The Solstice Pilgrimage

As I sit in the predawn darkness of Solstice night, sipping my hot cocoa, and munching on ginger snaps, not the best cookie I’ve ever tasted, but as my first crack at making up a gluten free recipe, they’re yummy enough.  I am reminded of the many years that came before.  Solstice, to me is bigger than Christmas, it is the real “reason for the season”.   This longest night, that was kept sacred by the ancients for one very good reason, hope.  They gathered to appeal to the gods to make the gathering darkness relent and again give way to the light.  All of the lights, remind us of that desperate plea for the light to return and the earth to be reborn into the new life of spring once again.

So many “traditions”  are merely recent creations of marketplace desperate to encourage consumption at any cost.  The latest holiday grab, transforming the last un commercialized bastion of family and community into the feeding frenzy of “Black Friday” is such a shame.  I heard on the news of a man for missed the family meal to stand in line to get a better price on a swing set for his daughter.  I would be willing to bet that she would have rather spend time with her dad than had a swing set for christmas.

Every Solstice, I have a tradition that until this year, I did not truly appreciate how much it meant to my children.  Simple, really, but one that we never miss.  I warm up the car and stock it with cookies and hot chocolate and lots of blankets.  I wake them up and place them into their coats and shuttle them into the car.  We drive out to the lake to watch the sunrise.  munching on cookies, and sipping our cocoa, we watch the return of the light, together, groggy, giggling and snuggly warm on the frozen beach.  Every year we find a different beach.  sometimes a mountain of ice, whipped up by angry frozen waves, sometimes the water is free and ice chips lap at the frosty sand.  We never know.  Off we go!!

…

Today, we found the first snow, the VERY first of the year to stick to the ground.  My middle son “prayed” for snow last night.  He was thrilled to see his prayers answered.  A little consolation prize for the holiday, to ease the sting of his 11 year old realization that Santa is not exactly who he thought he was.  The looks on all of their faces, the quiet contemplative moments standing in the cold, the moment when we all looked at one another and raced back to the warm car.  . .  All of it, priceless.

I pray that you find some magic with your friends, family , and community this holiday season, the kind of magic money cannot buy, the priceless kind.  Connection to one another’s experience, as we travel together on this wondrous planet earth.

Happy Solstice All!

Karen

Queen Mother of Trillium Herbal Company

 

Post Script:   To all who will share Trillium under the tree this christmas, or have purchased it inside this year.  I thank you deeply, you should know that you are also giving a gift to 6 families whose trees are lit, houses are warm and whose tables will indeed be graced with fat turkeys this holiday season.

 

 

Natural Awakenings article on Trillium ( December 2011)

Personal Care Products That Mother Nature Would Applaud

Trillium Organics Locally Made Formulations That Began in a Bailey’s Harbor Kitchen.

Linda Sechrist

Who amongst us hasn’t tried a safe and gentle natural rem­edy as a solution to a minor discomfort: baking soda for heartburn, chamomile tea for a restful night’s sleep, or Epsom salts for sore muscles. It was the lack of harmful side effects to common-sense home remedies like these that first drew Karen Ciesar, founder of Trillium Organics, to comb through her collection of home remedy books searching for natural recipes to use in personal care products. “My friends and I still get a kick out of paging through my home library where we always find formulas for preparations that our mothers and grandmoth­ers used,” says Ciesar. Her Organic Body Polish, which took four years of ground-level product formulation and person-to-person product testing to perfect, was the first salt scrub formulated and packaged for home use at a national level. Unfortunately, her application for a utility patent for her USDA Certified recipe was refused. “You would think that my law degree would have been good for something,” jokes Ciesar, who started Trillium Organics in 1995.

Karen Ciesar

Prior to her first pregnancy in 1994, Ciesar was a social justice attorney who advocated for women’s rights in the workplace, as well as an activist involved in numerous wom­en’s issues. During her pregnancy she studied to be a mid­wife, which introduced her to the world of the herbalist. “I was intrigued with how women were once deeply connected to the Earth and herbal formulas were passed down through generations. Regrettably, our society stopped honoring that wisdom and handed over preparation of personal care items to commercial manufacturers much in the same way as the preparation of our food, and, with similar negative results,” explains Ciesar. “Next to processed foods and prescription drugs, I believe that commercially made personal and skin­care products are major contributors to the body’s toxicity.”

It wasn’t just being a new mom that convinced Ciesar that her legal career was no longer her passion. The loss of two grandmothers to breast cancer and the fact that no re­tailer carried even one baby-care product that didn’t contain either cancerous or incomprehensible ingredients, tipped the scales in favor of Ciesar becoming part of a greener, cleaner, and better solution in personal care products.

“I had already spent so much time on research and had such an avid interest in non-toxic solutions for cleansing, moisturizing, and protecting the skin that it was a natural leap,” recalls the enthusiastic entrepreneur. Her one-woman

business that began with an organic body polish made in a rustic cabin in Bailey’s Harbor, now has six employees. Its longer list of organic offerings, which includes botani­cal perfume roll-ons and baby-care products, even gets exported to exotic places like Dubai, United Arab Emirates and China.

Trillium Organics continues to advocate for the rights of individuals to care for them­selves in a safe manner while supporting the Earth for future generations. It was one of the first signers of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition effort launched in 2004 to protect the health of consumers and workers by securing the corporate, regulatory and legislative reforms necessary to eliminate dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products.

Since its inception the Trillium Organics formulation philosophy has never changed. “We exclusively use ingredi­ents which have an evolutionarily significant history of safe and beneficial use by humans,” notes Ciesar. “And, our cold pressed oils and therapeutic-grade essential oils and botani­cals, which are beneficial to the skin and safe for the health of the whole body, are certified organic.”

Unlike the majority of conventional personal care products, Trillium products are made by hand, contain no preservatives, and are not made from ingredients that enhance the performance of the product to the detriment of the skin and body. “The modern shelf-life expectation for personal care products is upwards of seven years,” advises Ciesar, who explains that this long period is achieved through using broad spectrum anti-microbials such as parabens, phenoxyethanol or other alcohols.

According to the Journal of Applied Toxicology 2004, parabens have been linked to human breast tumors. Phenoxyethanol and other alcohols ultimately dry the skin. And all anti-microbials, by design, kill micro-flora in the lo­tion. When applied to the skin, they destroy the skin’s surface micro-flora. The acid mantle, or outermost layer of epidermis, is host to a plethora of beneficial micro-flora that exists in balance to support healthy function of the skin. The use of preservatives disturbs this balance.

“In my opinion, we’ve all been part of a big experiment in personal care. Products that we’ve been using since the 1930s were found to be toxic in the `70s,” muses Ciesar. “It’s time to go back to the basics; the ones that Mother Nature provides.”

Location: 185 E. Walnut St., Sturgeon Bay. For more information, call 920-746-5207 or 800-734-7253 or visit TrilliumOrganics.com.

http://www.naturalmilwaukee.com/MILW/December-2011/Personal-Care-Products-That-Mother-Nature-Would-Applaud/

Victory for Authentic Organics

Big News is breaking again today in the land of  Organic Personal Care products.  The marketplace of so called “natural and organic” personal care has been mightily confusing for everyone for years due to the fact the the word “organic”,  while highly regulated in the realm of food, had no legal meaning in the realm of personal care.  California ( love them out there) has once again legislatively lead the way, and the Center for Environmental Health sued a bunch of body care compnaies whose labels made unsupported organic claims based on the Cal law.  Bravo CEH!!

BTW, Trillium has always been on the right side of this fight.  My approach to formulating starts with the individual ingredients, unless there is a evolutionarily significant history of safe human use, we won’t use it.  (That approach effectively excludes all of the synthetic , post petroleum era ingredients)  You may have to learn a few new tricks, like applying oil to wet skin instead of using lotion, or polishing your face with salt before shaving.  We think that a healthy body into the future and happy skin in the present is worth it!  I bet you do too!

I pass this press release along to you dear reader. . .

Landmark Legal Agreements Set Truth-in-Labeling Standard for Organic Personal Care Products

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 30, 2011

Kiss My Face, Boots, Colomer and eight other major brands reach first-ever settlement requiring adherence to California’s Organic Production Act

Oakland, CA-The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) today announced it has reached legal agreements with eleven producers of national brand hair care and other personal care products in the first-ever lawsuits settled under the California Organic Production Act (COPA).

Earlier this year, CEH purchased “organic” labeled personal care products from national retailers including Target, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Whole Foods and other stores, and in June filed lawsuits against more than two dozen companies for products that violated California law, which requires “organic” labeled personal care products to contain at least 70% organic ingredients. The legal agreements certified by the Alameda County Superior Court yesterday call on the companies to comply with COPA, either by increasing their use of organic ingredients or changing their labels, and to make their organic ingredient records available to CEH for inspection. Given the size of the California market, CEH expects the settlements will effect products nationwide.

“This is a victory for organic consumers who deserve to get what they pay for when they buy “organic” labeled personal care products,” said Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH. “We expect all companies with improper organic labels to agree to these terms and comply with the law on the same timeline.” The settlements with the eleven companies call for their products manufactured after March 31, 2012 to be in compliance with COPA. On or before that date the companies will make available to CEH information on their labeling codes, so the nonprofit can identify which products were made following the compliance date.

CEH has pending lawsuits remaining against 23 other companies that sell products in violation of COPA. While the Center is hopeful for a similar agreement with many of these companies, some companies have resisted a resolution that would offer truthful labels to consumers. Brands sold in national stores that have yet to commit to truthful labels include:

• Vogue International “Organix” brand hair care and other products: the company uses the term “organic” as well as the brand name “Organix” in large type on the front label on products that contain few or no organic ingredients.
• Namaste Laboratories “Organic Root Stimulator” hair care and other products: the company uses the word “Organic” in large type (as part of the brand name) on products that contain no organic ingredients.
• Strength of Nature Global “Elasta QP” brand hair care products: the company uses the term “organic” on the front label of products that contain no organic ingredients.

In some cases, “organic” labeled products from the companies contain synthetic ingredients suspected of causing serious health problems. For example, an Organic Root Stimulator Girls Olive Oil No-Lye Conditioning Relaxer System, a product marketed to young children, contains ingredients linked to birth defects, hormone altering effects, and skin allergies. Package warnings on this “organic” product read “Keep away from eyes. Can cause blindness.”

CEH has a fifteen-year track record of protecting communities from the health impacts of toxic pollution and has uncovered toxic health threats to children from wood playground structures, toys, vinyl baby bibs and lunchboxes, imported candies, children’s jewelry, children’s medicines, and many other products. CEH also works with major industries and leaders in green business to promote healthier alternatives to toxic products and practices. Last year the San Francisco Business Times bestowed its annual “Green Champion” award to CEH for its work to improve health and the environment in the Bay Area and beyond.

-30-

List of 11 Settling Companies

Boots (Boots brand)

Kiss My Face

E.T. Brown (Palmer’s Olive Oil Formula brand)

Pacifica

At Last Naturals (Lucky Tiger brand)

Himalaya (Organique brand)

RenPure

Suki (Sukiface brand)

Stearns (derma e® brand)

Cosway (Head Organics brand)

Colomer (Crème of Nature brand)

List of 23 companies with pending complaints

Advantage Research Laboratories, Inc./Murray’s Worldwide, Inc. (Parnevu® brand)

All Natural Distributors Inc. (Tints of Nature brand)

Aubrey Organics, Inc.

Beauty Without Cruelty/Lotus Brands, Inc.

California Inside & Out, Inc. (Out of Africa® brand)

Curls LLC

Episencial LLC

Hain Inc (Jason brand)

Herb UK Limited (Tints of Nature brand)

House of Cheatham, Inc. (Organics by Africa’s Best brand)

International Trade Routes of New York, Inc/Laboratorios Phergal, S.A. (Naturtint® brand)

Jean Pierre Inc. (Blum® Naturals brand)

Kinky-Curly Hair Care, LLC

Lafe’s Natural BodyCare, Inc/Lafe T. Larson, Inc.

Lamas, Inc. (Peter Lamas brand)

Morrocco Method, Inc.

Namasté Laboratories, L.L.C. (Organic Root Stimulator brand)

Nature’s Baby Products, Inc.

Nubian Heritage Group LLC/Sundial Brands LLC (SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage brands)

Nutrition Resource, Inc. dba NutriBiotic (NutriBiotic® brand)

Rainbow Research Corporation (Rainbow Baby Oh Baby® brand)

Strength of Nature Global, LLC (Elasta QP® brand)

Todd Christopher International, Inc. dba Vogue International (Organix brand)

Giving Thanks Again

I have so much to be thankful for, our first community Thaksgiving Feast was a rousing success, sure , it was mostly our extended family, but the seed has been planted, and I can see that it will grow and grow and grow  in the years to some.  As we held hands around the vast array of delicious dishes that everyone had brought to share, I gave thanks that we all had our health and happiness.  Little did I know , that all of that would be mightily challenged just hours from then.

I awoke on Saturday morning, ready to go share the virtues of Body Polish with the Holiday Revelers and Santa Visitors at Sister Bay Trading Company, when I asked the constant question “Where’s Sammy?”  my two year old who has a real talent for finding the most dangerous thing in any room.  I discovered him on my other son’s bed surrounded by and chewing on some of Grandma’s medicines!   AAAAAAHHHHHhhhh!!   I really didn’t see that crisis coming.

We have just returned from a 24 hours of  observation in ICU.  Another bullet dodged.  Nothing like trying to keep a highly active toddler hooked up to monitor wires in nine places while he squirms and squiggles!  Alas, here I am again, back at home thankful for our health, and happiness.  Thankful for everyone who brought Thanksgiving leftovers, organic grapes, and cookies and company to the hospital yesterday.  Thankful for the super loving nursing staff at Door County Memorial.

Happy Holidays everyone, remember to be thankful for the quiet joys of every moment, you never know when life will turn on a dime and sends you flying in another direction.  Blessed BE the little ones who keep us on our toes.

The Organic Shave

Forget everything that the conventional guys sold you about heavy synthetic surfactant foam, extruded from cans with fluorocarbon,  leaving your skin stripped and scraped followed by a (don’t be a wimp) ”bracing” menthol and alcohol slap int he face.  Ouch!  Could anyone really love that kind of pain? and toxic load?

Today, the measure of a man, or a woman isn’t how much money they spend on grooming, it is how intelligent they are about what is in those supplies, their impact on the earth,  their own sperm count, and how many years it shaved off their life expectancy.  The new Black is indeed Green.

Those who have discovered Organic Body Polish already know that it is the best shaving substance ever invented.  Without depleting the ozone layer, messing with your hormones, or adding any carcinogens to the cocktail, your can experience the best shave of your life.

Here is how it works.

Rub Organic Body Polish onto the area in small circular motions..  The crystals of salt exfoliate the skin that grows up around the follicle, liberating any ingrown hairs.   The Organic oils soften the hairs preparing them for the shave.

Rinse the polish from the skin BEFORE shaving.  The temperature of the water will affect how much oil is left on the skin as a barrier for the shave.  Using cooler water will leave a thicker layer of oil, warmer will thin the oil and rinse more away.  Adjust the temperature to your personal liking.

Shave  Using a clean, sharp razor, shave the area of choice.   Rinse oil and hairs from the razor with each pass.  Using and oil barrier instead of thick foam gives you more control of where the razor is shaving, handy when you are trying to sculpt a goatee. or edgy beard.

Revel in your smooth, moisturized, healthy skin!  The salt is antiseptic, and promotes healing, so any nicks will resolve readily.

That’s it, your simple, Organic shave,  now your Eco IQ is even higher. and your shave is closer.  Just be sure to reuse or recycle the jar.

OGbaby recipe for Organic Baby Wipes

I don”t use commercial baby wipes on my babies.  The preservation chemicals in even the cleanest and greenest wipes are simply unacceptable.  Generally, I just use wash cloths and water from the sink, if it gets really gross, I just place him right in the tub and clean him up.

Alas!  running water is not always handy, and hanging on to poopy dirty wash cloths is just plain gross, I admit that have thrown them out rather than risk finding them a couple of days later in the bottom of the diaper bag.  ( not so green or thrifty)

I took great care in making our OGbaby products, but there is just no way to make moist towlettes without adding some pretty heavy-duty preservatives.   However, if you are willing to do a little prep work, you can have it all.

No yucky chemicals on your babe.    No yucky wash cloths in you diaper bag.  No big deal.

“Diapey Wipey Juice “

• 2 cups water
• 2 TBS OGbaby Gentle Soap (Fragrance Free or Breathe Free Tea Tree)
• 1 TBS OGbaby Moisture Oil (Really Fragrance Free)

shake it up, use it up inside a month * remember it is not preserved with anything toxic so it will get funky faster than the chemical stuff.

For wash cloths:  Simply pour the juice into a squirt or spray bottle ( preferably something reused after using another natural product) and squirt it onto your clean wash cloths for a great cleanup wipe for anything from sticky faces to grimy hands to dirty butts (in that order).

For disposable wipes: Get some high quality, preferably recycled, unbleached, they must hold up when wet, paper towels, using a serrated knife, cut the roll in half.  Place the half towel roll in a plastic container with a lid that will close over it. Pour the Wipey Juice over the towels until completely saturated.  Cover.  Once soaked, remove the inner core and pull your home-made Organic Towlettes from the center of the roll.  Super handy organic wipes for Mama’s who are willing to take a few simple steps to make it safe, healthy and Organic!!!

Either way you do it, you will be one of the cleverest of the OGmamas in your playgroup!

Who can you trust?

I simply had to share this.  People know how much these chemicals endanger our children’s future, yet business and bottom line concerns prevail!  It is this is allowed in our country, yet because our regulatory system around personal care is rub by industry and not by concerned consumers, or elected officials with a fiduciary duty to the consumers,  this is what we get.

read it and weep. . .   it is the truth. .

USDA Certified Organic Personal care is the only trustable source.

TRENTON, N.J. — Two chemicals considered harmful to babies remain in Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo sold in the U.S., even though the company already makes versions without them, according to a coalition of health and environmental groups.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has unsuccessfully been urging the world’s largest health care company for 2 1/2 years to remove the trace amounts of potentially cancer-causing chemicals – dioxane and a substance called quaternium-15 that releases formaldehyde – from Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, one of its signature products.

Johnson & Johnson said it is reducing or gradually phasing out the chemicals, but did not respond directly to the campaign’s demands.

Now the group is ratcheting up the pressure and urging consumers to boycott Johnson & Johnson baby products until the company agrees to remove the chemicals from its baby products sold around the world.

“Johnson & Johnson clearly can make safer baby shampoo in all the markets around the world, but it’s not doing it,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “It’s clearly a double standard, something they can easily fix.”

The campaign’s new report, “Baby’s Tub is Still Toxic,” is set to be released Tuesday, when the group was launching the boycott via its Web site, . http://www.safecosmetics.org

Archer said her group has met with Johnson & Johnson representatives three times since spring 2009, and is disappointed the company is not making safer baby shampoo and other products in the U.S. when it does elsewhere.

On Monday, the campaign sent Johnson & Johnson a letter, signed by about 25 environmental, medical and other groups representing about 3.5 million people in the U.S. and other countries. It urges the company to publicly commit by Nov. 15 to removing the chemicals from all personal care products worldwide.

In response, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are safe and approved by regulators in the U.S. and other countries, but that it is gradually phasing them out of its baby products. It said it is also reformulating baby products to reduce the level of dioxane below detectable levels. But it did not say whether it would respond to or meet the campaign’s full demands.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

The letter, addressed to CEO William Weldon, was signed by groups including the Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, American Nurses Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Green America.

“Even though the chemicals may be low-level, why risk it?” said Tracey J. Woodruff, an associate professor and director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at University of California-San Francisco.

Woodruff, who is not involved in the campaign, noted that the chemical levels in the baby products add to other chemicals infants are exposed to every day.

According to the report, obtained by The Associated Press, one of the suspect chemicals, quaternium-15, is a preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde, used as a disinfectant and embalming fluid, was declared a known human carcinogen this past June by the U.S. National Toxicology Program. Formaldehyde also is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant.

Quaternium-15 is still an ingredient on Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo sold in the U.S., Canada, China, Indonesia and Australia, but the campaign’s research this summer found it’s not in the same product sold in at least eight other countries, from the U.K. and Denmark to Japan and South Africa.

The second chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is considered a likely carcinogen. It’s a byproduct of a process for making chemicals more soluble and gentler on the skin.

The campaign’s May 2009 report, called “No More Toxic Tub,” stated that studies by an independent laboratory it hired, Analytical Sciences LLC of Petaluma, Calif., found that 1,4-dioxane was contained in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Oatmeal Baby Wash, Moisture Care Baby Wash and Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash.

According to the report, the company has since launched a baby shampoo called Johnson’s Naturals, sold in the U.S., that does not include 1,4-dioxane. But original Johnson’s baby shampoo, which costs about half as much, has not been reformulated for the U.S. market, according to the campaign.

Analytical Sciences tested multiple J&J baby product samples from the U.S. for the first report, finding low levels of the chemicals. After that, according to Archer, consumer groups in South Africa, Sweden and Japan contacted her group to note that quaternium-15 was not being used in products in their countries. The updated report was based on an examination of label ingredients for Johnson & Johnson baby products in 13 countries.

Archer noted that some of the countries where the products did not contain the harsh chemicals had bans on them in personal care products, but others didn’t.

Woodruff, who researches health effects of chemicals, said there is evidence that formaldehyde is associated with nose, lung and blood cancers such as leukemia. She said an infant’s scalp is more permeable than an adult’s, so exposure to the chemicals could cause more harm for babies than adults.

“You’re exposing a child during a very vulnerable period of development, when the effect may be worse,” Woodruff said.

Just Say NO to Lotion Addiction

“Lotion Addiction” (pron. low-shun uh-dik-shun) 1. The repeated application of chemically preserved water/oil emulsion to the skin in the failed effort to moisturize and protect skin. 2. The habitual application of lotion, to see if, “this time” the feeling of smooth skin afforded by the synthetic silicones, waxes and petroleum derrived polymers will last longer. 3. The mistaken belief that the marketing budget of the cosmetics company is an indication of the effectiveness of thier products.

Stop the madness! All of the definitions of “Lotion Addiction” are common among American Women. I heard it again just last week. a woman lamented, “Oh my hands are just horrible, all winter long. I keep applying lotion, but my skin hates winter. That’s just the way it is.”

Let me assure you America, it is not YOU! It is the feeble minded, margin laden, synthetic product that you are applying to your skin that is ruining it!

True enough those TV commercial show gorgeous ladies whose skin is magically transformed on screen from Alligator to Sexy babe. What could be wrong with that? Quite a lot actually
1- ALL lotions are chemically preserved. Even so called Natural and Organic Lotions have to have some kind of preservative, or else they would have to refridgerated to keep them from molding and and growing a whole host of nasties. While keeping nasties off your skin is a good plan, applying “Broad Spectrum anti- microbials ( a.k.a parabens, phenoxyethanol) is not a good plan. Parabens have been found in cancerous breast tumors. Phenoxyethanol dries the skin, and kills all manner of friendly flora from the acid mantle (the outermost layer of the skin). Much like the probiotic bacteria which live in our intestines, there are friendly bacteria which exist quite beneficially upon the surface of our skin. Applying antimicrobials to the surface of the skin is analogous to dosing your gut with antibiotics. Can that really be a good idea to apply incessantly? It disrupts the natural balance upon the skin’s outer most layer, leaving it damaged, and susceptible to dehydration and worse.

2. Lotion give us the fleeting feeling of improvement, but soon fails and leaves this skin feeling even dryer than before. Good for the 6 Billion dollar cosmetics business. Bad for you.
Indeed some of the ingredients that make the skin temporarily feel so good are the most troubling in the long run. The common lotion formulation can be a toxic soup of endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, hormone impersonators, irritants, and sensitizers; all blended up with absorption enhancers. What a monumentally bad idea!

3. There is actually a reverse statistical correlation between the ad budget of the cosmetics company and the quality of their products. The large companies make water based cosmetics spend large amounts on advertising. Trillium Organics spends large amounts on quality oils for our oil based products.

At Trillium Organics, we make inherently stable oil based body care products. Since modern life includes indoor plumbing, you add fresh water in your bath or shower to hydrate your skin, we supply masterfully blended fresh organic oil based products to lock that moisture in and protect your skin. Organic Body Polish to exfoliate, moisturize & protect; Organic Body Oil to moisturize & protect; and Organic Body Butter to protect.
However you take your moisturization, Trillium Organics products enhance the function and feel of your skin like no lotion ever could. The radiant glow endures for days, instead of hours.

We Guarantee It.

If you do not simply Love how your skin functions and feels, we will return the purchase price of the product No questions asked.

Why our containers are BPA Free!

BPA in pregnant woman might affect kids’ behavior, study says

by Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press

CHICAGO — Exposure to the chemical bisphenol-A before birth could affect girls’ behavior at age 3, according to the latest study on potential health effects of the compound used in the manufacturing of some plastic drink bottles and food can linings.

Preschool-aged girls whose mothers had relatively high urine levels of BPA during pregnancy scored worse but still within a normal range on behavior measures including anxiety and hyperactivity than other young girls.

The results are not conclusive and experts not involved in the study said factors other than BPA might explain the results. The researchers acknowledge that “considerable debate” remains about whether BPA is harmful, but say their findings should prompt additional research.

The researchers measured BPA in 244 Cincinnati-area mothers’ urine twice during pregnancy and at childbirth. The women evaluated their children at age 3 using standard behavior questionnaires.

Nearly all women had measurable BPA levels, like most Americans. But increasingly high urine levels during pregnancy were linked with increasingly worse behavior in their daughters. Boys’ behavior did not seem to be affected.

The researchers said if BPA can cause behavior changes that could pose academic and social problems for girls already at risk for those difficulties.

“These subtle shifts can actually have very dramatic implications at the population level,” said Joe Braun, the lead author and a research fellow at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

For every 10-fold increase in mothers’ BPA levels, girls scored at least six points worse on the questionnaires.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, said the study contributes important new evidence to “a growing database which suggests that BPA exposure can be associated with effects on human health.”

Grants from that federal agency helped pay for the study.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that low-level BPA exposure appears to be safe. But the agency also says that because of recent scientific evidence, it has some concern about potential effects of BPA on the brain and behavior in fetuses, infants and small children. The FDA is continuing to study BPA exposure and supports efforts to minimize use in food containers.

BPA has many uses, and is found in some plastic bottles and coatings in metal food cans. It was widely used in plastic baby bottles and sippy cups but industry phased out that use.

Braun said it’s possible that exposure to BPA during pregnancy interferes with fetal brain development, a theory suggested in other studies, and that could explain the behavior differences in his study. Why boys’ behavior wasn’t affected isn’t clear. But BPA is thought to mimic the effects of estrogen, a female hormone.

The researchers evaluated other possible influences on children’s behavior, including family income, education level and whether mothers were married, and still found an apparent link to BPA.

But Dr. Charles McKay, a BPA researcher and toxicologist with the Connecticut Poison Control Center, said the researchers failed to adequately measure factors other than BPA that could explain the results.

For example, there’s no information on mothers’ eating habits. That matters because mothers’ higher BPA levels could have come from eating lots of canned foods instead of healthier less processed foods, which might have affected fetal brain development.

The American Chemistry Council, a trade group whose members include companies that use BPA, said the research “has significant shortcomings … and the conclusions are of unknown relevance to public health.”

Witness A Live Birth

Thanks to http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/ for the information & article.

Nancy Salgueiro invites you to witness the birth of her child.

The ticker on the sidebar of Dr. Nancy’s Your Birth Coachwebsite announces that there are just three days left until her expected due date of October 7. Nancy Salgueiro, a wellness chiropractor, birth coach, and childbirth educator plans to birth naturally at home and is inviting everyone to watch it live online.

Her goal is to defy our culture’s idea of natural birth; a normal, natural birth isn’t scary or as painful as often portrayed on TV. She birthed her two other children at home as well. Dr. Nancy passionately states in the video (below), “I do believe that birth has been stolen from women… we really need to take that back.”

Having four children of my own (my last was a home birth) I can speak from experience that my natural births were nothing like you see on TV or in movies. My labors were mostly calm and peaceful, and actually pretty uneventful- no screaming at my husband or the nurses. Yes, there was plenty of pain and discomfort but it was nothing that I couldn’t breathe through or bear.

I hope that viewers of Dr. Nancy’s birth will see the many different ways a mom birthing naturally at home can move about, changing positions to help her labor along, making it more manageable and comfortable rather than being confined to a bed. Those interested in watching can sign up to be notified as soon as she goes into labor. (I totally signed up!)

Do you feel that your birth was just like it’s portrayed on TV and movies?