Pure and Green - achieving "real" organic skin care

We have looked closely at many natural skin care brands and as you may know many are just “bulk purchased bases” that are custom branded.  Further, many brands claiming to be organic are either not certified, or they use a certification that allows fairly small quantities of organic ingredients.

Unique skin care formulations are few in number and certified organic choices with close to 100% organic content are rare.   Newcomer Pure and Green Organics is an exceptional Australian creation that has ticked all the eco-credentials, led by an enterprising young businessperson wanting to achieve something special.

In June 2009, Pure and Green was the first company in the world to have every product in its range from face, body, dental and hair care to be certified organic.  You can usually tell when an eco company is "for real" by the extra steps taken that set them apart.  Pure and Green has shown deep consideration the whole way through to the packaging, using innovative ingredients and mixing their own formulations in a custom built kitchen.

ACO certification
We have learned that there are very different standards applied by organic certification bodies.  Pure and Green chose to be certified by Australian Certified Organic (ACO), the gold standard for high-level cosmetics certification.  It requires:

• at least 95% of ingredients by mass to be certified organic (other certifiers accept as little as 20%);
• no use of synthetic vitamins (eg. pro-vitamin B5) or synthetic surfactants (eg. coco glucoside, coco betaine), which other Australian certifiers will allow; and
  
• no toxic solvents to be used as ingredients or used in the extraction of any other ingredients. Other certifiers may not check, creating a loophole for toxins to silently enter products which still get labelled 'certified organic'.

Palm oil free
Palm oil is often hidden in derivatives like sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium palmate, stearic acid and glycerine without mentioning it on the label, or it is labelled as palmitate or simply "vegetable" oil.  Pure and Green has gone to lengths to ensure there is no palm oil in any ingredient.

Certified vegan and cruelty-free
The products carry independent certification of this, again taking it that extra step.

World leading packaging

• The first cosmetic company in the world to use 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard caps for its bottles. Not just recycled, but they have even ensured it is post-consumer, which is the true standard for recycled paper.
  
• The first company in Australia to use BIOpack bottles made from plant sugar.  This was not an "off the shelf" packaging option -- they achieved this with persistence, and they are custom manufactured for Pure and Green in a carbon-neutral factory.
  

We have been so impressed by the creators of Pure and Green with their responsiveness and openness to questions.  They are small business people who have fought every step of the way to make things happen that most others accept are not possible, like the BIOpack plastic bottles and eliminating palm oil.

Take a wholistic approach to your skin care by choosing safe mineral makeup.  We have selected the three best mineral makeup brands for Biome - read more about Inika, Sante and Musq mineral makeup.

National Organics Week will take place from October 16 - 25.  Stay tuned for organic-themed events and specials in the Biome stores. 
 

Achieving a truly 100% biodegradable nappy is possible : Eenees has done it

The disposable nappy market is another that has been green-washed so many times it has surely turned black.  The fact is that there is no 100% plant-based disposable and biodegradable nappy on the market...until now.

Despite what an “eco nappy” may claim, they all contain some amount of plastic parts.  The greatest problem is, however, that irrespective of what they are made from, none of them “biodegrade” once they are sent to landfill. Once something goes to landfill it is essentially mummified for ever.

Many years ago, the Tasmanian company Eenees invented a 100% plant nappy pad and incontinence pad system that is flushable (and compostable, except for the hygiene issue).   That Eenees nappy pouch pants and pad system still has a very loyal following.  Excitingly, they have just launched a zero-waste Eenees disposable nappy that is accepted by commercial composters.

Even when a nappy claims it can be composted, it is unacceptable public hygiene to compost a soiled nappy in your backyard. The only real solution is commercial composting, which diverts the nappies from landfill and deals with the hygiene problem of composting in your backyard.

Eenees is endorsed by Compost Australia as the first and only disposable acceptable for commercial composting. There are already several areas in Australia where commercial composting is underway.

Even if you are not able to send the nappies to compost, they are absolutely the best choice for the environment because they use no petrochemicals and they are made right here in Australia – Eenees should be congratulated by the Prime Minister of Australia for this achievement. Most nappies are made overseas.  Disposable nappies take up so much volume, imagine the green house emissions alone in shipping them here.

Can you imagine the hurdles that Eenees had to clear to make this dream a reality. Yes, they are a little more expensive than supermarket brand disposables. But don’t they deserve to be? The supermarkets sell nappies at ridiculously low margins to get parents into their stores, distorting the perception of what a disposable nappy should cost (plus, there's no accounting in the price for the environmental cost).

Eenees are made in Australia, they are made from 100% plants, and they can truly be composted with ZERO waste. In fact, the Prime Minister should mandate their use!

Diverting shower water to the garden in Brisbane

For a small patch of sloping earth, our native garden brings me a disproportionate amount of pleasure. While I wonder how a simple flowering shrub can bring such joy, I suspect most gardeners would be well-acquainted with this emotion – one that keeps us coming back for more digging, planting and fussing.

Several years of occasional efforts have produced a mediocre result in our garden, certainly when compared with others I have seen flourish in the same time. So I called upon Satya the organic gardening expert (and fellow Paddington Green Precinct member). His analysis? A lack of water. That should not have been a surprise given the drought that Brisbane has endured in recent years.

Satya encouraged a revamp of our bathroom water diversion. Our previous attempt failed because the water kept coming back up the pipe into the bathroom. It was simply because the pipe was too narrow for the volume of water Satya said, so he showed me how to fit a larger diameter pipe into the downpipe diverter.

He also discovered a dry white fungus under most of our mulch layer. This was actually stopping any water that did fall from soaking through the mulch into the soil. Fixing this will take a lot of digging the mulch into the soil layer and applying water (from the shower diverter), so that the natural soil organisms are able to go to work and take back their territory. We use minimal soap and only natural shampoo, so our water from the shower is safe for the native plants.

As we investigated some sooty pest problems on the Grevillea bushes, I was fascinated to learn from Satya about a company called Bugs for Bugs that supplies good bugs to eat bad bugs – via mail order! Imagine, to combat red scale in citrus trees you can buy "a cup" of Aphytis wasps (that's 10,000 wasps in a cup!) for $44. Having never heard of this before, just a few days later Bugs for Bugs was mentioned again when discussing organic lettuce growing with a stallholder at the Kelvin Grove Village Markets.

We can also help the garden by using our Bokashi compost bin more often and digging in the compost scraps (the Bokashi micro-organisms turn the scraps into highly enriching soil conditioner).

Forty metres of grey water pipe winding through our yard is not particularly pretty (photo above), but I’m happy. Not only can we enjoy the flowers in passing each morning, we can take extra pleasure from a shower, knowing that the water is on its way to those thirsty plants.

Parking Day at Paddington Green Precinct

What a great sight this morning as people chatted over coffee, reclaiming some road space for people.

Bliss Ecowear and Sol Breads organic cafe set up parks opposite each other on Latrobe Terrace, the epicentre of the Paddington Green Precinct! We were just two of hundreds of parks taking place across Brisbane and the world as part of the movement that began in 2005 in San Francisco.  Sol Breads and the street were buzzing with people drawn to the community created by the parks.

Brisbane PARK(ing) Day is all about –

1. Calling attention to the importance for urban public spaces
2. Rethinking the way we use our streets
3. Creating diverse conversations about how we can make sustainable cities

SIGG CEO says sorry

Saying "sorry" does not solve all the problems, but it is a significant step in the healing process.  We are happy that conscious consumers are being heard and not treated as pawns in a chess game.

Since hearing of this issue we have questioned SIGG to fully understand why.    Here is the link to our first post What did SIGG say about BPA? with information about the Exchange Program for bottles with the old lining.  You can check which lining your bottle has by looking inside - the new liner has a dull, pale yellow appearance while the old liner is a shiny, copper bronze.

While SIGG was not fully transparent, prior to 2009 SIGG only ever said that its bottles did not leach BPA or other toxins, as the independent test results show--and that remains the case.

Along with many others we have expressed our deep disappointment and we were pleased to see SIGG's recognition of those sentiments in the sorry statement.  Biome continues to support SIGG, selling only water bottles with the new BPA free lining.   We feel let down for everyone who chose to do the right thing for their health and the environment.  We are still stocking SIGG because:

• We appreciate SIGG's acceptance of what they have done wrong and their commitment to the "no questions" exchange program.
• We have always relied on SIGG's statement that the bottles did not leach BPA and the independent tests still show this.
• We believe that the bottles with the new lining are genuinely free from BPA and harmful chemicals (there is now Government regulation relating to BPA in some countries, so it would be dangerous to mess with that).
• SIGG's safe, high quality reusable bottles are still a far better alternative for health and the environment than cheap plastic or metal bottles.
• While they made a big mistake in not being transparent, we have faith in the 100 year history of this reputable Swiss company and the other aspects of their operations that are environmentally-responsible.

As an alternative to SIGG, we have also been offering for some time, high quality stainless steel bottles from Nathan, Klean Kanteen and SIGG.

Statement by SIGG CEO, Steve Wasik, as appeared in The Huffington Post on 7 September 2009
"I am writing to apologize.
As Chief Executive Officer of SIGG, a leading maker of reusable water bottles, I made a mistake when I decided not to announce that our old bottle liner contained trace amounts of bisphenol A. I learned about the liner's content in 2006, when there was debate in the scientific community about the effects of BPA. Scientists lined up on both sides of the issue: Some said BPA posed potential health risks, others said BPA was perfectly safe.
With the issue still very much undecided, SIGG decided to develop a BPA-free liner to eliminate consumer concern about our products. To be sure that BPA did not leach from our bottle liners, we commissioned independent scientific studies and asked the labs to rigorously test our bottles and bottles made by other companies. We urged them to put all bottles through tortuous conditions. Those tests reassured us because they showed SIGG liners leached no BPA. We posted those studies on our web site to provide consumers the information about product performance that seemed to me relevant at the time.
Today, the debate continues. Scientists are still split on the issue. But the consumer environment has changed. Because of the all the conflicting data, a growing number of people have decided to eliminate the concern from their lives by avoiding BPA. Given the situation, I recently decided that we had to tell everyone that bottles manufactured with our former liner (prior to August 2008) contained trace amounts of BPA.
We were right to make the announcement. But I was wrong to have waited this long. One of our primary goals at SIGG has been to help reduce unnecessary waste and to educate people on the environmental benefits of using a reusable bottle. With that objective in mind, SIGG has been labeled a "green" company.
Unfortunately, I am still learning to be a green CEO. When I took this position, I naively assumed that "green" meant being a steward of the environment. In 2007, SIGG became a member of 1% For The Planet and we have donated 1% of all of our sales to environmental organizations like The Sierra Club and Stop Global Warming. However, being a green company also means being held to the highest degree of corporate transparency.
Some executives learn this because they have grown up within the green movement. I have learned this by reading hundreds of emails from SIGG consumers. Some feel angry. Some feel betrayed. All feel disappointed because they were passionate advocates of our bottles.
People have written to explain why they are concerned about BPA. They have written about their personal stories, their intimate worries and their very honest anger. I have personally responded to hundreds of these notes, apologizing for my mistake, offering new bottles to make amends, realizing that my decision caused people real discomfort.
SIGG has been around for 100 years. Yet, we are still a small company with 127 employees worldwide -- about 90 of those working in our Frauenfeld Switzerland operation. SIGG is not a typical modern corporation and it doesn't have a typical relationship with its customers. People have trusted SIGG and my decision breached that trust. I wish I could turn back the clock and fully disclose the BPA content in our liners. What I can do is make sure that I personally never again compromise SIGG's good name and proud Swiss heritage.
In the next few days, we will announce the first steps in our path to full transparency. These will include some very specific things we will do to make sure we are the honest, green company that our customers expect us to be. We will:

• Post details about the contents of our bottles: the new liner, the cap, the bottle itself. And we will make the information as transparent and understandable as possible.
• Make it easy for consumers to exchange their old bottles for new, BPA-free SIGGs.  

[Biome customers can contact Tracey on info@biome.com.au for details on how to exchange your bottles with old lining.  The program will only be offered for a short period of time.  Read our first post on this issue What did SIGG say about BPA?]

• Unveil an independently managed grant program to help fund BPA and chemical research that will help eliminate confusion and concern about this issue. While we have moved away from BPA in SIGG products, it continues to be used in countless products that we all use each day. If it poses a real threat, we want to help curb its use.

When people buy "Swiss made" products, they are buying quality and peace of mind. I realize that my actions compromised SIGG's relationship with our loyal customers. I pledge to try to rebuild the hard-earned trust you have had in SIGG. I sincerely hope you will allow me to prove myself."  Statement ends.

SIGG also offer stainless steel water bottles made from high quality stainless steel.

Mineral makeup and natural skin care favourites

We recently held an event at our Biome city store to introduce our customers to the new natural and mineral makeup ranges: MUSQ mineral makeup and Sante natural cosmetics.

Our experienced makeover person, Hayley, shares these 12 favourites.  All great for those who want natural, safe cosmetics that look as good and last as well (or better) than conventional make-up.  

1. Musq mineral powder foundation
After seeing how well this foundation evens skin-tone and lifts and brightens the eye area, I'm hooked. So many people ask for low effort foundation, and this is so easy to apply (just brush a little over your face and neck, layer for more coverage as required). This powder is also great if you prefer a cream or liquid foundation (such as our MUSQ cream foundation) as these need setting so they last the day.  For those worried about a powdery look, consider our next favourite...

2. Bod rose hydrosol toner
By spritzing this nourishing spray over your entire face after applying your powder make-up (including blush and eye shadow, but before mascara), you'll end up with a wonderfully dewy, natural look.  This certified organic damask rose hydrosol is such a treat.

3. Olieve vanilla lip balm
The first step in your make-up routine should be to put on some lip balm (this one is packed with olive oil and tastes amazing). This will give the lip balm a chance to work it's magic while you are applying foundation etc, then blot off and apply lipstick. Your lips will be smoother and your lipstick will look the better for it.

4. Sante eye shadow pencils
For easy, even eye makeup even in those bleary-eyed morning applications with a foggy bathroom mirror these are it. They are easy to blend and gentle on your eyelids. For a more intense finish top with Sante eyeshadow trios in complimentary colours.

5. Musq mineral eyeliner
So soft on your delicate eye area, but with intense colour. No barely-there, scratchy pencil with this eyeliner around. To make this pencil long-lasting on the inner rim of your eye, use our EcoTools bamboo angled eyeliner brush with a matching eyeshadow and dab it over with the flat of the brush.

6. Sante rouge blush
Great natural colours, and what's more looks flawless on. Simple as that!

7. EcoTools bamboo makeup brush set
A good all-round makeup brushes set. The blush brush doubles as a great mineral powder applicator (as it is denser than the EcoTools powder brush so more economical with your mineral make up). The concealer brush is also great for applying or blending cream eyeshadow like our Sante eyeshadow pencil sticks.

8. Musq mascara
For defined lashes with no nasties, this is an excellent choice. Apply to tips, allow to dry and then apply to whole length of lashes. Available in black and brown.

9. Sante lip contour and gloss lip duo
Customers loved the colours, and I loved the easy application. Just sharpen with Sante's sharpener, apply the liner all over lips (and leave at that for long-lasting matt colour) and top with matching gloss at the other end.

10. Sante dipliner liquid eye liners
So long lasting for a liquid liner. If you like a little retro flick, always apply from the outer of the lid to the inner for more control and you'll get them even. I love the sparkling brown dipliner (No. 1), it is such a contemporary yet unusual shade.

11. Sante cover/concealer sticks
In the last range, these were a favourite, and now come in 4 shades. Apply a little just over the little dark patches of your inner under eye (if you go to close to the outer eye it may gather in creases and you generally never need it near smile lines for dark circles anyway).

12. Tinderbox Fennel and Yarrow cleanser
At the end of the day (or night!) take it all off with this effective, yet uber-natural cleanser from WA company Tinderbox. You'll be impressed at how fast it works on mascara and eyeliner.

A little bottle of fresh cleaning goodness

Biome team review by Amanda

After working at Biome for two years, I've had the pleasure of personally sampling most of our products. So for my first review I've chosen one of my all-time favourites.  Tinderbox Laundry Additive is a little bottle of fresh, cleaning goodness.  The package says it's a deodorising antiseptic for your laundry wash, but it's much more glamourous than that.  I add half a capful to each wash and it infuses my clothes, towels and bedding with a beautiful blend of plant oils such as rosemary, cedarwood, geranium and lavender. Suffice it to say, my house smells amazing on laundry day!  You might think I'm odd for rhapsodising over a cleaning product, but that's how lovely it is!  And because it's made by the lovely folk at Tinderbox in Western Australia, I know it's completely natural, hand-made and cruelty-free. Gorgeous.