Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Heroines for the Planet: Vanishing of the Bees Director Maryam Henein

Vanishing of the Bees began as a small research project for Maryam Henein and her friend, and co-director, George Langworthy when they learned that bees were mysteriously vanishing en masse worldwide. Since one in every three bites a human takes is pollinated by honeybees, the bees’ disappearance was deeply troubling.

Soon the honeybee would become Maryam’s raison d’etre.

She was 29 when a few steps changed her life, and eventually led her to the bees. Working as an investigative journalist in Los Angeles, Maryam was hit by an SUV in a crosswalk.  She suffered a torn rotator cuff, five broken ribs, a broken tailbone and L-1, and she had a metal rod and two screws placed in her fractured left femur.

The pain and suffering from the accident sent Maryam down a winding path to self-discovery. She developed a passion for nutrition, alternative healing and organic food, all of which cleared her mind and helped heal her body. This diet overhaul and renewed sense of self through nutrition became so important that she considered studying it. But then something magical started happening that sent her on a different trajectory: honeybees began flying into her world.

In those days before making the film, Maryam dedicated herself to a voracious study of honeybees, researching Colony Collapse Disorder, the phenomenon which explains the bees vanishing, and any and all books about bees she could get her hands on.  Right as she and George began recognizing how dire the plight of the bees was, honeybees starting physically appearing in Maryam’s life. A honeybee hitched a ride on her windshield for miles one morning. And one week later, while driving down a busy street, Maryam drove through a swarm of bees.
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5 Ways to Reduce Your Chemical Exposure Before You Even Think About Getting Pregnant

Image courtesy Flickr User Trocaire.

 

I have never been pregnant and I do not have any children. I do, however, plan on being pregnant one day (but not anytime soon!). So you might be curious why I think I’m entitled to share pre-pregnancy tips with you.

It’s pretty simple: the facts! Being a healthy mom means starting on a healthy track well before you’re ready to get pregnant.

Budding mommies-to-be avoid smoking and alcohol without hesitation, as both butts and booze have long been widely accepted as fetotoxic — poisonous to a growing baby. But what many women don’t realize is that there’s a long list of other toxic chemicals lurking in their homes and daily beauty routine at this very moment– which could harm her eventual baby, not to mention herself.

These harmful chemicals pervade our personal ecosystems, disguising themselves in everyday items we use and consume. While clever and visually appealing packaging may assert that they’re safe, “eco” or even natural, a pre-pregnant or pregnant gal would probably prefer to avoid them if she knew the full story.

Many of the toxins in products we use daily bioaccumulate in our bodies over a long period of time after we’re exposed to them, sometimes even decades. (This is scary stuff for a woman who foresees herself becoming pregnant 10-15 years down the line, let alone just a few years.)

Toxins typically find their home in our fat cells, and because women naturally have more body fat than men, we store more toxins, (especially in our breasts and belly where babies grow and then nurse from). Heavy metals and other toxins don’t just bioaccumulate in our own bodies, they also build up in the bodies of animals, (especially large fish, which is why pregnant and nursing women shouldn’t eat  fish like tilefish, swordfish, kingfish and tuna). These metals work their way into the atmosphere through emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources, and then get distributed into the oceans.

As an aspiring mother in today’s world, it’s incumbent on you to take your health and your future baby’s into your own hands. This never-been-pregnant gal is here to help with these five ways to reduce your chemical exposure whether you want a baby next month, next year, or sometime way down the line!

1.) Use non-toxic cleaning supplies. Household cleaners contain nasty chemicals culprits  such as phosphates, phenols, phthalates, triclosan, glycol ethers, ammonia, and petroleum solvents. Sadly, I could go on. Many of these have been linked to reproductive and neurological issues and birth defects, and traces have been found in breast milk and umbilical cord samples. Gross.

The bottom line: Look for purveyors of non-toxic and safe ecological cleaning products  such as Ecover, Mrs. Meyer’s or Method. You could even make your own with ingredients like baking soda and vinegar!

2.) Buy organic fruits and vegetables. Women should avoid pesticides and pollutants found in non-organic food, as pesticide exposure can cause both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) health problems for animals and humans. Exposure to pesticides known as organophosphates, during pregnancy can permanently decrease children’s IQ, memory and ability to focus on tasks. Growth hormones found in dairy and meat products should be avoided as they can increase the risk of disrupted development and cancer in humans.

The bottom line: Shop organic and use the Environmental Working Group’s “shoppers guide” as a resource to avoid pesticides in produce.

3.) Junk your toxic beauty and personal care products. The average woman exposes herself to 167 different chemicals on her body and face during her daily beauty regimen.  Since we absorb 60% of what we put onto our skin, this means that you’re allowing chemicals to be absorbed into your body.

The bottom line: Shop for beauty and personal care products including lotions, shampoos/conditioners, deodorants, toothpastes, perfumes, nail polishes, you name it,  that are free of harmful chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, sulfates and DEA. Use the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website to research the truth behind the ingredients in many of the products you use. Be sure to use the tool prior to making any purchases. It may not be as convenient as simply reading some label that’s lying to you and throwing it in the cart, but you and your future baby are worth the extra few minutes of time spent.
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Radiant Natural Beauty with Jessa Blades and Greta Eagan

Jessa Blades of Blades Natural Beauty makes up Greta Eagan
Photo by Clemens Kois

When natural beauty makeup artist Jessa Blades and eco fashionista Greta Eagan recently got together for an Eco-Chick style photo shoot, the theme of the day was radiance. Jessa, who is passionate about promoting beauty that is connected to health, aims to help women look and experience their most vital selves.

Jessa Blades
Photo by Clement Kois

Not only does she offer an amazing expertise on cosmetic safety, but her stellar makeup artistry is convincing women of all ages—from savy fashion clients to impressionable teens—that natural beauty products should absolutely be the norm.

Blades Natural Beauty
Photo by Clemens Kois
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A Few Of My Favorite Things: A Look Inside John Patrick Organic

In New York City’s East Village over tea and soba and kinpira at Soba-Koh Restaurant I asked John Patrick, the design force behind John Patrick Organic (check out coverage of his Autumn, 2011 collection here) about his favorite things that he absolutely can not live without, and about his design journey so far.

A Few of John Patrick’s Favorite Things:

1. An eternal supply of South River Miso.
2. Short grain brown rice.
3. Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint soap.
3. The British toothbrush D.R. Harris
4. Organic, Fair Trade coffee
5. Pencils and sharpeners
6. Recycled Paper products
7. Jane’s Flower Oil from Grace Heaven Organic Salon, NYC
8. Hand woven organic cotton shawls (from John Patrick Organic)
9. Canvas hand woven shopping bags (from his own line John Patrick Organic )
10. James Vreeland socks (made in peru from color grown cotton.)
11. Ben Wolf clay pots (handmade in Connecticut).
12. Kinpira from Souen Macrobiotic Restaurant on 6th Ave, NYC
13. Bespoke organic oxford shirts from Charvet in Paris
14. American and British Vogue
14. Raleigh Denim jeans made from cone denim
15. Mc dermott/Mc Gough’s painting of a super hero that says “where’s that wish that I threw away”

In our times it has become commonplace for designers to boast of having their clothes made in the US or locally to prove their low carbon footprint. John Patrick has been doing this for decades; long before it was the green thing to do. An absolute love of every detail of the process is why he closely watched over every seam and button and knew everyone in the factories and specialty shops in NYC’s Fashion District. Designing clothes since 1982, Patrick has always made them in NYC even when the competition took their business to the third world. Seeing the process from beginning to end is what excited him about the business. About a decade ago he made an organic cotton apron for writer friend at Organic Style Magazine. A seed was planted and a star was born.

John Patrick’s Fall/Winter 2011 Show. Photo: Jane Webb

Patrick says that he started making Organic in response to September 11. When the economy and his existing world view crashed as a result of 911 he used that time to rethink his life’s purpose.
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Five Easy D.I.Y. Natural Hair-Care Tips

Guest Post by Melanie Kozlan, Four Green Steps

Hair-care products are often full of empty promises- ever since we were kids and fooled by those ‘No more tears’ shampoos, everyone is always buying into the various claims listed on the bottles, hopeful to eliminate dandruff, frizz and add shine and silkiness.

Unfortunately labels lie- especially since the FDA has loose regulations in regard to cosmetics and doesn’t require they even list all of the ingredients on their products- including ones linked to cancer (Watch the Story of Cosmetics for more information).

Next time you are in a hair-care aisle remember that cosmetic companies have free reign to write anything they want on the bottle and try some of these natural DIY tips instead:

1.Try washing you hair with baking soda instead of shampoo. Shampoo acts as a detergent and dries out your scalps natural oils. Baking soda can also be used to naturally whiten teeth.
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