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Even though I’ve been part of the natural products industry for almost five years, this past weekend marked my first-ever trip to the grandaddy of all things herbal, eco, and organic, Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California. From Thursday to Saturday, I met with myriad personal care companies, cruised the show floor for trends, [...] If you’ve dabbled in essential oils or would like to start, check out Aura Cacia’s new iPhone and iPod app, which serves up all you need to know about aromatherapy. Live an Aromatic Life with Aura Cacia outlines the healing benefits of specific essential oils and shows you which ones work best in conjunction—super handy [...] This week, a Colorado state legislative panel shot down the Colorado Women’s Lobby’s Safe Personal Care Products Act. Had it passed, this bill would have banned the sale and distribution of personal care items containing known carcinogens or reproductive toxins throughout Colorado as of September 1, 2011. This would have been the toughest regulation of [...] I can hardly believe that our annual Beauty With a Conscience Awards are here again. Seems like just yesterday I was sitting on our office floor amid a sea of lotions, potions, and serums, scanning some 1,500 personal care product labels for unacceptable ingredients. Now it’s almost time to bust out the magnifier and headlamp [...] Last night at the gym, I nabbed a copy of Ladies’ Home Journal from the magazine rack to riffle through while I rode the recumbent bike. (Not my favorite publication by any stretch, but hey, you can’t beat that column “Can This Marriage Be Saved?”) A particular article entitled “Long Way, Baby!” caught my eye immediately. [...] There’s great news for anyone who’s ever worried about the chemically smell of supposed “green” cleaners or questioned the possible toxicity of bright-orange “all-natural” laundry detergents. The Natural Products Association (NPA), a national non-profit committed to advancing the standards and safety of the natural products industry, announced today that it is launching the first natural [...] Sure, Valentine’s Day can be sugary, pre-packaged, overly hyped. Still, it feels pretty darn good when your sweetie remembers to buy you flowers. So we say embrace the holiday! Not only is it a good reminder to take stock of your love life, but it’s also a great excuse to get busy in the bedroom [...] Just because a shampoo bottle or lotion container reads “organic,” doesn’t mean its ingredients all came from the synthetic-fertilizer-free farm. That’s what’s so scary about personal care in the US—we still lack definitive, extensive-enough regulations for what manufacturers can and cannot stir into the very products that we rub into our skin, paint onto our [...] To save a few dollars (and to mix things up), I turn to my kitchen for inspiration for my beauty regimen. Here are some fun, natural, kitchen-based ingredients for beautifying on a budget: Pineapple: Pineapple is chock-full of vitamins and enzymes that will make your skin glow. Weekly masks are a great way to give your [...] For better-for-the-Earth bling, check out tagua-nut tree necklaces, earrings, and rings that cost less than $25. When working on the Gifts That Give Back guide for the current issue of Natural Solutions—on newsstands now—I discovered this sustainable South American palm fiber that’s being used as a substitute for ivory and saving endangered elephants. Then I [...] |
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