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We’d like to believe that our government is policing the safety of our food and the containers it comes in, but it’s not.

Our advice is to limit your family’s exposure to:

Healthy Home Tips 02: Go organic and eat fresh foods | Environmental Working Group

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Four out of five people say they are still buying green products and services today-which sometimes cost more-even in the midst of a U.S. recession.

A study commissioned by Green Seal and EnviroMedia Social Marketing and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation reveals peoples’ opinions and behaviors about products that claim to be environmentally friendly.

Half of the 1,000 people surveyed say they are buying just as many green products now as before the economic downturn, while 19 percent say they are buying more green products. Fourteen percent say they are buying fewer environmentally green products.

2009 National Green Buying Research
Other key findings in the new research conducted by telephone in a random-digit-dial sample:

click here to find out Green Seal: Publications and Resources 2009 National Green Buying Research

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Better products meet their claims and are free of ingredients that could harm our health or the environment. Labels might claim that a product is “gentle” or “natural,” but with no required safety testing, companies that make personal care products can use almost any chemical they want, regardless of risks. So, always read product labels – especially the ingredient list – before you buy.

How to read a label
Every personal care product on the market must list the ingredients on the label. Label reading can be confusing – here are some tips to help you wade through the chemical names. You can approach ingredient lists in 3 parts:

To read more click below.

Healthy Home Tips | Environmental Working Group

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With the announcement of new fuel economy standards last week, the Obama administration made sure that the days of car company battles against fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles are safely in our rear-view mirrors. Numerous studies have shown that 75%+ of the energy used by a car over its lifetime is consumed in the operation of the vehicle, so this focus on efficiency is well-placed. But we shouldn’t forget about the other 25% of energy use or the environmental impacts that come with it – hazardous chemicals that off-gas when our cars sit in the sun, components that are difficult to recycle, and loads of plastics made from petrochemicals among them.

Green building practices are successful because they consider every aspect of how a house is built. Energy systems such as furnaces, water heaters, insulation and renewable energy options are important, but so too are sustainably harvested woods, countertops made from recycled materials, and paints or adhesives that don’t harm our health. Shouldn’t we expect the same from our cars, with their thousands of components sourced from around the world?

The good news is that manufacturers are starting to take the challenge of building efficient AND sustainable cars seriously. Ford Motors, for instance, highlighted the following initiatives last week:

To read the initiatives click here —> Ford Cars Getting Greener On The Inside

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Summer is just around the corner, and this is the time of year when we really ramp up our lawn activities– watering, fertilizing, mowing, etc.  And all of these can have major negative environmental consequences. Did you know that over 50 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend, and that mowing contributes as much as 5% of the country’s air pollution? And it’s staggering to realize that the average American grassy lawn can use over 20,000 gallons of water each summer! So, a major part of any green home strategy should be to embrace eco-friendly lawn and garden care.

Here are 12 ways you can make sure you have an eco-friendly lawn this summer

Click here —> 12 Steps to Eco-Friendly Lawn Care This Summer

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Benefits

All you need for thousands of household jobs
• Superconcentrated — 16 ounces makes 48 gallons of superpowerful all-purpose cleaner.
• Versatile cleaner — removes dirt, grease, and grime from any washable surface, inside and out.
• Cuts through the most stubborn grease and grime, leaving no smeary residue.
• Twice as concentrated as original Basic-H® — use half as much.
• No-rinse, no-residue, streak-free formula.

Use on any washable surface — indoor or outdoor
• Walls • Windows and mirrors • Sealed countertops, tiles, and floors • Appliances • Stoves • Sealed woodwork • Pots and pans • Furniture • Driveways and engine grease • Barbecue grills • Ovens
(Not intended for use in aquariums or windshield-washer reservoirs.)

Did you know?

Many all-purpose cleaners may contain toxins that can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled.  Synthetic solvents may cause hormone disruptions.  Organic solvents such as butyl cellosolve are neurotoxins and nasal irritants.  Another toxin, morpholine, can cause liver or kidney damage.  Glass cleaners contain ammonia, a poison that can irritate skin, eyes, and the respiratory system.

Basic H2 does not contain these hazardous ingredients.

The Shaklee Difference

SAFE

✔ Nontoxic
✔ No toxic fumes
✔ No hazardous chemicals
✔ Fragrance free
✔ Mild on your hands
✔ pH balanced
✔ No chlorine

POWERFUL

✔ Tough on grease
✔ Ultraconcentrated — 16 oz. makes 48 gallons — all-purpose cleaner
✔ 16 oz. of Basic H2 makes the equivalent of over 5,800 bottles of Windex®* (26 oz. each)
✔ Doubly concentrated compared with original Basic-H — use only half as much

GREEN

✔ Natural, sustainably sourced ingredients — derived from corn and coconut
✔ Biodegradable surfactants
✔ No phosphates
✔ Recyclable packaging
✔ No dyes
✔ Safe for septic systems and graywater

Ryan Baldwin is a Shaklee Independent Distributor.  To learn more about this and other green products please visit the WarrenBaldwin green online store.

OK, so you are starting to hear me, a little voice in your head says, “maybe I do need someone to clean my home”.  Why choose green though?   Clean is clean, right?  Not so much.  Here are just a few facts I have found:

• There are over 80, 000 chemicals registered with the EPA and less than 20% of them have been tested for toxicity.
• Conventional cleaners contain harmful chemicals that find their way into our bodies, air and water. The EPA recognizes conventional degreasers, all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners and certain laundry products as household hazardous waste.
• A person who spends 15 minutes cleaning scale off shower walls could inhale three times the “acute one-hour exposure limit” for glycol ether-containing products set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
• Common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.
• 9 out of 10 poison exposures are suspected to be from household products.
• Chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.

Green cleaning helps to improve indoor air quality.  Many traditional cleaning products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  When cleaning, these VOC’s are released into the air through evaporation and can affect indoor air quality.  The use of traditional cleaning products can also contribute to water pollution.  Using green products lessens or eliminates the chemicals that need to be treated.  You are only as healthy as you can be when your home is as healthy as it can be.  That’s why home should be the safest, cleanest, healthiest place in the whole world.

Do your research when finding a cleaning company that is going to really clean your home.  You don’t want someone coming in and using “cleaning products” that leave behind more toxins than the toxins they are supposed to clean.

Company Spotlight – GreenStar Home Cleaning (High Point, NC)

Clean & Green: our passion!

GreenStar Home Cleaning was born out of an idea: that a clean home is a healthy home. As the Triad’s premier green home cleaning service provider, we go beyond conventional cleaning. We use only Green Seal^TM and GreenGuard® certified products. Our HEPA-filter vacuums, microfiber cloths and unwavering commitment to detail ensures your home is clean and free of unhealthy, toxic residues left behind by conventional cleaning products. You deserve a clean home — and a clean planet.

GreenStar is a professional residential cleaning service provider. We are not a janitorial or maid service, and we are not a franchise. We are locally-owned and operated and are proud to serve the community in which we live. We are licensed, insured and bonded. We do a 10-year criminal background check on all potential employees. We are members of ARCSI (Association of Residential Cleaning Services International) and subscribe to the ARCSI Code of Ethics.

Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday – Friday. Our cleaning hours vary, but generally are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday – Friday (weekends by special arrangement). For more information please call us at (336) 455-8076 or email us at Info@GreenStarCleaning.com.

If you would like to be featured in a Company Spotlight write to blog@warrenbaldwin.com