Eco-Friendly & Green Living Blog

Rocky Mountain Soap’s savoury selection of scrubs, suds, soaks and salts are a foamy retreat from stress. With fragrances like Alpine Air, Avalanche, and Forest Fresh and all-natural ingredients from fir needles to horse chestnuts and pumpkin to spinach powder, it’s clear just how much the young family behind Rocky Mountain Soap is inspired by their mountainous Canmore, Alta., surroundings.

The company mantra, “natural matters,” means that every ingredient they use is found in nature – check out a complete list of ingredients and glossary on their website. If you’re still not convinced, owners Cam Baty and Karina Birch invite customer feedback and visits (should you be in the Rocky Mountain neighbourhood). You’re also invited to join the company’s on-property women’s run in April.

Prices: Valentines Gift Pack, $25; Cold & Flu Body Rub, $8; Alpine Air Hand & Body Wash, $14; Pumpkin Soap, $5.

Visit www.rockymountainsoap.com for a list of store locations and retailers.

Let’s face it: who the heck knows what methylisothiazolinone is?

It’s easy to find out if you have the Seventh Generation Label Reading Guide iPhone app. With an alphabetical index, it’s supereasy to find the ingredient you’re looking for, then discover different things about it like: What is it? What is it used for? How does it affect you? Or search for a specific term. You can also submit a product name if you can’t find it in the database, so it will be added.

And by the way, methylisothiazolinone is a synthetic preservative “typically used in detergents and hand dish soap … used to prevent microbial growth … corrosive to skin and also a skin sensitizer. Toxic to aquatic organisms….”

Available at the iTunes store.

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If you’re fair like me, any little bit of protection from the sun helps, so I was happy to find out about Bethesda’s all-natural Sunscreen Soap.

With an SPF of 10, it’s not enough on its own for me, but I like to use it to wash my hands. After all, even if I apply sunscreen to them, I wash them throughout the day, which means bye, bye sunscreen, so this soap is the perfect way to ensure they’re protected to some degree.

Plus, it’s chockful of vitamins that protect against aging and keep your skin healthy looking, too, plus gylcerin, to keep skin nice and moist!

Available at: www.bethesdaskincare.com

Price: $8 US

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I’m not generally into room sprays, preferring to just keep things clean and fresh smelling that way, but we work right next door to the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, and sometimes when they’re cooking something fishy, garlicky or overwhelmingly greasy first thing in the morning, it’s all we can do to not flee from our offices.

Smells Life a Flower Shop Body & Room Spray has been a saviour on those occasions.

Made by Canadian company Mythical Matters, this spray is so natural you can use it as a perfume, and it really does smell just like a flower shop – truly evocative, but in a really subtle way, of fresh-cut greenery and beautiful blooms.

It’s made of water, alcohol, witch hazel distillate, aloe vera extract, glycerin and perfume and comes in a recyclable amber glass bottle; a percentage of every sale will be donated to the Toronto Wildlife Centre.

Available at: www.mythicalmatters.com

Price: $24.99 (8 oz.)

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I don’t know about you, but insects just looooooove me!

One night out and I’m covered in bites that turn into angry, itchy, swollen eruptions. Not a pretty sight! But I hate using insect repellent that’s filled with icky chemicals. I’d rather just stay in, thank you very much!

Until this weekend, that is. That’s when I had a chance to used La Fresh’s All Natural Biodegradable Insect Repellent Towelettes. They’re made from all-natural ingredients, natch, including peppermint oil, sesame oil, olive oil, castor oil, wheat germ oil, and vitamin E (also no parabens and the towelettes are biodegradable). I smelled very minty, in a not unappealing way, but not a single bite!!!! Let me tell you, I was practically doing a happy dance around the campfire.

I could only be more thrilled if the repellent came in a recyclable spray bottle…

Available at: www.lafreshgroup.com

Price: from $4.49 US for a six-pack

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I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I like to carry as little as possible! Since I wear contacts, my toiletry bag is already weighted down with my glasses case and contact solution before adding things like shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, blah, blah, blah….You get the picture.

So I was super excited when I got a press release yesterday about worldPRODUCTS created by Brian Phillips of Toronto’s worldSALON and hairstylist to celebrities like Kim Cattrall, Terrence Howard, k.d. lang, James Marsden, Norah Jones and Jessica Stam.

worldCLEAN, worldPROTECT and worldBELIEVE are products that can be used on both hair and skin and so cut down on the things you need to lug around with you when travelling, plus they have no artificial colours or fragrances, sodium lauryl sulphates or parabens and the packaging is recyclable. All of which made me a happy camper even before trying them out. And when I did try them out, I was impressed.

worldCLEAN is a hair and skin cleanser, worldPROTECT a hair and skin moisturizer, and worldBELIEVE a salve you can use anywhere to relieve skin inflammation, chapping, and cuts and scrapes (and it’s gentle enough for babies!). There’s no fragrance, so that might take some getting used to if you’re accustomed to things that smell. But I loved the fact the products are multiuse (take the worldPROTECT: I used it as a conditioner, dabbed it in my hair as a styling product, and also as a cream on my legs!), plus they do a great job. Who could ask for anything more?

Available at: www.world.ca or worldSALON, 132 Adelaide St. E., Toronto

Price: Limited time offer until Aug. 31, 2009 on the worldPRODUCT trio, $75 (worldCLEAN, 360 mL; worldPROTECT, 360mL; worldBELIEVE, 60mL); bottles can be brought back to the salon and refilled for 20% off (not including limited offer price)

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With the warm weather coming, it’s time to whip your skin into shape and that means some serious exfoliation!

Tackle the task with Naturally Upper Canada Body Polish with Buriti Seeds Warm Honey Nectar. It’s paraben- and SLS-free and filled with goodies like honey and shea butter and ground-up buriti and apricot seeds to get rid of dead cells and moisturize your skin beautifully. It smells yummy, too, in a lovely, subtle way that doesn’t overwhelm.

Available at: the Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears.

Price: $15

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Just got back from London and am suffering serious jetlag, but wanted to let you know quickly about a fabulous organic shop/bakery/food shop I found while there.

Daylesford Organic not only has amazing food products, but also absolutely lovely home and beauty products. So if you’re heading to the U.K., it’s a must-see for organic fans. In the meantime, check out the website at www.daylesford.com. Cheers!

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Canadian eco hair-care brand Live Clean expands its line with a batch of new products, including two hand soaps and two body washes, but also some styling products that I think are really exciting, simply because it’s not that easy to find widely available eco-friendly styling products out there.

The Strong Hold Styling Gel and Firm Hold Styling Spray and Firm Hold Styling Mousse are all paraben- and silicone-free and completely vegan with no animal or animal by-products and the packaging, even the gel tube, is recyclable.

I don’t normally use products like this on my hair, since it has plenty of body on its own, but I did try out the mousse for the fun of it, and was impressed with the added volume and texture it did provide. My sister, Jamie, who has dead straight hair, will be thrilled I’m passing it on to her!

Styling products available at: Shoppers Drug Mart

Price: approx. $6.99 each

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I am in love! It happened this morning in the shower, when I tried a sample of John Masters Blood Orange & Vanilla Body Wash that I’d recently received.

What a way to start a Monday morning in February! The delicious scent transported me to a tropical land, far far away from frigid Toronto!

Plus, the body wash, like all John Masters products, is certified organic, and is also paraben- petroleum- and sulfate-free, has no artificial colours or frgrances, and isn’t tested on animals.

Sheer heaven!

Available at: www.johnmasters.ca

Price: $25.40