Put a cork in it

When 80% of the 20 billion bottles of wine produced in the world each year use natural corks, why do nearly all wine bottles in Australian bottle shops seem to have screw caps?

Is it a reflection of Australian culture?  After all, we drink a lot of beer with screw tops, perhaps we expect to be able to casually screw the top off a beverage.

Australia and New Zealand are among the leaders in this technological "development"--and it's uptake--along with other cork alternative, the Diam petrochemical plastic cork.  Commercial reasons must be driving the change because it's cheaper and reduces spoilage.  But, we seem to be accepting the move away from hundreds of years of tradition without much fuss.  Does some small percentage of wine oxidation really matter when we are once again replacing a truly sustainable solution with an non-renewable, petrochemical answer?

James Halliday posted his views of this debate and attracted some passionate replies! Apparently, the makers of screw caps contend that an aluminium cap generates less carbon in its manufacture and transport - compared with cork that has to travel all the way from Spain!

As someone comments on the Halliday post, "How can you suggest that screwcap production has minimal carbon footprint consequences? Have you considered the environmental impact associated with mining and smelting aluminium and the total amount of energy used in the process of manufacturing screwcaps? Transport is only one component when determining the environmental performance of a product over its life cycle."

And another reminds us that the bark of a cork tree regenerates and is harvested between 10 and 14 times during its 200 year life, in the process capturing 7 or 8 times more CO2 than had the cork bark never been harvested.

Australian environmental commentator Tanya Ha explains in her book Greeniology, the disappearance of cork is an environmental tragedy. "Cork is a wonderful, sustainable resource. The cork oak survives without chemicals, fertilisers or irrigation. Cork trees aren't cut down, only their outer bark is harvested every nine years....Over half the world's cork comes from cork-oak forests in Spain and Portugal. These forests are home to the endangered Bonelli's eagle and the Iberian lynx. As the world buys more wine with plastic stoppers or screw tops, these forests are losing their markets and the farmers are having to clear the land in favour of more profitable crops."

Cork is also biodegradable and readily recyclable so it does not need to end up in landfill. We have a well established recycling stream for cork in Australia.  According to the Planet Ark cork fact sheet: 

Girl Guides Australia has been a world pioneer in cork recycling, beginning its program in 1990. Since then, this program alone collected over 160 million corks. Currently, other community organisations including Motor Neuron Disease, Friends of the Zoos and Green Collect also collect
corks for recycling.

Both Biome eco friendly stores take pleasure in accepting your corks for recycling and handing them onto the Girl Guides.

Interestingly, Australia may lead the way with screw caps, but Planet Ark says, we also have the world’s largest wine cork recycling plant run by Logic Australia. The end result are new products like flooring, memo boards, placemats, coasters, floor tiles, gaskets, horse-float mats, boat decking and inners for hockey and cricket balls.

The story of cork is a common modern eco-dilemma, but we think that it is worth standing up for nature's solution.  It may seem like you're fighting against a tsunami of change, but every purchasing decision you make sends a message.

What Australian wine is bottled using a cork?

Searching online bottle shops, no one seemed to mention whether each wine has a cork or not.  The only winery that came up in searches was Harris Organic Wines, WA, who publish a statement about their commitment to cork.  Way to go!

We asked this question of our Facebook fans last year and they told us:
Brown brothers Riesling, Golden Grape Estate in the Hunter Valley,‎"Stones Gold" sparkling ginger wine, Brown Brothers Zibibbo Rosa, Bleasdale Vineyards eg. for "Frank Potts" Cabernet blend.

Perhaps you can add to our list by posting the names here or on our Facebook? 


Homewares made from cork

Cork wine bottle stopper

You can support cork through other products of course.  We have just introduced to Biome some cork homewares made in Spain from pruned branches and bark of oak trees grown on the Iberian Peninsula - a cork wine bottle stopper, cork trivet and cork soap dish.

Why not upcycle your corks into a real cork memo board?

Find inspiration on the behomemade.com blog. They made the gorgeous memo board pictured here from an old door frame and corks.

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Mind expanding New Year resolutions

We all need the injection of energy that the start of a fresh year brings.  It's hard to avoid the reminder to stop the wheel of life, re-group, tweak priorities and chart a course for exciting new destinations.  There's something about opening a fresh diary, that same feeling of writing for the first time in a crisp new exercise book back in school days. How about pencilling in those blank pages some appointments to expand your mind?

On your schedule this year, consider undertaking further learning about a topic that interests you.  The environmental sphere has so many issues and opposing points of view to learn about, and the technology is moving fast.  New ways of doing things, new organisations, new resources and clever consumer choices are coming to fruition relentlessly.

You don't necessarily have to enroll in University or even leave the house!  The internet opens an incredible field of resources from all over the world.  An internet-based course may not be the choice for everyone if don't wish to spend more time in front of a computer screen.  However, the internet will also give you leads to classes where you do meet face to face with a group of like-minded explorers. Your local book store will have plenty of environment books on topics by authors such as Australia's Tim Flannery.  Why not combine your leave with a hands-on educational tour or working holiday where your time, labour and money supports environmental projects.

Here's a start with some of our favourite resources. We invite you to post links to any other eco-educational resources.

Sustainable Furnishings Council. This US organisation offers excellent resources and runs a GREENleaders sustainability training course. They are offering a free one-hour webinar on Monday, 16 January 2012. The webinar will provide a grounding in the environmental issues related to home furnishings, including the factual basis for climate change, problems with indoor air quality, toxic waste, and water conservation.  This webinar is intended to give participants useful information you can begin using in your business immediately. To reserve your seat at the webinar, follow this link.


Centre for Environment Education Australia in collaboration with CEE India offers exciting tours to India with a purpose. These tours offer much more than the standard tourist experience as they provide a unique opportunity to get involved with projects and people working to conserve the nature. The 10 day wildlife tour to Northern or Western India includes guided tours to National Parks, interacting with locals, experiencing the rich culture of India and hands-on-experience on an environmental project.

University of the Third Age (U3A) is a non-for-profit international movement for older people who want to continue to enjoy learning in later life.  Online and in-person courses are low cost, require no prior qualifications, and are run in most capital citites of Australia.

Conservation Volunteers. Australia's Conservation Volunteers welcomes people with a love of the outdoors and an interest in the environment to take part as a volunteer in one of its many conservation projects, like the Tasmanian Devil.  Volunteers require no prior skills or experience. Projects are managed in conjunction with project partners that may include regional councils, national parks, museums, landcare groups, conservation departments and other national conservation agencies. They also run a range of Education Programs.

Have you participated in a course, workshop or study on an environmental theme?  We would love to hear your ideas...

For inspiration on some other New Year resolutions, check this video story from Planet Green on their Top 5 green resolutions (#5 Swap clothes, #4 Save Paper, #3 Go Vegie, #2 Ditch Plastic, #1 Act now).  Or visit the Planet Green page here with more resources and links.

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Spending for positive change

For all of us concerned about the earth's precious and limited resources, Christmas time really stretches and strains our conscience.  We think carefully about the purchases we are making, about whether they are necessary and whether they are responsbile.

At Biome Eco Stores, we agonise over finding the balance between encouraging consumption at Christmas and operating a viable business.  For any retail business, and particularly one like ours that operates at the margins, Christmas is vital to our survival throughout the rest of the year.

Our mission at Biome has to be two-pronged - one is to help everyone who visits our stores make a difference to the planet, and secondly, to continue to exist so that we may help people with those choices!

While loading the brilliant new range of Tegu magnetic building blocks onto our website, there was the reminder we needed about what we are doing.  In the below video, the founder of Tegu, Chris Haughey says that parents will always spend money on toys for their children.  Tegu's aim is to help people spend that money where it will have a positive social impact.

As Chris explains, Tegu is a "for profit" engine for positive social change in Honduras. Being able to support businesses like Tegu is what makes us at Biome happy!

Some of us choose to live a minimalist, buy nothing life, and some of us choose to consume with a conscience.  Obviously, Biome is a store for the later - but, we have great respect for the former!
 
For every product we choose to stock, we run through our selection criteria assessing what the product is made from, where it is made, who made it and under what conditions, how long will it last and what will happen to it at the end of its life.

We need stores such as ours with an ethical and eco focus to ask the questions and demand standards that profit focussed retailers overlook.

Thinking about reduce & recycle at Christmas

Planet Ark has produced an excellent list  "The 12 do's of Christmas" (thank you to our facebook friend for letting us know about this!).  All very easily achieveable actions to help you reduce and recycle this Christmas.  Ideas like:

• Buy good quality decorations that can be reused many times, or make your own from reused materials.
• Gather all your steel bottle caps and save them in one can, then fold down and send the whole lot off to recycling.
• When giving new electronics, recycle the old electronics - Planet Ark's RecyclingNearYou.com.au has an excellent resource on where to find places to recycle just about anything.
• Invest in a battery recharger for your home and give rechargeable batteries with gifts.

Introducing Tegu magnetic wooden blocks

Tegu's product designer talks about the thought process and 'maths' behind Tegu's magnetic wooden building blocks, which have the unique ability to build stronger minds for children.

See the Tegu range available in Australia at Biome.  Visit here for our green christmas ideas.

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Essential oils for Christmas

Tea light candle holders made from Australian Banksia seed pods

Diffusing essentials oils in your home at Christmas will not only help with creating a lovely festive aroma, but they can encourage a calm and relaxed state of being - a special gift at this busy time of year!

Although we have a hot Christmas in Australia, we still love the warming and woody oils traditionally associated with Winter in the northern hemisphere like Pine, Cinnamon, Cedarwoord, Clove oil and Nutmeg.  

For a lovely festive blend mix a spicy oil like Cinnamon with a gentle citrus oil like Sweet Orange, Mandarin, Lemon or Tangerine. Only a small amount of spicy oils should be used as they can be over-powering and irritating.  Avoid contact with the skin also.

The mix of spice and citrus is familar to those who have smelt a traditional Clove Pomander, used for generations to mask smells and add to festive decorations.  These are typically a citrus fruit such as orange, spiked all over with black clove heads and then hung with a red ribbon.

You can play with any combination of mints, such as Peppermint or Eucalytpus with woody oils, citrus and spice.

Banksia scent pots $13.95

Place the oils in one of Biome's hand turned Banksia scent pots, an oil burner or vaporiser.  Banksia is a particularly porous material that will soak up the essential oils and fragrance your room for weeks before needing to add more oil.

See Biome's essential oils here, plus we have a greater selection in our stores.

The Thurlby Scents of Christmas sachet ($7.95) is another lovely idea for your home or a gift.  This Australian-made natural fragrance sachet can hang on the tree or anywhere. 

Queen B Christmas beeswax candles

For creating a beautiful festive atmosphere, candles are the centrepiece.  Choose Australian beeswax candles for their purity and eco-friendliness.  Queen B offers gorgeous beeswax candle designs for Christmas with Christmas Trees, Jolly Santa and Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus.

Don't forget the essential oils for relaxtion to help you through the busy festive schedule.  Try the Mt Retour certified organic relaxing blend or Mandarin, which is meant to relax, sooth and calm restlessness, especially for hyperactivity in children.  What parent doesn't need that at this time?

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Teenage skin care

It's hard to find Certified Organic, Australian-made skin care for teenagers that is also palm oil free.

Brands for teenage skin care are often developed by parents out of concern for the chemicals their teen children are exposed to.  Parents want personal care choices that are gentle yet effective, without compromising on fashion or fun.

Natural products for teens should provide a safe and sustainable alternatives to chemical cosmetics for teenage skin care.  Openness in the beauty industry and inspiring girls to make smarter choices for their bodies and the environment.

To appeal to teenagers, a skin care range needs to 'emotionally 'teen', functionally 'green'.   

Teenagers and chemicals

Research by Dr Rebecca Sutton who has studied the effects of four chemical families on girls aged 14-19 as part of her research for the American Environmental Working Group (EWG), produced in September 2008, showed that teenage girls’ bodies contained residual traces of 16 chemicals commonly found in everyday personal care products.

There are so many products in use around the home that identifying the exact source of these chemicals is difficult. But we can minimise these chemicals in our bodies by choosing beauty products that do not contain chemicals and are certified organic.


Australian Certified Organic (ACO) is Australia’s largest certifier for organic and biodynamic produce. ACO endorsement for any commercial product stipulates that food and other products must contain 95 percent organic ingredients, with the remaining five percent restricted to natural ingredients meeting stringent requirements. The product must adhere to strict national production standards, undergo annual audits, and show total transparency - allowing any person to trace the origin of every ingredient.

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Recycling, the art of re-invention

 

A gorgeous new product we have in store at Biome has inspired this post for Planet Ark's National Recycling Week being celebrated right now.

Made from reclaimed cotton shirts, this little recycle yourself doll on a key fob is accompanied by a booklet that tells its story from cotton on the bush transforming to a smart business shirt, then to a discarded shirt, before its re-invention into this quirky doll.  As the story concludes: 
And today, someone who reminds you that in your heart you have the strength to recycle yourself into whatever you want to be.

Isn't that so true about all recycling?  A material or an ingredient has a useful life in one form, but when that use comes to an end there are so many ways it can be re-invented, re-loved, re-used or upcycled. Upcycled being the term de rigueur that refers to the process of converting waste or useless products into new materials or products of better quality.

We don't recycle at Biome - well not much...

With all the deliveries of stock we receive in our stores, we gather a mountain of cardboard boxes and stuffing of various kinds from bubble wrap to polystyrene beads, shredded paper and compostable beads - but we take joy in not recycling.  Don't panic!  We re-use -- rather than recycle -- as much as we can.  Where ever we can re-box (as in re-use a box) or re-stuff (re-use stuffing materials) we will.  In fact, we even have our neighbours on the bandwagon.  The restaurant gives us their wine cartons, the laundromat gives us freebie magazines and the coffee shop gives us boxes.  They love it because their bins are less full and we love it because we don't have to buy boxes and stuff.  Some of our suppliers send re-boxes to us as well, then we use them again to send to you...so that is at least three useful lives before any more energy is used to recycle them!

Where can I recycle certain things?

Planet Ark's Recycling Near You program is gold. That is, Planet Ark deserves a gold medal for all their incredible work to promote education and uptake on recycling.  They have a telephone hotline, or, visit the website where you can type in your location and it delivers links on where you can recycle certain things.

The page for recycling in the Brisbane area has a wealth of leads.  For example, one link tells me what materials I can put in the household kerbside recycling bin in Brisbane
All these materials are collected:

• Glass Bottles and Jars (but not drinking glasses and plates)
• Aluminium Cans
• Aluminium Foil
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Office Paper
• Envelopes Without a Window
• Envelopes With a Window
• Phone Books
• Pizza Boxes (scrape the food out, some grease is ok)
• Egg Cartons (unless you know someone with chickens that can reuse them)
• Cardboard
• Steel Food Cans (does a magnet stick to it? it's steel if it does)
• Steel Paint Cans (empty)
• Steel Aerosol Cans (empty)
• Milk cartons
• Juice cartons
• Tin-plate or aluminium lids from steel food cans
• Plastics marked with
   

The last one is great news - they accept all plastics marked from 1 to 6, which is pretty much most firm plastics these days.  This was not always the case.
We aim to ensure that every plastic item stocked at Biome has a recycling symbol stamped on it - without that symbol there is no hope of it being recycled.

If you are into re-crafting, there are so many books and internet resources on how to make new things from old things.
Happy re-inventing!

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Six reasons we love Goodbyn lunch boxes

Six new colours, six reasons we love Goodbyn...

(1) In our house, Goodbyn are the only lunch boxes we have bought for two years, which I feel makes them great value. The children have used theirs every day for school for two years and they are still going strong.  The plastic is sturdy but flexible, and there are no hinges to break.

There is no need to buy a new kids lunch box each year. The kids can apply Goodbyn stickers to refresh the design they want on their lunch box.

(2) Only one lid to keep track of - and it always seems to come home (unlike the 10 or so other containers in my drawer whose lids have disappeared, or vice versa).

How to close the Goodbyn lid? First, push down firmly on the two horizontal ridges across the middle, then pinch together all around the outside edges. Once the kids get the knack it is easy.

(3) The kids love packing their own lunch - what more do you want in the mornings? :-) For some reason they enjoy filling the little compartments and making their lunch look all creative and neat. They seem much more motivated to pack their own (or, is that because they want to sneak extra treats in...?)

(4) The layout of little compartments makes it easier for me to pack the lunches when I need to! It breaks things down into five sections that require less brain power to fill - sandwich here, fruit there, some dip there, crackers here and a sweet treat there. Done!

(5) Goodbyns are made from food-safe plastic, no PVC (unlike most soft lunch boxes), no lead, no BPA, phthalate-free and its made in the USA.

Rather than a faceless manufacturer, we know the story behind who makes them and who is accountable for the safety and environmental performance.  Goodbyn makes public their product testing results

(6) There's something about Bento boxes and a plastic wrap-free lunch!  Lunch seems much more appetising when it is not squished inside sweaty plastic wrap, but rather laid out in the Bento system. The Japanese have served food in this way for centuries after all.

Six new fruity colours now available in Australia in Goodbyn original and Bynto sizes, plus ice packs, three types of stickers and replacement bottles.

Visit here to see all of Biome's lunch boxes.

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What is a super food?

What is a super food? And why are we interested?

At Biome, we have a little belief statement that guides all we do and offer to our customers.

We believe in...

the power of simple choices
respect for all who share our planet
plants, not petrochemicals
sun-grown, not synthetic
hand made with heart
honesty in labelling 
a 2nd useful life for everything, and
nature having the answers ... if only we will listen

On the last point, we do believe that nature has the answers for so many diseases and problems affecting our planet, and that is why we are interested in so called "super foods".

Super food refers to foods with a high phytonutrient content and the term is often used to imply those foods have certain health benefits.  You might have heard of blueberries, Açai and Goji berries and wheatgrass.
 
Of course, such claims are wide open for marketing misuse about their powers, so as with everything, add a healthy dose of scepticism and be sure of the quality of the produce and how it is grown, processed and transported.  And, eating fresh fruit in season locally has got to be better for you. 

Aside from nutrition, scientists and environmentalists have for many years alerted us to the potential loss of disease curing plants when rainforests are destroyed - another huge incentive to save our rainforests.  As this article explains, indigeneous peoples have used rainforest medicinal plants for thousands of years and modern pharmacologists have derived a number of drugs from such plants, including one with anti-HIV properties.

You could say that all the natural skin care and green cleaning products that Biome has chosen offer solutions or super powers from nature, like a natural deodorant relying on mineral salts, or skin soothing and healing rose hip oil.  Let's call them "super skincare" and "super cleaning"!  We applaud natural product manufacturers who are looking for the answers in nature rather than synthetic chemical formulations.

More about super fruits

Blueberries are exceptionally high in antioxidants, they can help treat urinary tract infections and because of a compound contained in the blue pigmentation of blueberry skin, they help protect eyesight by accelerating the production of retinal purple, a substance critical for good vision (source: Australian Blueberries).

While Blueberries are native to North America, the Amazon is home to the  Açai berry (the berry of a palm tree). Not only does the Açai Berry have a highest antioxidants of any fruit, it also contains protein, fiber, and Omega 6 and Omega 9 essential fatty acids.

See Biome's range of products containing super foods online and in our stores, including the Amazing Grass organic Kids superfood powder and Bio-bubble probiotic.

We would be happy to hear from you about your favourite super food....

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Non stick cookware - a cautionary tale

A cautionary tale

So far this story has followed a plot-line similar to that of so many human-created chemicals.  Invented by accident, its benefits are found to make life easier or more enjoyable for people - and more pofitable for companies.  The product is released on the world without caution, before proper testing of its health and environmental impacts.  Decades later, the chemical is found to be harmful in its manufacture or use.  The company knows this, but covers it up, until a group of concerned citizens fights for long enough to gain the attention of Government regulatory bodies.  Think CFCs, cigarettes, BPA, DDT ...

It is the tale of a synthetic fluropolymer called Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) - most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon - along with its stablemate PFOA.  Among the many uses for PTFE is making non stick cookware.  PFOA, which is cancer causing and lethal to birds, is used in the manufacture of PTFE.  It is also used to make oil and water-repellent coatings on carpet, textiles, leather and paper, like microwave popcorn bags.

PTFE was invented accidentally in 1938 by a scientist who was attempting to make a new CFC refrigerant. In the early 60's Marion A. Trozzolo, who had been using the substance on scientific utensils, marketed the first US-made Teflon coated frying pan, "The Happy Pan." (Wikipedia)

In 2004, DuPont (who still uses PFOA in the manufacture of PTFE) paid US$300 million to 50,000 residents living near one of its US plants.  The residents had brought a class action claiming it was responsible for contaminating local water supplies with PFOA, causing birth defects and other health hazards.

In 2006, a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientific advisory board recommended PFOA be labelled a 'likely carcinogen' (cancer-causing) in humans.  The EPA asked DuPont, and seven other companies that use PFOA in manufacturing processes, to phase out its use. DuPont has agreed to take steps to make sure that by the year 2015, the chemical would not be released into the environment from its manufacturing plants, though it has not agreed to stop using it, or to stop making Teflon. The problem for Dupont is, as it stands now, it cannot make Teflon without this chemical, though it says it is looking for a substitute.  Quoted from an excellent article by Peter Lavelle on the Australian ABC website The Pulse.

It further transpires that DuPont had known for several decades that PFOA is harmful and kept quiet about it!  The EPA did at least fine DuPont for this behaviour (ref: The Washington Post) .

Are Teflon and other PTFE containing non stick pans safe?

The Peter Lavelle article summarises: 
...non-stick fry pans can release toxins. At high temperatures Teflon is known to give off a cocktail of 15 types of toxic particles and gases, including trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and phosgene. These chemicals are known to be poisonous to birds. And in humans they cause headaches, chills, backache, and fever - a condition known as 'Teflon flu'.
DuPont admits this, but it says in humans the condition is reversible, and in any case it only occurs at high temperatures, not during normal cooking use.

Government authorities and DuPont say that Teflon and other PTFE non stick pans and cookware are safe as long as you cook at low to medium heat, do not heat the pan empty, don't allow oils to smoke, etc etc.

I would be particularly cautious about cheap "no name" brands of non stick pans.  I imagine the quality of the coating would be questionable and more easily broken down into toxins, plus there is little accountability from the manufacturer. 

Wikipedia explains:
At 200 °C PTFE is detectable and it evolves several fluorocarbon gases. It begins to deteriorate after the temperature of cookware reaches about 260 °C, and decomposes above 350 °C (662 °F). These degradation by-products can be lethal to birds, and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans.

Meat is usually fried between 200 and 230 °C, and most oils will start to smoke before a temperature of 260 °C is reached - although refined safflower oil and avocado oil have a higher smoke point than 260 °C so you wouldn't know. Empty cookware can also exceed this temperature upon heating.

Safe non stick cookware alternatives

Biome simply supports the precautionary principle - better safe than sorry.  We also aim to question any use of synthetic chemicals and whether there is a safe, more natural alternative.  I also have no idea how you would tell what temperature your non stick pan had reached?

All cookware uses some form of metal and synthetic process to manufacture the pan, unless we're going to cook over an open fire on sticks, or use the sun to cook an egg on a rock!  Unless you can think of other methods...?

Glass is the safest of materials, but it is certainly not non-stick, as proven by hours of scrubbing lasagne of my glass Pyrex dish.

We have chosen the Neoflam non-stick cookware range that is now stocked in both our stores and online.

Neoflam is a cast aluminum cookware coated with Ecolon™ non-stick coating. Ecolon is a ceramic based coating which is mostly made of silicon dioxide (also known as silica or SiO₂), a material most commonly found in nature such as stone and sand. No emissions are released at any temperature and there are no heavy metals such as Cadmium, Lead and Mercury in the coating.

Aside from the great features below, I love cooking with Neoflam!  The fry pan is a joy to use - lightweight and easy to clean.  I've tried other safe non-stick cookware that is much heavier and unweildy.  I love that it is ovenproof also.  A friend who is a Chinese chef was delighted with his Neoflam wok. He said the "fried rice was dancing"!

• Highly durable and scratch resistant - non stick coating lasts longer than conventional non stick
• Oven safe
• Has the benefits of cast iron thick base cookware, but is actually lightweight
• Great value prices compared with other brands marketed as premium options
• Ecolon coated cookware uses less energy and achieves faster cooking times due to better thermal conductivity
• Less C02 emissions than Teflon manufacturing

According to Neoflam, most PTFE coating can only withstand up to 4H pencil testing. PTFE coating releases chemicals at 240°C. On the contrary, Ecolon can withstand 8H hardness testing and will not melt up to 450°C.

Ecolon coated cookware can cook an egg without using any oil. And clean up is a breeze too, both inside and outside.  Ecolon's non-stick coating performance may appear to be slightly less than a PTFE-based non-stick coating. However, Ecolon's advantage comes from its durability, maintaining the same non-stick performance even after repeated use.

See the full range of Neoflam non stick cookware at Biome Eco Stores.

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Water filter bottle - no more excuses!

Confession! I do sometimes still grab water in a disposable bottle because it generally tastes so much better than what comes out of my tap at home or a public fountain. Some places may have better tasting tap water, but Brisbane seems to be heavy on the chlorine (although see the addedum below on LifeStraw and why we shouldn't complain!).

Usually, I do fill up my reusable water bottle from our beautiful Southern Cross Pottery water purifier on the bench at home.  I love the taste of the water that comes out of the purifier compared with the chemical-heady scent of Brisbane's tap water.  But, we have some little munckins in our house that love to empty the purifier and not refill it.  Or, it may be that I'm on-the-go and need a water refill, but my tummy just can't handle another dose of chlorine.

Well now, there is no need for anymore excuses because we have some fantastic water filter bottle choices at Biome.  What about when you're camping and only have muddy creek water, you ask?  Still no excuses...

The Fill2Pure stainless steel water bottle removes 99.99% of contaminants and according to the manufacturer will prevent most water borne illnesses for travellers.  They say you can even fill from a muddy creek and instantly drink safe, clean water.  Fill2Pure elimiates chlorine as well as fluoride, an important feature for many people who live in areas where fluoride is added to the water, such as Brisbane. See the details below of exactly what is removed.

While a Fill2Pure bottle requires one to suck water through the filter with some gusto, the Australian-designed and made (hoorah!) BPA-free 321water filter bottle  filters by a plunger or french press mechanism. This allows the clean water to be easily sipped from the bottle.  The 321water bottle's carbon filter absorbs chlorine, organic compunds and other unpleasant odours, so it is ideal for anyone who simply wants great tasting water on the go.

Fill2Pure also provide a BPA-free plastic version that is much easier to drink from because you can squeeze the bottle to help push water through the filter. This would be suitable for children.


What does the Fill2Pure filter eliminate
Fill2Pure removes up to 99.9% of contaminants including:

• Aesthetics: unpleasant taste, odours, dirt, silt, cloudiness, sediment
• Micro-biological organisms: harmful bacteria, pathogens, Giardia, E-coli, etc.
• Chemicals: Chlorine, flouride, arsenic, detergent, pesticides, DDT, DDD, PCB, PCE, industrial waste, etc
• Dissolved solids: heavy metals - aluminium, asbestos, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, etc.
• Radiologicals: Radon, Radium, Uranium, etc.

The only equivalent in our benchtop ceramic water filter systems is the Fluoride Reduction water purifier that removes 99.75% of fluoride inexpensively and efficiently. Read here for full details on how the fluoride reduction filter works.

LifeStraw
Thank you to one of our Facebook fans for the referral to this awesome product and business. A visit to this website helps put back into perspective that our tap water is nothing to be complained about!   LifeStraw is a personal water filter (like a large straw) that makes it possible to drink from any freshwater creek, lake or puddle and is being used throughout the developing world.  There's also an incredible saving in resources compared with bottled water.

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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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