Green Options

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Editor’s note: Deodorant may not be a prime topic for polite conversation, but we all use it. Our friends at Life Goggles tried out Bionsen’s product, which features Japanese spa minerals as materials (and we’re not sure what that means, either). Looks like this is a product mainly for European readers… any US-based users? This post was originally published on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. (and please note: Bionsen’s web presence is a bit funky… there is a site here, but it doesn’t seem to include this product).

Bionsen kindly sent me a bottle of its deodorant for me to test. Usually I’m a spray deodorant kind of guy but not being able to send aerosols through the post, I opted for the pump spray. At £2.49 it’s not unreasonable, although I tend to choose my spray by being on special offer so is probably a little more than I would pay normally.

I was also reticent about the pump spray and the fact it would be wetter on my underarms, but I’ll try anything so I plowed on. Bionsen is a hypoallergenic range containing Japanese spa minerals (whatever they are) and is aluminum and paraben free. There’s some science behind the deodorant, as instead of it blocking the sweat glands like anti-perspirants, Bionsen (and other deodorants) tackle the odor instead. The “antiseptic agents and germ-killing ingredients target and kill the bacteria that causes body odor on contact. Fragrances also work to combat body odor but the natural, finely-tuned balance of the body is not affected”.

As I wrote about back in January, the word, “Natural” essentially means “nothing”, as far as the FDA is concerned.

The FDA (has) declined to issue a regulation that would define use of the word “natural” on food and household product packaging in the near future, stating: we’re not sure how high an issue it is for consumers.

Well actually, according to a Yankelovich study commissioned by Burt’s Bee’s, 78% of consumers believed that “natural” claims ARE regulated. So, of course they are not concerned…the government’s on the case, right?

Nope.

“… a company might make a product that really is natural, and label it as such,” says Daniel Fabricant, VP/scientific and regulatory affairs at the Natural Products Association, Washington, D.C., “or it could be made of nine synthetic ingredients, with just a little plant extract thrown in.”

For those of you who travel to foreign cities for conferences, get all fired up throughout the day listening to inspiring talks, and seeing innovative ideas in action, yet then dread the retreat to the seclusion of your double-bed hotel room, don’t fear: an alternative is here. Not only is renting a hotel a pain in the rear, but I frequently experience buyers remorse due to how excessive a whole room to myself

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I once had someone suggest to me that environmentalists didn’t have enough fun. Granted, that person was a flame-throwing stilt walker, so her idea of fun might be a bit different from yours and mine. But the question remains: do environmentalists take themselves too seriously?

Now you may be shocked by this question. I was. I mean, if you can’t see the fun in trying to save the world from global warming and mass

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Dear Vital Juice Daily:

Any suggestions?

-Lucy K.

Have we got just the thing for you! In case you haven’t heard us talk about this already, Weleda Skin Food is hands down (pun intended) our favorite hand cream out there! First, it’s

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A few months ago, in an effort to green up my health and beauty products, I ran across National Geographic’s The Green Guide. The site included a handy wallet-sized guide called The Dirty Dozen in Personal Care Products, which allows me to pick products that don’t contain harmful chemicals.

Then last week, my issue of Whole Life Times included a tear-out seafood guide. It lets me know what to

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Thriftiness isn’t really "new" or "green"; people have found ways to reuse scrap or discarded items for years. The pre-industrialization U.S. didn’t have what we call "trash." Every bit of scrap and waste from the home was remade, reused in some way, or sold to peddlers where it was eventually recycled. With the Industrial Revolution came more products to buy with new kinds of packaging, and trash as we know it

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Safe sex will soon be greener and more fair. The French Letter Condom Company, based in the UK, will open for business at the end of this month offering Fair Trade latex condoms. The latex used to make the condoms is sourced from rubber producers in India and Sri Lanka who have been working with FairDeal Trading, makers of fine Fair Trade sports equipment,

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Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "do one thing every day that scares you." Until about a month ago, I felt—and I don’t think I’m alone here—that cold showers were pretty scary. I’ve since come to love the refreshing, energy-saving thrill of showering cold. Now, I know that you may never want to try this daring piece of everyday eco-activism. But in case you’re curious, here are the greatest thrills and chills of la douche froide.

The

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Whoo-hoo!  Seventh Generation now sells chlorine-free training pants!  We hope they work as well as the diapers.