Changing over to eating raw foods can be quite expensive. The ultimate is to grow your own garden. If you have a back yard you can grow a pretty decent sized one. Otherwise, get a few planters and grow a couple of tomato plants along the patio wall, and put a couple of eggplants inside the porch door with one large circular planter for example. Make each vegetable plant its own design with surrounding works of art. You can put a little garden here of one type of veggies and then another one on the south side of the yard.
If you can find someone who has an organic garden, offer to help them in exchange for food items (i.e. community garden). Most people need volunteers, and the larger the garden the more help they will need. Working in a garden all spring, summer and fall is exhausting work; someone to help us would be a blessing.
If you can find sales on organic or fresh vegetables toward the end of the summer seasons, buy at bulk; either freeze or can your favorite dishes. If you have a large deep freeze you can freeze quite a bit of items. Otherwise, get a dehydrator and dry your food items.
Look around and see what you have in your neighborhood or local city area. There are many, many opportunities that are waiting for your attention and skill, but they won’t come knocking on your door!
Most organic make up producers take special pride in providing you with organically-based cosmetics produced using the highest possible standards. Cosmetics and skin care products labeled “organic” must pass certain certification standards. Users of organic make up believe they are getting a healthier and higher quality product.
Makers of high quality organic cosmetics requires their ingredients are all-natural and come from unrefined, preservative-free organic ingredients that are cold processed so as not to break down the delicate features of the product. While every product needs some processing, manufacturers of organic make up do this in an environmentally-friendly way. Organic make up avoids synthetic preservatives or those that release formaldehyde that can get into an individual’s skin. This means that no parabens, urea derivatives or other formaldehyde-producing products are used in their cosmetics. In the same way, no petrochemicals are used, which are those preservatives derived from petroleum. This includes petroleum jelly, mineral oil, parabens, propylene glycol, acetones or benzene-like products are used.
Some cosmetics require extraction steps with solvents. Most chemical solvents are fairly toxic to humans and these are avoided in organic make up production. Phthalates, found in plastics, have been known to mimic the hormone, estrogen, and may cause female-related diseases. These, too, are avoided in the making and packaging of organic make up. Commonly used detergents, like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and related compounds, are kept out of organic make up and skin care products. These are known to irritate the skin. However, other natural options are available. In addition, all ingredients in this type of make up must be certified organic or be verified as being pesticide free.
In the making of organic cosmetics, many manufacturers require that there be no animal testing or other cruelty to animals in the making of their products such as the Leap Bunny certification. All fragrances are natural and all essential oils come from natural sources. Special attention is making sure there are no pesticide residues in any of their organic products. Essential oils are extracted from either bark, roots, flowers, stems and leaves of organic plant sources. They are cold pressed or steam distilled to keep the oil fresh and not degraded. Essential oils are used as organic make up preservatives, fragrances and to create a certain texture. Only small amounts of essential oils are used to protect sensitive skin.
In some cases, organic make up can contain iron oxides and titanium dioxide that are processed synthetically but exist in nature. In nature, these ores contain too many contaminants to be able to be used. In addition, fractionated oil is often used that is derived from coconut oil and palm oil. This is considered a semi-synthetic part of organic make up. Some companies can call their product all-natural, but recommend to ask further questions and look at the ingredient list to make sure the cosmetic product they are buying is, indeed, organic. Hopefully, the above information will help you and spark an interested in purchasing the safest, healthiest and most environmentally-friendly organic products.
