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

Sustainable Transportation Conference Upcoming in Ithaca NY

PLANNING FOR ECOLOGICAL CITIES

Is the auto the most convenient and efficient way to move people around inside our cities? Does increasing car traffic diminish the quality of life in our neighborhoods and city centers? Is the use of the automobile sustainable in a future of climate change and escalating energy costs? Has the automobile actually become a limit to economic growth and urban vitality? You are invited to attend an international gathering in Ithaca, NY, that will consider these questions and explore alternatives to car-dependent mobility which will significantly contribute to the evolution of sustainable cities.

Program note: we met the manager of the conference, Christer Lindstrom, last year in Irvine when he gave a fabulous presentation on the use of podcar transportation and how energy efficient it is. Christer Lindstrom is the founder of IST - Institute for Sustainable Transportation, co-founder of the General Transportation Fund and Encitra LLC. Christer is also a member of the Swedish Center Party, and is currently managing the Ithaca Conference.

Podcar.org has more information on this exciting transportation alternative.

Planet Green

A recent post from ecofabulous highlights Planet Green, the first 24 hour eco lifestyle network hosted by Discovery Channels and Treehugger. Featured are eco chefs, health and lifestyle experts, fashionistas, and more. A new show starring Chef Emeril premiered on July 14th, highlighting slow foods and sustainable cooking. We are interested in your opinion of this station. Are you watching, and what's your favorite show or segment?

Viral Marketing in Green

An excellent article in a recent online post from greenbiz.com discusses the importance of user generated content in cause related marketing. "Today, more and more marketers are trying to launch campaigns that have the twin goals of increasing consumer engagement and viral marketing impact. For many marketers, it often appears that achieving these goals is more a matter of art. Yet, platforms such as Brickfish are emerging that are rapidly turning such an approach into a science," says writer David Wigder. Several eco brands such as Origins, Honest Foods, and North Face have used Brickfish as a platform to involve the end user, including voting on existing content, sharing content with others, and competitions for prizes for "most viral" entries.

We are intrigued by this concept and plan on exploring further. We are interested if anyone has tried this approach and what the results were???

Picnic Green Challenge

Picnic Green Challenge


2007 winner Igor Kluin flanked by award creators and Richard Branson, jury chair.

We found the following of interest as highlighted on Treehugger. If you have any climate friendly ideas, now would be the time to put them into action."Give us - or rather the PICNIC Green Challenge - your best climate-friendly, greenhouse-gas-cutting idea, and it could be worth a $750,000 cash prize sponsored by the Dutch Postcode Lottery.
While that may seem like an offbeat organization to be dabbling in eco-entrepreneurship, it's no joke. Last year's winner Igor Kluin (pictured above accepting his prize) revved up his company Qurrent with prize winnings, and is well on his way toward launching a system for connecting and managing local area networks of renewable energy. Translation: small groups of homes or businesses can maximize their wind turbines, heat pumps and solar installations by sharing energy and having a computer-controlled 'brain' keep track of usages and implement efficiencies.

Directly reduce greenhouse gases
Judges for the PICNIC competition will choose three to five finalists, and coaches will give the finalists a few days of intense preparation on presenting their business idea this September - Igor Kluin has said the coaching helped him marshal his thoughts to present Qurrent's concept in an entirely new way. In addition to a product or service that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, judges are after concepts that can be implemented within two years (by you or your company), and that score well on convenience, quality, and design."

Don't wait, formulate your eco-friendly idea now
But act now, the Challenge deadline is July 31. While that's a tight timeframe, Qurrent's Igor Kluin wrote his proposal in one day and still managed to impress from among the 439 other entries. Go straight to the entry form at Green Challenge. Via ::PICNIC

More:
PICNIC Green Challenge: It's Time To Act
Win 500,000 Euros With Your Green Idea

10 Ways to Save on Energy Use and Eco Drying the Laundry

Co-Op America had a recent post on 10 ways to save on energy use. Some of the tips we had seen before, but others were new, such as getting an energy audit for you home. Other good ones are not setting your dishwasher for the dry cycle, but letting the dishes dry on their own. We tried a good compromise on our last load of laundry, by cutting short the drying time and letting the clothes complete drying in the sun. It worked out well, and everything had a nice fresh scent. We have also been staying away from dryer cloths, as they have found to contain many toxic ingredients. Trader Joe's sells lavender drying sachets which are all natural and lend a nice softness to your clothes. We are on the lookout for any other natural products out there that do the trick...do you know of any?

Eco-Friendly Customized Prefab Homes Gain Popularity

A Home a Long Way from Home

An article in Plenty Magazine online previews an interesting new exhibit at MOMA highlighting eco-prefab homes. “Everyone thinks prefab is just a big chunk of house you dump on a site and then you bolt it down,” says Douglas Gauthier, one of several architects chosen from nearly 400 to present a full-scale dwelling at the Museum of Modern Art’s prefab show, “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling,” which opens July 15. “Ours is a little bit more like an Ikea project. It’s thousands of pieces that can all be handled and stitched together on site.”

Traditionally, prefabricated structures are built off-site and delivered almost entirely assembled. The Burst system uses powerful software to design and calibrate all of the structural components to a specific site and project, from the number of screws needed for assembly to the cuts of all the material. Advanced CAD systems and a highly efficient milling process for the plywood enable the team to create a structure with very little waste. “The machine nests so efficiently, you end up with very little extra. Construction waste can account for as much as 20 percent of a project, but we’re down below the 5 percent range,” says Gauthier.

The article describes the technologically advanced Burst 003, on exhibit from Australia: "Burst*003, aka Parish House, was designed for a family of five and is sited on a suburban cul-de-sac in North Haven, just minutes away from the north coast of New South Wales. The house is purposely designed in an understated form and with modest materials to capture the spirit of the traditional Australian beach shack. A mostly undifferentiated façade (in other words, no front doors or mullioned windows) is topped off with eye-popping roofing that borrows its pattern from a floral bikini. Structural joists are designed to store surfboards and bikes. And as of 2006, it was the only house in the neighborhood to actually meet the flood standards required of houses built so close to the water.