Healthy and Green Book Ideas

I love to read...
but must admit that it can be hard to find the time, so as of about six weeks ago, Tony and I gave up TV during the week. Not only have we read more, eaten better and spent more time actually talking we have actually quite unexpectedly spent less!

Hopefully some of you are getting some time to read too, so here are just a few of the books I have read recently, that may (or may not) take your fancy.

'The Green Gardener' by Josh Byrne, if you are even remotely interested in gardening, or even just looking at a bit of greenery, this book is a great read. The lovely Mr Byrne is a Perth boy, but my liking for this book goes well beyond his local roots. The book goes through all the essentials like water saving techniques and tips, native plants, growing your own food, maintaining local habitats, composting and more. Josh's love for the subject is palpable, and the book has even inspired me to actually help Tony with our increasingly sustainable little garden, rather than just chat to him, with our daughter on my hip as he works away!

'The Food Revolution' by John Robbins is not for the light hearted, and I must put a disclaimer here, it is written by a fairly hard core vegetarian, who just happens to be the son of one of the founders of Baskin and Robbins ice cream. It is a well researched and referenced yet highly captivating acccount of in the authors words 'how your diet can help save your life and the world'. While I LOVE this book (an have for years) many won't, but if you want to challenge your ideas on the way we eat and learn a huge amount in the process, I highly recommend it. One of the thought provoking sections in the book comments on recalls the tale of a Cardiac Surgeon who was thought to be 'radical' and 'too severe' for putting his clients on a vegan diet and exercise program before opting for Cardiac surgery. There was outcry from other surgeons who thought his methods, harsh and cruel. It is strange really as I would have thought having major open heart surgery was a little more radical than having to change your diet!!! It must be noted, his results were very very good, with only a small proportion of patients eventually requiring surgery.

G-magazine
If you want some interesting green reading, but are not ready to commit your self to a book, G mag is a great option. Some parts light and fluffy, some parts hard green, all parts interesting, it is a really good monthly publication to have on your coffee table. You'll get a good variety of info all in the one neat mag.

Happy Reading

Gina

Healing ideas from Nature's Symphony

This weeks BLOG comes from Connie Vella, Founder of Nature's Symphony, Bach Flower Practitioner and Holistic Counsellor (AHHA accredited).


Nature’s Symphony began when I became aware of toxic ingredients found in the formulations of today’s commercial hair and body care products and its negative side effects on one’s well-being.

After having suffered from chronic painful mouth ulcers and a very itchy, inflamed scalp from using commercial hair care products, I decided to make my own healthy brew and one month later after using my formula, my mouth ulcers cleared completely and so did the itchiness and scalp inflammation leaving my hair with a healthy shine. To my formula I have added one of the Bach flower remedies essences making my product unique for its cleansing, purifying and healing properties.

To add to our products, I have just included a new Eco friendly line of Soy Wax Candles. They support the environment by keeping our planet clean and free from toxic fumes which Paraffin candles give out when lit.

To formulate these cruelty free alternative products, to make them available to the health conscious Consumer and for them to enjoy their benefits and educate others about the dangers of toxic ingredients and to get a positive feedback from consumers, in relation to their well being, fulfils one of my wish to help others in maintaining good health and to help mother earth in keeping a cleaner planet with our latest addition of Eco-friendly soy wax candles.

We use recyclable packaging whenever possible as we recognise the importance of keeping a clean planet.


It is better to light just one little candle
Than to stumble in the dark.
All you need is a tiny spark To light up the world.

If we'd all support Mother Earth by supporting a cleaner planet,
A wonderful dawn Of a new day we'd see . .

And if everyone lit Just one Eco-friendly candle,
What a cleaner and bright world It would be,
For us, for our children, and their children's . .


To learn more about our products or to order any of these Eco-friendly products you can do so on line by visiting www.earthquest.com.au

Eco Luxury - Fashion and Conscience

This weeks BLOG entry is from Charlene O'Brien, director of ECO LOGIKA, who proves that luxurious fashion, needn't cost the earth.

The label ECO LOGIKA® est. 2002, stylish resort wear specialises in combining fashion and conscience, using natural and environmentally friendly textiles. Its strong values denote a well made product with minimal impact on the environment. Hand crafted, stylish, ultra feminine for women using quality natural fibres, botanical dyes, eco yarns and textiles such as sustainable silks, certified organic merino wool, certified organic cotton/hemp, environmentally friendly linen, recycled remnants and recycled denim.

After graduating from the London College of Fashion in the mid 80’s, Charlene O’Brien established her own fashion label ECO LOGIKA®. She is an international eco textile designer who combines raw organic fibres, hand spun silks, recycled remnant, organic Australian merino wool and luxurious sustainable silks, fused with various constructive and embellished techniques by hand and by machine.

Recently re-located to a studio in the Kelmscott hills, Western Australia, Charlene’s goal is to practice low impact environmental production by creating her atelier, a pure and safe workplace using solar energy, rainwater, handcraft skills and techniques, carefully collected botanicals from her dyers garden for hand solar dyeing. Charlene launched her new eco luxury signature label at the Ethical Fashion Show, Paris, October 2007. Selected as one of 80 designers world wide, she successfully marketed her eco luxury label to a high end Parisian galerie.“My ultimate aim is to create clothes that are comfortable to wear” commented Charlene. “My mandate is that they must be good for both the person, meaning that they are free of any harmful dyes and chemicals, as well as good for the environment and economies.”

Charlene’s fairly traded recycled denim label, est. 1997, uses an innovative yarn from recycled denim fibre, which is hand knitted and crocheted by a Vietnamese co-operative. Charlene, who lived in Vietnam for six months during which time she put her young son into a Vietnamese school, said denim is one of the world’s most produced textiles, despite the fact that cotton is prone to high chemical and pesticide usage.

“Research proved denim waste from jeans manufacturers becomes a landfill problem because it doesn’t biodegrade when it hits the dump,” she said. “By collecting denim offs-cuts from factories we prevent more chemical usage and landfill by creating products from the waste. The off-cuts are shredded back into a fibre and then re-spun into a yarn. The yarn is then transported to Vietnam where it is used to create clothing and accessories.

“One of my major goals is to support fair trade practices. This provides self empowerment to small global communities with appropriate hand skills. Our Vietnamese community workers are paid fairly and this encourages the emergence of micro businesses where women take responsibility for themselves and therefore the knock on effect is that poverty within these communities is diminished, if not eradicated.”

Charlene’s focus on developing products on a sustainable level using recycled or organic resources means, she said, that ECO LOGIKA® is an Australian fashion label with a conscious. “For people who are passionate about a designer range of products that are natural, organic, recycled and hand made, and if you care about the environment and humanity, you share the tierra ecologia vision,” she said.

Charlene designs a wide range of products including;

Recycled denim - shawls – Hand crafted 100% cotton recycled denim
Eco logika® - Ladies wear - Coats, Jackets, Skirts, Dresses, Pants, Tops, T shirts, Menswear - Shirts, T shirts, Jeans
Charlene O’Brien - eco luxury signature range – Dresses, Skirts, Tops

Visit http://www.tierraecologia.com/

Paint, kids, babies and nesting....

Got the nesting instinct?


Bauwerk colour has created a new range of natural paint colours for children's rooms, which allows kids to draw on their walls with chalk , just a like a giant chalkboard. So unleash your inner child , its easy and safer for kids , chalk just wipes off ready for the next round of fun.


BAUWERK Paints are giving the phrase freshly painted a new meaning:
Paint produced using abundant resources, without toxic by-products, free from harmful substances, technically brilliant, greenhouse gas free, carbon neutral and user friendly.


The nesting instinct may be a natural urge, but many of the products and materials used by expectant parents to create a nursery or children's room can be a danger to the health of babies and young children. This is a critical time to consider the impacts of chemical pollution and to take the time to create a healthy space for your little ones.


Babies are at greatest risk from chemical exposures because their skin absorbs up to three times the amount of chemical absorbed by an adult.Babies and young children breathe twice as much air as adults, so they have greater exposure to chemicals from the air.


Visit www.bauwerk.com.au for more details.