I’m glad it’s spring.

I don’t know what it was these past few months, but my family went through two kinds of stomach flu, two bouts with low fevers and coughs, and a nasty cold. Nothing serious, thankfully, but low-grade annoying.

I’m grateful that we have (1) a ready supply of water (and an energy-efficient washing machine); (2) a green bin that allows for composting tissues; and (3) Hankettes.

Hankettes are these soft organic cotton cloth handkerchiefs that are great for wiping noses as well as cleaning washable marker off 4-year-olds’ stomachs (don’t ask), and numerous other uses. I picked up a pocket pack of them a few years ago at Arbour Environmental Shoppe in the Glebe. They still look and feel almost new.

I must admit to a deeper connection with those small off-white squares of cloth. After I’d first purchased some, I was visiting my dad in BC a year or two after my mom passed away. I found out that Hankettes is a small family-run business near where my parents lived in Sechelt on BC’s Sunshine Coast. My dad and I found their trailer on a wooded lot near a small house. The proprieter, Lesley, was friendly and we laughed about me coming all the way from Ottawa seeking Hankettes. I bought a few more, along with a colourful box to fold them into so they pull out like tissues. I also ended up with two organic cotton towels, and my dad, a long-time handkerchief user, bought a few of the larger Hankettes.

My dad passed away a couple of years later, and I haven’t been back to Sechelt or the trailer. But when my sisters and I cleared out my parents’ house, I found a couple of my dad’s Hankettes — somehow comforting, in more ways than one.

When I checked recently, Arbour was still carrying Hankettes, which can also be found online.

After all, allergy season is coming soon.

Ever notice how living more sustainably goes hand in hand with healthy living? What’s good for us human beings tends to be good for the planet, whether it’s biking rather than driving, getting out for a hike instead of playing video games, or growing more of our own food and buying less processed food.

We know this, but a recent study suggests we aren’t always making healthy choices. That’s why several health partners in Ontario’s Champlain Health Region, which includes Ottawa, have launched the Know More Do More campaign.

The campaign is focused on children and parents although has tips that everyone might be able to use. (According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadians of all ages are at increased risk for heart disease, half are at an unhealthy weight, and less than half of us are getting enough physical activity.)

Know more – some findings:

• Children should be getting 90 minutes of physical activity every day. But 87% of children in the region are not getting this, even though 90% of parents consider their child to be active or very active;
• 10% of youth in Canada are getting less than 2 hours of screen time per day;
• Only 1 in 8 Ontario children eats the recommended 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Do more – suggestions include:

• Make a list of physical activities you enjoy and pick one to do this week;
• Pick out a new recipe this week to try as a family;
• Organize a scavenger hunt with some other families;
• Participate in a TV Turnoff Challenge for Screens Free Week April 19-25 and September 19-25;
• Borrow a pedometer from the Ottawa Public Library (for individuals) or Ottawa Public Health (for business and community groups) and have fun counting steps.

The Know More Do More website has lots more tips and links. You can sign up there to participate (or just do it on your own). For inspiration and moral support, check out Ottawa resident Andrea Tomkins’ blog, a peek inside the fishbowl. Tomkins, along with Tracy Gorman in Petawawa, have signed up as “champion” families for the initiative.

I could say more, but the rest of my family is calling me to go fly a kite – guess I can’t say no to that now!

Do you have too many clothes that don’t fit anymore?  Do you sometimes buy things on impulse but never end up wearing them?  Would you like to declutter your house but dont`t want to all your things to go to waste?  Would you like to get new clothes but don’t have money to spend?

Then our clothing swaps might be for you!

I started a clothing swap club in Montréal which became very popular, with over 250 members.  Last year, when I moved to Ottawa, I started one here too; it’s called the Garde-robe collectif and we have around 70 members so far.

Clothing swaps are events where people bring used clothing and other items that they don’t want anymore and can take things that other people brought, so it’s a win-win situation; you can get rid of things that are wasting valuable space in your home without creating more waste since your things will either go home with someone else or be given to a charity if nobody wants them, and get new things in an environmentally friendly way by reusing items, without having to spend any money!

The Garde-robe collectif meets once every two months at one of our members’ place.  Usually, 5-10 people attend each swap.  People can bring any clothes, accessories, shoes as well as books, CDs, DVDs, and other small household items that they don’t want anymore.  We put everything together and people take what they like; there is no minimum or maximum of items to bring or take. Whatever is left at the end goes to the Salvation Army.  Sometimes we get local designers to give us samples or items from their older collections for the swap as well.  There is usually food prepared by the host or brought by attendees   It’s a fun way to meet people who are also into a greener and more frugal lifestyle in Ottawa-Gatineau!

It’s free for people to join our club.  You can either join the mailing list by sending an email to garderobecollectifathotmail.fr, or look for le Garde-robe collectif group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14625518938

Here is an interview about my club that aired on the CBC Ottawa (Frugalista) if you want more info: http://www.cbc.ca/ottawablog/2009/07/swap_till_you_drop.html

Our next swap will be Friday, April 2nd at 10 AM in the ByWard Market area and there is still room for people to participate!   Feel free to email me if you have any questions or would like to attend our current or future events!

Marilyn
Founder, president
Garde-robe collectif

I’ve been thinking about laundry a lot lately. With five people in the house and a lot of rain this spring, laundry is becoming more of a sporting event than a chore.

To lessen the environmental impact of all this washing we are looking at solar hot water heating, and will be attending the next info session in our neighbourhood. If you missed the previous post it will be in Westboro (Ottawa): Tuesday June 23rd, 2009. 7pm-9pm at Dovercourt Recreation Centre, 411 Dovercourt Avenue, Ottawa, ON.

I am also hanging as much of my laundry outside as possible. It’s been raining a lot this spring but I sometimes hang it out anyway. I call it the second rinse. It will dry eventually, and still smell fresh.

In some communities there are by-laws prohibiting the hanging of laundry. However, in Ontario those by-laws have been repealed. (As far as I can judge from the legalese that I found here.) The environmental tips page at the City of Ottawa encourages the use of lines and laundry racks.

In BC an organization called Let’s Hang Out is working to promote outdoor clothes drying, as a way to combat global warming and save energy. According to the people at Let’s Hang Out, 6% of your household energy is consumed by the clothes dryer.

If you need a reason to abandon your dryer here are mine:

Top 10 reasons to hang your laundry on the line:

1 You can meditate about life as you pin up the clothes.

2 Folding the clothes as they come off the line prevents that “we decorate with mountains of socks” look in your living room.

3 Hanging laundry gets you outside on a sunny day.

4 Laundry flapping on the line is beautiful.

5 In the few minutes it takes, you can keep an eye on your garden, your children and what’s happening in your neighbourhood.

6 No static cling, and no need for fabric softener.

7 It’s a chemical free way to bleach out stains.

8 Bacteria in your clothing is killed when exposed to the sun.

9 Your laundry will smell fantastic when it’s dry.

10 Air drying your laundry saves money and Energy!!

The show is being organized by Friends of the Earth Outaouais and Véronique Bérubé of Design-Vert.  Everything for sale must be designed and made by the artisans present.  In order to qualify for the show, the items must be made primarily out of re-used or recycled materials, and be of high quality workmanship and artistry.

Alongside the craft fair there will be workshops, a recycled craft area for kids, items on display from an international contest to make toys out of reused materials, and a café.  Please note that there is no ATM on site and that many of the artisans will only be able to accept cash.

I’m honestly astonished (pleasantly) that there are 50 such artisans in our local area.  So please take the opportunity to support local environmentally-friendly crafts-people and let us imagine a day when most of the goods we buy are locally produced from sustainable sources.

Salon des Artisans-Récupérateurs de L’Outaouais

• When: 18th and 19th of April from 10 am to 5pm.
• Where: Tétreau Community Centre (Parc Mousette), 361 Boulevard de Lucerne, Gatineau
• Admission is free!
• Parking is also free, but the Community Centre is easily accessible by bike along the path that runs on the North bank of the Ottawa River.  So why not use environmentally-friendly transportation to get there.

The Ottawa Go Green Expo takes place on the weekend of March 21st at Lansdowne Park. This is your opportunity to bring your green consumer out of hibernation; you can sample organic wine, check out the latest electric scooter or plan an environmentally conscious renovation.
Ottawa’s largest green event brings together 180 of the greenest programs, products and services under one roof. Guest speakers include Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Justin P. J. Trudeau, and David Chernushenko presenting his film Be the Change.

Vendors touch on all aspects of living green, including green home and gardens, local and organic cooking, eco-fashion, energy conservation, recreation, eco-tourism, alternative transportation, and health.

The Ottawa Go Green Expo runs from 10am – 6pm on Saturday and from 10am – 5pm on Sunday and admission is free.

Contact the Ottawa Go Green Expo at 905-477-2677 or 1-800-891-4859.
Find them on the web at: www.ottawagogreenexpo.com

Lansdowne Park
Aberdeen Pavilion
1015 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3W7

I’ve tried a great number of health food store deodorants, the ones that advertise being environmentally friendly and better for you than the run of the mill pharmacy ones.  I’ve tried a great many because they tend to work for a week or two and then fail miserably, usually on a high stress day when I really need them to work.  I was relieved to find that I’m not alone in this.  In her most excellent book, Ecoholic, Adria Vasil writes of experiencing the same problem.

There are certain brands that in the past I found worked for longer: Nature’s Gate and Tom’s of Maine.  However, these brands have propylene glycol as their main ingredient,  which the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database lists as “moderately toxic,” 4 out of a possible 10.  BTW, I have recently discovered that Nature’s Gate Organics deodorants are propylene glycol free, but I have not tried them. I was disappointed to discover Tom’s of Maine uses propylene glycol since they were the first company to develop a “natural deodorant” back in the 1970s and Ellis Jones, in his “the better world shopping guide” rates them as #5 on his list of the 10 best companies in the world from an ethical, environmental and social justice perspective. But I was determined to make my armpits propylene glycol free zones, so I went back to trying out deodorants.

Fortunately my environmentally-friendly hair dresser, Joy, recently introduced me to an Australian organic cosmetics company, miessence organics.  Their Aroma Free Deodorant is more expensive than your average health food store brand.  However, it has only four ingredients (water, aloe vera, sodium bicarbonate, xanthan gum, and grapefruit seed extract) all of which I am familiar with and comfortable using.  The deodorant works perfectly and has continued to work without fail for several months now.

One last note about healthy deodorants.  I have also found that deodorant stones or crystals work extremely well, save on packaging, and are about the most cost-effective natural deodorants out there.  However, on doing a bit of research, I found that their active ingredient was an aluminum salt, potassium alum, which led me to stop using it, the deodorant aluminum scares of the 1980s being what had led me to change to health food store deodorants in the first place.  The Cosmetics Database lists potassium alum as having very low toxicity (a score of 1, with 0 being the lowest possible), however, it also lists data gaps for this ingredient, so I’m still undecided on the crystal deodorant issue.

Incidentally, in preparing this post, I looked up grapefruit seed extract on the database and it gets a score of 3 on toxicity, mostly because of concerns that it might be contaminated with nasty chemicals.  So all I can do is conclude that being an informed consumer is hard work and the best path is never a clear one.

Resources:

Miessence deodorant available at Pure Joy Hair Studio in Westboro, Ottawa, open Wednesday to Saturday, phone ahead 613-728-4069

Crystal Deodorant Stone available from the on-line Outouais store: Scentfree.ca

Ottawa-based website on health and cosmetics: PureKnowHow

International, comprehensive cosmetics database: Skin Deep

If you are tempted to buy someone cosmetics or body-care products this holiday season make sure to buy them products that do not threaten their health (or the health of animals or the planet).

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Patti, a local Ottawa mom, began to research the toxic ingredients included in those everyday items we put on our bodies such as sunscreen, deodorant, nail polish, and mascara. Appalled at what she found, she and her friend and neighbour Tammey set up a web-site and newsletter to help inform women about the pitfalls of conventional cosmetics and the alternatives that are available. Before buying anyone cosmetics or body-care products take a look around their site: www.pureknowhow.com.

Okay, once you know what not to buy and why, you’ll probably want to know where to buy alternatives. So let me point you in the direction of another local website, Lilou-organics, run by mom-preneur Lisa. Lilou-organics carries 16 lines of organic cosmetics and body-care products for women, men and babies. While Lilou-organics is primarily an on-line store, for those of us living in the Ottawa area it is possible to go out and visit the showroom in Richmond, but Lisa says that you should call first since she has babies!

Lilou-organics carries many of my favourite products:

• Dr. Hauschka’s Rose Day Cream (expensive but one tube will keep your face well moisturized for an entire winter season)
• Druide bath products (The Better World Shopping Guide rates Druide as the industry leader in the environmental category)
• Ecolips lip balm (my lip balm of choice for a day of cross-country skiing)
• Suncoat mascara (the only mascara I’ve every worn that has not bothered my super-sensitive eyes, and it’s made in Guelph)

Lilou-organics, 6018 Perth Street, box 608, Richmond (Ottawa), ON, K0A 2Z0, 613-601-5701

P.S. for those readers not in Ottawa or without transportation, Lilou-organics offers free shipping on Canadian orders over $100 and on US orders over $150.

Friends of ours were in town from Winnipeg this weekend and we met them for dinner in the Byward Market. They’re expecting a baby in November so we arrived at the restaurant bearing our standard baby gift–standard not because we’re lacking in creative gift-buying talents, but because everyone we’ve given it to has loved it and used it on a daily basis.

The gift we’ve given to almost all our expectant-parent friends is an organic cotton receiving blanket from Under the Nile. These fair trade blankets are made from 100% organically and biodynamically grown hand-picked Egyptian cotton, dyed with metal-free vegetable dyes. The story of Sekem Farm, where the cotton is grown, is actually quite an inspiring read.

In Ottawa these receiving blankets can be purchased at Arbour: Arbour Environmental Shoppe, 800 Bank Street, Ottawa, K1S 3V8, 613-567-3168

On-line in Canada, they can be bought from Rawganique.com. (Rawganique also sells to the U.S).

Joy used to own a regular salon in Ottawa but became sensitive to all the chemicals (such as hair-dye and perming agents) that are used in the hair-care industry. So, she remodeled the basement of her house and in 1990 opened up Pure Joy (formerly Shear Indulgence). She only ever has two or three clients at one time (and often its just me) so it’s also much calmer and quieter than regular salons are.

The all natural hair-dye she uses now comes from Europe and is offered in a wide range of shades–this stuff far surpasses henna in tint range, hair-texture, and longevity. Plus it smells nice, sort of like chocolate. The shampoos and products she uses and sells are predominately made of organic ingredients and odor-free. She carries a full range of Aubrey’s hair and skin-care products, Miessence products (including their fabulous line of cosmetics), as well as a few well-chosen products from other lines.

If you have chemical-sensitivities, are sensitive to fragrance, are serious about stepping lightly on the earth, or just want healthier hair, consider Pure Joy for your hair-styling needs in Ottawa.

Pure Joy Natural Hair Studio, Joy Parker, 613-728-4069