With gas prices at an all time high and no immediate relief in sight, offshore drilling has been proposed as an answer.  Here’s a great article that gives a different perspective on why this may not actually be the case.

On her never-ending quest to find the perfect eco makeup, Recycla has recently started using a new line of eco products by Physicians Formula. Recycla first read about PF’s Organic Wear makeup at Eco*Pretty (click here and here for the reviews) and knew she had to give some of these products a try. This is the first line of ECOCERT makeup in the U.S. — an international organic certification organization with strict requirements.

Organic Wear make up is:

• 100% free of harsh chemicals
• 100% free of synthetic preservatives
• 100% free of parabens
• 100% free of GMO’s
• 100% free of synthetic colors
• 100% free of synthetic fragrances
• 100% cruelty free

Before she even opened the packages, Recycla was impressed. The packaging is minimal — no plastic or shrink wrap of any kind. Just cardboard, which most people can recycle. The makeup itself is in cardboard tubes and compacts, which Recycla thinks she might be able to recycle once the makeup is used up.

Recycla bought loose powder, concealer, and blush. She really likes the blush, which goes on evenly and not too heavily — no clown cheeks for this Eco Warrior. Recycla also really likes the loose powder, but found that it covered better when she used a powder puff or sponge, but was messy when she used the little brush that came with the compact. As for the concealer, Recycla hasn’t decided, but thinks she likes it. It is very thick and sticky and, once it’s dabbed on, takes extra effort to fully blend in. Given that everything else about this product is so close to perfect, Recycla is going to stick with it for now and just figure out how to use it properly.

One of the best things about Organic Wear is that it is available at places like Target and CVS and is very reasonably priced. One caveat: Make sure you’re buying the Organic Wear products and not another Physicians Formula product, as the latter definitely has non-eco ingredients (such as parabens).

All images courtesy of Organic Wear. The Eco Women are not employed by Physicians Formula, nor were they paid to review these products.

Recycla, in her never-ending quest to find more eco products to use in her house, decided to try a new dishwashing detergent. So, several weeks ago, she bought a box of Seventh Generation’s Free and Clear Automatic Dishwasher Powder. (Such a sexy name!)

Recycla started using the new detergent almost immediately, as she has a hungry family to feed and therefore lots of dishes to wash. In fact, Recycla will confess that her family runs the dishwasher — completely full — every 18-24 hours. As in, at least once a day and sometimes more often. Therefore, Recycla had plenty of opportunities to observe the new detergent in action.

Recycla’s opinion of Seventh Generation’s dishwasher detergent is that it gets the job done — more or less. While dishes aren’t coming out of the dishwasher still dirty, they are also not 100% sparkling clean either. More like 95% — there are usually a couple of items in each load that need to be cleaned further. Not just pots and pans that had been utterly filthy before, but even glassware and other items. Recycla thought that perhaps she was being picky, but then her husband made an unprompted comment about how underwhelmed he was with the new detergent too.

Recycla hates waste, so she’ll finish up the box of detergent, but now she’s on the hunt for other possibilities. Do any of you have any recommendations?

Image courtesy of the company’s website. The Eco Women are not employed by Seventh Generation, nor were they paid to review this product.

The City of Los Angeles is considering a ban on plastic bags. Definitely a step in the right direction!

Like most people, Enviro-Girl gets hit up by charitable organizations on a regular basis — fulfill dreams for sick children, cure cancer, support political candidates, help paralyzed veterans. She’s skeptical of most organizations and keeps her money local for the most part — the food pantry down the road, her church, the neighborhood Girl Scouts. But one day Enviro-Girl found a national organization that she CAN support with clear conscience: Engineers Without Borders. In fact, Enviro-Girl hopes to go so far as donating her firstborn son one day as an engineer in their program — after Mr. T graduates from UW-Madison, of course!

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a non-profit organization that partners with developing communities around the world. Their goal is to implement sustainable engineering projects in a culturally and environmentally sensitive way and improve people’s quality of life. The idea is to get communities to own and operate their own systems through training of local people and the use of local resources. EWB’s role is to provide support, mentors and training.
Some of EWB’s projects include building a water system in Rwanda that doesn’t waste a precious natural resource and gets water to areas that desperately need it. EWB is designing wind turbines for off-the-grid Guatemalan villages, recycling water sachets in Haiti and providing footwear for Haitian children, and building a cistern to capture water for crop irrigation in the Ecuadorian Andes.

Enviro-Girl first read about EWB in her Wisconsin Alumni magazine and she’s been excited about it ever since. By putting our best and brightest scientists and engineers alongside developing nations, EWB can make a lasting impact on the problems with water and food these nations face every day.

By creating sustainable solutions, EWB reduces these countries’ dependence on government aid and increases their productivity. These countries’ environmental impact is reduced through more efficient water supplies, sanitation, food production, housing, construction, transportation, energy and communication. The students and engineers participating in EWB become more globally aware and responsible. It’s win-win either any way you look at it.

EWB – learn more about it and consider supporting them. They ARE a worthy cause and they’re lending a hand to get to the root of the problems in developing nations.

Last week, the Eco Women talked about why they are not buying Kellogg’s brand cereals for their families any more. Actually, Recycla’s family hasn’t bought Kellogg’s cereals in a while, because they made the switch to organic years ago. If you’re looking to make the same switch, check out some of Recycla’s favorite ones:

Hands down, Recycla’s children’s favorite organic cereals are made by EnviroKidz. With such flavors as Panda Puffs and Gorilla Munch, there are a variety of options to please every palate. Nutritionally, the cereals average 6-8 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein per serving.

Instead of putting cheap plastic toys in each box of cereal, EnviroKidz instead makes the boxes themselves interesting. Each has photos of various animals and facts about them. There are puzzles and games to stimulate young minds too. Best of all, each box of EnviroKidz cereal tells kids what they can do to help the environment. Every year, EnviroKidz donates a portion of their profits to help environmental causes.

’s family also likes various cereals made by Kashi, including Autumn Wheat, which is her children’s favorite. As with the previously mentioned cereals, Kashi products are low in sugar, but some of them actually contain more protein. Autumn Wheat, for example, has 5 grams per serving.

When served with milk, some fruit, and a cup of juice, these cereals give Recycla’s children the energy they need to start the day ready to save the environment. They’re healthy, they’re organic, and they’re good for Planet Earth.

Images courtesy of the companies’ websites. The Eco Women are not employed by the companies mentioned here, nor were they paid to review these products. Darn.

Have some old sheets that are too ratty for your bed but too nice to throw out? Take a look at this list of ways to reuse them:

1. Drop cloth for painting or other messy projects
2. Christmas tree skirt
3. Building a fort for a child to play in
4. Make a toga for a Halloween costume or a really great party
5. Picnic blanket
6. Dog bedding (or donate the sheets to your local SPCA for the same purpose)
7. Cut the sheets up and use the smaller pieces to make cloth napkins or a quilt squares or some other sewing project.

Do you have an old cell phone lying useless in a drawer? If it still works, it could be worth $30 or more –- enough to balance the emissions of a small car for a year. TerraPass and RIPMobile are offering to accept your old cell phones in exchange for gift certificates for TerraPass products.

People buy and toss out cell phones every day. RIPMobile estimates that there are 850 million unused cell phones in the U.S. Since cell phones contain lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium and arsenic, they become toxic waste when they end up in a landfill. By recycling your phone you help to protect local water and food supplies from toxins, while making industry less dependent on destructive new mining for metals. You are also getting functional phones into the hands of people who need them.

Reselling a used cell phone is far more energy efficient than manufacturing a new one. All materials accepted by RIPMobile and not sold for refurbishment or reuse are recycled according to the highest environmental standards. RIPMobile handles all materials according to EPA standards and in compliance with the stringent requirements of the Basel Action Network.

For more information, click here.

You’ve seen it on coffee, chocolate and more, but what does Fair Trade really mean?
Fair Trade is a designation developed to help people support products that come from farms have been certified to pay fair wages and safe working conditions. Obviously, there is no forced child labor.

Fair Trade Certified also ensures that farmers obey internationally monitored environmental standards. They are offered financial incentives and offered resources for such programs as converting to organic, reforestation, water conservation, and more.

Fair Trade Certified goods are guaranteed by an independent third party. The farmer received a fair price for the crop.

For more on Fair Trade, go to fairtradefederation.org.

Chlorox has launched a new line of cleaning supplies — Green Works. They’ve gotten the Sierra Club to paste their logo on the label and they list their ingredients in unusual disclosure. Enviro-Girl decided to give them a whirl — she loves Mrs. Meyers, but was seduced by Green Works’ price — over a dollar less per bottle than her beloved Clean Day. How did Green Works pan out?

First, holy bubbles, Batman! A little product goes a looooong way, so pour with care. A splash in the sink mixed with water created more bubbles than Enviro-Girl knew what to do with. She definitely uses less Green Works than she’s ever used of other cleaners.

The smell is supposedly “natural,” but it smells Industrial Citrus to Enviro-Girl. She’s not a huge fan of the odor, it reminds her of the stuff school custodians used to clean up puke when she was a child. Other people may not find the smell quite as offensive, though. Enviro-Girl has a sensitive nose.

Green Works’ performance is good. It’s not a disinfectant, but killing all those germs is overrated in Enviro-Girl’s book anyway. It cleans up better than Target’s Method line, leaving no residue and certainly wiping away the grime and grease and grit. The toilet cleaner is performing up to par and doesn’t smell as chemical.

Green Works isn’t tested on animals, it’s biodegradable and boasts 99% natural ingredients. Interesting to note that one of those ingredients is “corn based ethanol.” Enviro-Girl isn’t sure what “Cocounut-based cleaniing agents (anionic and anonionic surfactants)” are, so if any readers can clue her in, please do so.

Bottom line: for the price, it’s a good deal and it’s brewed in the U.S.A. Enviro-Girl applauds Cholox for taking a stand and responding to consumer concerns by developing this line, but she thinks it could use a little work in terms of ingredients and aroma. Really? White vinegar and baking soda do just as well. But if you’re looking to buy your cleaning supplies a little (or a lot) greener, skip Mr. Clean and Comet and go for the Green Works line. Your planet will thank you.