sunscreen, your skin will absorb 1/15th of the UV rays you would absorb if you wore no protection. When wearing SPF 30, your skin absorbs 1/30th of the rays. Put it another way. SPF 15 provides 93.3% protection, and SPF 30 provides 96.6%. As you go up higher, the amount of additional protection you get is reduced. SPF 45 provides 97.7% protection, or only 1% more than SPF 30 In addition, Sunscreens boasting high SPF numbers (45 or 60) usually use synthetic UV absorbers. Absorbing UV rays (rather than reflecting them) can release free radicals in your skin, potentially causing damage.
In either case, the key to successful sun protection is to apply sunscreen often, especially if you are in water or exercising, and ONLY use sunscreens with an active ingredient of Zinc Oxide. Zinc Oxide is the ONLY safe sun block. All other active ingredients (including titanium) work by absorbing UV rays. As they absorb rays, they release free radicals, which can damage your skin.
We have two outstanding, all natural Sunscreens. UV Natural SPF 30 was recently given the Environmental Working Groups highest rating for safety and efficacy. GreenScreen SPF 15 from Kabana Skincare. is a terrific, inexpensive sunscreen made with all natural ingredients
The Harman Group recently released a report on consumer perceptions of “sustainability“. It makes for some interesting reading. Hat tip to the Organic Consumers Association.
According to the report released by The Hartman Group the term “sustainability,” while widely used by the media and industry, has little to no meaning to consumers, they ascribe very different personal meanings to this term. The newest report released by The Hartman Group, The Hartman Report on Sustainability: Understanding the Consumer Perspective, examines how public perception of sustainability affects consumer behavior.
According to The Hartman Report on Sustainability, while most consumers have a limited understanding of the broad concept of sustainability, consumer engagement can be described in varying degrees of “sustainability consciousness.” This refers to the way people link everyday life to “big” problems (e.g., food, water and air quality). The report finds that 72% of US consumers believe their purchases have significant impact on society. Additionally, a full 71% say they are “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to pay a 10% premium for sustainable products.
Now, one of our basic principles is that all the products we carry are sustainable, so this article was of big interest to us. Short bit of “shop talk” - Months ago, Kate told me to take the word “sustainable” off of our marketing material, and to replace it with “Earth Friendly”, She felt that sustainable was too much of a “buzz word” and that Earth Friendly had much more meaning.
Even so, this issue of sustainability struck a chord with me. What does it mean to be live or to work sustainably? Can we live both a good life and a sustainable life? Do we have enough information to make the right choices? How do we make the trade offs?
I think sustainability has a lot of different levels - Personal, business, and ecological.
Back when I was working in in High Tech, I remember thinking how some of the companies I was working for were simply not sustainable businesses. The constant drive to have each quarter top the previous quarter, and to meet the analyst’s expectations (known as “the street”) drove management to do some fairly ridiculous things. It was behavior that was ultimately bad for the company, but in the short term, it kept the stock price up.
On a personal level, I encountered much of the same. Frequently, during this period, I worked 80 to 90 hour weeks. Clearly, this was not a personally sustainable pace and led to health problems and something approaching a breakdown.
Over time, I learned how to live, and how to grow a business at a much slower pace. My new pace allows me to spend time with my family, and to take care of myself. It also allows us to build the business by laying down solid foundations in terms of policies, business practices, customer service, and employee relations. Because we are not out for the quick buck, we can take a longer term view.
It seems to me that there are analogies in the environment and in politics. Simply put, sprints are not sustainable. In our world, in our society, we have been conditioned to seek the quick hit, the fast return. But a sprint is not sustainable. In order to build anything that is going to last, you almost have to go slow.
Of course, this is no guarantee of success. I could live a healthy, sustainable life style and die tomorrow. In anything we do, there is risk. But if you want to build something for the long term, go slow
We pretty firmly believe that regulation is a good thing when it sets a minimum. We want the government to assure us that food, water, and medicine is safe. We also want regulations to make the meaning of words clear. So, when we buy organic fruit, we want to know that it really is organic.
But we also believe that government regulation should set the floor, not the ceiling. If companies believe that there is a market for going above and beyond, more power to them. That’s the free market at its best.
That’s why this story, about the USDA preventing a small cattle farm from testing 100% of their cows for mad cow disease has us upset.
Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone should test its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive tests on their larger herds as well.
The Agriculture Department regulates the test and argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry.
A federal judge ruled in March that such tests must be allowed. U.S. District Judge James Robertson noted that Creekstone sought to use the same test the government relies on and said the government didn’t have the authority to restrict it. - A federal judge ruled in March that such tests must be allowed. The ruling was scheduled to take effect June 1, but the Agriculture Department said Tuesday it would appeal, effectively delaying the testing until the court challenge has played out.
That’s not the free market. That’s corporate socialism
Finding natural, healthy skincare for men has always been a challenge. That’s why Kate was so excited to find the HIS! Healthy Ingredient Skincare line from Nonie of Beverly Hills. The line includes an all natural shaving cream and a natural after shave tonic. Both smell great. They are light, citrusy and masculine. Not overpowering. The shave cream is rich and luxurious. It protects skin and moistens the beard for a clean, close, comfortable shave. The After Shave Tonic tightens pores without stinging, and is naturally antibiotic.
We’ve put them together in a great Father’s Day gift set .
This was actually run on Physorg.com last August, but I just saw it today.
Led by Kerry M. Hanson, a senior research scientist in the Department of Chemistry at UCR, the researchers report that three UV filters (octylmethoxycinnamate, benzophenone-3 and octocrylene), which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and widely used in sunscreens, generate ROS in skin themselves when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, thus augmenting the ROS that is naturally produced.
The Natural Sunscreens that we carry at Kate’s Caring Gifts do not contain ANY of those chemicals. Both GreenScreen from Kabana Skin Care and UV Naturals use Zinc Oxide to block both UVA and UVB rays.
We’ve recently heard some news that has left us deeply concerned. It seems that the food and drug administration is considering a proposal from the big chocolate conglomerates to allow “vegetable fat substitutes in place of cocoa butter, and to use milk substitutes in the place of nutritionally superior milk.” In short, some chocolate will cease to be chocolate at all, perhaps “chocolate food” just a Velveeta isn’t cheese.
We want to thank Guittard Chocolate for leading the way on this issue. While we would prefer that Guittard used organic chocolate, Kate admits that over the years, she has eaten her share (OK maybe a little more than her share) of Guittard.
The site, “don’t mess with our chocolate”, has action suggestions for you to help stop this travesty.
OK, of course the best option is to is to get one of the fine, Earth Friendly gifts from us, but just on the slim chance that want to give something else in addition, CBS 5 has some suggestions.