Herbolution Giveaway: organic Perfume oil and organic Body Polish

Don't miss giveaway on Bianca Strom's blog ReLove Plan.et. Great chance to get:
already our favorite, Vanillicious botanical Perfume oil in cute roll-on bottle

...and Spicy Wake-Up organic Body Polish with Cinnamon & Coffee from Body Desserts Collection  -

The Giveaway ends on February 14 at midnight.
Good luck!

February Eco-quote from Herbolution Eco-Friendly 2012 Calendar

Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man. - Stewart Udall

How it's made: Organic sugar Coffee and Cinnamon body scrub - Tutorial

                 Organic sugar Coffee and Cinnamon body scrub

It is always a great idea to pamper your body, especially when you are using organic ingredients and can create some really great product right at your own kitchen. Let us invite you to our Herbolution kitchen and show how to make one of our delicious scrubs from Body Dessert Collection.

It is not hard to create such luxurious spa product as body scrub at home as you might think. All you need for the basic recipe is few things that usually can be found in almost any kitchen: oil, sugar or salt and some sort of fragrance, flavor or essential oil. Such scrub will not only diligently exfoliate removing dead skin cells but also will moisturize your skin which is especially good for people with very dry skin. Homemade scrubs are great for people with sensitive skin too as they don't contain any harsh ingredients usually found in commercial products.

Today we will demonstrate how to make Sugar Coffee & Cinnamon body scrub. To make it earth-friendly we recommend to use organic, Fair trade and 100% natural ingredients that are not only better and safe for your skin but also support ethical and chemical-free agriculture businesses.

Why sugar? Sugar contains glycolic acid, a component that keeps skin healthy. It moisturizes, conditions it and protects from the harmful effects of toxins. If you use a brown sugar scrub on a regular basis, it will help to improve your skin's ability to retain its natural moisture balance.

You need:

Oil, ¼ cup (we use organic Apricot Kernel Oil. It is very light, absorbent and moisturizing for your skin. You can substitute it with almond, soybean, sunflower or olive oil of your choice).

Sugar, 1 cup (we use organic Brown Sugar. If you would like more powerful exfoliation you can use sea salt).

Coffee, ½ cup (we use organic Coffee. You can also reuse any leftover from you

r fresh brewed morning cup of coffee too, but since it will contain water it should be used

immediately, within day or two).

Cinnamon, ½ table spoon

Cocoa powder (optional), 1 table spoon (we use pure raw organic cocoa powder but you can add also one of those yummy dry drinking cocoa mixes, like the one from Hershey's).

Cinnamon essential oil, ¼ tea spoon

Vitamin E, 6-8 drops.
Also you will need measuring cups, spoon, spatula or spoon for mixing, bowl and container to transfer the finished product.

Measure and mix all dry ingredients first in a bowl using the spatula or clean hands (to touch and feel the consistency and to add some love to the scrub). Make sure there are no any combs left. Add base oil and essential oil. Mix thoroughly.

That's it. Fast, easy and aromatic as your morning coffee :) Transfer the scrub to your container. Since this recipe is 100% natural and does not contain any chemical preservatives, we strongly recommend to avoid any water contact with the full jar, otherwise the life of the scrub will shorten considerably. You don't want it to happen, right? :) So the best way to avoid this is - before going to shower/bath scoop out a portion that will be used right away, this way the full jar will stay fresh and safe.

Give your skin a good pamper each time you bathe or shower. It will look amazingly soft, supple and glowing!

If you don't have needed ingredients or.. well, just lazy :) you always can buy this scrub from our store on Etsy or website.

"Following Organic Progress" - Organic industry is growing!... but...

We are starting a new series of posts called "Following Organic Progress" so check back for next posts in this series.

 It's been all over news some time ago that organic sales are rapidly growing and it's becoming a really profitable industry to start business in. All this is great news and it's very inspiring how it happened that really passionate and dedicated tiny group of people turned small organic movement to a mainstream scale.

Let's face it - it's all for good to all of us when we use no chemicals in agriculture, when our water is not polluted with toxic pesticides, when food is more nutritious and safe to eat, when farming is profitable and respected job again, when health is built with natural organic foods - not suppressed with synthetic pharmaceuticals and poisons.
So we all are going in the right direction! :)
But there's still a lot of work to do to make a significant change in world's agriculture practices. Here's a chart comparing total land cultivated for organic and conventional farming:

Total land cultivated for organic and conventional crops (year 2009 stats)

Ok, do you see the "Organically farmed" column? It's there! maybe not very standing out, not impressive but.., it's a good start and if it made it to this level, now it must go up very rapidly for sure.
So what's the point - this chart we created to have you all prepared and set up for hard work in promoting organic industry. We all are the ones who helped it to get to this point and must make this chart flipped the other way around in the future!..

...Stay tuned for next post about organic industry and motivational statistics that make a positive difference in life of people and environment.

World Fair Trade Day is coming...

If you have Herbolution's 2011 Eco-Calendar you should expect to see a World Fair Trade day marked on Saturday May 14.

Let's understand this day a bit better and why is it marked in our Eco-Calendar.

So why the Fair Trade term was created?

Wikipedia says:
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability.

The problem is that in developing countries poverty and hardship limit people’s choices while business market creates even more pressure and they become more vulnerable to exploitation, whether as farmers or artisans in family-based ventures. So The Fair Trade standards are trying to solve this problem with their certification programs.

In 2008, products certified with Fair trade certification amounted to approximately US$4.98 billion (€3.4) worldwide, a 22% year-to-year increase.

The World Fair Trade Organization (formerly the International Fair Trade Association) is a global association created in 1989 of fair trade producer cooperatives and associations and is promoting the value and importance of fair trade practices.

WFTO’s mission is to enable producers to improve their livelihoods and communities through Fair Trade.

You know that your purchase supports fair trade practice if you see a certification label on the product (like pictured above)

If we want to be in a fair world living fair lives we should build fair relations by Fair Trade.

Happy Mother's Day from Herbolution

We appreciate dedication and sacrifices that all mothers make to raise their kids in love and exclusive care.

We offer 15% discount to all moms with use of coupon code "LoveMom"

You can use it at any of our stores: ArtFire, Etsy or Web-site.

Some spring inspiration...

It's amazing how tender and delicate nature can be.

That is why we are so often receiving emails form amazed customers who are surprised how gentle and powerful our Chamomile Calendula Cleansing Grains are or how soft and smooth skin becomes after using our Floral Waters that are so simple yet effective.

Welcome our improved 2011 Eco-friendly Calendar

We are proud to introduce an improved Eco Calendar for 2011.
It has 12 eco-quotes for each month and also we added 14 eco-holidays to remind you to observe/remember them during the year (such as Earth day, World Fair Trade Day, World Water Day, etc.)

As usually, it is printed on tree-free Banana paper with earthy looking speckled pages. Has three holes for your convenience to hang on two or one hook.

Its available 

on our web store at www.herbolution.com 

or 

Etsy shop 

or 

ArtFire studio

How to avoid chemicals in our food?!

(As posted on www.care2.com)

So, what foods could be harming you? 

Ones filled with chemicals. Here are some of the main sources of unhealthy chemicals in our food:

Chemicals and drugs used in raising livestock
Researchers feel that this is probably the biggest problem and none of these are required to appear on the label. Over 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the USA are used in raising livestock to prevent infection because the animals are kept in cramped inhumane conditions.

Steroids are also given to increase milk production and speed growth. The feed given to these animals is full of chemicals as well and pesticides and chemicals accumulate in the fat of these animals that we then eat. So if you do eat dairy or animal protein, eating organic is important to decrease your chemical burden.

Chemicals used in pesticides and fertilizers
In 1995, more than 5 billion pounds of pesticides were sold worldwide, more than 1 billion pounds in the USA. FDA inspections have found legal residues on two thirds of food sampled, therefore these pesticides remain on our food.

You eliminate these pesticides from your food if you choose organic or grow some of your food yourself and most importantly if you support organic practices you support those who want to do good to our food and our environment.

The food industry uses about 3,000 different food additives in various packaged and preserved foods. These include (preservatives), emulsifiers, buffers, natural and artificial colorings and flavorings.

Use fresh wholesome and natural foods that are least processed and organic.

And then there are the genetically modified foods, which are now turning up all over the show. Here is a great guide on how to avoid foods made with genetically modified foods.

Chemicals we create in processing foods
Trans fats or hydrogenated fats would be the most common. Eat simple and plant based diet to avoid these.

Contaminants associated with processing of foods
During shipping and storage, chemical cleaners, food sprays and fungicides are used. Home grown or produce from local farmers market would be best bet to avoid toxic packaging and commercial handling.

Chemicals absorbed into our food from the way we cook, store and serve our food
Non stick pans, pots, bake-ware and utensils contain Teflon, which is made from perfluorinated compounds which have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems. And then we store and serve our food in containers that leech chemicals into our food, eg plastics and styrofoam. Use glass and ceramics to store you food and cook on stainless steel or cast iron only.

And please remember this is only a list of chemicals in our food, not our water and conventional personal care products, which are also full of chemicals.

Parts of this article are taken from  www.care2.com

We have WON the Etsy Voter!

Yey! We made it!! For the first time ever we've won the race! It was very interesting to be involved in this popular Etsy tool. We are happy and thankful to all who casted their vote for organic and eco-friendly item from Herbolution. We are even more happy that it will probably help people to raise the awareness about buying gifts that are better both for us and the Planet. Our eco-friendly Computer Wrist support set is 100% Organic including the fabric and the filler. It is filled with organic flax seeds and organic refreshing Peppermint leaves - wonderful conscious choice and great alternative for silicone commercial types.
Thank you again to all who believed in Herbolution and supported our eco-efforts!

See it on Etsy or www.herbolution.com or ArtFire

Please, support us by Voting on Etsy!

We are so happy that our Organic Computer wrist support set made to the Etsy voter this week! We are asking your help to support it by voting here: http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=106
To vote you should be a member on Etsy - if not, it takes just 3 minutes to register! :)
Thank you so much! :)
~Sasha and Veronika.

Eco-Sale at Herbolution

Get 15% off any purchase until Earth Day (Apr 22). Celebrate this important reminder-Day about value of our Planet to all of us. In every step of Herbolution's grow we "care about the One, who cares about all of us"...

Shop at our Website or Etsy shop