Eco Family News - July-August News

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division of Jita Wear, a 22-year-old family owned business. The company is one of the few companies that still make swimsuits to order, which in and of itself is quite sustainable. All of the swimsuits are 100% USA (Florida) made. The design, sewing and operations are the meticulous work of a small group of approximately 12 talented and loyal employees.

Karen Gold, head of the manufacturing team at Jita Wear says, "The general philosophy of the company is to produce a high quality item ... whether it be with the preferred eco-friendly hemp material, or a more traditional spandex material - quality is our business." Gold also feels mass produced suits have a tendency to be made with inferior materials that usually don't last as long as Hemp Huggers suits (with proper care). She states, "Our customers always comment about the great fit of the suit and in some cases have had them for up to 10 years, thus diverting suits from a landfill ... another sustainable benefit for Mother Earth."

For more information please visit
http://www.jitawear.com/Hemp.html

Woolly Pocket

You're probably wondering, what is a Woolly Pocket? Woolly Pocket's are flexible, breathable, and modular gardening containers.

They come in two styles: those designed to be placed on horizontal surfaces (islands and meadows) and those designed to be hung on walls for vertical gardening (Wally). The pockets have two main components: breathable felt (made of 100% recycled plastic bottles) and a built-in moisture barrier.

Miguel Nelson is the inventor of the Woolly Pocket and he, along with his brother, Rodney Nelson, operate Woolly Pocket Gardening Company in the United States. A Woolly School Garden (WSG) is a complete garden system for an outdo Wolly Kids

or school learning-classroom. The garden comes complete with all of the fixings and curriculum. The WSG program is simple, all that's needed is a school with a budget, and/or the desire to bring the program to a school. If a school has a desire and no budget, the company will help orchestrate the process. Two of their short-term goals are to grow 1,000 school gardens by the fall of 2010, and 11,000 by fall of 2011.

For more info please visit: www.woollypocket.com

Feel Better Naturally

Sinupret & Bronchipret
Natural Herbal Formulas

Bionorica's formulas are based on 75 years and three generations of experience courtesy of the Popp family. Their expertise in the fields of botanical agents, pharmacology, science and medicine (with a naturopathic interest) helped them to create a line of all natural phytotherapeutic formulas. The company is dedicated to implementing only the highest quality of standards, from seed selection to farming, harvesting and extract production to their 100% sustainable operations; delivering two important natural products to us here in the United States - Sinupret®, for sinus infections and Bronchipret® for recurrent respiratory infections (due out this summer).

Bionorica's sustainable operations are derived through architectural design, solar panels, a special indoor climate control process, and rainwater containment/utilization, generating more energy than the company uses. Today the company's lineage continues with the founder's grandson, CEO Professor Michael Popp. (Editor's Note: Sinupret also proved to be quite effective in relieving my allergy symptoms this past spring.)

For more information, please visit

www.bionoricausa.com

watch video http://www.bionoricausa.com/video/the_bionorica_story.html

Essential Body Care

Ray Genuine Hobo

HoBo Men & Women International, LLC is a Los Angeles based company dedicated to uniting ancient traditions with modern living. Founder and CEO, Raymond D. Williams started the company as a way of giving thanks to women. As a child, he remembered the special woman in his life, who he refers to as mother/grandmother, having painful feet after a hard days work. One evening he took the initiative and filled a bucket with water and proceeded to wash and massage her feet. She smiled at him and said, "Baby I want you to promise me something - That you'll remember to do this when you become a man!" When he finished, she stood up and said, "Thank you for taking away my pains and easing my soul!" and began to dance.

Raymond made mother/grandmother a promise - to create a company where men expressed their gratitude to women for all the hardships, trials Genuine Hobo Logo

and tribulations by washing and massaging their feet. With this promise came the creation of a full line of natural products known as Genuine HoBo. Their 100% certified organic products are created using a patented heat free process and the finest Fair Trade ingredients, then blended and packaged (in glass jars/bottles) with pride in the USA. The products are available online and in natural food markets. The company also offers a mobile massage service for local clients.

For more info visit: http://www.genuinehobo.com/index.htm

Food For Thought

Zevia Natural Soda

If you've been looking for a completely natural, great-tasting, zero-calorie soda, we've found it. Brought to you by Zevia, it's the first carbonated beverage on the U.S. market to be sweetened with stevia extract and nothing else. All flavors are caffeine free - orange, ginger ale, black cherry, natural twist, and ginger root beer - except for the cola flavor, which does have a small amount.

The company was founded by a husband and wife lawyer team, Derek and Jessica Newman, and their friend Ian Eisenburg. Despite living a healthy lifestyle, Jessica and Ian were both addicted to diet soda, yet knew they were jeopardizing their health by ingesting the many artificial and Mamas Munchies

synthetic ingredients found in diet soda.

Fortunately for us, these three entrepreneurs decided it was time to come up with a healthier solution for themselves and their families, and Zevia - natural diet soda was born. (Editor's Note: At a recent event that WCWP & EFN co-sponsored for Habitat For Humanity, we served up Zevia to rave reviews by many diet sodas aficionados.)

Zevia is available at different local supermarkets - both mainstream and natural foods, as well as for purchase online.

For more info please visit: www.Zevia.com

Fabe's All Natural Bakery
Sweetened by Nature

Steve Fabos, co-f Fabes Logo ounder of Fabe's All Natural Bakery, came up with the idea for Fabe's when he observed the toxic and additive effects sugar had on his children, the recalls "they were bouncing off the walls!"

Having been a baker and advocate for healthy nutrition for over 40 years, in 1989 Steve decided to turn his idea and recipes into a family business - creating tasty fruit juice sweetened deserts with no preservatives, artificial ingredients or refined sugar. All of Fabe's baked goods are naturally sweetened with fruits, nuts, and grains and fit many types of restrictive diets such as vegan, gluten free, cholesterol free, dairy free and trans fat free diets.

Today Fabe's serves up a wide variety of yummy treats that are kid and adult approved - cookies, muffins, brownies, pies, and cakes, a true taste delight. Steve's daughter Jennifer is often seen at events and natural food stores throughout California giving out samples and enjoying the crowds.

To find a store near you, or for online ordering please visit www.fabesnatural.com.

Healthy Home

Carefree Spa Inc.
A Chemical Free
Hot Tub Solution

If you own a hot tub, you are no stranger to the tedious upkeep they require, along with the expensive, toxic chemicals that go into them. These chemicals are notorious for causing immediate physical reactions such as red eyes, skin irritation, dry skin and burning, not to mention the long-term potential health effects and environmental impact. Fear not, there are healthier solutions!

Naturel Spa

The Carefree Spa, Inc has been offering a chemical free solution since 1995 with their Naturel Spa product. It is simply a mixture of plant enzymes and water softeners in a coconut base. There are no strips to read, or mixtures to brew - all you do is pour the Naturel Spa directly into the hot tub once every two months (amount may vary on size of tub and frequency of use) and that's it.

If you are currently using chemicals to maintain your hot tub, the company's owner Darlene Van Tash, says the process of converting to a natural system is fairly easy - all you have to do is purge the tub with Citri-Clean first, another product in their line, drain and you're ready to go.

Naturel Spa comes with a 100% money back guarantee.

For more info visit: www.carefreespa.com

Maggie's Pure Land
Soap Nuts™ - An Age-Old Natural Laundry Cleaner

Did you know that getting your clothes clean could be making you sick? A recent study by a University of Washington professor Anne Steinemann, found that scented laundry products from leading manufacturers include a soup of toxic chemicals including acetone and chloromethane. According to Steinemann, the study found that five of the six products (tested) emitted one or more carcinogenic 'hazardous air pollutants,' which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to have no safe exposure level.

Maggie's Soap Nuts™ are the only laundry soap that grows on trees! Soap Nuts™ are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree. They contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes, just like the plants used by Native Americans.

This unique laundry detergent comes in either the form of the actual Soap Nuts™, which you put in a pouch in the washer, or a liquid detergent, which is bottled in a factory where they make tea. The liquid concentrate is made from wild harvested Soap Nuts™, carbon filtered water, citric acid and essential oils of lavender, tea tree and lemongrass. Maggie's Pure Land reserves a Soapberry's harvest years in advance, guaranteeing rural families an income and ensuring the Soapberry trees are not cut down for lumber. Ten percent of the company's net proceeds are donated to groups that improve the lives of mothers and children.

For more information please visit: www.maggiespureland.com

Pure Garden Organics

Pure Garden Organics is just that ... an all natural line of safe garden products. In 2004, Antje Kuhn, a true gardening enthusiast, found herself in a desperate search for a non-toxic product to protect her citrus trees and tomatoes from the ever present uninvited insects/bugs in her garden. She refused to use toxic chemicals on her edible plants and began developing what would become the first of five natural garden products, calling it "Fire-Your-Bugs." The spray is made with organic garlic juice and grapefruit seed extract, which naturally repels plant eating insects and smells like an antipasto salad.

Other products in the line include a powder to help with ant infestations, a spray to prevent and control fungus, a snail repellent, and a mosquito repellent spray and gel for those summer camping trips.

Pure Garden Organics' ant killer, "Antko," is packaged in a papertube container that is 100% biodegradable. The company also offers refills for the spray bottles, which keeps the plastic containers out of landfills. Currently Kuhn plans to grow her business and is doing research to develop an organic fertilizer.

For more info please visit: www.puregardenorganics.com

Eco Family News

We're finally back after a long hiatus while in production on the Whole Children, Whole Planet Expo 2010. Our Earth Day weekend event was very inspiring and everyone left with new found knowledge and a smile on their face - see photos.

In exploring new ideas around educating larger audiences, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and recently entered (very late) Oprah's OWN Show contest to try and take the concept of EFN and WCWP to television (I would be behind the scenes) - to watch my humble video - click here ... I'll keep you posted.

Summer is here and I want to wish you all a safe and adventurous time. Please remember to bring along your natural bug repellents with you. I have listed some safe products in an earlier blog - please follow EFN. Watch for more stories and thoughts about my adventures in the coming weeks.

In gratitude,
Kathy Arnos
Editor/Host/Producer
www.ecofamilynews.com

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