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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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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Get rid of mould with clove oil

Why clove oil for mould?

The City Council inspector that visited my cousin's inundated house after the 2011 Brisbane flood, gave some advice that inspired this blog post.  He advised to keep away from chlorine bleaches to clean mould as it only 'bleaches' the colour out and does not kill the mould. "It'll be back in a few weeks," he said. "CLOVE OIL is the best!" 

Clove has powerful antiseptic properties and should be used with care. Clove oil actually inhibits mould by attacking and killing the spores.

Shannon Lush, co-author of Spotless, is an expert on cleaning after wet weather. 

Remove mould from hard surfaces
If you can, first clean the surfaces with a mixture of 4 litres of hot water, 1 tablespoon bicarb of soda and half a cup of vinegar.
Mix a quarter teaspoon of Oil of Cloves (no more) per litre of water, put it in a spray bottle, lightly mist on. Leave for 20 minutes and wipe off.  Spray again and leave.  It will take 24-48 hours for the mould spores to dry and drop off.

Remove mould from soft furnishings and items
Mix one kilo of uniodised salt into 9 litre bucket of water. Wash the affected surface, wait until the salt crust forms and brush off with a soft broom.   Please take care that the salt does not end up in the garden.

Cleaning smell out of carpets
Use half the amount of soap recommended in the instructions for your steam cleaner plus add: half a cup each of of bi-carb soda, white vinegar and methylated spirits and two teaspoons each of eucalyptus oil and glycerine.
Steam clean your carpet as usual.
Thank you to ABC local radio and Shannon Lush for the references on cleaning. 


 

Clove oil and many other essential oils to use in cleaning, such as Lavender and Eucalytpus, are available from Biome Eco Stores online or in our stores.

Tinderbox clove oil made from the clove bud.  Tinderbox is a great Western Australian small business

UPDATE January 2015
Read our latest post 6 things to know about using clove oil for mould removal
Includes safety advice about using clove -- although it’s natural, it can still cause skin irritations and some people may have an allergic reaction. It should be kept away from children and those on blood thinning medication shouldn’t use it.  We also have advice from Nicole Bijlsma: while clove oil has been long recommended for killing mould spores, Nicole says she doesn’t recommend it because the focus should be on the cause of the mould growth which is moisture.

UPDATE October 2012
Read how mould causes allergy and asthma in some people and the importance of a clove oil room sanitiser that kills airborne mould spores. You can make your own as described below with a piece of jumbo chalk or use the new Australian product mould aroma gel.

UPDATE February 2012
Another tip from our readers, heard on ABC local radio:
To counter mould in homes, put a few drops of pure clove oil on jumbo sticks of blackboard chalk then place them in cupboards around the house and allow the scent to waft around killing mould spores. Replace with a few more drops of oil every month or so once the scent has disappeared. Particularly good idea because you are not spraying any more moisture in an already moist house.
 
UPDATE February 2011
Since our first post, we have had so many questions about how to use clove oil for removing mould from so many different situations - including a whole house!  Some houses that were flooded have been gutted back to the wood frame and people are spraying the water & clove oil mixture all over the wood frame before new plasterboard is affixed.

Another common problem is mould on clothes, shoes and linen.  Take the clothes outside and brush off so that the mould spores do not spread around the house.  Hang them in the sun, as sunlight can kill some forms of mould.  If necessary, spray the affected area lightly with a mixture of quarter teaspoon of clove oil to one litre of water.  *Always patch test in a discrete spot first.

If the mould has stained the fabric, Shannon Lush suggests: Use one kilo of salt per bucket of water and soak overnight. Hang the clothes on the clothesline without rinsing.  Once it dries, a salt crust forms on the fabric.  Brush it off.

What other uses does clove oil have?

Clove has a calming effect.  Put a few drops in an oil burner to spread a calm essence through your room.
Clove is also a scent associated with the festive season.  Did you ever make clove spiked orange pomanders as a child? A pomander was traditionally made to mask odours using citrus fruits spiked with clove heads.  For your own green Christmas scent, drop some clove oil into an oil burner or one of our Banksia scent pots. 

Clove can also be used as an anaesthetic for tooth pain! Put some clove oil on a cotton bud and rub on the painful area to numb the pain.

How to make clove oil?

Source: Wikihow  The recipe to make clove oil at home starts with grinding whole cloves in a spice or coffee grinder. Wrap in cotton or coffee filter paper and submerge in jar of olive oil  that you then heat for 45 minutes using a double boiler of water. Allow clove package to steep for another week or so.  Makes a weak form of clove oil suitable for human application.  Professionally made clove oil is best for cleaning as it is stronger and may have better analgesic (pain killing) properties. 


See clove oil and green cleaning recipes on our Pinterest.




About the clove plant

Image & text from www.plantguide.org
The clove-tree was native in the Moluccas, or Clove Islands, and the southern Philippines. Now cloves are extensively cultivated in Sumatra, the Moluccas, West Indies, Penang, Mauritius, Bourbon, Amboyne, Guiana, Brazil, and Zanzibar -in fact, throughout the tropical world. Zanzibar is said to supply most of the cloves of the market.

 The clove-tree may attain an age of from sixty to seventy years, and some have been noted which were ninety years old and over. The average life of the plantation clove-trees is, however, perhaps not more than twenty years. The trees begin to yield in about five years after planting. The picking of the immature flowers with the red calyx is begun in August and lasts for about four months. From two to four crops are harvested each year.

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Makedo for kids who just love to make-do with stuff around them

A genius Australian invention, Makedo helps children (and adults!) learn about reuse and recycling in a playful way.  Makedo is a set of reusable connectors for making things from the stuff around you. With the Makedo gadgets and found materials like cardboard boxes and plastic containers, the whole family can construct amazing inventions.  The video shows it better than words can explain!

1 min crash course from MAKEDO on Vimeo.


Makedo and its Australian designer, Paul Justin are being talked about all over the design world.  From Core77 design magazine
MakeDo is a new kind of Lego: a kit of parts serving as connectors for creations made from recycled cardboard and other cheap, readily-available materials. The kits wisely build on the concept that if you give kids a fancy new toy, they'll be bored in an hour, but give them a cardboard box and they'll play all day. Kids, and maybe all of us (as proven by the Maker Faire), respond best when given the tools to find the answer rather than the answer itself.


Makedo makes it onto Biome's Top Green Gift Ideas List for 2010.  Visit our Green Christmas section for Christmas decorations and entertaining.

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Lunch boxes - easy & healthy

Biome loves gathering great ideas from our customers and we also love giving them a little prize for their help. Our last Facebook promotion was to post three unique ideas for food to pack in healthy lunch boxes & we'll include two free Kids Konserve Kozy sandwich wraps with your next online order or in-store purchase.

Here are some of the ideas for lunch boxes we received.
Savoury

• Rice Paper Rolls filled with vermicelli, bean shoots, grilled chicken and coriander
• Salad Pita Pockets
• Vegie sticks with Homemade Coconut Dip
• Cold toasted sandwiches with cream cheese and tuna
• Leftover cold quiche shapes (cut using shape cutters)
• Homemade mini meatballs
• Antipasto selection
• Rice Balls rolled in Turmeric
• Rissotto cakes
• Popcorn
• Wholemeal lavash wraps with chicken, avocado, lettuce and tomato
• Sandwich with marinated tofu and lightlty fried pumpkin slices
• Leftover meal in a thermos lunch jar for lunch
• Tuna, avocado or vegetable sushi
• Rolypolies (flat bread rolled up and cut like pinwheels with any smooth simple filling - like vegemite, hommus, cream cheese)
• Homemade yoghurt with crushed berries swirled through
• BBQ sauce or fruit chutney on a wholegrain roll
  
• Seaweed strips
• Cucumber and hommus
• Red capsicum and snow peas
• Homemade pizza slices cold 
• Raw kale chips

Sweet

• Snowy Fruit Balls - dried apricots, dried peaches dried apple rings, sunflower seeds, raisins blended then rolled in coconut
• Apricot Fruit Bars covered with Rice Paper
• Dates spread with peanut butter, rolled in coconut and chilled
• Pumpkin & yoghurt muffins
• Sugarless date, rolled oat and banana slice
• Organic dried sultanas and apricots bought in bulk and divided into reusable snack containers
• Fruit kebabs
• Homemade iced tea
• Melon balls - a mix of watermelon, cantelope and honeydew scooped with a melon baller
• In summer, frozen banana, grapes and orange pieces
• Dried banana chips and dehydrated pineapple
• Sweet pistachio Lara bar

Thank you to all the great biome Facebookers that provided us with these great lunch box ideas.

Now, what to pack the lunch in? 
All of the kids lunch box available at Biome are safe, from BPA, lead, PVC and other toxins.  We also help make it easy to pack a waste free or 'wrapper-free' lunch with reusable lunch box containers.  Try a stainless steel lunch box.

The all-in-one Goodbyn lunch box with 5 leak-proof compartments and one lid has been trialled by us and makes it so easy to pack a waste free lunch.

Reusable sandwich wraps are a great way to reduce plastic wrap waste and avoid toxins in some plastic wraps - and even save money.

And one that has been very popular with the adults are the Bento boxes this great company also have a recipe book available for more ideas.

Find all these options on our website or you can come see us at the Biome eco stores.

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Biome newsletter - All new for Spring

Our stores and online are blossoming with

the colour and liveliness of Spring.

Revive your skin, your home, your passion for the planet.

 

View our latest newsletter online >>

Highlights

• New products: Effervescent bath cupcakes, Porcelain mortar & pestle, Ask Alice postcards, Makedo find & make kits, Baby memory book, single Ecococoon stainless steel cups, Wooden branch crayons, Tortellini baby feeding cushion
• Order Personalised Kylie Johnson stars by 15 October
• Corporate Christmas cards & gifts
• Biome rewards
• On Sale: Botani, Kosmea, Escapulario beads & more

View more of our newsletter online >>

Threatened species & Wipe for Wildlife
There was a whole lotta love last month for the creatures that share our planet. With our threatened species giveaway we looked at the Snub fin Dolphin (northern WA &Townsville), Long nosed Potoroo (East Gippsland), Clouded Leopard (Nepal to Borneo), Bonobo (Congo) and Albatross (Macquarie Island).

They all face the same main threats: foremost is habitat loss from land clearing for houses, agriculture and logging; and secondly, predators introduced to their environment.

Each of us can help by reducing pressure for land clearing and logging by choosing paper products made from post consumer waste recycled, pre-loved furniture, plantation timber, avoiding palm oil, supporting people working directly with your favourite animals, and using recycled toilet paper!

  Are you a tree flusher? We love the Wipe for Wildlife promotion by Zoos Victoria to get people thinking about saving wildlife by using recycled toilet paper.

You can even download a poster for your toilet door!

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EcoJot & Jane Goodall : 2 of our fave things in 1

The covers of Ecojot’s new sketchbooks available at Biome feature four endangered species in Ecojot's trademark quirky, colourful style: Chimpanzees (which Dr. Goodall has studied and advocated for over 50 years), along with the Giant Panda, Sumatran Rhino and Whooping Crane.

All Ecojot journals are made in Canada from 100% post-consumer recycled materials.  The proceeds from this line support the Jane Goodall Institute, including its global environmental and humanitarian youth program, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots.

“In 1960, 26-year-old Jane Goodall ventured into what is now Tanzania’s Gombe National Park to document the behavior of wild chimpanzees. Her work there would inspire generations of Earth’s citizens to look at animals – and sustainability – in new ways,” said Mark Gavin, co-founder of Ecojot.

Aside from producing gorgeous, eco friendly products, Ecojot has given 25,000 notebooks to children in developing countries under the “Buy 1, Give 1” movement. Glues & inks are vegetable based and biodegradable; and the mill used to make the paper uses clean, affordable biogas (recovered landfill gases) as their alternative power source.
 
About Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots
Founded in 1991 by Dr. Jane Goodall and a group of Tanzanian students, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program is about making positive change happen—for our communities, for animals and for the environment. With tens of thousands of young people in more than 120 countries, the Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world. Young people identify problems in their communities and take action.
Source: excerpts taken from the Media Release on the Jane Goodall Institute website. 

See the range at Biome:  Ecojot sketchbook and note books.

During September, Biome is celebrating the animals that share our planet.  Find out how you can win $25 vouchers by identifying Threatened Species and what else is happening in our eco stores.

Download a free ecojot wallpaper for your computer

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Gardens make me smile

Our cuddling carrots.  Seems we planted the seedlings too close together, but we loved them all the same...  Do you have a photo of something in your garden, or someone else's, that makes you smile?

The clever Linky list below allows you to upload a photo and, if you wish, include a link back to your own blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  (Just upload a smallish image for speed and it gives you the chance to crop it to size.)

And, for more edible gardening inspiration, please come along to meet David of Productive Gardens this weekend Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 August at Biome Paddington or Biome City store on Thursday, 2 September.  More info about times and location 

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Talking rubbish with like-minded friends

Photo credit: winning poster in the World Industrial Design Day competition

Do you have anxieties about throwing things "away"?  Do people putting food scraps into recycling make you edgy?  Do you break out in a sweat when there's no recycling bin to dispose of your drink bottle?

During our recent visit to Melbourne for the retail trade fairs, I had a hurried and animated chat with Wasteman.  What fun to gabble with a like-minded soul about rubbish -- rubbish of the wasteful kind that is.  Wasteman devotes a blog to problems with waste and loves to take photos of rubbish bins and odd rubbishy things.  He introduced me to the waste pyramid and thinking about recycling being the last resort. 

Could it be that because we find recycling so easy we are actually likely to generate more recycling and waste, rather than first trying to avoid, reduce or reuse?

At home we have just ordered a larger recycling bin being offered by the Brisbane City Council.  Ours is always overflowing each fortnight, but maybe that's not such a good measure of our eco-performance. Seems we should actually be trying to downsize our recycling bin by generating less "stuff" to be recycled.

Things to make me feel less-wasteful:

• Buy in bulk
• Choose items with little or no packaging
• Pack a wrapper-free lunch using Goodbyn or Kids Konserve
• Grow our own vegetables
• Use shopping bags that last forever.  Wasteman has more to say on this!
• Stop the Junk Mail, but what about the newspapers?
• And my daily buzz, BYO my KeepCup reusable coffee cup - and save 50cents in the process (1 coffee per day x 50 cents saved = $182 dollars a year!)

We just received a lovely letter from the Salvos Stores about their Buy Nothing New Month in October.  They say this national 'conscientious consumuption' campaign is about reducing the community's impact on the environment by encouraging reusing and recycling.  It's a fantastic concept.

I love to send things to the Salvos or Reverse Garbage....I've blogged before about my hoarding tendencies because I can't bear to throw things away (Continuous loop of Reverse Garbage).  

Are there any other friends out there with strange anxieties about waste?  Tell us here or please pop on over to our Facebook page and tell us there...

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Cooloola Great Walk opens: 5 day trek from Noosa to Rainbow Beach

The new Cooloola Great Walk is set to become one of Australia's iconic long distance walking tracks attracting international and local bush walkers to Queensland.

The 102km Cooloola Great Walk links the Noosa North Shore to Rainbow Beach via the eastern high dunes, the upper Noosa River, Poona Lake and Carlo Sand Blow, with an optional route via Double Island Point.

Showcasing the outstanding natural attractions of the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park, the track winds through rainforest, tall eucalypt forest, dry coastal woodland and heath plains.

You can undertake the full 5 day trek or a shorter walk by joining at several entry points.  The designated overnight camp sites must be booked. A lovely two day walk can be undertaken from Rainbow Beach to Freshwater, where you camp overnight and then walk back.  If you love cool, fresh water when bush walking, you won't be disappointed by the upper Noosa River, Lake Cooloomera, Freshwater Lake and Poona Lake along the way.

From Rainbow Beach, keen walkers can hike another 13km to Inskip Point and catch the barge across to link up with the Fraser Island Great Walk!

We recently explored the Carlo Sand Blow, which is at the Rainbow Beach end of the Great Walk.  Here's just a glimpse of the beautiful wildflowers and plants you can expect to see along the way.

Coastal bush sculpted by the wind.  View looking across Carlo Sand Blow. On the opposite hill you can see a track where people slide down the dune and tiny specks of people!

Interesting links
All the Great Walks of Queensland
Construction of the Cooloola Great Walk
More about Rainbow Beach

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