CPSIA Could Bankrupt Small Businesses

In an valiant attempt to protect our children, the government passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), in August 2008. CPSIA's intent is to protect children from lead exposure in the products they come into daily contact with.

We've all heard about lead in paint, toys, etc, especially from toys manufactured in China, but the threat is an issue in products made throughout the world. So, in an effort to make some enforceable guidelines to battle this health issue, we now have CPSIA.

ONE BIG PROBLEM THOUGH....the government didn't think this one out well enough. (Imagine that).The regulations in the Act will include products that were manufactured and placed on the shelves prior to CPSIA going into effect, which is February 10, 2009. That means that all, "in inventory" products, such as new or used children's books, children's items in a thrift store, bicycles, children's clothing, etc, will all have to comply with CPSIA. Basically, any retailer that has products in their inventory, that include products focused to children ages 12 and under, must comply with CPSIA. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal. Gosh, I wonder what that's going to do to our landfills?

There are costly tests that resalers will be required to complete, to certify the product's safety, in order to keep it on their shelves. Of course, the resalers will be responsible for any expenses incurred, to certify the product's safety. A small manufacturer of children's clothing, recently priced out the manufacturing and testing expense, of a girl's skirt, keeping in compliance with CPSIA. What was a $40 skirt, would become over $15,000 retail. Check it out for yourself. As mentioned in a CNN article this month, the law makes no distinction between large-scale manufacturers, mom-and-pop businesses, and one-man operations. While large corporations may be able to easily absorb the costs of product testing, the price is potentially overwhelming for small businesses.

The organization, Change.org, has become actively involved in trying to get the word out about CPSIA. Obviously, the overall concept of CPSIA is a great one, but our Congress needs to review and amend the Act, prior to February 10, 2009. If they don't, the results could be catastrophic to small businesses throughout the globe. Please share your concerns with your local Congressman immediately. There's no time to waste on this one, as shown in the below video.



Also, here's a link the goverment's website, telling more about the Consumer Product Safety Protection Act.

Change Habits - Reduce Waste

No time...like the present, is a well-known saying, as well as: Why put off for tomorrow...what you can do today?, is another one. Well, today I'm sharing some no or low cost suggestions, that you can incorporate into your daily lifestyle. They have the potential of improving your health as well as planet's.

There's a large percentage of activities that we can do that are focused on reducing our carbon footprint on the planet, and that also can help us financially, physically and emotionally. An example would be to change the habit of driving to a restaurant or calling in a food order for delivery and instead, walking to a nearby restaurant on your lunch break.

How about changing your habit or creating one, by bringing your own "To-Go" containers, when dining out somewhere? What a great way to reduce the use of those styrofoam containers and such, that are detrimental to our planet's health.

Here's another, no-cost, in fact it's a cost-saver; of taking your own utensils from home to work and reusing them. This change of habit can have a trickle down effect, that probably measures quite high, on reducing the carbon footprint on the planet!

If, you'd like to see how the current resources you use, may be adversely affecting the planet, there's a great calculator through American Forests. There are also several other online resources to calculate your affect on the planet.

In the famous words of Martin Luther King, Jr: The time is always right to do what is right.

Biggest Loser Contest: Lose Weight - Gain Health

It's no secret. Being overweight has numerous side effects for anyone, both physically and mentally. And, a lot of the things that we eat not only are foods high in fat content etc, they also contain things that are believed to contributors to lung cancer and other serious diseases.

Recently, a published study on processed foods, provided some astonishing statistics about lung caner being associated to them. Processed foods contain inorganic phosphates which are used to improve a food's water retention and texture. Meats, processed cheeses, carbonated drinks, normally contain these phosphates.

Getting the weight off and going back to basics is the best way to lose weight and/or improve one's health. Shaklee has a patented weight-loss program that can help folks get started to better health and weight. And, for the first three months of 2009, they are also sponsoring a Biggest Loser Contest, with some seriously big cash prizes! The Cinch Inch-Loss Plan, could be the ticket to some health and wealth. Check out the website for yourself.

What's Your Body's Burden?

Sloan Barnett recently released a great book called Green Goes With Everything. On the website for her book, is a fun and easy interactive "body burden" test. Take the test and see how the "normal, everyday products" that you use around your home, can be potentially harmful to everyone in your household, including your unborn children.
Even, the infamous Environmental Working Group (EWG), refers to Sloan's book and this online tool, right on their home web page.

Publishers Weekly comments:
According to Barnett, the Green Editor for KNTV in San Francisco, human beings are saturating their bodies, their children's bodies and their homes with noxious waste, pathogens and carcinogens. Barnett recounts having her blood and urine tested to illustrate how toxins have deeply embedded themselves-her results show positive for bisphenol A (linked to birth defects and reproductive problems) and perchlorate (an active ingredient in rocket fuel found in contaminated food). The book is divided into seven clean-it-up chapters full of solid information and helpful tips aimed at greening different areas of your life, such as how to best filter household water. Barnett's well-written environmental call-to-arms is passionate and authoritative; her findings correlating childhood illnesses with ordinary-and highly toxic-cleaning supplies is alarming.(Sept)

An effective and reasonable alternative to the "normal, everyday products", being used in every type of structure, are Shaklee's cleaning products. Shaklee offers a 100% product satisfaction guarantee on all of their products. Their products are Safe, Powerful, Green & Smart!

Get Back Up

This YouTube video needs no introduction. Please watch and share with others.

Protecting Everyone From Toxin Exposures

Last June, I posted information about a Bill that had been introduced into the House of Representatives in May 2008. It's called the Kid-Safe Chemical Act, and it is a comprehensive bill attempting to amend the current Toxic Substances Control Act. This bill's intent is to reduce the exposure of children, workers, and consumers to everyday toxins.

Recently, I was directed to this video on the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) website, that explains a lot about the type of exposures that all of us can and do come in contact with. And even more importantly, what exposures a preborn fetus has to these same toxins.The video is entitled, the Ten Americans Video.

Please take 20 minutes to watch the video and pass it along to everyone that you care about.

Rememeber, knowledge is power!

Bottled Water, Filtered Water, Tap Water...Oh me Oh my!

There has been a plethora of discussion over the use of bottled water, tap and/or filtered tap water. I've read and pondered this for my family's own personal water consumption, and have actually changed from my original thoughts and usage, in this matter.

Originally, I knew that our rural residential water was not too safe to drink, so we started using bottled water, exclusively. We did try to purchase larger quantities and use less plastic containers. Then, I read a lot about the lack of regulations for bottled water, and had a real issue with throwing all those plastic bottles away. Also, the reports about BPA (Bisphenol A) exposure in the plastic bottles, definitely turned me off to the bottled water.

Ultimately, my husband and I have decided that our best option at this point, is to filter our rural tap water. And, even if we end up moving into a municipality with water service, we will continue to filter our tap water.

Shaklee offers some great options to filter tap water in your home. Currently, we use a BestWater Perfect Pitcher in our home, because we are in a home that we don't own. But, upon the purchase of a home, we will be upgrading to one of their MTS 2000 units.

The BestWater MTS 2000 units come in an above counter and below counter unit. Both units are NSF Certified and come with a money-back guarantee and warranties. The cost per day is only pennies, and means a lot of piece of mind and overall, is a economical investment in every family's health.

Global Warming

I was sent this great animated video that explains what global warming is, and why it is a reality. Please share it with others.


Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.

Cellular Anti-Aging & Living Longer

Most of us have heard of the "French Paradox". It relates to people from France, living longer and being healthier, and that being attributed to their regular and avid consumption of wine.

For years, there has been a belief that red wine has benefits for good heart health. But now, researchers are finding that it has benefits against cancer, dementia and other age-related diseases. The secret in the wine is what is known as "resveratrol". One, of many good resources to read on resveratrol and polyphenols, is available on the National Cancer Institute's website, where red wine and cancer prevention is discussed.

Dr David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School has been a key player of numerous studies about resveratrol and was interviewed by Barbara Walters about this revolutionary, anti-aging product. Dr Sinclair is now also a member of Shaklee's Scientific Board, and Shaklee is very pleased to be associated with his mission to improve world health through new scientifically based innovations with respect to aging and longevity.

Resveratrol is created from several different natural plant sources, but the most beneficial known source is the grape; specifically the muscadine grape. Resveratrol has been referenced in over 2,000 research publications, including multiple studies conducted by Harvard University, at the National Institute of Aging, at the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Science.

Another great thing about resveratrol, is that it has not been found to be toxic or have adverse effects on humans. And because of that, Shaklee offers a resveratrol product based on Dr Sinclair's research, that is 10 times more powerful than red wine. My website provides more information about the science and the product, known as Vivix.

Shaklee designed the Vivix dietary supplement for adult men and women who are concerned about cellular aging and who are committed to a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. Vivix is a unique blend of polyphenolic ingredients that provides an amount of resveratrol that cannot be normally obtained in a typical diet, but is carefully chosen based on the available evidence and the emerging laboratory research that points to both the potential antioxidant and cellular anti-aging properties of resveratrol.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

One just needs to give it a try and find out that recycling is much easier than most people think it is. REALLY, it is VERY EASY !

And actually, in my opinion, easy or not, we as stewards of this beautiful planet should be eager to do everything possible to perserve and protect our environment. As mentioned in the National Recycling Coalition's website; before the 1920's, 70% of U.S. cities ran programs to recycle certain materials. And during World War II, industry recycled and reused about 25% of the waste stream.

November 15th is being celebrated as America Recycles Day. Take a step or take a bigger step by committing to enhance your current recycling habits. Take the pledge to make a difference.

Take the pledge on the National Recycling Coalition's site and pass on the challenge to at least 5 others. No matter your financial situation right now in these tough times, there's no reason why you can't be part of the solution to pollution. It only takes a little effort, to make a substantal difference to the planet.

You can learn more about Shaklee's environmental legacy by going to my website and reading about the numerous milestones that Shaklee has completed, with the products they distribute, and the causes they sponsor and/or have spearheaded. Also, read about Wangari Maathai, one of Shaklee's honorary ambassadors.