On thing I know is that kids love flashlights, or torches, as they say in England. They like to play with them, especially under the sheets, in the dark. The regular flashlights we’ve had throughout the years have been victims of my kids abuse, because when one of my kids get their hands on them, they either get misplaced or left turned on. Not good for when there’s a sudden power outage or when the plumber needs to look under the sink. Nor is it good for the environment when you think of how many used batteries there are that go in landfills and are not disposed of properly.

So when I found the Powerplus Penguin, I was thrilled to bits, and so were my kids. Firstly, its not always that you find an eco-friendly toy that REALLY appeals to older kids, second, this was very good value (most eco-toys are NOT cheap), and third, it also has a great practical function and won’t just sit there in the playroom after they’ve played with it a few times.

This cute little penguin has no need, I repeat, no need for batteries. It’s a clever invention from the U.K., which is charged by simply pumping the wings (a light squeeze from your child). When charged, the ultra bright LED has a lighting distance of twenty meters which is just right for kids purposes.

Although I bought it for my 7-year-old girl (the packaging said it was recommended for kids 6 and above), my 4-year-old eyed it enviously (he said it was Pablo from the Backyardigans, his favorite, which meant it was for HIM) and definitely wouldn’t have much trouble using it too. Oh, and the packaging was fantastic too – made from attractive recycled materials, it was really simple and easy to open, without all that extra awful plastic, sharp bits and twisty metal things you find with most toys.

You can purchase the penguin at Nigel’s Eco Store for £5.99, but you can find it a little cheaper at other shops if you search.

In the news again were some chilling findings that a slew of everyday bath products made for kids had dangerous levels of carcinogens. Like any Mother, my reaction is deep resentment and anger for these big companies that let things like this happen for years, and how lethal ingredients like formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane is found in every day items we put on our bodies. Both substances are known to cause cancer, so when you think about it, it somewhat explains why so many people in the world today have the terrible disease.

What I find especially disturbing is that in the list are brands that most families like mine have trusted for years, believing they were safe for our children. Products like Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, which my husband still loves! The group who uncovered the dirty facts were non-profit Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, and here’s some of what they said:

” Despite marketing claims like “gentle” and “pure,” dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, according to the March 2009 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, “No More Toxic Tub.”

This study is the first to document the widespread presence of both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in bath products for children, including baby shampoos, bubble baths and baby lotions. Many products tested contained both chemicals.
The chemicals were not disclosed on product labels because they’re contaminants, not ingredients, and therefore are exempt from labeling laws.

Formaldehyde contaminates personal care products when common preservatives release formaldehyde over time in the container. Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea.

1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of a chemical processing technique called ethoxylation, in which cosmetic ingredients are processed with ethylene oxide. Manufacturers can easily remove the toxic byproduct, but are not required by law to do so. Common ingredients likely to be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane include PEG-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20.

The key bit there I think is: “Manufacturers can easily remove the toxic byproduct, but are not required by law to do so.” So when the group conducted the study, they found that there were still large amounts of the toxins which meant that the companies didn’t bother to remove the poisonous byproducts. WHY?

Around the world, several countries have already taken measures to ensure that their baby products are safe, like in China, where they are being removed from supermarket shelves and undergoing more testing. Japan and Sweden have already banned formaldehyde from personal care products.

Aside from 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, watch out for these baddies too:

peg-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20, quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea and sodium hydroxymethoylglycinate.

For the full list of tested products as well as more information, check out the article here.

Surrounding your home with chemical-fighting houseplants is a wonderful thing to do for your family – not only does it rid the air of some major toxins (like I mentioned in my post), but it also makes the house much more attractive.

Just one large houseplant produces enough oxygen (through photosynthesis) to clean about 100 square feet of space, so depending on the size of your rooms, it is easy to work out how much you need. An average size home or apartment, for instance, will need just one large plant (like the easy-to-care for spider plant pictured above) in the main living area.

Here’s a quick guide to what plant does what:

Plants that remove Formaldehyde:
The philodendron, spider plant, and golden pothos

Flowering varieties that remove Benzene:
The gerbera daisy and chrysanthemum (mum)

Plants that remove Trichoroethylene:
The peace lily and the chrysanthemum are the most effective. Also useful are English ivy, Chinese evergreen, bamboo palm, snake plant (mother-in-law’s tongue), and several types of dracaena, including marginata, corn plant, and Janet Craig.

Tips On Caring:
- Most of these houseplants are relatively easy to grow in moderate to bright indirect sunlight or under florescent – Avoid windows or glass doors where sunlight shines directly on the plants, except for flowering mums and gerbera daisy, which thrive in sunlight. Ivy, palm, philodendron, spider plant, and dracaena are all susceptible to spider mites.
-To prevent infestations, mist often and avoid hot, dry air. The pots may be set in trays of pebbles in water to provide moisture around the plants.
- Make sure the bottoms of the pots are above the level of the water.
- Beware of overwatering any plant, the most common cause of houseplant deaths. Golden pothos, Chinese evergreen, and snake plant should not be misted and should be allowed to dry out between watering to keep the roots healthy.

To learn more about how houseplants can clean the air around you, a good book to read is How To Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants That Purify Your Home Or Office“>How To Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants That Purify Your Home or Office.

Effects Of Cell Phone Radiation With Green Planet Armour

For years, my spouse, an anti-technology dinosaur, has been preaching the danger of cellphones. He’s always owned one though (pre-paid), rather begrudgingly, never turning it on unless absolutely necessary, much to my annoyance. Well, the other day he told me it was time I did some research on the dangers of cellphones and do a post on it on YURTO as he reckoned most people use their cellphones at home even if it was invented for use outside of the home.

What I found was basically that cellphones emitted radiation, which when given in large doses, is indeed dangerous. In fact, I read this very disturbing article in the UK Telegraph, wherein a noted brain specialist says that “mobile phones are more dangerous than smoking” and was the reason for the rise in brain tumors.

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take “immediate steps” to reduce exposure to their radiation.

The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.

It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.

Obviously, the mobile phone people has dismissed the professor’s claims as baloney, and a large study in the UK has shown little evidence, BUT it also said:

Professor Challis, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Nottingham, said: “It all sounds pretty reassuring and that is good. But we cannot rule out the possibility that cancer could appear in a few years. The epidemiological evidence is not good enough and most cancers take longer than 10 years to develop.

So I am inclined to agree with hubby, but am not quite prepared to give up my phone (what if there was an emergency with the kids while I was out?). Luckily, there is a company addressing this, and their product is something we should all get, short of giving up your portable.

Green Planet Armour is a nifty little product you can easily connect to your electronic device which uses nano technology to combat the ill effects of radiation. Check out their website today.

Burt's Bees is considered a "murky" company

I love bodycare products and actually thought I was safe buying seemingly organic or natural brands available at my local shops. Not so, according to Organicgal’s List of Fakies and Non-fakies. Well, I did report on the carcinogens found in kid’s bath products, so this isn’t really isn’t a surprise.

My hat goes off to Organicgal though, who has taken the time to do her research and show her findings. Here are some facts which we should all know:

* Body care is not a regulated industry.

* The USDA Organic regulations/laws only extend to food items or body care items that are food grade.

* Because of lax regulations a body care company can use the word “Natural” any way they want, regardless of if they threw in chemicals and synthetics to the final product.

* A company can only use the word Organic (as in the product name, etc) on the front of their packaging if the product contains at least 70% organic ingredients

* For a company to display a label that reads “Made with Organic ingredients” the product must carry 70% or more organics with no restrictions on the other ingredients.

* For a company to display the USDA organic label, it must have 95% or higher organic ingredients with the other 5% being from an approved list.

* To carry the new Natural Products Association Label the natural product must only contain pre-approved naturally derived ingredients.

* The Eco-Cert label has fallen under scrutiny lately, for allowing synthetics in products (which is against it’s own rules) with many interest groups now not trusting the integrity of the EcoCert logo

Fakes include Alba Botanica (help! I am using their coconut body cream right now), Jason Pure Natural Organic (nice use of words, faker Jason), Kiss My Face Organics and Nature’s Gate Organics, all of which I sadly have used and believed them to be truly natural and/or organic.

Real natural/organics include Natures Baby Organics and Dr.Bronners ( Hurrah! I use their lovely lavender soap). And lastly, there are the “hit and miss guys”, whose products have both the good stuff, and the bad stuff. Included here is Burts Bees, who Organicgal says is at least honest about their ingredients, good or otherwise.

Good to know when you next shop for toiletries!

One of the mantras in my household is “Wash your hands please”. When the kids get home from school, before mealtimes, before cooking, after playing, after touching the pets and so on. But when you’re out of the house, using water and soap obviously isn’t the most convenient thing. And the solution a lot of people have been using come in the form of antibacterial gels, which are cheap, plentiful and found just about anywhere. The problem with it though, is that terrible ingredient, triclosan, an antibacterial agent found in a lot of products nowadays, from soap to socks! But the fact remains: Triclosan is no better than plain soap.

Several months ago, I read a very disturbing article by a Mom, aptly called: “Cancer or Germs? I’ll Take the Germs!”. She took the time out to do research on the stuff (the things a Mom will do!- bravo) and it made me ban triclosan from my household forever – why? because among other nasties, it causes cancer and is bad for the environment. Enough said. If you want to know more about it, or what products contain it, please go here.

Okay. So we know antibacterial gels with triclosan are bad, but that doesn’t really solve our problem about killing germs while we are on the go. Mind you, soaps have it too, so be wary and always read labels. Well, the best solution is to buy the natural stuff (like Clean Well), or better yet, make it yourself.

Here are some ideas:

Grapefruit seed extract: diluted with distilled water, makes a great all-around germ-killing spray for hands, air, surfaces and even wounds!

Vodka and essential oil: Mixing vodka, essential oil (like lavender) and distilled water, is another easy and cheap alternative. Put it in a spray bottle and keep it handy.

Essential oils and water: Simple yet effective, take your favourite essential oil and mix it with water to create a very natural antibacterial. The most potent are: cinnamon, cloves, verbena, lavender, angelice, juniper, sandal, cedar, thyme and lemon.

Remember that awful pet food poisoning scare a couple of years ago? Luckily, none of our pets (5 dogs, 7 cats) were victims of the poisoning, but many people I knew lost their beloved pets because of it. One good thing to come of the tragedy though, was that organic and natural pet food sales rose as more people decided to switch.

I am one of those people, and though I often wondered what was in the usual brands like Alpo, Pedigree or Whiskas, I never really bothered to really look. Well, according to Newman’s Own Organics, whose organic pet products I love and use (and their people products too!),it’s pretty disturbing, such as poultry “by products”:

“Ground, rendered, cleaned slaughtered poultry carcass parts such as necks, feet, lymph nodes, undeveloped eggs and intestines (and a small amount of feathers). The quality is very inconsistent between batches. Note: By product meals are often derived from 4-D meat sources – defined as food animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meat packing plant as “Dead, Dying, Disabled or Diseased”.

Ugh. Would you honestly feed this stuff to your cat or dog? If your pets are considered part of the family, as ours are, it makes total sense to put as much thought in their food as you do yours. Yes, it can cost much more to buy organic or holistic pet food, but there is an alternative. Make it yourself. Here’s a great book I found, The Natural Pet Cookbook (pictured above), which will help get you started. Not only will you be happy in the knowledge that you are feeding your pets healthy, natural food, but you’ll also notice the change – healthier, happier pets!

I used to spend a lot of money on commercial glass cleaners. Not only were they expensive and full of toxic chemicals, but they also never managed to do the job too well. Since I started to try and live a more earth-friendly lifestyle, I switched to eco-friendly products, which didn’t have the chemicals but weren’t that cheap either. So I resolved to find some cheaper DIY solutions. Here are my favourites:

Newspaper: Yes, thats it! Crumpled old newspaper. My Mom swears by it. You can use this to dry as well, to avoid streaking.

Vinegar and Water: Two simple ingredients, one cheap and effective solution. The only hitch is that you have to beat with the sour smell for a while – but it does eventually wear off.

The Best Window Cleaner – I found this recipe online:

Make a great all-purpose window cleaner by combining 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent, and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Combine in a spray bottle. Shake to blend.

If you must buy the stuff, here are some good options:

Eco Products, Boulder Colorado

Natural Collection Products

Eco hip Environmental Products

Ecover

Do you have living plants inside your home? Just the other day I realized that while I made sure my garden was in good condition, I hardly had any living plants inside. When we first moved into this house a year and a half ago, I had two large houseplants inside, one very tall, reaching my double height living room ceiling, and the other one of those spider plants, like the one above. I’m not sure why, but both languished for the next few months, and when I found a nasty termite hole under the pot of the large one, I moved both plants outside.

This I now regret, because I have since learned that the amounts of chemicals inside our homes were huge – and this is just from ordinary, everyday living. And one way to combat its ill effects (like cancer) are non-other than the humble houseplant. Here are some examples of the big baddies which are most probably in your home as we speak.

Formaldehyde
This nasty one causes cancer and is shockingly found in pretty much everything (if you bought your furniture/clothes etc. etc. at regular stores) – your dining table, your carpet, your pad of paper – even the gas for your stove! In the past I always associated it with preserving the dead, so it’s an even scarier idea, for me especially, that this stuff is actually on the tabletop my family eat off on, and maybe even my makeup.

Benzene
This is another bad one, and a known carcinogen found in a huge assortment of everyday stuff like ink, plastic, glue, solvents, rubber, oils, paints, detergents, and even some meds. It can affect you even with low levels, from milder maladies like headaches to anemia and blood diseases like Leukemia. There are actually lawyers who are dedicated in litigating against the environmental effects of Benzine, and their website has a concise list on what products have Benzine in it.

Trichloroethylene
Exposure to this (in high doses) affects your nervous system, heart, lung and can seriously cause severe damage to your liver. It is found in dry cleaning materials, paint and adhesives.

Carbon Monoxide
We all know this one, which is found cigarette smoke, gas ranges, fire places, car exhausts, wood stoves and other gasoline-powered equipment. You cant see or smell it, but high levels can kill you FAST.

So aside from being more careful the next time you purchase a piece of furniture, decide to do some dry cleaning, or have the house painted, you can also protect yourself and your family by surrounding your home with chemical-fighting houseplants – more on that in my next post!

The night after her baby brother’s birthday party, my 6-year-old daughter came into our bedroom at around midnight saying “Mom I feel si….” and promptly projectile vomited in the middle of our doorway. The next 24 hours were awful, she couldn’t hold anything down, had a fever, and felt absolutely terrible. Classic symptoms of gastroenteritis. And what I find most annoying is that earlier in the week I had received a letter from her school saying that there were multiple cases of gastro going around the school, and it gave necessary measures on how to avoid it – washing hands, keeping clean, etc. Obviously not easy to do for 6-year-olds in the playground or school canteen.

So now that she had indeed caught the bug, the only thing I could do was to protect the rest of the family, especially her two little brothers. Aside from issuing a strict handwashing policy at home, I took on the task of disinfecting crucial areas like the kitchen, toilets and places my daughter used. I resisted the urge to buy the heavy-duty Lysol, and instead found a website which had some great information on how to make your own less-toxic disinfectants – so you save money, save the earth, keep healthier and hopefully kill a few germs while you’re at it.

Home-made Alternatives

Disinfecting/Deodorizing Cleaner
Add 1/2 cup of borax to 4 litres of warm water.

One hospital used this formulation for cleaning for a year. The monitoring bacteriologist reported that the solution satisfied the hospital’s germicidal requirements. (Dadd)

Disinfectant
Mix 2 teaspoons borax, 4 tablespoons vinegar and 3 cups hot water. For stronger cleaning power add 1/4 teaspoon liquid castile soap. Wipe on with dampened cloth or use non-aerosol spray bottle.

Tea Tree Disinfectant
20 drops tea tree oil (approx. 1/5 tsp. or 1 ml)
20 drops emulsifier
1 cup water or vinegar
Put emulsifier in container. Add oil and blend. Add 1cup water or vinegar.

Cinnamon Disinfectant
12 drops cinnamon oil (approx. 1/8 tsp. or 0.6 ml)
12 drops emulsifier
1 cup water or vinegar
Put emulsifier in container. Add oil and blend. Add 1cup water or vinegar. Shake before using.