Shout Dad an Aussie organic beer

While at the Organic Expo in Sydney recently we were very happy to taste some of Australia's fine organic wines and even a beer!

We were particularly excited about the Burragumbilli Certified Organic Lager and thought it would be a great treat for Dad on Father's Day…without the hangover!

A boutique beer brewed in New South Wales, Burragumbilli is growing in popularity and reputation as a quality, clean tasting “green” choice for the thinking drinker. It has no added sugar, no preservatives and no harmful chemical residues.

The beer follows an organic processing chain from farm to malt house to brewery and bottling to achieve the high status Australian Certified Organic (ACO) certification.

Organic malts and hops have no chemical residues to interfere with fermentation producing a clean, unadulterated beer. Organic lager has exceptional clarity without the use of harmful chemical fining agents, and it has a clean, flavourful taste.



Would you like a cocktail with that beer?
If you are drinking a beer that is not certified organic you are likely to be imbibing a chemical cocktail at the same time.  It can include the residues from farming processes, storage and preservative requirements, several of which are carcinogenic, as well as residues of industrial cleaners and chemical additives to the brew such as flavours, colours, and preservatives.

The benefit of organic beverages is not only are they chemical free but they are also either preservative free or produced with low preservatives, which has a proven tendency to be gentler on your system with less headaches the next day.

Burragumbilli barley and hops are grown without industrial fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides or fungicides and therefore are without the common chemical residues of conventionally grown crops. Hops in particular are very susceptible to fungal diseases and conventionally grown crops generally require fungicidal applications. Organic hops must be grown with wider spaced plants and rigorous pruning to improve sunlight penetration and airflow to restrict fungal infections.

Where to buy a Burra 

Check the list of retail outlets for Burragumbilli organic beer here. If your local bottle shop doesn’t already, why not ask them to start stocking Burragumbilli. Plus, it now has the distinction of being the first organic beer offered on Virgin Australia international and some domestic flights.

Organic Wines

The 2009 Temple Bruer Thistle Hill Riesling was awarded the Best Wine of Show & Best White at the Australia / New Zealand Organic Wine Show, whilst the 2007 Temple Bruer Shiraz Malbec Preservative Free took the Best Red & Best Preservative Free trophy.

Temple Bruer is regarded as one of the pioneers in organic viticulture and oenological practices in Australia. David and Barbara Bruer established a small vineyard in the early 1970's on a property situated on the main road between the towns of Strathalbyn and Milang, in the grape growing district of Langhorne Creek in South Australia. David was in charge of Roseworthy College's Oenology Department before becoming a full-time vigneron, while Barbara also taught chemistry at Roseworthy College and Flinders University for ten years.

Today Temple Bruer is Australia's largest certified organic label and its reputation for quality wine is firmly established.

www.organicwine.com.au is an online wine retailer specialising in organic wine, biodynamic wine and preservative free wine.  Organic, biodynamic, and minimal interference practices when employed competently lead to a superior and unique quality product. The individual “personality” of each wine can be fully expressed for us all to savour.

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Women, wildflowers and hope

One of my favourite moments in the Biome store today was sharing with our customers an appreciation of these beautiful and intriguing greeting cards and the women who made them.

Handmade by women whose homes in El Salvador’s highland cloud forest were destroyed by a devastating earthquake and mudslides, these greeting cards represent a woman’s hope for the future.

Look closely as you may not realise that the pattern on these greeting cards is made from intricately placed dried wildflowers and leaves.

In 2001, massive mud slides and a devastating earthquake left many families in the highlands of El Salvador homeless and jobless. With their fields destroyed, many people began traveling long hours to low-paying factory jobs in the capital. A group of enterprising women, however, formed Arte Comasagua, an artisans’ organization that handcrafts stylish designs from native flowers and plants. These women now work locally, caring for their families and saving for their future.

These handmade wildflower cards are available online and at Biome Eco Stores at 2 Latrobe Tce, Paddington and 215 Adelaide Street, Brisbane CBD.


The cards are shared with the world through Hope for Women, a socially-responsible, for-profit organisation that provides retail opportunities for products made exclusively by women so they can take control of their lives and futures.  Learn more from this news story.

  

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Mr Harvey, can't you use your media power for good?

Photo from Greenpeace Australia Pacfic website

There is no doubt that Gerry Harvey is a very influential person in Australia due to the media air time that he commands - whether it be paid advertising, or as we saw when he spoke out against offshore online shopping, free editorial.

He recently gained so much free media time on the TV, radio and in print, trying to make the Government introduce a policy to discourage people from buying overseas.

Why then does
(a) Harvey Norman purchase furniture made overseas for sale in Australia?

(b) Harvey Norman allow furniture made from precious Australian native forest timbers to be sold in his stores?

(c) Mr Harvey not use his incredible media influence to be a true leader and speak out against this practice and urge the Government to establish an Australian labelling policy?

An Australian non government group Markets for Change investigation has revealed (excerpt taken from noharveyno.net):
                   The journey of many of Harvey Norman’s Australian native forest wood products starts in the forests of Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and New South Wales. These forests are logged, shipped overseas to China, made into furniture and then shipped back to Australia to be sold back to us in the showrooms of Harvey Norman around the country.
Harvey Norman has no publicly available procurement policy that ensures the piece of furniture you buy has not come from an Australian native forest.

Australia does need a labelling policy that empowers the consumer to make an informed choice.  The labelling must identify the species from which products are made, whether the trees have been harvested from certified plantations or native forests, and the country in which the products are manufactured.

Take action

Here you can find an excellent resource with a list of the retailers and timbers to avoid.
Who's selling our native forests?

See the full report at the Markets for Change website

Sign the GetUp! petition here

Take the Ethical Paper pledge here

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BPA Free news

Pictured here: LifeFactory glass bottles with silicone covers

As reported on Channel 10 news tonight, 5 July 2011

Channel Ten news tonight aired an informative story on the dangers of BPA and how to avoid BPA.   Read more about our Biome store and the choices featured in the Channel 10 news story.  Founder of Biome Eco Stores and environmentalist Tracey Bailey, spoke in the news piece.  Link to the Channel Ten story.
We have all heard about BPA in the media lately and know that this dangerous compound is found in some plastic containers and drink bottles.  Make a difference in your and your family's health by choosing the safest water bottles and drinking containers available on the market today.

At Biome Eco Stores we have only ever offered safe, non-toxic choices including BPA free, PVC free and also free from lead and phthalates.

This post contains some thoroughly researched, credible sources that we have found on BPA.

The quick summary?  Good old-fashioned glass is the safest choice for any form of drinking vessel, drink bottle, storage container or cooking vessel.  This may not seem the most practical choice, but Lifefactory glass bottles are made from toughened glass and come with a silicone cover to help protect them from breakage.
What is BPA?


Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plastic and resin ingredient used to line metal food and drink cans and to make hard and clear polycarbonate plastics.  Here is a summary of the Environmental Working Group study in 2007 which found BPA in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods.

The use of BPA is widespread, as is its permeation into the environment around us including drinking water and human breast milk.  BPA can leach into food from the protective internal lining of canned foods and from consumer products such as baby bottles and water bottles, polycarbonate tableware and food storage containers.  The degree to which BPA leaches from polycarbonate bottles into liquid may depend more on the temperature of the liquid or bottle, than the age of the container.  (Source: National Toxicology Program).

This Z recommends article explains the great advances made away from unsafe polycarbonate bottles that contained high levels of BPA, but calls for putting BPA-free into perspective.  Canada was the first country to ban BPA from baby products, followed by several US States.  It is still allowed to be used in Australia.

How do you limit exposure to BPA?

• Avoid polycarbonate #7 and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) #3 plastics, especially for children’s food or containers used for heating.  Plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 and #4 on the bottom are safer choices and do not contain BPA.  Some #7 plastics are now free from BPA, so look for the packaging that also clearly states BPA free.
• Do not heat or microwave food in any type of plastic container – use glass or ceramic instead. Heating plastics to high temperatures promotes the leaching of chemicals.
• Reduce your use of canned foods – canned pasta and soups contain the highest levels of BPA
• Use glass baby bottles and glass bottles for drink bottles.
• Use high quality reusable bottles from trusted brands that publish results of quality control and testing.

Which water bottles and containers are safest to use?

In most cases, the old rule “you get what you pay for” is a good starting point.  There are many cheap metal water bottles in stores to meet the consumer demand for moving away from plastics.  We recommend only choosing an established drink bottle brand that you know and trust, that openly publishes independent test results, and that can be held accountable should there be a problem.

Metal bottles can still leach toxins, whether an aluminium bottle with no lining at all or an unsafe lining, or a stainless steel bottle leaching nickel – particularly if there has not been a tightly controlled and monitored approach to the manufacturing.

At the end of the day, you and your family are the ones who drink from the bottles and need to feel comfortable with whichever choice you make.

Biome offers only choices that are the best quality, reputable and free from all harmful things!

Glass water bottles
Lunch boxes
Sandwich wraps
BPA free baby bottles
Stainless steel bottle
Water bottle

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Who's feeling crafty?

Dark, chilly and blustery nights mean lots more time spent indoors focussed on the art of "gentle pursuits" like listening to music, cooking, reading, painting, knitting or your favourite craft.

Biome has gathered some special ingredients and equipment for knitting and crafting.

Organic, Australian-grown, non-mulesing wool
** 25% OFF this week **
Organic wool growers must not use any synthetic inputs - dips, drenches, backlines or antibiotics. Instead sustainable farming practices are used such as clean pasture management, attention to soil health, environmentally sound stock ratios, good nutrition, and herbal and homeopathic treatments.

In conventional wool processing a cocktail of chemicals are used to clean or scour the wool. Organic wool is washed in certified organic biodegradable detergent. For conventional wool, chemical treatments are used to make wool un-shrinkable, moth-proof and softer. This organic wool is naturally soft because they select fine micron Australian Merino fleece to begin with and it is not subject to coarsening chemical treatments.

Lastly, the wool is grown on a property that does not practice mulesing.

Handmade wooden knitting needles
As you knit, the natural oils in your hands are absorbed into the wood making them non-stick and beautiful to knit with.  Handcrafted knitting needles made from sustainably-harvested Tasmanian Oak, lightly finished with natural, organic oils. Available in a variety of colours with white polka dots.

Craft and knitting books
Craft books for kids and adults, knitting patterns, sewing


Wooden buttons & beads
In our Paddington and Brisbane City stores, find beautiful hand made wooden & resin buttons and beads, incorporating Australian native flora - every one is unique.

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Recycling at holiday accommodation

This Easter, join our campaign to get your holiday accommodation to recycle!

Next time you stay at a caravan park, unit or hotel, can you find any mention in the room of separating your recycling?

On a driving holiday from Brisbane to Coffin Bay in South Australia, we've stayed at all manner of accommodation venues.   At nearly every place, there was nothing in the rooms or guest information about what to do with paper, bottles, cans and plastics.  There was generally just one all-in bin in the room.  At each place, we saved our paper and bottles and took them to the reception on checkout.  Most of the hosts were bemused, but happy to take them and promised to put them into the correct recycling.

What worried us, was that many guests would simply put all their rubbish into the one waste bin.  Imagine how much recycling is lost to landfill across all the holiday accommodation in Australia??  Perhaps the venues do separate the waste out the back somewhere - but I'm guessing that would be unlikely, plus it would be too late for paper that had since been mixed up with food scraps in the bin ...

We found only two places that did encourage the guests to separate bottles, and they were small operations in South Australia.  I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that South Australia has a bottle deposit refund scheme? If so, good on the venues for taking advantage of some additional income.  It is interesting how some financial reward is a great incentive -- one that is long overdue in the other States of Australia.

That said, at the "eco-certified" Wilpena Pound Resort in South Australia there was nothing in the rooms about what to do with paper, bottles and cans etc.  Again, just one bin in the room.

So this Easter, how about separating your recycling and taking it to reception on checkout?  And while you're there encourage them to put recycling bins in the rooms or information on where to put the recyclables.

The above picture shows the bottle recycling bins at Southern Blue Apartments, Port Lincoln.  There were bins under the sink in the room as well as outside in the car park.  And on arrival we were asked to recycle - awesome.

Don't forget to take your water bottle and KeepCup on holiday too, so you can reduce the amount of recycling and waste in any case!

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Easter gift ideas

Painting Easter Eggs with Natural Paints
GLOB arts and crafts paints are made from fruits, vegetables, flowers and spices with natural food-grade ingredients - like Berry Blue, Pomegranate, Basil Green and Plum Purple. They even smell fresh & fruity!
Art pigments (colors) are commonly made from petrochemicals and ingredients are rarely listed on the packaging.  Arts and crafts paints often contain lead, cadmium, and other toxic ingredients like formaldehyde, one of the most common paint preservatives.

Here's a quick recipe for using GLOB paints to colour Easter Eggs.
Mix 1/4 tsp of GLOB powder with a 1/4 tsp of water using a brush.  Brush on eggs with a thin layer of paint. Dab off excess with a tissue. Set to dry.
For darker colors apply a second coat. Or, repaint over with a different color to make interesting hues.

Dyeing eggs using fruit, vegetables and spices
Boil eggs in a mixture of fruits, vegetables and spices found around the home to create lovely natural coloured eggs.  Adding vinegar to the water produces a deeper colour.

Dyeing eggs red has a special religious significance at Easter.  Create red using one of these:
Lots of Red Onions Skins
Canned Cherries with Juice
Pomegranate Juice
Raspberries

This About.com website has a great table with ideas on how to create different dye colours like yellow, blue, green and pink with all sorts of natural ingredients.  Some ingredients can just be soaked in cold water, but some need to be boiled to bring out the colour.

Fairtrade chocolate
 
What are you thinking of for an Easter gift? A little indulgence can go a long way by supporting Fair trade chocolate.    Choose from fairtrade, organic, Australian-made and vegan chocolate bars, chocolate eggs and bunnies!
 
Organic Cotton Maud n Lil Bunny

Velvety soft delicious organic cotton bunnies that are beautifully made from certified organic cotton with a natural filling.  They are designed in Australia and hand made in a socially compliance audited factory to the highest quality, health and safety standards.

Chicken love

Book: Zen and the Art of Raising Chickens

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Natural repellent - where did they do?

Have been looking for your favourite natural mosquito repellent but can't find it on the shelf anymore?

All manufacturers of products making claims about their "mosquito repellent" properties have been targeted by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medecines Authority (APVMA).

As a result some natural repellants have been re-labelled without reference to their repellent properties or they have been withdrawn from sale until they go through registration.

Before an agricultural or veterinary chemical product can be legally supplied, sold, or used in Australia it must be registered by the APVMA.
This is the same role the Therapeutic Goods Administration has for pharmaceutical and health products.

According to the APVMA, an "Agricultural chemical product" includes any substance or organism used to: destroy, stupefy, repel, inhibit the feeding of, or prevent pests on plants or other things.  And "other things" includes humans!

So products that make claims such as "A botanical blend of powerful herbal oils to deter insects naturally" are not allowed to say that unless they have been registered - which I imagine involves proving the claim and the safety of all ingredients. 

What happened to your favourite?
Bugger Off personal insect repellant -- withdrawn from sale while it is re-labelled or registered
Lemon Myrtle natural insect protection -- now called an 'antiseptic topical spray'
Mozzie F.O. natural insect repellent -- is still for sale, so must be registered
Scatter Bugs insect repellant -- re-labelled and is now called 'Skin Guard'

What are the ingredients in a natural mozzie repellent
All natural repellants that we know of are simply a combination of essential oils that mozzies don't like in a solution such as water and palm kernel alcohol.  Some add Glycerine and Aloe Vera for added thickness and feel.

The types of essential oils that deter mosquitos include Citronella, Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Lavender, Lemon Myrtle, Sage and Rosemary.

Natural repellent for babies and sensitive skins are the same ingredients but the oils are much more diluted so as to be less likely to irritate.

Take care
As with all essential oils, even though they are natural, people can be very sensitive to specific oils.  Always test a tiny bit first.  Pregnant women should always consult a medical practitioner before applying essential oils to the skin.

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Thermos :: 25% off sale

The weather is cooling down (in Australia at least!) - so think about warming up with a reusable thermos insulated bottle, cup or container.   For a limited time, they are all 25% off at Biome online and instore (Biome Paddington and Biome City stores - only when you mention this offer).

Biome has the best quality insulated water bottle choices - food grade stainless steel, double wall insulation, manufacturer guarantee for peace of mind.

Choose from:

• Kids Konserve insulated container - perfect for noodles, soup, pasta or cold choices like yoghurt
• SIGG sleek metro mugs - coffee thermo to toss in your hand bag without leaks
• SIGG insulated thermo mug - handle and sipper top for drinking on the go in the car
• Thermos - traditional Thermos quality. Straw sipper Thermos Funtainer bottles for cold drinks only, or insulated containers for hot meals likes noodles, soup & pasta.
• Klean Kanteen insulated water bottle - for hot or cold food or drinks. Add a cafe cap to turn your insulated bottle into a reusable coffee cup.

See all thermos insulated choices on sale now >>

Replacement parts / spare parts for insulated water bottles

Part of Biome's eco philosophy is to think about prolonging the life of a product and often a bit of a water bottle or drinking mechanism will break or wear out long before the actual metal or BPA free plastic bottle.  That is why Biome encourages all our suppliers to offer replacement parts.  We offer Thermos plastic straw and Thermos silicone mouth pieces for the Thermos insulated Funtainers.  You can find the Thermos Spare Parts here.
 

Thermos spare parts

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Storm in a Ziploc bag

As storms so often do, it began with some huffing and puffing of moist air and grew into a tempest of opposing forces.  A Quebec father blogged about his six year old son's experience of being banned from a contest at school because he brought lunch in a plastic Ziploc bag.  Within a few days it developed into an international debate on how to teach our children environmentally-friendly values and eco-fascism.

Many of us no doubt agree that penalising children for "environmental misdemeanours" is a negative learning experience -- but where does that differ from providing an incentive that they may miss out on?  In this case, I take issue with a young child being judged by the actions of his parents when he has so little control over the household budget and choices.  I liked the arguments that education is about providing children with the scientific facts and allowing them to form their own opinions.

The original blog post was written in French, but there has been plenty said in English!

Here is one interesting opinion from a blogger on simpatico.ca news

On his blog, [the father] accused the school of "propaganda" and pondered what was next. Disciplining school children who wore clothes made in China?  Across the board from editors, to bloggers, to general public, the school in Laval is being lambasted and accused of "Eco-fascism."

Dare I say I commend them. Granted it's true that children don't pack their own lunches so there's a disconnect between the lesson and real life, but the idea that a 6-year old be against plastic bags can't be detrimental.

Perhaps in this case Felix didn't quite understand why plastic bags were bad. All he understood was that he couldn't win a teddy bear if his mother used one in his lunch. The better thing to do would have been to educate both the children and the parents so that they could pack lunches together and decide on the most eco-friendly choices.

Was this situation Eco-fascism? Hardly. The school was simply trying to teach a lesson - a little misguided perhaps but memorable nonetheless. I'm sure the boy is discouraged from using the bags in the future, which is what we should be aiming for in the end. There's no better way to teach proactive environmentalism than to the young, who have yet to form their plastic, gas-guzzling habits.

And, as quoted in a National Post news article,

Schools tread into dangerous territory when they start enforcing environmental messages without understanding the complex scientific arguments behind them, said Jane Shaw, president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in North Carolina, and co-author of the book "Facts, Not Fear: Teaching Children about the Environment"... For instance, she said, the debate still rages over whether reusable dishes are really more environmentally friendly than disposable ones, taking into account the water and energy used to wash them.

"In the background to this is the idea that somehow we -- meaning teachers and textbook writers -- know what the environmental impact of something really is,” she said. “Studies have shown it’s very difficult to know whether it’s better to use a china cup or a disposable plastic cup.”  Instead, she said, schools should focus on teaching kids the fundamentals of science so that they can explore environmental issues themselves and draw their own informed conclusions as they get older.

“They’re getting a lot of pabulum about recycling and what is green and that kind of thing,” she said. “They’re not learning the basics of science, which in the long run is much more important.”

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Sandwich+gets+excluded+from+class+contest/4199546/story.html#ixzz1DQLKuMHS

Inspired to make some eco-friendly choices when packing lunch?  See Biome's range of lunch boxes

We'd love your opinion either here on on our Facebook page.

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