New Giveaway Announcement! Eco Camera Bag!

Here's the deal. When we were at Eco Tuesday, (see previous blog and video) we got these great camera bags from a company called Lowepro. We thought they were cool. So even though it was really late and we were a tad tired, we were so excited that we analyzed them on the way home, and took note of the fact that they were so eco it was amazing. Here's the product description:

Terraclime 30 is a soft-sided, protective, multi-purpose pouch designed expressly for the eco-conscious, fashion-savvy consumer. It reduces environmental impact by virtue of its materials—over 95% recycled. All of the fabric is 100% post-consumer Cyclepet®: recycled 16 oz. PET bottles turned into sturdy, water-and-abrasion-resistant material (3.5 bottles in Terraclime 30). Features include memory card pocket, adjustable/detachable shoulder strap, belt loop, and double-loop hook closure (made of plastic regrind to help reduce waste). Multi-purpose styling makes it easy to carry compact point-and-shoot cameras as well as small personal electronics and gear. A portion of the proceeds from each bag goes to Polar Bear International (PBI) to help in efforts to save polar bear habitats from the impact of climate change.

So we decided in light of the polar bear issue and other factors, we really should share the joy, so we have 2 bags to give away. To be eligible, you must be a subscriber both to this blog, sunriseadvisors.blogspot.com, and the carrie freelance e-newsletter, which you can sign up with on the home page for carriefreelance.com, you'll see, it's a Constant Contact kind of thing. All current and new subscribers as of December 31, 2008 will be eligible. Good luck to the winners! And hey, if you send us your photos with the camera bags featured in the photo, we will publish them on our blogs, etc.

Just a quick note on who we are:

Sunrise Advisors: eco consulting, small business services for sustainable businesses, including communications, marketing, coaching, income generation, etc.
Carrie Freelance: writing, editing, pr coaching, e-newsletters, web site content, content management solutions
Carrie's newsletter features guest interviews, movie and book reviews, online discoveries, and other interesting items, including why I love food and hate waiting on line.

New Video - Eco Tuesday and Guest Speakers Sheryl O'Loughlin, founder of Nest Naturals

Sunrise Advisors (www.nonprofitsunrise.com), a client of Carrie Freelance, attended their first ever Eco Tuesday event in San Francisco the other night, a networking event that brings together leaders in green business. The event typically features a guest speaker, and then an inspired "let's make a circle," where all participants have one minute or less to say what they are passionate about regarding sustainability. I said my passion was in writing and communicating about sustainable issues, as part of the Sunrise mission! It was quite an interesting group, everyone from design and marketing firms, to independent consultants, accountants, recent college graduates, teachers, and of course, eco entrepreneurs.

The guest speaker, Sheryl O'Loughlin, was amazing. In fact, she was one of the best speakers I ever heard, as she described having moved from being one of the top execs at Clif Bar, to founding her own company, Nest Naturals, (20 million in venture capital) which brings sustainable foods together under one roof. She talked about everything from venture capital, to learning about packaging, to sourcing food, to going from inspiration to funding and the realization of a dream. She got a standing ovation and rousing applause, and what really came through was her dedication to sustainability and her honesty and integrity as she talked about the challenge of staying true to oneself in the face of business dilemmas.

The video includes segments of her fantastic speech, as well as a promo for the new eco camera bag giveaway we are launching. See details in the video and the next blog post to come for more details!

Hold that Shampoo! A Natural Products Scare Comes to Light

An article in this month's Common Ground highlights a scary development in the natural products aisle: 1,4 dioxane, a known carcinogen, is found in 46 out of 100 personal care products marketed as organic or natural. Top-selling brands such as JASON Pure Natural & Organic, Giovanni Organic, and Nature’s Gate Organics were among the culprits. The tests were conducted by author David Steinman and the non-profit organization Organic Consumers Association (OCA). The news came to light apparently in March at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim.

“These companies got caught with their pants down,” says David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps and longtime critic of natural brands who make misleading organic claims. “There is an expectation they’re held to a higher standard, and they’re not living up to that expectation.”

In Bronner’s view, products claiming to be “organic” should not contain carcinogenic petrochemicals, and should instead meet the criteria of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program — a standard created for food that some companies feel is too strict for personal care products.

There are some shockers in this new development, with even Stella McCartney's organic line coming under scrutiny for not being truly organic, and Whole Foods having to revamp its natural body care line to rid it of this known carcinogen.

What's in your shampoo? It may be time to check the bottle. By the way, the article suggests the following substitutions:

Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Shower Gel: 20.1 ppm* (substitute EO Nourishing Shower Gel or ZIA Fresh Cleansing Gel With Sea Algae instead)

Alba Passion Fruit Body Wash: 18.2 ppm (try Burt’s Bees Body Wash, Desert Essence Body Wash or Terr- Essential Organic Cool Mint Body Wash instead)

Citrus Magic 100% Natural Dish Liquid: 97.1 ppm* (swap for Aubrey Organics Earth Aware Household Cleanser)

Nutribiotic Super Shower Gel Shampoo with GSE (fresh fruit): 32.2 ppm (for a cleaner clean, try EO Voluminizing Shampoo, Dr. Hauschka Apricot and Sea Buckthorn Shampoo or Head Organics Clearly Head Shampoo)

*parts per million