Synthetic scents and marketing

I'm remembering a small town in Colorado during our recent trip west. One of the things we did upon occasion was drop in on businesses that just seemed interesting. Sometimes left samples, sometimes a 'finished product', sometimes an autographed copy of my book. "Marketing visits"

There was a charming little shop on a charming little Main Street. The signs out front advertised "Handmade Soaps and Toiletries." Oh, wow. Of course we had to visit!

Walked into a delightful shop. Packaging was attractive, nice range of products. The bell on the door rang as I opened it, and the resident soapmaker, complete with long apron and elbow length gloves came out from the back.

Unfortunately, I was headed for the door as she arrived. Not sure what fragrances she was using in her products, but I could feel an asthma attack coming on. My throat and chest were closing up, going into a spasm, and I knew if I didn't get out of there we would be headed to the ER.

I apologized to her, said that I couldn't BREATHE in there. She nodded understandingly. I forget her comment; but it was clear that I was not the first person to react that way to her shop. She was familiar with the reaction.

That struck me as so sad. Now, I have topical reactions to many of our Essential Oils...I've managed to develop Multiple chemical Sensitivity because of unwise use of undiluted oils decades ago. But I never have respiratory problems from exposure to pure, natural aromatics. (One possible exception...there is a "Bishop" in Greenland who insists on mailing us incense that he makes. We no longer allow his "gifts" in the building!)
But that only makes me question his ingredients.

This woman is devoting her life to creating her products. Her shop is charming, her products visually appealing. How much better they would be if she used pure essential oils to fragrance them? I know had I been able to stay, visit, and talk soapmaking I would have been a customer.

At the recent AIA convention, Debbie Freund gave a wonderful moving presentation on Olfaction. One of the points she made was how the toxins in our environment affect our blood chemistry, and she referenced the rising tide of diseases that, evidence shows, may be tied to the overload of synthetic scents that surround us. Our bodies are made to co-exist with natural aromas, not with synthetics. I remember that presentation while remembering the charming little shop I couldn't visit.

Good ? for your skin, deadly to the environment.

I came across the article in this link recently and it has stuck in my mind.

Basically the article talks of many corporations (examples given are Olay, Dove, Clean and Clear) offering exfoliants using plastic micropellets, " tiny particles of polyethylene that scrub the dirt from your face and then wash straight down the drain and into watersheds and, eventually, oceans."

""As this debris occupies the same size range as sand grains and planktonic organisms, it is available to a wide range of invertebrates near the base of the food chain," says Mark Browne, a scientist at the Centre for Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities at the University of Sydney who has studied the consequences of microscopic plastic in marine habitats. And unlike other types of plastic that just happen to end up in the ocean, these beads are almost predestined to reach the sea."

And we continue to foul our own nest!

Some examples of less harmful (but effective and natural) exfoliants remain salt (wonderful for body scrubs), sugar, both white and brown, Jojoba Beads (which look and feel like plastic, but are not!) Paula Begoun, the beauty products critic recommends using baking soda as a facial exfoliant. Since baking soda is alkali, and would disrupt the skin's acid mantle even briefly, I would follow that with rose hydrosol, or another hydrosol as a toner, since all the hydrosols are mildly acidic.

Personally I can't help wondering what is wrong with a good old fashioned wash cloth or face cloth? seems to work for me!

My favorite Earth Week Message

The message below arrived in last week's mail. I took too long to ask the author for permission to quote it. Fascinating ideas on specific actions we can take during this time of threatened food shortages, to make our families and neighborhoods a bit more self sufficient.

I feel obligated to come out of hiding to address a very serious issue. Out of nowhere, as many “catastrophes” often appear, America is facing a food shortage. Completely laudable, some would argue, and agree that if a real threat at all, must indeed be related to increasing gasoline prices. Now whether you believe this shortage to be inevitable or a capitalistic ploy (I vote for number two), we Americans are not completely helpless. There are some who want us to believe we are helpless, but as long as we believe we are not, we are not! There are ways that we can take back control of our food supply and decrease cancer rates and pollution at the same time.

From Tammie Umbel, CEO
Shea Terra Organics


"The area surrounding my ten acre, organically managed farm in Leesburg, VA is a picture that I have seen again and again in my travels across the country. What used to be cow pastures and cash crop farms are now miniature, luxury estates. Across from a five hundred acre cow farm are houses over ten thousand square feet with five to twenty acres a piece. Now some might hate me for what I am about to say, and frankly I could care less. It wouldn’t be the first or last time anyhow. But while the owners of these houses look outside to their kingdom of lush, manicured “pastures”, I see giant junk yards, endless pits of waste that are the real reason America might face a food shortage, and why food prices are soaring. Not only do these yards require a lot of environment polluting diesel to manicure them , but they are also eating up land that could be used for local food production- to feed the masses so we can stop importing the majority of our food from across the globe.

And she goes on to make suggestions that many of us may be able to follow. Read more here.

re-usuable money stretcher

we can re-use our empty nature's gift bottles for all sorts of things.
after using all the product from one of our bottles with a treatment pump i cleaned it out thoroughly and refilled it with a diluted version of my hair conditioner. my hair is very long, and needs conditioning frequently, but not everyday. it does, however, need to be untangled. by diluting my favorite over the counter conditioner about 50-50 with H2O i had the perfect consistency to use on the ends of my hair as a detangling agent.
if i buy super size bottles of conditioner i can decant small amounts of it into one of our bottles with a lotion pump to more easily use in the shower.
if you love to use the old timey hair rinses try the atomizer top bottle as a spray.
the atomizer top especially has many uses: filled with water and handy for misting your houseplants. homemade pet spray is easily dispensed with it, too. if you work in watercolors it's a great spray for your creative endeavors.
i shouldn't neglect to mention the disc lid which was the first of our tops i experimented with for re-use. one of our used bottles with a disc lid dispenses my dishwashing liquid. i could go on and on.
i'm interested to know if you have any ideas about re-using our packaging. use your imagination, and please let me know what you come up with in the comments area. we might put it in our newsletter as we move forward into the "green age"!
bright blessings to you-
t