Sugar · Eco-Chick

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Way Out Wax Does Lavender

Walking by a mainstream candle store on my way to the health food shop made my head pound almost instantly yesterday. The vulgar synthetic pumpkin smell being pumped out of this place was nothing remotely similar to any natural smell I have ever known. I am always amazed how many people burn these candles indiscriminately in their homes, sometimes all day long, filling the air with a stench that is supposed to evoke the aroma of a sugar cookie, an autumn breeze, or the smell of Christmas – Ugh! These odoriferous bombs make my nose itch. Go natural. Don’t expose your family and loved ones to synthetic, artificially derived fragrances that can cause allergies, asthma, and headaches. There are plenty of natural essential oils that can produce a pleasant scent experience.

As far as natural goes, lavender has always been one of my favorite herbs. At the health food store, I picked up a lavender candle made by Way Out Wax and it filled my house with the soothing smell. I try to support Vermont industries, having lived there in the past, and Way Out Wax makes it easy. This candle company makes some of the best smelling handmade candles around using soy and beeswax while avoiding dyes or artificial fragrances. Lavender has long been used as a stress aide, headache reliever, to deter insects, for skin problems and to alleviate insomnia and depression. As with all herbs, if you plan to use the essential oil directly, research the herb and its properties and cross-reference existing conditions and contradictory indications regarding therapeutic use.

allergies, autumn, candles, Christmas, dyes, essential oils, farm, Food, Handmade, health, Home, insects, Lavender, mainstream, oil, oils, produce, rape, reference, skin, soy, sugar

Denim Revolution: Organic + Ohhh-My-Butt- Looks-So- Good Jeans

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by Summer Rayne Oakes · 03/24/06

That’s what it is about girls, right? Jeans that make our asses look good while being good to the planet…It’s also nice to see that responsbile denim companies using organic cotton, less toxic to non-toxic dyes, and fair trade standards are popping up all around the globe. In my many travels around town, I’ve heard of a number of other potential start-up lines and brands that are tossing around the organic cotton idea…a Central America company, big retailer…hmmm, will keep you posted on who does it and when.

Certified Jean (Washington-based)
Del Forte (California-based)
Hug (UK-based)
KohZo (Switzerland-based)
Kuyichi (Netherlands-based)
Loomstate (NY-based)

Other notables, include:

Sugar Cane Jeans (NJ-based)

cotton, denim, dyes, Eco-Chick, Fair Trade, jeans, Organic, organic cotton, preservation, sugar, travel

Pour some SUGAR on me.

4 Comments

by Summer Rayne Oakes · 03/16/06

You can taste the salt of the sea in the hot, thick air of Mexico. Combine that with pulsing music, a dash of dance floor, a handfull of a hot-bottomed hunk and you got yourself one sensually sweet time. In Mexico last month, I danced like I never danced before with my lust-worthy albeit unsuspecting lovaaaarrr. ”Where did you get those moves?” he said panting (referring to my dog-in-heat-meets-Beyonce’s-big-bottom moves), “You must go out dancing all the time!”

“On the contrary,” I said. ”I’ve only enjoyed dancing in two situations: 1. with my voluptuosly 6’0″ tall ex-model friend (no guys dare bother us) and 2. alone…at…home…in front of a mirror. C’mon girls, I can’t be the only

Gawd I love that song. Though I can count the “little miss innocent” age on one hand when Def Leppard’s famous song rocked the pop charts, it gives no indication 4 hands later how that song makes me feel behind closed doors.“mirror queen, mannequin, rhythm of love; Sweet dream, saccharine, loosen up…”

What’s my favorite “sweet dream, saccharine” tongue-tingling confectionary delight? S-U-G-A-R. Mom always told me my sweet tooth would get me into trouble….funny, I don’t think this is what she meant. And girls, sometimes moms just don’t know what they are talking about. Trouble, is sometimes, just the best damn place to be.

Summer Rayne’s Sweet Recipe for OOOOOOO-SoMUCHTrouble:

1/2 cup of organic, fair trade sugar (available through Traidcraft). PERFECT CHOICE for those who want to do good while doing the nasty.

Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (looped twice).This will stir up some trouble.

Mix with Man, Woman, Dog, all three, or otherwise (depends on what you are into). Treehuggers preferred (they are the most carnal and enjoyable to be around).

Dance seductively until you break a salty sweat and you feel butterflies in your stomach (this should happen simultaneously)

Then recite the phrase:

” You got the peaches, I got the cream
Sweet to taste, saccharine
‘Cos I’m hot, say what, sticky sweet
From my head, my head, to my feet

Do you take sugar? one lump or two? (I take two)

Take a bottle, shake it up
Break the bubble, break it up

Pour some sugar on me
Ooh, in the name of love
Pour some sugar on me”

Guaranteed to make you shake uncontrollably.

car, Eco-Chick, Fair Trade, Home, model, mom, moms, Music, Organic, peaches, recipe, sugar, summer, treehugger

State of the Union Address States Something Incredible

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by Jennifer Veilleux · 02/27/06

Although our President has tried to hold back the tide of change toward cleaner healthier energy, some things he said in his last State of the Union Address suggests that he may be changing his tune, at least for now. The oil money man said that “America is addicted to oil”, and implied that this is a bad thing.

Bush acknowledged that energy sources from solar, wind, and hydrogen not only exist, but that further support into research and development for “alternative energies” will be funded by the federal government! In his speech he declared that we have to push forward in two vital areas: how we power our homes and offices and how we power our vehicles. Following his speech, Bush even went so far as to visit a plant that produces solar panels in Michigan and make public statements about the importance of the technology.

Regarding vehicles, ethanol was mentioned specifically in the State of the Union Address. Ethanol is a fuel that can be produced from various plants and plant matter. It can be manufactured in our own backyard or rather our own rural communities, and in fact, it already is. There is a fuel available, called E85; a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and it is used to power cars and trucks.

Brazil, Bush, business, car, carbon, cars, coal, dress, driving, Eco-Chick, emissions, Energy, Europe, fur, gas, Germany, health, Home, News, nuclear, oil, Plants, plates, produce, reduce, sugar, Technology

Crazy Capitalist and Enviro in the Same Sentence?

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by Starre Vartan · 11/22/05

Today’s NYTimes has an interesting article in a section I usually ignore. The front of the Business section has “Saving the Environment, One Quarterly Earnings Report at a Time.”

walmart
Wal-Mart uses a wind turbine to help provide electricity at a store in Aurora, Colo., as an experiment.

From the story by Dave Weaver:

A few years ago, scientists at Cargill Inc. learned how to make rigid, transparent plastics from corn sugars. There was just one problem: they cost a lot more than the oil-based plastics they would replace.
Plastic pellets derived from corn at NatureWorks. Some producers have adopted corn-based packaging, as the cost of oil-based products rose.
But that was before the price of oil shot up and companies came under pressure from consumers and investors to find economically sound ways to adopt “green” packaging and other environmentally friendly products and processes. This year, Wal-Mart, Wild Oats Market and many other retailers, as well as food suppliers like Del Monte and Newman’s Own Organics, all embraced corn-based packaging for fresh produce.
Sales at NatureWorks, the Cargill subsidiary that makes the plastic, grew 200 percent in the first half of this year over the period last year. “The early adopters were more influenced by environmental concerns than costs,” said Kathleen M. Bader, chairwoman of NatureWorks. “But now we’re competitive with petrochemicals, too.”
Cargill is one of several companies profiting from the concerns – of shareholders, communities and consumers – about global warming, leaking landfills and other potential environmental hazards. Huge companies like General Electric and Chevron now have separate businesses to market what they are calling environment-friendly products.
And new companies and university projects appear each day. Cornell University’s College of Engineering, for one, expects to have a commercial process for using bacteria to recoup energy from wastewater treatment within three years.
“There are a lot of creative types looking for the next big thing,” said Bob Sheppard, deputy director for corporate programs at Clean Air-Cool Planet, a nonprofit environmental education organization. “Well, these days, environment is it.”

That’s what I like to hear.