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

Budhi Teen Care: Foundation for Healthier Skin

I’m obsessed with washing my face. I never go a night without it. No matter how exhausted, or what a late night I’ve had, I go to the sink and take all my makeup off, and make sure to put on a ton of moisturizer. I don’t do it just because I love to go to bed with fresh, clean skin, but I do it because it is essential as a teen, and for skin down the road! I was blessed to be free from acne, but I have extremely dry skin (and it only worsens come the colder months).

No girl wants to worry about their skin issues, but the search for a product that works is difficult. With so many different products out there choosing the one for you can be a challenge. But, Budhi Teen Care might be the solution! Budhi is the Sanskrit word for intellect, and makes skin and hair products for teens so they can be confident, and not feel conflicted over their skin issues, plus they are made with EcoCert certified ingredients, which means they are made with nontoxic ingredients that are good for skin and the environment.
More »

Abercrombie and Fitch (Deservedly) Earns Green Teens’ Wrath with Mall Protest

Abercrombie and Fitch has long walked the ‘adored by teens, hated by adults’ line, what with controversies sparked by their scantily-clad (and strangely hairless) models and ugly-people-need-not-apply hiring practices. But now they’ve pissed off the kids, and they’re fighting back with 70′s-style in-person protests (hey, 70′s is totally IN) of the ubiquitous mall retailer.

Teens Turning Green, an advocacy group made up of young folks who want to get toxic ingredients out of the products that tend to litter young-people’s bathrooms is going after A&F’s new scent, Fierce, which the company instructs its employees to spray in and around their stores, and of course, to wear themselves when they work. Teens Turning Green has sent a letter and video (see below) to A&F’s headquarters to no response, so now they’re taking to the streets (or the mall pedestrian walkway).

According to a press release from the group, “The issue is the spraying of the store’s signature fragrance “Fierce” in and around all A&F’s, a product that has been found to contain endocrine disrupting chemicals and cause allergies, headaches, wheezing and impacts male sperm count. The student protesters want to draw attention to a letter they are sending to the store’s national headquarters to demand a halt to spraying the store’s employees and customers , and also to the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 introduced this year to reform the regulatory policy on cosmetics (first time in 70 years). Hundreds of organizations have signed the letter, representing over a million and a half people.”
More »

‘Teens Turning Green’ Eco Body Care Now Available at Whole Foods

Most teenage girls experiment with a lot of different cosmetics and body care products, trying out different brands, colors and scents. But concern about what’s in those products isn’t just limited to adults, and that’s how ‘Teens for Safe Cosmetics’ got started. This coalition of young women actively raising awareness about the safety of ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products have long been advocating for products that are safe, natural and high quality, and now they’ve even got their own line of eco-friendly body care products.  The ‘Teens Turning Green’ line, now available at Whole Foods, was made for teens by teens.

The nine products, which include cleanser, deodorant, moisturizer, a purifying mask and more, are made by seven companies including four based in the Bay Area – Benedetta, Depth, EO Products and Pomega5. The other companies are Alaffia, Astara and Terra Naturals.  The line is sold exclusively at Whole Foods nationwide.

From the Teens for Safe Cosmetics website:

“Our goal is to affect change in a positive and collaborative way through partnerships with companies that are already doing right by our bodies and planet,” says Erin Schrode, lead campaign spokeswoman. “When information is available and alternatives are accessible, people begin to think critically and that prompts change. If what you put on your body 24/7 could be potentially harmful, why do it?”

“This unprecedented line of products for teens ( that adults will love as well ) shows that you don’t have to choose beauty over health,” said Judi Shils, Director of Teens for Safe Cosmetics. This line will grow to encompass all aspects of an eco-conscious lifestyle, all that teens encounter 24/7; we hope that the Teens Turning Green collection will inspire teens to not only protect their health, but also sustain their world.”

It’s so awesome and encouraging, not only that young women are taking a stand and demanding safer products, but that this unique group has worked so hard to ensure that teens have healthy options available to them.  The Teens for Safe Cosmetics website is also a wealth of info for young Eco Chicks.  Check it out for the ‘Dirty Thirty’ ingredients in cosmetics that may cause cancer, greener alternatives and links to lots more resources.

Cell Towers and Health Effects: Cellular Disservice?

This past week a local in my town contacted me to see if I would be interested in discussing the issues surrounding a potential cellular tower that would be constructed within one mile of my house. Some of us from the town had the chance to voice our concerns to the Connecticut Siting Council, which is the governing body that determines zoning for these towers in our state.

Having written about microwave energy and electromagnetic fields a few years ago, I remembered interviewing Carl Blackman, a research scientist in the Environmental Carcinogenesis Division of the EPA, and asking him about cell phones and cellular base stations in relation to electromagnetic fields and the possible health impact. Blackman was one among quite a few scientists and researchers I interviewed who reiterated the same sentiment: “We just don’t know yet. The science is not in.” The fact that the jury is still out on this vast topic, in a field (pardon the pun) that is ever-expanding, is enough, for some, to warrant grassroots action.

The subject is controversial and highly debated, although the issue is one that people are dealing with world-wide. The fear is that without mobile phones and cell towers covering every inch of land, emergency services will be left without connection, leaving us, “with a hole big enough to drive a hearse through…” as I recently read in a concerned citizen’s letter to the NYTimes. One concern is that the proliferation of these towers and devices has gone largely unmonitored, unregulated, and, according to some scientists, could potentially lead to serious health issues.

The World Health Organization has advised that the “precautionary principle” be enacted as a preemptive move before certainty of harm is verified by science. This essentially means that when any new technology is evolving beyond the scope of scientific research, it is advisable to protect oneself through risk management. So, while some still think that those who discuss this topic with seriousness are delusional and should be stuttering through the park, wearing a tinfoil hat, others, including the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and member countries of the European union feel it is worth serious discussion.

In Europe, some governments have set exposure standards below those of the standardizing agencies, in order to try to protect their citizens. In India, towers were recently banned from school and residential areas to protect people following studies that showed potential harm to the brain. The United States Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section 704(a) removes environmental considerations from the tower siting process, which denies citizens the opportunity to protest based on ecological concerns (zoning) or health issues.

In 2006, the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF,) the largest union of first responders in North America, passed a resolution banning cellular towers from firehouses until more research is done, because firefighters were suffering from ill health. Internationally, the concern regarding the exponential proliferation of wireless devices and base stations to support them has provoked scientific studies and prompted legislators to err on the side of caution when it comes to regulations. Many scientists are discussing the potential impact on DNA, neurological function, and human health while others study migratory birds and the reproduction patterns of all animal populations in the vicinity of strong electromagnetic fields.

In my town, in NW Connecticut, we are currently experiencing the battle. The cellular tower has been proposed to be on Route 7, a scenic highway that runs parallel with the Appalachian Trail. The AT park manager has sent a letter in response to the proposed tower stating that they had no problem with it, so long as Cellco/Verizon makes the tower look like a tree and plants 25 white pines along the trail.

The tower site is also within one mile of two schools and is next door to the largest employer of the town. The site abuts a friend’s property. Both he and his wife are cancer survivors and fear the tower could affect their health. At the public hearing, where town members were allowed to voice their opinions to the siting commission (who ultimately decides whether the tower goes up or not,) people expressed various concerns:
More »

Eco Chick FINALLY Run on Renewable Energy!

Since I run Eco Chick from my home office, and since up until last month renewable energy was NOT available from my electricity provider, this blog was run entirely on fossil fuels (how embarassing!). On one hand it was kinda cool; my electric never came from a huge corporation like Con Edison, but instead from a non-profit municipal cooperative (it’s some bizarre New Englandy thing) which is practically socialist! But the downside was that they were slow to catch on to the green energy wave which made green power available to most of my home state of Connecticut years ago (literally, I wrote a cover story when the the program was first introduced for my local Alt. Weekly in the Fall of 2005).

So now my two computers, desk lamp and phone (all you need to run a blog!) are run on: 33% Wind, 34% landfill gas, and 33% small hydro.
Not to mention the rest of my home! I’m very excited.

If you don’t already have clean energy from your electricity provider, check this map to see if you can get it- it’s available almost everywhere now. You still receive electricity the same way as you always have, and get bills from your same utililty, so it’s really easy. It only costs a teensy bit extra- if you’re more vigilant about conservation, you might even be able to make the extra cost a wash.

For more on the how’s and why’s of electricity conservation, see Treehugger’s great guide.