Product Guides for a Healthy Family

The EWG’s website provides a wealth of information to help you create a non-toxic home and raise a healthy family. The following guides are downloadable and include some great tips for what to avoid when purchasing a variety products.

Check out the Safety Guide to Children’s Personal Care Products for suggestions on ingredients you should always avoid and recommendations for better product picks.

The EWG’s Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles and Formula provides important information on how to feed your baby safely.

The Healthy Home Tips for Parents gives you 11 easy ways to go green at home.

For more information, take a look at the EWG’s library of health and safety tips.

Toxic Free Kids…

Another great organization, the Environmental Working Group, is working hard to get the Toxics-Free Babies and Toddlers Act in California passed. The act creates legislation to protect our precious keiki by reducing the level of Bisphenol-A, widely known as BPA, that is allowed to leach from various products like metal food and infant formula cans, jar lids, and plastic bottles and sippy cups. BPA is a hormone-disrupting chemical that has been linked to behavioral changes, breast cancer and prostate cancer. 

At present, there is no requirement to protect your babies and toddlers from the leaching of BPA. If you’re a concerned parent who wants to make your voice heard, be sure to check out the EWG campaign and send a personalized letter to your senator!

 

 found in many of the products we use everyday to feed our children. It contaminates kids’ food and drink when it leaches from products

Rise Up – Get Healthcare Reform for Families and Kids!

MomsRising is a non-profit that’s been advocating for motherhood and family issues since 2006. This month, they are asking concerned American parents to send a letter to Congress demanding healthcare reform that not only ensures a healthy future for families (especially our previous little ones). 

Congress is deciding at this moment whether or not to include a “public health” insurance option as part of healthcare reform. This option would give families the opportunity to choose to remain covered by private insurance or to be covered by a public plan – an especially enticing option for families who do not have access to any other insurance plans.

According to MomsRising, “women, in particular, need a public insurance option because they are less likely to get health insurance through their jobs and more than twice as likely as men to get employer-sponsored coverage through their spouses. And as the economy worsens, many employers are reducing healthcare coverage for dependents, leaving millions of women and children at risk.^1″

If you want to get involved, be sure to check out the MomsRising campaign and send Congress your personal letter!

[1] 24% of women get their insurance through their spouse’s job, compared to only 11% of men. Dependent coverage is not a stable source of insurance; in fact, between 2001 and 2005, employers dropping such coverage accounted for 11% of the decline in employer-sponsored insurance overall. Women and Health Coverage: The Affordability Gap, (Elizabeth M. Patchias and Judy Waxman, April 2007- Issue Brief) - http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/NWLCCommonwealthHealthInsuranceIssueBrief2007.pdf

Rocket Fuel and Baby Formula

A new message from the EWG warns that, in California, when you mix infant formula contaminated with perchlorate – a rocket fuel ingredient than can interfere with infant brain development – with water that’s also contaminated with perchlorate, you put rocket fuel on baby’s menu. Twice.

A new report by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found perchlorate contamination in 15 brands of powdered infant formula.

The CDC team warned that mixing perchlorate-tainted formula powder with tap water containing “even minimal amounts” of the chemical could boost the resulting mixture’s toxin content above the “safe” level set by the EPA. Click here to read EWG’s analysis.

Perchlorate pollution has also been found in the drinking water of 28 states and territories – and areas of California are contaminated.

If you want to take action on this issue, you can call on California state officials to protect our most vulnerable populations from exposure to rocket fuel chemicals. Click here to send an email today, and ask them to keep perchlorate at safe levels in our drinking water.

Spring Cleaning

Ahhh…it seems the grey of winter has subsided and the flora and fauna alike recognize that spring, in all its glory, is finally here! This has traditionally been the season where we feel the urge to open our hearts and homes to fresh starts and breezes. It is the perfect time to recognize the new life that is flourishing – both physically and spiritually – and to clear out any clutter and mess that is no longer necessary in your life.

So, in keeping with tradition, I offer a few tips for cleaning out your home and making a fresh start…

1) Clean naturally  - Some basic ingredients for DIY cleaners include baking soda, lemon, vinegar, salt, liquid soap, and hot water. Follow these recipes to create nontoxic scrubs for every occasion.

2) Clean With Reusable Wipes and Scrubbers – Make your own cloth cleaning rags to save paper towels from entering the landfill. If you want to be truly green, you can cultivate luffa (a.k.a. “loofah”) in your garden and grow your own “sponge gourds.”

3) Recycle Your Personal Care Products – A great way to make a contribution to your community while clearing out clutter is to take any personal care products you don’t use anymore and donate them to a local shelter. 

4) Clean Out Your Closet – Our closets often accumulate a plethora of items that no longer serve a purpose in our lives. Recycle any clothes, shoes and accessories that you no longer use by donating them or repurposing them into new items with a little sewing.

5) Get Outside -Nature always provides a wonderful opportunity to refresh and reconnect with your inner sense of joy and awe. Take a walk on a new trail, plant organic seasonal produce in your garden, or bike ride with your family.

6) Create A New Look – Wearing “spring” colors is a great way to brighten your mood or taking a trip to the salon for a new do can refresh your outlook and spirits.

5) Clear Your Head – When you’ve finished clearing out your home, it’s time to clear out any clutter that’s creating stagnant energy in your life. A great way to brighten your mood is to bring some beautiful flowers or a new plant into your home. Greenery can rejuvenate the energy in your home and heart.

Profess Your Love – Ask for Clean Energy

You can always profess your love for this planet on Valentine’s Day by showing your leaders in Washington why you care about a clean energy future, free from the threat of climate change.

Just upload a picture of the person, place, or thing you love most on the I Heart Clean Energy site and tell why they inspire you to care about global warming. Your story, plus thousands of others, will be sent to Congress and placed on the “Wall of Love” so it can be viewed by people across the country – including your elected officials.

How Green Is My Love Life??

If you’re looking for an easy and fun way to tell family and friends you care, send them an e-card and quiz. The Sierra Club has put together a fun “How Green Is My Love Life” quiz to help you figure out how eco-friendly your romantic habits truly are. Once you’ve determined the level of your green love, you can challenge your loved ones to beat your score by sending a super cute e-card. What better way is there to say I love you?

Women’s Clothing Now 25% OFF

We know in this economy times are tough. So, we’ve marked all our women’s clothing down by 25% - just in time for Valentine’s Day! Take a look at all of our sale items to find that perfect gift!

Organic Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

Can it really get any better? Creamy cheesecake with the irresistible flavors of dark chocolate come together in this mouth-watering delight. A sweet surprise for that special someone.

Prep time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 11/2 hours, serves 16

Crust:

1 1/2 cups organic graham cracker crumbs

2/3 stick organic butter, melted

In a medium size mixing bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together to prepare crust. Press the mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch spring form pan. Chill.

Filling:

1  cup organic lowfat vanilla yogurt cheese
2  8-ounce containers organic lowfat neufchatel cheese spread
1  cup organic sugar
3  eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2  3-ounce organic semisweet chocolate bars, melted

1. Prepare yogurt cheese by lining a colander with 3-4 layers of cheesecloth, and allow the whey (the clear liquid in yogurt) to strain for 6 hours. One quart of yogurt should yield approximately two cups of yogurt cheese. Reserve.

2. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

3. In a medium-size mixing bowl, cream together the neufchatel and the sugar with a hand blender. Add the eggs, vanilla, melted chocolate and yogurt, and mix until all the ingredients are combined. Spoon the mixture onto the crust.

4. Place the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven and place a pan of water on the bottom rack. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, being careful not to open the door while baking. Once finished baking, turn off the oven, and allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the oven with the door ajar. Remove the cheesecake and continue cooling on a wire rack. Refrigerate before serving.

All New Organic Keiki Line of Apparel!

We’ve been working to get our line of Organic Keiki apparel designs together and we’re finally ready to launch our first 3 styles! Of course, it was a no-brainer that our clothes should be made only in the most socially and environmentally responsible manner and of the highest quality. But we also wanted to create designs that represented what we love most about Hawaii – laid back, comfortable styles that are funky AND fun! Working with local graphic designer, Parker Moosman of Creature, we’ve created our first set featuring “Save the Earth” designs! Check ‘em out below…

1) “Ride the Recycle Wave” – Our surf-inspired graphic for boys and girls to help toddlers spread the message about reducing, reusing and recycling! Click here to shop for these new items! 

      

Organic Keiki’s “Ride the Recycle Wave” Designs

2) “Save Some For Me” – Our onesie graphic, which reminds us that what we do today can help save some of Hawaii for future generations!

Organic Keiki's "Save Some For Me" Onesie Design

3) Our classic, dark wash straight leg jean made with 98% organic cotton and 2% spandex (it’s one of the only pairs of organic jeans in the market made especially for infants/toddlers).

Infant/Toddler Organic Jeans

In case you were wondering, here’s the low down on our line… Our tees and onesies are made with 100% organic cotton and the factories that produce them are certified Fair Trade. The graphics are printed in Hawaii with low impact inks (either water-based or direct to garment, the two most eco-friendly printing methods available). Our jeans are designed and hand sewn in Hawaii by local girl Lynn Sakutori’s Sakutori Designs. Most importantly, the featured characters in our graphics are named Naia and Ruby (after my adorable nephew and niece)!

Here’s SNEAK PREVIEW of our second set featuring our “Rasta” designs!

Organic Keiki's "One Love" Girls Organic Tee Design

Organic Keiki's "One Love" Boys Organic Tee Design

These designs are coming soon so don’t forget to stop by our online store!