A Bamboo T-Shirt?

Yep, that's right. You read that correctly. A T-shirt made out of Bamboo. Who wudda thunk it? Well, a sustainable company who is also socially responsible in helping others, called Bamboomerangs, thunk it, they did!

I stumbled across this company and their website via mutual Twitter friends, and am really impressed with their philosophies and their product. They offer a T-Shirt made out of 70% real Bamboo and the remaining is made out of 30% organic cotton. Isn't that the coolest??!!

You've got to go to their website and read the Bamboo Facts. Like, did you know that a Bamboo grove releases 35% more oxygen than the same size stand of trees? Please go to their site for more interesting info.

The folks at Bamboomerangs also have a "One for One" policy. For every Bamboo shirt they sell, they give one away to someone in need. WOW, that just so impresses me!

I've placed my order for my first "sustainable" Bamboo T-shirt and look forward to more purchases in the near future. The Bamboomerangs folks say that the shirts run one size small, so I'm going to get that size thing straight, before ordering more.

Please be sure to check out their Website, share it with your friends, and let us know how you like their site and their product.

(Photography by Andres Ojeda of Mexico)

Making A Difference Memorial Day & Every Day

In addition to honoring the men and women who have given their lives for our Country, let's use this Memorial Day Weekend to make memorable improvements to our walk on planet Earth. There are numerous resources for ideas out on the internet, and many only cost your time and efforts!

We have a history because of the prices that have been paid, but what good is that price, if we don't value & maintain the fruits of it? We won't continue to have wonderful memories of "days gone by", unless we become better stewards of the planet in conservation, pollution reduction, waste management, etc. Let's improve our imprint on this gorgeous planet.

For some places to look, National Geographic has great group of videos for "Green Home Makeovers" tips. Each one is short and to the point.
Some of the video topics cover:

1. Bathroom Water Waste Reduction
2. Serene & Healthy Bedroom Remodels
3. Reducing Energy & Water Use In the Kitchen
4. Using Less Water & Energy In The Laundry Room

Other online resources and companies offer safe and non-toxic cleaning products for the home.

What are some of the steps you are taking to keep our planet sustainable?

Organic Baby Skin Care Products & Vitamins

On May 1st, Shaklee launched their new Shakleebaby and Shakleekids product line. And once again, Shaklee is leading the way on product disclosure with these great personal care and natural nutritional products for children.

One of their new products: Shakleebaby Gentle Wash, is 99% natural, contains 76% organic ingredients, pediatrian tested, no parabens, no artificial colors or fragrance, no 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde, etc.

You can watch some short videos about the organic baby care products, as well as the natural multivitamins for children.

Also, Shaklee is running an offer which ends Friday, May 22, 2009, for new members with a qualified minimum order. Check the website for more information about this discount. Essentially, a minimum 50 PV (Point Value) of products in your first order, waives the $19.95 Member Fee and gives you 15% off of Retail pricing.

If, you'd like more information, you can contact me by just clicking on the "Click To Chat With Me Right Now" icon, below my profile in the right-hand column of this blog.

Click here for a link to a mini online catalog of these new products.

Not All Fruits & Veggies Are Created Equal

Ahhh, Spring has Sprung ! And with Spring, comes fruits and vegetables.... EVERYWHERE !!

With the availability of many gorgeous fruits and vegetables, a lot of us start looking to increase our daily intake of these wonderful natural products. Not just because they taste so good, but because we know they are good for us and most are low in fat and calories.

But, there's "the other side" of the story to these beautiful creations. And that being that usually all fruits and vegetables are treated with pesticides and some of them have a very high level of toxins, which can be dangerous to our health? Yes, there are also toxins in the cleaners we use, the air we breath, but today I just thought I'd focus on fruits and vegetables.

Some of them we can eat in large quantities and be happy about it, but some of them it is better to avoid eating non-organic because they can do more harm than good for our health.

Have in mind that organic produce doesn’t mean pesticide free. Organically grown fruits and vegetables are grown on better soils and have less pesticides level. Well, and these pesticides are less dangerous to our health, but they are still pesticides, maybe only better quality.

So as you can see, it is very important to know which fruits and vegetables are less desirable, (less beneficial to our overall health). If peaches, strawberries, cherries contain a very high level of pesticides, we have to think twice before buying them non-organic. Would you like to add more dangerous toxins to your system? I don’t. There are always other choices: you can buy organic only a smaller amount (if the price is high), you can buy local (if you know that the farm is small and they care about their produce), or you don’t buy at all.

So, to help you to remember why not all fruits and veggies are equal, here is a list of the “dirtiest” and the “cleanest” fruits and vegetables for 2009 based on an Environmental Working Group Survey.

In 2009 these fruits and vegetables you should buy organic:

1. Peaches 100

2. Apples 93

3. Bell Pepper- 83

4. Celery - 82

5. Nectarines - 81

6. Strawberries - 80

7. Cherries - 73

8. Kale - 69

9. Lettuce - 67

10. Grapes - Imported from outside U.S. - 66

11. Carrot - 63

12. Pear - 63

This is a list of fruits and vegetables you don’t have to buy organic:

Onion - 1
Avocado - 1
Sweet corn - 2
Pine Apple - 7
Mango - 9
Asparagus - 10
Sweet peas - 10
Kiwi - 13
Cabbage - 17
Eggplant - 20
Papaya - 20
Watermelon - 26
Broccoli - 28
Tomato - 29
Sweet Potato - 29
Grapefruit - 29
Honeydew Melon - 30

I first learned about this subject from reading my friend, Irina Wardes' blog. (Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Expert). She graciously granted me permission to use portions of her blog post, so I could pass this information along to others like you. Please go to her wonderful website and blog for tons of more great health information like this!

Earth Day Festivities in California

The "Govenator", attended multiple Earth Day events on April 22nd. One such event was the planting of the one millionth tree in Pleasanton, CA.

Shaklee Corporation, along with it's sales force and customers, had made a commitment three years ago to plant one million trees through a program called, "A Million Trees. A Million Dreams™" Campaign . Earth Day was the culmination of that project, when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai, and Shaklee Chairman and CEO, Roger Barnett, planted the one millionth tree.

"A Million Healthier Lives In 2009" is now Shaklee's newest campaign. It is the Company's sincere attempt to empower people to better their financial situation, while improving the environment simultaneously. Shaklee CEO, Roger Barnett's speech at this event, is available on California's website.

You can view the entire article and video from the event from this post. Also, to read more about Shaklee's environmental accomplishments, please check here.

Founded in 1956, Shaklee is the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral certification and totally offset its C02 emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment. This is a company that "walks the walk".