Being an Organic girl in a Modern World

Those who know me well, will be the first to tell you that I am no super strong girl living a basic and eco friendly life. I'm what my father refers to as 'delicate', which is his way of saying that I need (or at least feel that I need) to be pampered and looked after more than the average woman.

Recently a friend with loads of experience in all things Organic introduced me to the term Yippy. Any guesses? That's right a cross between a yuppy and a hippy and I have come to realise that for better or for worse, that is exactly what I am!

I had previously termed myself a modern hippy (Well I do like lentils and have been vegetarian for 16 years!)then I thought of myself as a Lazy environmentalist (I do heaps of little things every day to help but I am yet to be found tied to trees), but perhaps yippy is a more accurate term. I say this because while hippies tend to be laid back and relaxed or laying their body on the line to save a tree I am more likely to be wondering where I will be able to find my next swiss water filtered organic decaffe latte made with organic oat milk in my reusable and non-toxic travel mug while writing on my 100% recycled paper.

Then there is makeup...............................I wouldn't say I am a diehard makeup fan, I can go days and sometimes months without it but when it comes down to what I put on my face I am fussy, really fussy and you should be too. When it comes to a big night out I am more likely to turn up naked than without natural mascara (oh the joy of blond eyelashes) and natural blush oh and a little organic lip balm.

The best thing about being a yippy is that you get all the benefits of modern technology and convenience while improving your health and helping to protect the planet. So what am I up to in my eco-conversion? Our next step is converting to natural power (wind and solar). Anyone can do it and it doesn't cost to much at all. Ask your local power supplier today.

So whether you are a yippy, a yuppy, a modern hippy or just a lazy environmentalist; I would love to know your best eco tips on anything from makeup to water saving techniques. Blog on and share your knowlegde with the CleanLife virtual community!

Hemp; The new black?

OK; So we all know that GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK, but hemp is pretty green, so we figure it is pretty cool. When we think of fashion, we rarely think of where it comes from. Sweat shop free clothing has had a lot of press recently but perhaps we also need to think about what is happening to the material before it hits the the manufacturing stage. Is the item cotton? Cotton uses 25% of the worlds pesticides while taking up only 3% of the arable land. These pesticides put the health of farm workers at risk, pollute our waterways, degrade our soil and potentially threaten our health as they off-gas from our clothes and linen.

So what are the options;

Hemp is a fantastic crop that requires very little pesticide use in its natural form. Every part of the plant is used and can produce material, paper, seeds for cooking and an extremely healthy oil to eat too! (The oil is still not legal for consumption in Australia but we would eat it regularly whilst living in the UK, it gives you super soft skin!).

For some of you hemp may bring back memories of ugly green polo shirts with the marajurana symbol on the right hand side of the chest (apologies to those who have one of these in their wardrobe and sincere apologies to those wearing one right now!). Things have come along way and you can now get some really trendy hoodies, yoga pants and well just about everything. I am not suggesting you should convert your entire wardrobe to hemp clothing but just check it out. It is a really hard wearing fabric and seems to last forever, which is fantastic from an ecological perspective and explains the recent citings of ugly green hemp polo shirts!!

We would love to hear all about any hemp product you have used and tried, so please share your experiences with the CleanLife community.

Signing off

Clean Gina

Small changes for Big differences

The CleanLife virtual community is growing rapidly, so we thought it was about time we got together (in an online sort of way!) to share any small changes you, our CleanLife subscribers have made.

Sometimes it is hard to blend our 'green ethics' with our modern consumer based lifestyles. Changing the way we spend our dollars and our days can be difficult, however voting with our purchasing choices is one of the most powerful forces for change we have.

We would love to hear if you have converted to chemical free moisturiser, changed to organic chocolate, ditched the plastic bags or perhaps you have changed your power supply to a green energy source. Whatever it is you have done to improve your life and our environment, We would love to hear your experiences. Good and Bad!

To start you off here is one thing Tony and I have done. Our delightfully efficient bank (not!) sent us a pile of cheque books several years ago for no apparent reason. Unable to bring ourselves to throw this wad of paper away, it remained in our storage area for some time. Sorting through things recently I decided that old cheque books make fantastic notepads! So now I can doodle away while on the phone guilt free!

Small changes, big differences.

Looking forward to your experiences and ideas

Until next time

Clean Gina

Eco-babies; our future.

We recently published a weekly email tip on eco-babes. The response from parents was overwhelming, most reporting they had always thought baby products were the most gentle and natural products around. Many claimed to use baby products for themselves believing the products must be gentler on the skin. The big chemical producers have had a vested interest in keeping these facts quiet. Now that we know their dark secrets lets find some cost effective and manageable alternatives.

If you missed the email tip you can check it out at the link below.

http://www.cleanlife.com.au/tiparchive.htm

One subscriber recommends using almond oil to cleanse your baby (and soften your hands in the process). Another recommends using water alone to wash your babe and then almond oil for baby massage.

We don't have a bub yet, but we do use seventh generation baby bum wipes(or moist toilet tissue as Tony likes to call them!). They are just like your conventional bum wipes without all the nasty chemicals! Tony is actually quite the professional bum wipe tester, so if you think there is other good natural brands, please let us know!

Please feel free to tell other subscribers about the natural products and techniques you have found to be the most effective and those that just haven't worked at all!

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Clean Gina