Should You Use Natural Hair Care Products
More and more people are finally beginning to realise why it’s so essential to swap to natural hair care products. Aside from featuring organic and natural ingredients that are beneficial for your skin, hair, and body, they also don’t feature any harmful chemicals. Your everyday supermarket shampoo and conditioner still does.
Here’s what you may find lurking in your current hair care products. If that’s not enough to convince you of the benefit of a natural hair care regime, then nothing will.
Phthalates
Phthalates, in the scientific world, are known as endocrine disruptors. They mimic and interrupt hormone production, dramatically impacting men’s reproductive development. Yet, they continue to feature in a range of products. You can find them in your shampoo and conditioner to start with, but then you will notice them in laundry powder, deodorant, and almost anything with fragrance. While they can help to make things smell pretty, they are doing nothing to help your body.
Parabens
While studies into parabens are not conclusive, there is some evidence to suggest that the use of parabens may increase the risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity. What’s more, in a British study in 2004, parabens were identified in breast tumours.
However, with research in various stages to prove parabens aren’t entirely safe, they still feature in body lotion, make up, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and even toothpaste. If you needed another reason to try natural hair care products, this might be it.
5 Tips For Eco-friendly Office Cleaning
In the modern world people are more aware than ever about climate change, environmental destruction and the impacts simple everyday actions are having on the Earth. If you think of yourself as an environmentally friendly person who is conscious of the effects that their actions are having on the planet, then you should consider adopting eco-friendly cleaning practices. If you own a commercial building that you don’t clean yourself, you can still use eco-friendly cleaning – simply choose the right commercial cleaner!
Our top 5 tips for eco-friendly office cleaning include:
- Find The Right Cleaning Contractor
If you own a large commercial or residential building, you probably don’t clean it yourself. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t adopt environmentally friendly cleaning practices. Simply search for a cleaning contractor who is happy to clean the way you want them to. There are plenty of options out there, so make sure that you do your research and speak to a number of companies before you make your choice.
- Make Sure You Recycle
If you own or manage a building, then you can keep it clean in a way that is good for the planet by providing recycling bins in communal areas. Many buildings don’t do this, instead opting for general rubbish bins, which result in a lot of recyclable material being sent to landfill.
Environmentally Friendly Plumbing
The first things that come to mind when considering environmentally friendly living are recycling and gardening. Would you believe it if you were told that plumbing can also be sustainable?
Sure, it’s not the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of ‘world greening,’ but think of water and the cost of that as a utility. Your home plumbing, utilised for sustainable living, can have enormous benefits. Considering the broader picture, energy conservation and waste reduction are all part of sustainable plumbing practices. The end game is that the equipment already in your home, and adapted differently, can be used to reduce waste. The choice of pipes, low-toxic fixtures and equipment made locally (if possible) and ethically all add to the growth of sustainability. You can also consider how your plumbing has an overall impact on the environment.
Using Sustainable Plumbing on DIY
- Cleaning
It’s not always the job of plumbing professionals to be environmentally conscious. You can use some neat ‘green’ plumbing tricks on your own DIY projects. Cleaning around the house doesn’t have to be a chemical party. Use vinegar, bi-carb and lemon for different cleaning jobs. Environmentally much safer and a heck of a lot cheaper, too.
- Water Wise
Environmental plumbing means being water-wise, too. Rainwater that usually runs down the drain can be diverted to your garden. Another basic water-clever idea is watering the garden in the more remarkable part of the day. Your dishwasher and washing machines should have the highest energy rating and lowest water usage. Every little bit helps.
- Maintenance
You can go crazy with environmental plumbing if you want to, as there are lots of small but effective changes you can do around the house. Start with leaky taps, then insulate your water pipes and mulch your garden to keep the soil damp for longer.
6 Sustainable Packaging Mistakes Made by Many Businesses
Most businesses understand that when they send freight, the more sustainable the packaging, the less it will cost them both for the transport company costs and the costs of purchasing the packaging. Many types of packaging have a reason for their use and existence. Companies try to keep their goods in top shape and packaging can help with this.
However, most people are aware that it is often a marketing ploy alone that dictates the type of packaging.
- One ‘mistake’ that most companies make on purpose is using a bottle or package that is much larger than needed for what it contains. We’ve all seen vitamin and other pills in large bottles that are only filled to two thirds capacity. The reason for this is to make the product more visible on the shelf and to make the customer think they are getting a lot for the cost of the product.
- Things like cereal come in two packets. One to keep it fresh and the other to prevent the contents being crushed in transit and handling. While the amount in the packet goes nowhere near to filling it, companies cite the contents ‘may’ have become more compacted during transport. In fact, they too, want their product to take up a large amount of shelf space in the shop so it is highly visible – and they also like it if the customer believes they are getting more than is actually in the packet.
Fencing with Bamboo
If you want a look that is going to be somewhat different to most other homes, then bamboo screen fencing is a smart choice. It’s sustainable and cheap and a great choice for your garden. It’s natural looks are so distinctive that it is even used inside the home. Check out websites that supply and install bamboo fencing and you can talk to them about a wide range of bamboo colours. It makes a great alternative to using traditional timber.
The fencing and screening comes in a number of lengths and diameters and this makes it versatile enough to suit just about any home project. That includes outdoor garden spaces in which bamboo will certainly enhance the boundaries. It can be used for any landscaping project.
Extremely Durable
Words like resilient and with a long life, bamboo is known also to withstand all types of weather and pests. There are particular bugs or insects that have a party with normal timber, but they have no effect on bamboo. If you erect bamboo fencing, it’s going to be there for a long, long time. As well as it’s durability, it’s very strong and difficult to break with weights or pressure.
How to Make Eco Friendly Choices with Wedding Clothes
Clothing for the wedding is always going to be a high ticket item, but there are ways to reduce the expense and this in turn, will help to reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding. There are many other ways to do this too, from photo booth hire to save on the use of chemicals in printing out photos – and in a good choice of food that is organic. But how can you make the wedding clothes eco friendly? Here are several ways.
- Chose a pre-worn wedding dress. You can find these on special websites or even in an op-shop. It could be your mum’s or another relative’s wedding dress and/or veil that is available to you. While it may not feel right wearing someone else’s dream bridal finery, if you choose one that is from several years or decades back, it is a pretty good bet that no one will remember it. And vintage is always cool.
- Choose a dress that can be worn again. Whether it is in the style that can be easily adapted to look like a party dress instead of a wedding dress, or whether it is in the colour, choosing a wedding dress that can be worn several more times will certainly help to save the earth’s resources as well as your own.
- Allow the bridesmaids to wear a dress or bridal robes they already have. This is an excellent choice for the less formal wedding and can be a big save. You can bring the ensembles together by having them choose styles or colours that are similar or by adding accessories that all match or even just in the length.
How To Be Eco Friendly In The Office
These days, with just a little bit of effort, everything we do can be eco friendly to some extent, whether it is at home, or at a home or work office. You may have set up business as a digital marketing agency such as Slinky Digital and work on your computer all day long. If everyone does something to reduce their carbon footprint, the result will be incredible and our precious resources will last a lot longer.
If you have a computer, you will most likely also have a printer. Not all printers are efficient, but laser printers can be said to be better than inkjet printers because the ink will not smudge if it gets wet. So when you print out a sheet, you won’t have to reprint it due to any smudges, thus saving ink. And you can usually print more with one toner cartridge than one container of ink.
Another way to ensure your printer is eco friendly is to purchase one that spits out those pages quickly. All printers use power while they are printing; if a printer takes 30 or even 10 seconds to print one page of type, it will take a lot longer and so use more power than one that can print a page in 1 or 2 seconds. So it’s important to look at the specifications of a printer before you purchase it.
So look at the pages per minute the printer will do, but also look at what other features it has that you may need. Having a printer that can hold 250 pages is a lot more convenient than one which can only hold 10 pages.
Are Your Carpet Cleaning Products Toxic?
Most people need to at least spot clean their carpets in between professional carpet cleaning. While you can choose professional carpet cleaners, like brilliancecleaning.com.au who only use environmentally friendly, safe cleaning products, it is still possible to accidentally use toxic products to clean the carpet yourself, if you don’t take care when purchasing products.
Sometimes this happens because you are in a hurry and don’t even think about the product being toxic. Other times it is because the list of ingredients on the tin or packet is in such small print you just can’t read it without your reading glasses – which are at home next to that book you were reading. Or it could be that you don’t know which ingredients are toxic – many have long names and it is easy to forget them, even if you try to get it right.
There are four main times when toxic products can affect you.
- If you get some on your skin while using them
- When you inhale the fumes while using them.
- When anyone sits or lies on the carpet and gets some on their skin
- Breathing in the air after cleaning while toxic fumes are still rising.
The latter two times you may not even be aware of it happening, but if you can smell it, you can breathe it in. And even a small amount of dried carpet cleaner on your skin can cause a rash, eczema or itch of some kind.
Limestone – the Environmentally Friendly Product for Homes and Gardens
Stone is an amazing natural product that can be used in so many ways. Some stone is produced locally and others are sourced internationally from places such as Bali where they are used extensively on easy villas. Homes and larger buildings have been made from stone for centuries and are still standing, making stone such as limestone blocks one of the most environmentally friendly products there is. It can be used for paving or stone cladding that will last almost forever.
While stone does not always withstand disasters such as earthquakes, especially if it topples from a height, neither do most other building materials. However, in places that are not prone to such disasters it has proven to weather other climatic conditions exceptionally well.
Stone is environmentally friendly not only because it lasts such a long time, but for other reasons as well. Here are some of them.
- There are no toxic chemicals or glues used in making it, so it is a safe product with no toxic fumes.
- It is low maintenance. It does not require painting or waterproofing, although both of these can be done to it if necessary. For instance, if used for flooring outside, and particularly around a swimming pool, it would need to be waterproofed.
- It is recyclable. If a stone wall needed to be taken down, the stone could be used elsewhere, for instance, for a garden bench, edging or another wall.
Designer Garden Pots and the Environment
If garden pots had a pecking order, designer garden pots would be at the top and the humble black plastic ones would be at the bottom. As far as being eco-friendly is concerned, designer pots have it covered, while at the bottom of the list, not much can be said for black plastic except that it is re-usable to a certain extent. That is, it can be repainted and decorated to look much more attractive and to help it last longer.
However, when it comes to designer pots, plastic is not involved as such pots are made from more durable materials such as glazed terracotta which is baked clay, fibreglass and other materials. Some are made from concrete, which is really too heavy, especially if the pot is to go on a balcony or has to be moved around much.
Some designer pots are made from stone, an environmentally good choice, since there seems to be a never-ending supply of stone available. Harvesting stone does not harm the environment because nothing can grow where stone is. Even if it is underground, the roots of many larger plants such as trees will not be able to penetrate it.
Most of the materials that such pots are made from are highly durable; they have to be to survived the natural effects of soil, fertiliser and water that is in them for most of their life. They don’t need to be maintained in any way except for an occasional wipe over with a damp cloth on the outside to keep them clean and shiny. So you could say that such pots are sustainable and certainly friendly to the environment.
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