Greening your Zzz's

Millions of people have trouble getting a good night's rest. These problems can be traced back to all sorts of sleep-related disorders, but what if your bedroom just needed a little "greening" to capture those Zzz's.

All mattresses sold in the US are required to meet fire safety tests. You need to be careful what fire retardants your mattress contains. While they serve the very important purpose of reducing the risks of fire, some have actually been identified as carcinogens (boric acid and antimony).

We all know that the majority of "green" furniture can get pretty pricey, but a mattress made out of natural latex, wool, or melamine can reduce exposure to toxins. If you can't invest right now, grab a hypoallergenic cover to create a barrier between you and your bed. We all know a girl has gotta have her beauty sleep.


Got any great bedroom greening ideas? Let us know.......

Green retailers get a D-minus from consumers

A recently published study found that when it comes to giving their consumers information about green purchases, retailers get a D-minus. Around 40 percent of consumers in all markets say the information provided to them on green products is insufficient.

Shoppers want to be assured that when they pay that extra cash for a "green" or "organic" product, they are spending their cash on a truly green purchase. The study findings suggest that most green claims are used too loosely, leaving consumers in the dark about the actual environmental advantages of choosing that "green" product over the other ones.

It is important to remember that if you are in the business of green products, make sure you have a detailed ingredient list on your product. Also, display detailed signage or literature on the benefits of a consumer choosing your product over a not-so-green alternative.

Let's raise that D-minus to an A-plus!!

How green is it really?

The term natural is defined as “existing in or derived from nature, not made, caused by, or processed by humankind.” The most commonly used natural products in cosmetic care include: vegetable oils, salt, sugar, honey, beeswax and other similar ingredients. But, most of these ingredients have to be processed or harvested in some form before they are safe enough to be used in cosmetic or beauty care products. Scandle uses shea butter, jojoba and vitamin E, which are completely natural.

A large amount of 100% natural products are actually naturally derived products. This term means that a process was used to extract the ingredients. But, not all companies use a safe or eco-friendly way to do that. Many do use synthetic chemicals, so be sure to do your research on the extraction process of a “natural” product. Scandle, for instance, uses soy butter derived in an environmentally-friendly way. Scandle uses non-GMO soy in all of our products. The estimated genetically modified soy crop production in the U.S. is about 89 percent.

Organic items, by labeling, do not include any chemical fertilizers or other artificial chemicals and are relating to or derived from living organisms. Organic products can be confusing because some products can legally be labeled organic when they actually only contain a trace amount of organic oils. It is also important to do research on organic labeling, a number of products that use the term “organic” only have a few ingredients that fit the definition. Scandle, for example, utilizes organic French lavender essential oils, but we do not mislead our customers by labeling the product as “organic.”

Just because a product is “certified” in any of the preceding categories does not necessarily give validity to the claim. Consumers need to be careful when any product is certified organic, natural, etc. There are now so many certification organizations that it is hard to determine what percentage of the product is true to the definition. All organizations have different criteria that must be met.

Has anyone found a great eco-friendly product, only to find out maybe it wasn’t so earth-friendly after all? We would love to hear any tips or advice educating us on these new products.