This ASOG blogger feels better knowing that her shower water is filtered with one of the Rainshow’r Dechlorinators we carry. In fact, it gets rid of 90% of the chlorine pouring through a showerhead.
What’s the fuss about chlorine? Most municipal water, including ours, has chlorine to act as a disinfectant, something that’s ruled out a lot of disease over the years. However, the by-products of chlorine could have some health risks, including cancer, as well. And since many of us are filtering it from our tap water, absorbing it through our skin and inhaling it into our lungs in a warm shower isn’t too enticing either.
According to Rainshow’r, “chlorine… attacks your hair, skin, and lungs… and can leave your hair dry and brittle and make your skin flaky and itchy. It can also trigger negative reactions in children, the elderly, and people with chlorine-sensitivity.”
I know from my time spent in chlorine-heavy pools that this particular disinfectant is not for me. And I can attest that now my hair and skin are softer and less dried out with my filter.
Come check out the Rainshow’r dechlorinator specially chosen by our in house sustainability coach for your safety (and your future softer, silkier hair).
Plus, you can easily use it with a low-flow showerhead to save water while you suds up in your efforts to reduce your use and green even your shower time.
Our nonprofit of the month, Healthy Child Healthy World is all about creating healthy spaces for children to grow. The health of our children depends on the health of our world, and vice versa.
According to the HCHW website, this generation of children “face[s] an historically unprecedented rise in chronic disease and illness such as cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD / ADHD, and learning and developmental disabilities.” And if the cause could be environmental contaminants and the some 80,000 chemicals we’re exposed to in our lives now, they’re working to eradicate toxins and create natural, green spaces to thrive in instead.
There’s one for a bunch of huge issues: plastic, toys, school lunches, formula and sunscreen to start. Download them and read them, print a copy to bring with you when you’re shopping and to share with your friends.
If you feel daunted by the whole subject, check out their 5 Healthy Steps as a starting point (each contains more than one thing to do, but they’re great general categories to focus on):
*manage pests safely
*use non-toxic products
*clean up indoor air
*eat more organic and healthy foods
*be wise with plastics
Here’s to a healthy world and healthy kids inside it.
In honor of our upcoming non-toxic home workshops at All Shades, check out this TED video with Kamal Meattle who transformed a building in New Dehli into a safe place to work and breathe using three common household plants. It helped everything from respiratory function to headaches to energy needs.
We’re all more and more concerned about what we’re putting on our skin with news of parabens, petrochemicals, phthalates, and other problems with conventional products.
With that in mind, we’re happy to be carrying a new skin care line, Benedetta.
Take it from Natalie, All Shades store manager and green building professional, who loves the rosemary and geranium cleanser for its wonderful smell and facial-like experience. She literally looks forward to her nightly cleansing routine now.
She can also vouch for the palmerosa and neroli oils. A little oil goes a long way toward making her skin feel super hydrated.
And not only are Benedetta’s beauty care elixirs sources from nature, but it’s mindful of the earth in its practices, not just what goes into its products.
We are thrilled to carry this fabulous book about how to purify your home or office. That’s right, indoor air is often worse than outdoor air (the term Sick Building Syndrome corroborates). And given that on many days most of our time is spent inside, there’s definitely cause to clean it up.
One way to do it? Plants! That’s right, by bringing plants inside, we can improve our air quality significantly. If you don’t believe us, take it from NASA. Scientists there found that certain plants not only breathe out oxygen, but they also breathe in chemicals that are found in common items from carpets and sofas to kitchen cabinets and computer printers.
This book, How To Grow Fresh Air, is written by one of those NASA scientists and contains 50 plants that will help you breathe easier indoors. And we’ve got this valuable resource on our shelves.
For more expansive information on this topic, please come to one of our March workshops:
