Family run and committed company, with many of there spices fairly traded.  I take for granted all the products and great retailers out there as this is a way of life for us here in the Fairfield household.  Been using these for a few years now.   Yes a lot of Organic Fairly traded products are more expensive, but we would much rather pay more for our health and have peace of mind that the products we buy are sourced ethically, with integrity and paid fairly

Steenbergs are one of those products I do buy, Suma are also fantastic but I can re-use Steenbergs as they are in Glass, great!* and there NEW packaging is also FAB!*

Now they have re-launched these incredible herbs in Tins, still able to be used and stored but with less space, Result for all us Foddies, as space is an issue in my Kitchen

Love this company* http://www.steenbergs.co.uk/

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I first became aware of Rainforest Alliance back when we had our Organic Hair Salon in Findhorn Village 2007.  Great company called Mathew Algie who supplied all our Organic Rainforest Alliance Coffee Beans and Tea.

This logo represents assurance that goods, have been produced within certain criteria in terms of sustainability, concern for the environment and fairly paid workers.

There statement is this: Fight deforestation,Fight climate change, how do they do this? Protect Forests, productive farms, Improved communities, clean water and healthy habits.

Make sure your Tea, Coffee and Chocolate has this symbol and support a very forward thinking company and sustainable society

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/about.cfm?id=values_vision

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As you know if you are following this blog, I am called Go Organic Now but I do also sell and review products tht are not Organic.

The reason is that not ALL Organic products are the best and indeed Natural, fairly traded with passion and integrity are also equally as good.  Having personally specialised in Pastry with the Roux Brothers, I appreciate and love the passion behind Patissiere and Chocolatiers.  To find such a talented lady on my doorstep made me feel very excited

Searching for Natural Organic hand made chocolates,  here where I live in Cornwall, meant I was very excited to see not only Chocolates that are hand made but also, wedding cakes,birthday cakes and more

Nicky Grant based in Cornwall is a Sugar Artist, Patisserie & Chocolatier.  Her cakes and chocolates are hand-made and she sources as much of the local Cornish produce as she can, including fresh cream and organic free range eggs. The butter and buttermilk also come from local farms. Other great ingredients include unrefined sugar and organic flour.

The chocolates that Nicky sent me were lovely, I especially liked the Lavender Heart, I simply love Lavender in chocolat Yum…. The fresh chocolates don’t include any preservatives, just natural flavours and fine couverture chocolate from around the world including single origin and plantation chocolate.  Thank you Nicky I always feel very blessed when I ask for samples to review and people agree to this, I really am very grateful…

The box is beautifully presented with “Choccara” on the label, Cara in Cornish means LOVE and they certainly are lovely.

They came at the perfect time just before the weekend so my hubby and I could share and review, Thank you Nicky Chocolates were great and I will certainly be in touch for future Birthday Cakes (hubby 60th coming up soon LOL)

Wedding Favours  

Wedding Cakes  

I know, I know a bit carried away with all these images but I think you’ll agree it really is rather inspirational and a talent like this needs to be shared…….Enjoy*

http://www.nickygrant.com/

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Fiona has an incredible knowledge of Aromatherapy.  After a very successful private practice and great feedback on her anti-inflammatory blend, which was created for anti-arthritic clients.  The blend was to become the now Calming, Bath & Body Oil

Fiona has sent me samples to try as I do not sell products I do not test and use myself.  I use the Organic Orange Cleansing Oil with the Purifying Facial Spritz.  Now I cannot use Citrus generally on my skin but I trusted Fiona and tried the Cleansing Oil.  I had no problem with this at all it has Organic Mandarin,Sesame,Organic Petitgrain & Vitamin E this can also be used for men shaving, Massage into the beard area, Remove with muslin cloth.
Apply 1 extra pump and use as a shaving oil.  This set also came with an Organic Muslin cloth so you can use the cleanser with this to act as an exfoliator & for City people to really cleanse your skin.

I use this every day as I always wear make-up.  Is fantastic for removing your make-up, I have tried so many oils, hypo-allergenic baby wipes etc, that leave your skin feeling really dry and dehydrated and for me this is the test of a good product as I am very sensitive, nothing leaves my skin feeling soft & cleansed as this does.  The Purifying Facial Spritz was lovely, leaving my skin refreshed and feeling really clean this contains Organic Rosemary – purifying plant to relieve oily skin
Organic Aloe Vera – natures healer refreshes and heals
Vitamin C – antioxidant vitamin to brighten and protect the skin
Nature’s antiseptic – Organically certified wheat grain alcohol helps to protect and purify.

I then finish off my facial routine with Gentle face treatment oil as this is for sensitive skin.  It has German Chamomile, and Calendula as well as rose Otto (my favourite).  I used this whilst I was recovering from Dermatitis and was very nourishing and cleansing for my skin.

Finally I asked Fiona for an exfoliator so I could get the whole experience of using the Pure Lochside products.  Fiona sent me Organic Orange Skin Refiner with good old Organic Scottish Oats smells wonderful.  I did not expect this to be dry, I expected it to be in oil but you just use the wee spoon in the tub to mix up with water as an exfoliator or make into a paste for a face mask (as Fiona recommended) it’s lovely and not rough as many ex-foliating products can be and does not leave the skin feeling taught and dried out.  You can also add the Cleansing oil to this mix in the face mask, a little goes a long way.

There is not  anything I don’t like about this product.  They use Recycled card for packaging using vegetable based inks, the packaging is reduced by using Hessian which keeps it safe and leak free in your over night bag.  You will not find parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, petrochemicals or silicones in any of our products. The same applies to PEGS, propylene glycol, TEA, DEA, phthalates or anything else other than plants or naturally occurring elements.

Pure Lochside believes you should feed your skin from the outside as well as the inside and that’s why our unique, organic products are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, pure botanicals and therapeutic grade essential oils. Each aromatic formula is made in small batches to ensure freshness and potency……………….hear hear!

Pure Lochside use entirely natural ingredients derived only from plants and our essential oils are all of therapeutic grade which intensifies their overall results. All our ingredients are considerate to nature and kind to you.

This is my favourite bit as I believe OIL is the only way to go in order to work in harmony with your bodies natural oils,

Pure Plant Oils

All Pure Lochside products are oil based which enables the active ingredients to penetrate into the deep layers of the skin rather than sitting on the surface like cream based products. Plant oils work in harmony with the skin and the finest, luxury plant oils used by Pure Lochside do not clog the pores and help to balance the skin and naturally revitalise. The non heated products retain 100% of their vitamin and mineral content……………..We love this at Go Organic Now*

It does not stop here Ladies and Gents, Pure Lochside also has a range for body and Men’s Grooming…….If that is not all Fiona also offers a Bespoke/Private Label Service, something I am looking forward to doing in 2011……………………

This range will be available this Summer form Go Organic Now, keep looking for updates www.purelochside.com

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I was pleased to see so many great designs and clothes available but dissappointed at the price tags on most of the sites, dresses for £300, come on, when did being aware and concious have a price tag of that amount!

I know in terms of how other cotton is farmed it is a smaller run business and costs can be higher but there are companies out there who are trying! Can we see more of these pleeeeaase

Ironically enough one of the companies I found is based in Cornwall called Seasalt clothing Reasonable priced clothing for all the family.  In 2005 Seasalt became the 1st fashion label to become certified by Soil Association.  Currently they sell 50% of Organic clothing the other percentage is mad up of Oska, white stuff etc…

They are increasing this % and it’s still within budget compared to £100 for a top and £300 for a dress!!!

I also came across Ascension clothing also very reasonably priced clothing, gifts,jewellery,

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You see I love my Italian food and when in a good restaurant the smell and the perfect creme is tempting.

No, no not for me though I cannot drink any caffeine drinks any longer.  So when i turned to Decaf  Illy or Segafredo I was disappointed to realise that they were not Fair Trade, so then I turned to other Fair traded brands.

In fact I was even more disappointed when after 10 years of drinking Decaf coffee realised that it’s washed in chemicals,solvents such as Methylene Chloride which affects the central nervous system, Liver,Cardiovascular system,and blood, oh and may cause Cancer!!! Whoa!

So I stopped drinking it all together, until I found Suma Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee, Yeah, now I can have a coffee at home when I want a treat!*

Suma is a very well respected company and has been running since 1975, is a Co-op, Ethical and have been using a 100% renewable Electricity in the workplace.  My money is with this company as they have my trust

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The Detail is amazing and Bamboo is so abundant and very sustainable, It also comes in Lilac.  Purely hemp homeware collection not only looks and feels great, but hemp is grown without the need for harmful chemicals, so it is better for our environment, wildlife and producers.

There contemporary hemp range shows the versatility and elegance of hemp fabric, very soft and flowing, not at all what you would imagine. Mix and match homeware and interiors range,baby throws, whilst using a denser weave for there hemp shower curtains, which absorb the water, stopping it from spraying through.  Hemp bags are made from a hemp canvas, which they also sell by the metre, along with other hemp fabrics in many great colours ( mm great for our new home)

Continuously designing more fabrics to add to there range, with great colours for increased choice. New reusable shopping bags as an eco-friendly, stylish alternative to the plastic throwaway and our courier bags, around town and satchel style bags for their vibrant yet practical design, See below

I also bought the Satchel below for my Husband Ron as he loves Orange and I felt safe in the knowledge this Company is everything I believe in and great friendly service as well as very prompt delivery

“We are happy to now be working with Waste Innovations in Edinburgh”. Please see wasteinnovations.com for further information regarding their many worthwhile projects and for details of their newly opened shop and eco-workshops in Scotland.

There are many great reasons to buy hemp as an alternative to conventional cotton and other less sustainable fabrics. Cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the World, causing some devastating repercussions to the environment, wildlife and workers involved because of the hazardous chemicals used, whereas hemp needs little help to thrive; it is prolific, hardy and sustainable and is grown without the need for harmful chemicals. Drapers Organic hemp shower curtains make an attractive, toxic-free and biodegradable alternative to PVC shower curtains. See the below article taken from ‘The Independent’, dated *July 2008, about PVC shower curtains:

Toxic shower curtain warning

By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor

Sunday, 6 July 2008

American scientists are warning that the humble plastic shower curtain is responsible for releasing more than 100 toxic chemicals into homes, including some suspected of causing cancer or having gender-bending effects.

A report from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice calls for PVC curtains to be banned, a call echoed by Greenpeace. Several stores have already phased them out.

The research tested five curtains over 28 days and found 108 volatile organic compounds which, the study says, can irritate the eyes, ears and throat and damage the liver, kidney and central nervous system. Some, it adds, “are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans”.

All the curtains were also found to contain phthalates which have been linked to premature breast development in girls, and feminisation effects in baby boys.

All in all a wonderful company with Ethics, integrity and Style  Please check out there Website for more details on Children’s Range, Nappies,Shoes,

Sanitary products,Cushion covers, napkins etc

http://www.drapersorganiccotton.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index

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I am pleased that there are Organic/Natural Cosmetics more available to the Consumer, as it is vitally important for Women and Men to be informed on the Toxic Ingredients in the products they use daily.

I am however (after 3years of researching in this Mind Field know as “Cosmetics”) a bit concerned at just how many products are out there……Why? I hear you ask……Well think of the manpower, the packaging that is proving not only hard to recycle in this country but in the world, why do we need more? Well I feel unfortunately the market has become flooded,saturated and a bit erm Hypocritical when it comes to Organic and Natural.

when I was looking for products for my site, it was unbelievable what was out there, some great and some were still claiming Organic and or Natural but not, some more concerned with the pretty packaging which we all know as Women does dictate our purchase but unnecessary, some ridiculously overpriced, some flown half way round the world to get here!, some wonderful but so Environmental and focusing on the message people are not interested, some just into it for the £££’s…………………..then you have the competition for websites to sell and come to there site, I got into it as in the Highlands was not available and naive to think an on-line business would open up for Scotland!! Also naive at the fierce competition & sites back biting at sites selling at less!?

I guess I have found out that largely the Organic Natural Beauty market has become just the same as the Toxic Beauty environment we were trying to get away from in the first place!

In an age where we are obsessed with Beauty outwards, and that largely the Cosmetics industry relies on Fear  (Women predominately) I am saddened by some of the people out there manufacturing…. and selling…

Am I alone? Please tell me what you feel

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I don’t know about you, but I find the term “ORGANIC” confusing, what does it mean?

As far back as I can remember my grandparents would grow their own vegetables & salads.  My Grandfather never used any chemicals or pesticides, just good old fashioned, love and attention to turning and caring for the soil in his greenhouse and garden, and the “Old fashioned” way of using  rotting vegetables (which he never had, but got from next door as we ate everything!!). He did tell me once when I had a Vine with Grapes, to feed it dead birds that the Cat would catch Yuk!! Vines liked them….

Organic, to me, means naturally grown ingredients in ALL produce, from our food, our hair care, and our face creams.  In the past 40 years women have increased what they want to put on their body, faces and hair.  As my husband told me, “women used to go to the hairdressers to have their hair done once a week, as their hair was set”.  Today “Fashion” dictates what we should be doing, and demanding, which has lead to the over use of products and chemicals, over washing and over colouring just to, “get the look”

All of this comes at a price!!! With the increasing demand the cosmetics industry has escalated to £5bn a year and rising!!! Did you know that Women use on average 15 products a day?

So what is Organic meaning to women? Well it shows in the dictionary that it is used more in Food related wording than that of Cosmetics.

I researched a lot about Organic before I launched Go Organic Now.  The catalyst was my Husbands Salon in Findhorn Village, Scotland.  We spent a lot of time looking for Organic/ethically traded, coffee, Tea, Chocolate, and wine.  I had followed as much as I could afford an Organic lifestyle free of chemicals largely in food, the way I had been taught growing up.  I had also lived in a Commune co-operative in the Borders learning a lot about the added ingredients in foods, where the produce came from and the motives of the companies.

It was at that point that I suggested to my Husband we should go “Organic” in the Salon.

I could not use regular hair dyes or shampoos etc. and knew (being an Energy Healer) that a lot of toxins in the body were largely coming from processed foods and products.  I spent a lot of time researching and investigating web sites to see what others were selling and what “Organic” was, I was shocked.  Websites and shops, Health shops, and organic outlets were selling “Organic” products that contained ingredients listed as “Toxic”…

I made some mistakes along the journey, I bought products that turned out to have ingredients listed that were plainly NOT organic, and were considered by many as toxic! So off the shelf they came, and we stared again!!! And  will continue to do this, if a product or distributor is not what it seams.

We settled on Organics Hair colour system for professional hairdressers, which although not completely organic was the closest available and as a company have a transparent ingredients policy and strong ethical and recycling standards.

Researching, I realised there are many Organic and Natural websites, but none of them are REALLY being honest about ingredients.  For many companies it is very tempting, to jump on the “Organic” band wagon but with everything in life, intention is everything.  If the main driving intention is profit, then who can blame companies for following the letter of the law and cutting corners.  This only serves to confuse the consumer, when terms like, “Organic, Pure, Natural” are used to describe a product which may only be partially “Organic, Pure, or Natural”

The aim of Go Organic Now is to remove confusion and apply strict criteria so that customers can be certain that a product is what it says it is.

For me this is not the WHOLE story.  Because manufacturers, (especially those from outside of the UK), often sell through distributers, the attitude and trading practices of the distributer may leave a lot to be desired.  Many on-line businesses choose to turn a blind eye to this; I do not, to me attitude and ethicality are as important as the product.

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