Red Lips Green Heart

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the country’s top selling natural soap brand, has upped the ante in its bid to clean up the rampant organic misbranding in personal care aisles. In an effort to ensure that when you buy organic, you actually GET organic, Dr. Bronner’s went to court.


The family owned business filed its Second Amended Complaint today in San Francisco Superior Court against numerous personal care companies that use non-organic pesticide-intensive agricultural and/or petrochemical material to make the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients of their misbranded “Organic” products. Defendants include, among others: Hain-Celestial (Jason “Pure, Natural & Organic; Avalon “Organics”); Levlad (Nature’s Gate “Organics”); Kiss My Face “Organic”; YSL Beaute Inc (Stella McCartney’s “100% Organic Active Ingredients”), Country Life (Desert Essence “Organics”); Giovanni “Organic Cosmetics”; and the certifiers Ecocert and OASIS.


Former defendant Estee Lauder was dropped from the suit because it has not in fact entered the market under its AVEDA brand with OASIS certified products as it had earlier threatened to do. Former defendant Ikove agreed to change its labeling practices of relevant products. However, the remaining defendants continue to refuse to abide by basic organic consumer criteria. Dr. Bronner’s new complaint seeks damages in addition to injunctive relief, for false advertising under the federal Lanham Act, rather than simply the injunctive relief that Dr. Bronner’s sought under California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Filing under the federal Lanham Act also keeps the case on a straightforward track to trial for product misbranding and false advertising, instead of allowing it to be bogged down in an appeals court arguing whether lost revenues are “restitutionary” versus “compensatory” damages under the UCL. The entire Second Amended Complaint along with background on the case is posted online at: http://www.drbronner.com/usda_organic_body_care.html


The defendants’ “Organic” or “Organics” products are composed mostly of cleansing and moisturizing ingredients that are not organic, but that are instead made from conventional agricultural and/or petrochemical material, with organic water extracts or aloe vera for an organic green-wash. “Organic consumers expect that the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients in “Organic” or “Organics” products are in fact made from organic material, and are not simply conventional formulations with some organic tea on top. If defendants cannot live up to their organic claims, they need to drop those claims. The misleading organic noise created by culprit companies’ labeling practices, confuses, misleads and deceives organic consumers who want to buy authentic organic personal care products, the main ingredients of which are in fact made with certified organic, not conventional or petrochemical, material, and are free of synthetic preservatives. ” said David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps.


Dr. Bronner’s has made clear that for defendants to make outright “Organic” claims in branding or labeling (eg. “Organic Lotion” vs. “Lotion made with Organic Aloe Vera”), products must at minimum be 95% organic, without hydrogenating, sulfating or synthetically preserving ingredients; and the main cleansing ingredients must be derived from organic rather than conventional agricultural material. Dr. Bronner’s products, in contrast to the brands named in the lawsuit, contain cleansing and moisturizing ingredients made only from certified organic oils, made without any use of petrochemicals, and contain no petrochemical preservatives.

I love when going green is easy, when simple changes add up to make a big difference. Petrochemical products are harmful to the health of every being on earth in their extraction, transportation, manufacture/refinement, use, and disposal. And there is petroleum in almost everything it seems, from guitar strings to sippy cups, the roads we drive on (asphalt) and the carpet we walk on, even some aspirins contain petroleum derived ingredients. But you don’t have to break up the band (whew!) to make a difference in your petroleum consumption…make the switch from petroleum based soaps and cleansers to non….did you know that if every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of petroleum based laundry detergent a year with a plant based product, we could save 233,000 barrels of oil!!! That’s enough to heat and cool over 13,000 U.S. homes for a year! All from switching one jug of a laundry detergent, one time….imagine what we could save if you switched over forever…and also switched your dish soap and your household cleaners? Seventh Generation makes a full line of petroleum free products from laundry soap and fabric softener to dish soap and all purpose cleaner. Check them out…and rock on…

I love Target. I have long been a big fan, telling all my friends how great Target is, believing it to be a different breed of big box store. But sometimes, when you love something, you see it in a different light than it really is…a “fuzzyoutoffocussoftcandlelight3glassesofwinebuzzyohmygoshyersodreamy” light that doesn’t always show the whole picture. Wiping the goofy grin off my face, I decided that in the interest of truth and honesty, I needed to delve a little deeper. I needed to see once and for all if my adoration was misplaced or right on target. And what I learned made my heart swell…


For starters, Target brand sheets and towels are made from 100% organic cotton (proving that organic can be affordable too!), which is important because conventional cotton is such a chemical crop, using 10% of agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides! Organic sheets are the perfect place to rest your green heart. Target also pressed manufacturers to remove Perfluorooctanoic (PFOA) chemicals from products used in fabric and garment processing, encouraging them to come up with PFOA free alternatives. As a result, since mid 2008, all Target products with stain management are now PFOA free.
Target is now shifting its focus to minimizing PVC (also known as the Poison Plastic as it is not only horrible to manufacture, but also leaks toxins into your home once it’s there) in both products and packaging. Target also offers over 700 types of organic foods (including produce at their superstores), increasing both the visibility AND availability of organic, as well as the demand.


Focusing on the products in the store is great, but Target is a leader in bringing green to the stores themselves. Four Target stores in Chicago are sheltered by a “green” roof, partially or completely covered by hardy plants growing in a thin layer of soil.
Green roofs are a big deal. They not only filter air pollutants, absorb storm water, and modify temperature fluctuations, they also provide much needed habitats for birds in urban landscapes.


Eighteen Target stores in California use rooftop solar panels to supply 20 percent of their electricity needs, while the store in Fontana, CA uses skylights that provide up to 100% of that store’s lighting needs.


A big fan of the 3 R’s (really, who isn’t?), Target incorporates the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mindset into many areas, from store planning and design, to construction and merchandising. This has allowed them to reuse, recycle or rethink 70 percent of materials previously destined for landfills, from broken plastic hangers to carpet and celing tiles.


Here’s a few hard numbers to feed this love affair:


All Target stores use ultra low-flow hand-wash faucets that are 75%
more efficient than current regulations require.


22% energy savings gained by using two-lamp as opposed to three-lamp fixtures on the sales floor.


40 acres of wetlands re-established
on the West Jefferson, Ohio, Distribution Center property, providing a habitat for wildlife and helping to cleanse storm water.


LED lights for outside signage on new stores save 80% in energy costs and require less maintenance compared to neon.


1.4 million pounds of obsolete electronic equipment was recycled.


66% of total paper used is recycled.


57% of all professional positions were held by women at Target in 2007.
That’s 10% higher than the national average. And while it may not have to do with the environment, it is clearly kick ass.


So, now I know. In candlelight or under spotlight, wine soaked or sober, it’s true: Target, I love you.

My friend Shelly shared with me her green home recipe for an all purpose green cleaner. I tried it and it is one of the best green cleaning solutions I have used. She and her husband even used it on their grill and it easily took all the gook off with no harsh chemicals! If you’ve ever had to clean a grill, you know THAT is a powerful cleaner!

Start with a 32 ounce spray bottle :

2 cups H2O
1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
1 tsp of unscented castile soap (also comes in several scents like citrus, lavender, peppermint,and rose)
20 drops of tea tree oil (antiseptic)
20 drops essential oil of choice (grapefruit compliments the citrus soap{I use it with the unscented soap because I love the grapefruit scent alone}, vanilla compliments citrus and peppermint)

You can create different scents for different parts of the house: Shelly uses citrus for the kitchen/bath and lavender for the rest of the house. I use the grapefruit everywhere because I’m crazy about it. This green solution can be used to clean anything: floors, counter tops, refrigerator, stove, tub, toilet, sinks, you name it. Safe around kids, pets, the environment and YOU! Shake before using.


Thanks to Shelly for sharing her recipe!

*want to extend the life of your veggies? Put a couple of cellulose sponges in your refrigerator crisper. They will keep the air dry by absorbing the excess moisture, which will keep your veggies crisp longer. And since cellulose sponges are made from 100% vegetable material, you can throw them in your compost when they have run out of life!

My first car was a blue Honda civic hatchback, which was promptly dubbed “Little Blue”. She was adorable AND reliable, until an unfortunatle black ice incident forced us to part ways. Sorry Little Blue!
Bissell has given us “Little Green”, their affordable AND reliable eco-friendly carpet cleaner. Compact and hardworking, this deep cleaner does well with both small spot spills and big clean-ups. Not only does it use an environmentally friendly cleaning solution (free from heavy metals, optical brighteners, phosphates, and dyes), it has been designed with a 95% reduction in PVC and contains parts made from post consumer recycled plastic.
Why is this important? PVC, (recently dubbed with its own not so adorable nickname of Poison Plastic) which stands for polyvinyl chloride, has been classified as a human carcinogen. PVC production has been found to expose workers and surrounding communities to vinyl chloride, with studies documenting direct links between working in vinyl chloride production facilities and the increased likelihood of developing diseases including angiosarcoma of the liver and other non-cancer disorders. But its dangers don’t end with the production process. Additives mixed with PVC resins (stabilizers, plasticizers, and fillers) can leach out of a PVC product during its useful life (umm, into the air in your home!), posing public health hazards. Plus, PVC is very difficult to recycle and never breaks down. Okay, so yeah, PVC = bad. (I’m going back to talking about “Little Green” but if you want to know more about pvc, go here ).
Bissell has been using a closed loop manufacturing process that allows their new machines to be built with post consumer recycled content, and they have also eliminated all styrofoam from their packaging. Even the carton and inner packaging are made from a minimum of 75 percent recycled corrugated materials. Little Green can bring you to the wave of the future: products that don’t pollute your home while you’re trying to clean it!

Cleaning around the house can have a green and holiday theme with this set! Mrs. Meyer’s Holiday Clean up Kit
is hard working, all natural and the peppermint scent is balanced with a hint of vanilla: your home will sparkle like tinsel and smell like a candy cane! Ahhh, a christmas miracle….this set includes countertop spray, liquid dish soap, all purpose cleaner and window wash. They offer this Mrs. Meyer’s Holiday handcare settoo: gently moisturizing hand wash and lotion in the same vanilla peppermint scent.

Granted, they look a little strange, but these dryer balls work great at reducing drying time (they’ve cut the drying time of my bath towels in half, saving energy AND money!) while delivering clothes that are fluffy and soft (without chemical fabric softeners).
The only downside is that they are a bit noisy in the dryer, but if you can close the door to the laundry area, it’s no biggie.

Started by 2 stay at home moms,Skoy cloths came from a simple desire to share an all purpose cleaning cloth that was better than they had ever used and that was environmentally friendly. Shocked by the 2.5 million tons of paper towels that fill our landfills each year, they felt they had to do something.

More absorbent than a sponge, skoy cloths can absorb 15 times it’s own weight (that’s like using 15 paper towels at once!). And it dries quickly so it is not a breeding ground for bacteria. Plus you can throw it in the dishwasher to clean it and it’s washer and dryer safe up to 90 degrees (so no hot cycles). Or for a quick fix, toss the wet skoy cloth in the microwave for a few seconds and zap any bacteria away (but be very careful taking it out of the microwave…it’s soooooo hot!)

100% biodegradable, skoy cloths are chlorine free and made with vegetable based inks…so go ahead and toss it in your compost when you’re done!