From Chains to Change

Posted on November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 by Rebecca

leaves of change

Breaking free from beliefs that prevent Safer choices at home

What if it were discovered that arsenic was being used to clean your house or corrosive acid was added to your favorite perfume or lotion? What would you do to protect your family from it? My guess is that all of us would immediately stop using it and remove it from our homes. We’d want to protect ourselves from what we know causes harm.

Current knowledge of the everyday products used in our homes that are manufactured with chemicals tells us that these products are harmful to human life. You can learn more about this here, here and here. While they don’t necessarily contain arsenic and corrosive acid, they do corrode and poison us, especially when they exist together. Hundreds of unknown and unstudied chemicals are in the air you breathe, the surfaces you touch and the things you put on your body at home. The only person with the power and authority to remove them is you.

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Good News: There is a Toxin Solution

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Rebecca

A review of Dr. Joseph Pizzorno’s book The Toxin Solution

The world is full of news. And at times it seems as if it is all bad news. The world is also full of toxins. Toxins released into the environment by human activity. But there is good news. Today’s good news is all about The Toxin Solution.

Dr. Pizzorno, the founder of Bastyr University, is the man I’ve been searching for for a long long time. His book, The Toxin Solution, How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health- And What We Can Do To Fix It, brings together all the learning I needed to overcome chronic ill health. I did it the hard way with blood, sweat and tears (literally). The knowledge and experience shared in this book is the solution most people are looking for and can be a safe and effective shortcut to healing. (Hooray!)

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The Fragrance Free Workplace – Whaaat?

Posted on September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 by Rebecca

Figuring out the Fragrance Free Workplace

September means, for many, goodbye to sunny summer days and vacation, and back to the routines governed by work and school. As a parent I’m concerned about what kind of environment my kids spend the day in. That means things like safety, kindness and air quality are all things I appreciate about our school. We are fortunate that our kids go to a school with a fragrance-free policy which protects the quality of the air they breathe. This means that students, employees and visitors are asked not to use fragranced products while on school property and no fragranced products are used in the maintenance of the school.

Read this to learn what “fragrance” is, exactly. You’ll be glad you did.

You may have noticed, or will now notice, signs in places of business, notifying personnel that the location is a Fragrance-Free Zone. And although sales of fragranced products seems to be at an all-time high, these signs, increasing in frequency, are an indication of things to come.

Continue reading “The Fragrance Free Workplace – Whaaat?” →

Clean Clothes for Back to School

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Rebecca

Photo by Andrej Lišakov on Unsplash

Put non-toxic clothing on your back-to-school list

Toxins come at us from a variety of consumer products, most of which we can’t see or smell. One type of consumer product that contains many toxic chemicals that we use daily is clothing. Most people know to wash new clothing before it is worn. This is because there are manufacturing chemicals still on the clothing when we bring it home. Yes, the “new clothing” smell, due to manufacturing chemicals, is often perceptible. Have you ever wondered how much of it gets washed off? How are the remaining chemicals affecting my children’s bodies? And once the clothing is washed, what happens to all those chemicals?

Let me tell you. They don’t just disappear, they get washed down the drain. We get to wash it and forget it, but those chemicals still exist and now they are dissolved in water. As it’s hard to know exactly what and how much, I’ve decided to exit out of this consumer loop of using toxic chemicals for my clothing and washing them down the drain – for health of the planet and for my family.

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Have yourself a Non-Toxic Christmas

Posted on December 8, 2018December 11, 2019 by Rebecca

Gifting can be Noxious or Nourishing

Update: December 11, 2019

As Christmas draws nearer, the days become darker and colder as well. Here in the Pacific Northwest, darker, colder days often come with rain, lots of rain. Instead of surviving the holidays and the dreary weather (as many people tend to try to do), my family has developed a soothing rhythm of Hygge – embracing the season for its’ opportunities for indoor coziness, togetherness and nourishment of body and soul. This season allows us to enjoy togetherness and warmth created by relationships, time spent together and a heart-warming home. I believe we thrive on the beauty and hygge-inspiration of this season, just as we do in the spring and summer when we get to do the outdoor things we love and eat from the bounty of the growing season.

It’s this enjoyment and nourishment of the season that I desire to share with others, whether it be in my home or in the gifts that I choose to give at Christmas.

So often there is a shopping frenzy driven by marketing that is intended to SELL and not necessarily nourish or benefit the recipient. Many gifts bring with them toxic substances like fragrance, radiation, textile processing chemicals and other toxins that just aren’t obvious to the eager shopper. But I’m here to help!

Maybe in your press for time, you just aren’t sure which gifts will bring the true intent to the recipient…I think it’s safe to assume you want to benefit those on your gift list and not fill them and their homes with potentially toxic gifts.

Add some ‘Merry and Bright’ to your list

Ensuring your gifts are non-toxic can be simple. Using my ideas for non-toxic Christmas gifts may even bring simplicity to your shopping list!

What’s the best Christmas gift for everyone on your list? Something that is truly non-toxic, nourishing, and thoughtful.

Non-toxic Christmas Gift Ideas

Toys

HABA & Hape toys are the toy brands that I prefer my kids to play with, especially when they were young. Many of their high quality toys are made from wood, even bamboo, (not unknown plastics), water based stains, using sustainable sources. In addition to them lasting through a lot of play, they don’t require batteries…typically making them toys that encourage creativity, which nourishes the mind.

Clothing

Pact & Hanna Andersson Clothing

Chemicals coming from the manufacturing of clothing is something most of us don’t think about when we’re shopping. According to this MindBodyGreen article, clothing retailers “are not required to disclose any of the chemicals used in the production process, even though by some estimates there are upward of 250 “restricted substances” used in textile manufacturing that pose potential health concerns.” These chemicals contribute to the toxic soup that we easily get mixed up in, so I believe its best to avoid them as much as possible.

Stink the Movie, a documentary about fragrance in our society, exposed the addition of fragrance to a popular brand of girl’s clothing, through the investigation of a concerned Dad, with no accountability from the manufacturer.

Unfortunately it’s true we can’t avoid all of it, but why not avoid what we can and support the companies who produce products with a conscience?

Pact and Hanna Andersson clothing brands tend to be accessible and reliable when it comes to safety (and quality). Most Hanna Andersson clothing is certified STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, which means they’re tested down to the very last strand of thread for over 100 harmful substances using strict European certification standards. Hanna clothing is mostly for children, but they do have matching family jammies! Hanna can be found at HannaAndersson.com, Amazon and sometimes Costco. Pact clothing has clothing for men, women and children and is made from certified organic cotton. They have great sales going on right now and are also available on Amazon!

Home

I typically focus on replacing cleaning products for the home with with safer, more natural alternatives. Since most people aren’t really thinking about cleaning ideas for Christmas, let’s focus on the home health environment from a different perspective. Two types of toxins that we all deal with at home, but few of us are aware of the health effects are indoor air pollution, caused by a wide variety of household products and activities and electromagnetic radiation (EMF/EMR) from appliances and wireless devices.

I realize I said this could be simple and air pollution and EMF/EMR don’t really sound simple nor do they sound like they can inspire gifts that sparkle. Fortunately Christmas is a time when people really do desire and acquire gifts that promote health! And unfortunately many well-meaning people don’t realize that the popular wireless technology based gifts can actually cause harm to the recipient. If you want to learn about the concerning health effects of indoor air pollution and EMR, please read here and here. Here’s a handy info graphic from BASF about Indoor Air Quality.

Now, on to the gift ideas. Yes, this can be simple! Your gift recipients will surely be wowed with your thoughtfulness for their well-being!

Air Purifiers

Blue Air Blue Pure air purifiers are considered top performers by Consumer Reports. Blue Air 211 is for a larger space and Blue Air 411 for a smaller room. We used the 211 during some kitchen remodeling and I didn’t notice any adverse odors from the work being done (like I usually do). I intend to use the 411 for my son’s nursery before he’s born to thoroughly prepare the space and once he’s born to keep his air as clean as possible.

Book

For EMR reduction, Nicolas Pinault’s book The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMF’s is the perfect gift for adults, parents and older kids. It’s a simple how-to household book that examines scientific research and then step-by-step, room-by-room teaches the reader how to make safer use of technology. Love it! I’ll be purchasing a few of these this Christmas. Great for anyone with a home!

Battery Operated Candles and Tealights

For increasing Hygge and decreasing potentially harmful airborne contaminants from candles (scented and non-scented) I recommend battery operated candles and tealights. Don’t forget the extra batteries!

Chocolate

Theo organic chocolate. Let your gift of chocolate stand out from the rest! I toured the Theo chocolate factory with my daughter this summer. And since it’s also available at grocery stores locally, I’ve tasted a lot of Theo. I love that the ingredients are organic, no pesticides included. And since they know their cacoa bean farmers personally, their high quality beans really are full of all the good health benefits that we love to believe about chocolate (especially when its a truly dark chocolate!). You can’t go wrong with Theo! To the delight of my children, my pantry is currently stocked with the holiday bars.

Beauty

Spread the fragrance-free non-toxic love with Alaffia products like Whipped Shea Butter and Coconut Oil or their Everyday Shea Foaming Hand Soap to protect and nourish hands this winter. I’ve found that most people believe that hand soap only comes with fragrance. Not so! It is possible to clean and nourish hands without a fragrant after-smell. Yay! Alaffia is a great fragrance-free brand! As with even the best non-toxic brands, I recommend checking the label for any unwanted ingredients.

100% Pure keeps beauty simple while providing everything one might want! Choose a gift set (on sale now!), a gift card or anything from their full line of products. Read about their story, values and definition of “Natural” here. Your gift recipient will be delighted and can be sure that what they are putting on their precious skin is nourishing and safe.

And for the perfect home and beauty gift combination, don’t forget about my Cleaner Clean, Better Beauty Consultation – helping reduce toxins in your cleaning and beauty routines. In my Balanced Baby consultation, I offer a complete set of recommendations to ensure that babies and small children aren’t exposed to harmful chemicals from all the products marketed for them in their earliest days of life. I can’t think of a more valuable life giving gift for a family! When you check out, just let me know its a gift and I’ll take care of the rest.

I am not an affiliate for any of the above companies. These are simply non-toxic Christmas gift ideas that I trust enough to recommend to anyone seeking a safer gifting season.

With a few safer gifts, our Christmases can truly be “Merry & Bright”. Here’s to yours!

Be the Change: Smog

Posted on April 20, 2018April 24, 2018 by Rebecca

Which contributes more to Smog?

Vehicle emissions or household products. The answer will surprise you.

Last summer was an unforgettable summer of fires and lingering smoke in the Pacific Northwest. Having grown up here I can say that weeks of clouds and falling ashes as a result of wildfires is not a normal occurrence. The one exception being the eruption of Mount St. Helen’s in 1980. That’s a different story – and no, I don’t remember it.

On beautiful mornings like this morning, however, I have started noticing a lingering smog through the trees toward the horizon. And since it’s not fire season, I have to wonder if my emerald studded city is going to one day have the air quality that I’ve always associated with Southern California.

Continue reading “Be the Change: Smog” →

Be the Change: Healthcare Costs

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Rebecca

There’s More to the National Surge of Obesity and Healthcare Costs Than You Think

Obesity and healthCare costs Linked to toxic chemicals

So you want to lose weight. Or you’re concerned about the effects of the ever growing crisis of obesity and the rising healthcare costs that each one of us face as a result. Whether we like it or not, we are beginning to understand that other people’s health affects each one of us now like never before.

The Obesity epidemic is “astronomical,” according to WebMD. Can you even get your mind around that? What does that look like? And with obesity associated with heart disease, cancer and diabetes, healthcare costs are predicted to continue to surge. Not just go up, but SURGE, according to WebMD.

Obesity itself accounts for 21% of annual medical spending. Obesity: Overview of an Epidemic at NCBI confirms that “[obesity] is linked to the most prevalent and costly medical problems seen in our country, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, many forms of cancer, and cognitive dysfunction.” And it affects every level of society.

Can you and I do anything about that? Yes.

Continue reading “Be the Change: Healthcare Costs” →

Are your favorite retailers taking action on toxics?

Posted on December 7, 2017March 13, 2018 by Rebecca

We’ve seen it again and again – examples of the consumer voice overcoming injustice and wrongdoing. The consumer, YOU and me, have so much value that what we say and do is also powerful. Powerful to cause change. Valuable change. And when it comes to toxins in our products from cleaning products to beauty products, furnishing and children’s clothing, nothing could be more valuable. We need a change in how our products are produced and packaged. If not for my parent’s generation, then for mine and for my children and their children. Toxins and disease definitely stack up across generations.

Fortunately, some retailers are already on to this. Continue reading “Are your favorite retailers taking action on toxics?” →