22
August
2008
The alarming increase of “Dead Zones” in the world’s oceans over the past few years is now as much of a threat to ocean life as over-fishing and habitat loss, say researchers in the recent issue of the journal Science. Dead Zones are typically created when massive amounts of synthetic fertilizer from conventional farms are carried via rivers to the ocean. The fertilizers cause algae blooms which suffocate fish. The number of Dead Zones has risen from 162 to 405 in the last twenty years. Scientists say this year’s Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, created by chemical farm fertilizer runoff, factory farm pollution, and municipal sewage contamination in the Mississippi Basin, is a record 8,000 square miles. Researchers now agree that chemical agriculture “Dead Zones” are one of the world’s biggest environmental threats. And of course the only real solution to the world’s Dead Zones is to make the transition to chemical fertilizer and pesticide-free organic farming.
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
9
July
2008
Moisturisers, Serums and Gels have begun shipping in our new, innovative airless packaging. We anticipate the transition from our current glass packaging to be completed within 60 days. Here are just some of the features and benefits you can expect to receive:
envirofriendly - our new airless packaging requires far less energy and resources to produce and of course is 100% recyclable. You’ll enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that your purchases are having a minimal environmental impact.
leakproof - the robust airless package is much less susceptible to breakage and leakage - both in use and in transit. No more messy product clean-ups and time consuming returns.
lightweight - both easier for you to carry and greener to ship. Because it weighs much less and doesn’t require wasteful, protective packing - resources are saved and shipping costs are reduced.
airless - the airless package dispenses ALL product from any position - even upside down! No product oxidation, no bacterial contamination, and no product wastage means no frustrated customers and fewer returns.
non-leaching - contains no Bispenol-A, no PVC plasticisers and no Phthalates. You’re assured of receiving the full, uncontaminated potency of each ingredient.
For more information on ONEgroup’s transition to airless polypropylene packaging, refer to the “glass vs. plastic fact sheet”.
to buy products or for more information click here
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
9
July
2008
“The $1.2 billion the World Bank says will solve the food crisis in Africa is a $1.2 billion subsidy to the chemical industry. Countries are made dependent on chemical fertilizers when their prices have tripled in the last year due to rising oil prices. I say to governments: spend a quarter of that on organic farming and you’ve solved your problems.”
Vandana Shiva, an Indian physics professor and Organic Consumers Association Advisory board Member, speaking in Italy in response to the the U.N. food summit in Rome last month, where the World Bank pledged $1.2 billion in grants to help with the food crisis, most of which is earmarked for chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops.
Source: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_13332.cfm
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
8
July
2008
While consumers struggle to fuel their cars and put food on the table, oil companies (like ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips) and seed companies (like Monsanto, Cargill and ADM) are raking in record profits. In a fiery essay posted on the Common Dreams website and circulated widely on the internet, The Organic Consumers Association’s National Director, Ronnie Cummins, shows how the food, climate and energy crisis are connected and how the time for positive change is now:
“Fortunately, there are hopeful signs that we can move beyond crisis to positive solutions. Connecting the dots in our food-climate-energy crisis, millions of green consumers are voting with their dollars for foods and products that are healthy, locally produced, energy efficient, and eco-friendly. A growing number of politicians, mainly at local and state levels, are also waking up. Organic food and farmers markets are booming. Chemical-free lawns and gardens, green buildings, solar panels, wind generators, “buy local” networks, and bike paths are sprouting. A critical mass of organic-minded Americans are waking up to the fact that we must green the economy, drastically reduce petroleum use and greenhouse gas pollution, re-stabilize the climate, and heal ourselves, before it’s too late.”
Read the full essay here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12893.cfm
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
1
July
2008
Source: The Hartman Group
Published: Friday, June 27, 2008
A purchase is not just a purchase when consumers believe they are “voting” with their dollars. Approximately 30% of U.S. consumers believe their purchases have greater impact on society than their votes, according to The Hartman Group, a consumer insights and consulting firm based in Bellevue, Washington. With this in mind, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of who (and what) they are empowering with each swipe of the debit card.
While 93% of American consumers desire to live sustainably, the majority struggle with how to do so. Further complicating the picture, companies face challenges in understanding what factors consumers base their sustainability purchases or behaviors on. To help bring into focus the complex picture of sustainability — how it relates to consumers’ everyday lives and translates into purchases — The Hartman Group is announcing a planned new syndicated study, Sustainability Outlook 2008.
“Sustainability is a massive business opportunity. This is driven partly by the cultural shift of consumers wanting to align themselves with companies that share their values. However, there is still a gap between industry initiatives and consumer understanding. Our goal with this study is to provide our clients with the meaningful consumer conversations to close that gap,” said The Hartman Group’s Director of Sustainability, Alison Worthington.
Sustainability Outlook 2008 will be the definitive roadmap plotting consumer behavior and purchases in this new, evolving culture of sustainability. It will examine how consumer perception of companies, brands, products and practices affect consumer behavior. The Hartman Group is actively seeking study sponsors. Sponsors receive results detailing the key drivers of sustainability for their specific product category. It will get specific around notions of where price, packaging and messaging are headed and provide clients with actionable recommendations moving forward. Study sponsorship has significant cost and research benefits. Sponsorship is scheduled to close in July 2008.
“With Sustainability Outlook 2008, we will go beyond media and marketing hype by taking a deep dive into the key product categories tied to companies’ corporate economic, environmental, and social responsibility objectives and long-term sustainability strategic planning,” said Laurie Demeritt, Hartman Group President & COO.
So, what are we waiting for? lets vote ORGANIC and ETHICAL BUSINESS with our DOLLARS!
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
19
June
2008
If we want water coming in our taps to be clean, we need to make
sure that which goes down our drains is clean.
Here are ways you might be polluting the water from your drain
that you might not have thought about:
1. Disinfectant hand soap.
2. Hand dish detergent with artificial scents and dyes.
3. Automatic dish detergents that contain phosphates.
4. Hair dyes.
5. Solvents from washing paint brushes, rags with furniture polish, etc.
6. Hormones coming from the urine of women who are on birth control pills.
7. Toxic cleaning product residues from everything from bathtub and shower stall cleaners, to sponges rinsed after use on oven cleaner.
8. Toxic dyes from fabrics that “bleed.”
9. Pesticides from washing plants that have been sprayed.
10. Hormone disrupters from bodycare products, such as those that contain paraben preservatives.
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?, Probiotic House Cleaner
18
June
2008
from the past but so very relevant today….
“Disturbed by the reckless use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Rachel Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long-term effects of misusing pesticides.”
read the whole article
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
7
June
2008
Our whirlwind USA tour included stopovers in LA (Pasadena), New York City, Washington D.C. and Miami. I’m happy to say the
quality of the time we spent with the reps that came and met with us was certainly valued by us - we really enjoyed the more
personal discussions and felt honoured to get to know some lovely people on a level that can’t usually be achieved in a public
forum setting.
We got some great ideas from our talks with representatives, including improvements we can make to the website (which have
already been passed on to IT) Of course, I received plenty of requests for new products, many of which are already on our to-do
list and a few on our soon-to-be-released list!
Washington DC was great. We were expecting a small dinner gathering and, instead, hosted a friendly and raucous 18 people!
One couple drove 4 hours to meet with us, which we really appreciated. Apart from enjoying the beautiful scenery as we were
taking off and landing on the plane, we didn’t get to see many other sights along the way. New York was the exception…we’d
never seen a Broadway show, so we jumped at the opportunity. We have 3 kids, so the Lion King held a special place in our
hearts (after seeing the movie at least 600 times!) The Lion King on Broadway was absolutely awe-inspiring… I burst into tears
from the first scene… the music, the costumes, the singing and the scale of the production was overwhelming!
We attended the Natural Beauty Summit in New York City and this certainly confirmed that we are not only on the right track,
that we are leading the pack! So many industry folks we met there wished they could meet Organic Food Standards… it is
perceived as the “Gold Standard” for organic skin care. One of the industry professionals I had the opportunity to meet was the
Senior Research Scientist from Aveda (who is a lovely man!) and I was humbled and inspired when he told me it was an honour
to meet me! Sometimes I feel I’m really out on a limb with what I’m trying to achieve for the industry, and it was very heartening
to be acknowledged as a leader from such a well respected industry player. In fact, at this conference, and the other cosmetic
industry conferences, it is apparent that our products are held in very high esteem by industry professionals. My vision is that we
can create that same recognition in the marketplace.
A large part of the discussion at the summit was the plethora of widely varying options for ‘certification’ for cosmetics. They vary from
totally pathetic certification (Ecocert, which only requires 10% total organic content to be certified), to the stringent food standards,
and everything in-between. There was heated debate as to which way the industry should go, and no consensus was reached.
There were vocal accusations to the representatives of the various standards on offer with claims that they were contributing to
the fragmentation of the certification process and consumer confusion. Commercial
factors will drive the uptake on the different standards, and consumers will have the
final say…. our challenge is to educate consumers as to the difference between the
standards, and let them decide who they wish to support. Rest assured that we
will be maintaining the highest possible standards for our products, and any future
development. Only Organic Food Standards provide a guarantee of absolutely
pure, beneficial, vital, health-promoting products. We use the same pure and
beneficial ingredients across all our brands… all products, whether they be applied
to the skin, ingested, or used in our home environment are developed with the same
intention.. to be pure, vital, health-promoting, beautiful products.
Watch this space for an expose on all the different ‘organic’ standards (or substandards
;-) being developed… which will be a great tool for answering questions
about the differences between the standards.
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?, Probiotics, Skin Care, Antioxidants, Cosmetics, Probiotic House Cleaner
6
June
2008
BEN CUBBY - Sydney Morning Herald
THE NSW Government has turned over a new leaf after decades of opposing commercial cannabis, revealing plans for a new scheme to grow the plant on an industrial scale.
It will introduce legislation in weeks to allow farms to grow hemp, the fibres and oil of which can be used in food and clothes, biofuels and skin-care products.
The state’s first legal hemp crop has been approved by police and will contain only tiny amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound that some people smoke for recreation. It will be planted later this year, with farmers no longer needing their licences to be approved by the NSW Health Department.
“Industrial hemp fibre produced here in NSW could pave the way for the establishment of a new viable industry that creates and sells textiles, cloth and building products made from locally grown industrial hemp,” said the Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, who will oversee the licences for the new crop.
“There is growing support from the agricultural sector for the development of such a new industry. This is a direct result of the environmentally friendly nature of industrial hemp and a perceived interest for hemp products in the market.”
Trials in the state’s west had yielded 10 to 12 tonnes of dry stem per hectare, which was similar to yields reported from crops in other states and in Europe, Mr Macdonald said.
Some farming groups cautiously welcomed the move, although the National Farmers Federation said it was not aware of large numbers of farmers clamouring to grow hemp.
“If it meets all the safety and health requirements, then farmers should have the option of growing whatever crops that best fits their business,” Ben Fargher, the federation’s chief executive officer, said. “There are farmers who look for innovative specialist crops, and this may fit that category.”
By contrast, industrial hemp campaigners were on a high.
Klara Marosszeky, who holds a licence to grow industrial hemp under a trial program, said it was “fantastic” news.
“I’ve seen really big interest from all sorts of farmers in growing industrial hemp,” she said. “The market couldn’t be very competitive when you couldn’t grow in NSW, but if that changes then you will see a new industry occur.”
Source: smh.com.au
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
5
June
2008
Despite a change in mayors, the expansion of infrastructure for electric vehicles in the city seems to be continuing apace, with many developments being pushed by individual boroughs within the city. Earlier this month we heard about 12 new on-street charging points in Westminster, and now we hear that the borough of Islington is making moves in a similar direction – opening two new charging stations. And for those who are concerned that electric vehicles are becoming the new “silver bullet” to transport issues, it’s encouraging to see that this is just one in a whole range of measures taken in Islington, from running an electric van to using GPS to reduce mileage…..click here to read the full story
Posted: Climate Change, Is it really organic ?
