The solution that would affect change---don't use harmful cleaning and personal care products.
Read this e-mail sent to me today!

"Dear Linda,
Tell companies to come clean on fragrance!

That lemon-fresh smell or pine forest scent in your favorite cleaner may be linked to serious health impacts like allergic reactions, respiratory disorders, reduced fertility, and birth defects. What's That Smell?, a new report by Women's Voices for the Earth, is the first report to examine the potential health impacts of common fragrance chemicals in cleaning products.



Unfortunately, you can't avoid harmful chemicals by looking on the product label. Fragrance chemicals are kept secret from consumers, meaning that we can't avoid certain chemicals, like the phthalates and synthetic musks mentioned in the report, even if we wanted to. The only current solution is to avoid fragranced cleaning products all together, which is simply an unfair choice. You should be able to clean your home without worrying whether it might be putting your health at risk.



So what CAN you do?



Take a minute right now to tell cleaning product companies to come clean! Click here to demand that Proctor & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser (makers of Easy Off & Lysol), SC Johnson (makers of Windex), Clorox, and Sunshine Makers (makers of Simple Green) remove harmful ingredients and list all fragrance ingredients directly on the product label, where it helps you the most!



Then, learn more! Check out What's That Smell? and learn what you can do to avoid harmful fragrance ingredients in your own home!



To safe cleaning,



Alexandra Scranton

Director of Science and Research



P.S.- Check out our comic How Did That Pine Forest Get in My Cleaner? and share it with your friends!"









Linda Friesen - Eco-Gramma! Independent Norwex Consultant http://www.Norwex2BCleanandHealthy.com

Linda Friesen - Eco-Gramma! Independent Norwex Consultant http://www.norwex2bcleanandhealthy.com/

The skin is our body's largest organ and protects us from the environment.
While it is not true that everything we put on our skin enters it, many things do.


Here are some reasons why we should choose organic plant-based products for our skin:


• there is evidence that a number of synthetic ingredients may be contaminated with carcinogens;
• plant extracts obtained from plants not grown organically may be contaminated with pesticides;
• many synthetics, especially various substances used for fragrances and preservatives, can be irritating and allergenic;
• many products are preserved with parabens - there is quite a bit of evidence suggesting that parabens are absorbed through the skin, and they are found to accumulate in breast cancer tumors

(this doesn't say they caused the cancer, but it doesn't look good for them!);

• if not preserved with parabens, the next greatest preservative agents used are formaldehyde releasers such as DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diozolydinyl urea, quaternium-15, 2-bromo-2 nitropropane-1, 3-diol, tris(hydroxymethyl) nitromethane, and hydroxymethyl glycinate (personally, I hardly agree with preserving our bodies AFTER they are dead, so I am in no hurry to get a head start!);
• organic cultivation protects not only the people using the product and the environment at the point of end use, but also protects the environment where the ingredients are grown and the people growing, harvesting and processing those ingredients;
• in many respects, using all natural ingredients also helps to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels - many synthetics are based on components derived from petroleum;

• many people are simply of the opinion that Nature does it best!

Linda Friesen - Eco-Gramma! Independent Norwex Consultant http://www.norwex2bcleanandhealthy.com/

The phrase "wolf in sheeps clothing" comes to mind. For example we are led to believe that spraying Lysol on all surfaces (be it childrens toys, door knobs, counter--you name it) is a way to keep your children healthy. Ever think of the harmful chemicals that your little ones are ingesting ?
And if that's not bad enough, the antibacterial soap, and other disinfectant we use are doing more harm then good...heard of super bugs?
Time to really clean up the environment starting at home...through out all chemical filled household cleaners....they are hazardous waste.

Some of the key ingredients are aloe, macadamia nut oil, hydrolyzed rhizobian gum and acacia senegal gum, extracts from a number of organically grown Swiss alpine plants (Masterwort, Marrubium, Edelweiss, and Artemisia), saccharide isomerate, olive oil, jojoba oil and xanthan gum. Together, these ingredients work to soften, hydrate, tone, restore the appearance of the skin, nourish the skin, help to retain moisture, improve elasticity, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and imperfections.



The keys to the “lift” in this product are the rhizobian gum (or rhizobium gum), acacia senegal gum (also referred to as gum arabic), and xanthan gum. What are these? Rhizobian gum is a mucopolysaccharide (a complex sugar) formed by fermentation of sugars by a Rhizobium sp. bacterial strain. Acacia senegal gum is a complex sugar; it is a sticky substance that comes from the acacia tree, and xanthan gum is another complex sugar formed by the fermentation of glucose or sucrose by the Xanthomonas campetris bacterium. Once again, we have friendly microbes to thank for the benefit that we derive from our products. The acacia senegal gum and rhizobian gum work together to reduce the appearance of fine lines. The xanthan gum also likely helps with this, as well as working to thicken the product…Solutions brought to you by Mother Nature herself.



Apply the Lifting Serum gently to cleansed skin, followed by the day or night cream, and allow to absorb.



November 2009

Tech Talk by Candi Bezte, Norwex Science & Technical Advisor