organiclivinglifestyle.com

The production of organic products vary vastly from product to product and are very detailed.  Below are some of the general practices which can be classed and termed as organic.

Animal Welfare – this ensures that animals can freely conduct there natural behaviours such as movement, freedom of space, freedom to eat and drink as they require.

Health – this encompasses the well known phase of we are what we eat and the high standards which have been set at every stage of production.

Environment – organic farmers encourage and look after the surrounding environment and natural habitat. This encourages local wildlife and insects to thrive.

As well as organic food with the demand growing more and more organic products which support skin care are becoming available in the market.

Many of the lotions and cosmetics that are found in shops and beauty stalls contain chemicals that are absorbed through the skin or into our lungs through the smell as we inhale the perfume.  The effects which are scientifically proven can be seen in areas such as infertility clinics where there are clear signs banning visitors from wearing perfume or aftershave.  Many of these would contain harmful chemicals to embryos.   As a alternative there are a wide range of ‘natural’ and ‘green’ toiletries and cosmetics in the market place but when purchasing you need to be careful of the word ‘natural’ as this can also be used even if there’s only 1% of natural ingredients.

Whilst searching the shops for my little nephew’s Christmas present, I came across a bit of a problem; where do you shop if you want to get organically made toys? Well, I was a bit unsure about what made an organic toy. So I looked into it…

Apparently, organic toys are naturally made (so no synthetic materials), are suitable for children with eczema, allergies or very sensitive skin, and that are made ethically and in an environmentally responsible way.

This sounds ideal for the younger kids (babies and toddlers), as they are very “into” the cuddly toys, but it gets a bit more tricky to find suitable toys once you move to the older age range.

But now I’ve found several stores, and online retailers, that stock these presents, so for the next couple of years I am all sorted for my nephews birthday presents and Christmas presents.

Where to do your weekly shop isn’t something that plays on my mind a great deal – I tend to go to the first place that crosses my path when I remember I have ran our of something.

But, when I do think about it, I do try to “be good”. I try to go to local shops for local produce (we have some great farm shops around us, selling veg, meat, and dairy products), and I try to make sure I encourage other people to shop there too.

Shopping locally is good for your local economy, and it is good for you too – fresh food, straight from the source.

In the run up to Christmas, it is often difficult to find new and interesting gifts for friends and family. One or two of our friends are into organic living, and it can be difficult to buy for them because not everywhere stocks organic products. And then getting them the same smellies year in year out gets pretty boring.

So, I had a bit of a search online, and found some interesting shops that sell organic jewellery. Made from wood, horn Jewellery and bone, this jewellery would not be to everyone’s taste, but it certainly meets the organic requirements.

Obviously, there are certain animals that are protected, but as long as you are shopping with a reputable company, that will tell you where the horn and bone come from, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Looking after your skin is a must, no matter what time of year it is. Warm, cold, humid.. it all affects the skin. And whist you are looking after your skin, why not look after the planet too?!

Organic ranges are getting bigger and better year on year, and the choices out there are immense. They use organically grown ingredients, and often support causes that do something for the environment (like The Body Shop). I never used to worry much about where my lotions and potions come from, but now I am closer to 30 than I’ll ever be to 20, the importance of looking after my skin seems a whole lot more important.

I grew up in a farm in the middle of the Lake District where we grew our own veg, we had cows and sheep that went to slaughter every year (and then fully stocked the freezer!), we had chickens for eggs, my Mum baked like a dream, we re-used everything possible (very little plastic in the house)… we lived fairly organically without it being the latest fashionable thing.

So why is there do much hype about living organically?

An awful lot of people stuck to traditional ways of raising family s, and it is only recently (the last 20-30 years) that the ability to buy processed food more conveniently than making it from scratch, has become so popular.

And now we are told it isn’t good for us. But it has grown into such a massive industry, that creates so many jobs and contributes so greatly to the economy, that if we lost it, surely we would never get out of this economic slump?