How do you pick and choose splurging on green? - Page 2

[Natsuki]

I think you need to prioritize and do what you can - in terms of the kids' soap, give them a bath less often, use plain water instead of soap or just a tiny bit, make it last. We've been on the same small bottle of california baby shampoo/body wash for a year now and it's still got 1/3 left.

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

I also like to get shampoo bars and soap from Lush because it is all natural and zero packaging. Again, $10 a pop though...and I don't think that is much more than the health food store products really.

FWIW, Lush uses a lot of synthetic ingredients that get bad ratings by SkinDeep - they're partly but not totally natural (i do use some of their products but am very very choosy b/c the 'safety' varies so widely, and the vast majority of their product contains fragrance which is both essential oils and synthetic chemicals which are so important to avoid).

[pixiewytch]

Yeah, we already do all of that but products still don't seem to go far with both kids.

I'm really curious now on the information about Lush if you have a link. If another company would focus on less or zero packaging that would be great. I just love the shampoo bars, bubble bath bars, solid deo, and soap though. I don't see too many other ecofriendly companies jumping on this bandwagon.

Oh, and I love the idea of having a different perspective on being green by using less....we already do that. I'm just talking about necessities here like soap, shampoo, laundry detergent. Heck, I don't even have a dishwasher. I'm still all about any good recipes for cleaning products with the exception of toilet cleaner. I tried the whole vinegar and baking soda and had mold growing in my toilet. DH was none too happy about that.

[Natsuki]

Give me the name of your favorite shampoo bar, bubble bar, and soap and I'll post the ingredients (in their catalogs and on their site) and bold the ones that aren't natural .

I love their zero packaging and wish more companies would strive for that.

[justamama]

For body products, I have the Dr. Bronner's bar soap for the kids and I. It works well, but to be honest I think plain baking soda worked better, especially for controlling BO. :x I use Dr. Bronner's when washing diapers but use ALL F&C for everything else.

I try to be green by buying as much second hand as I can. Not only does it cost less (plus for our very tight budget), but it also reduces wasteful packaging, keeps items out of a landfill, and there's no manufacturing costs/carbon footprint associated with producing another new product. As far as cleaning stuff, we use some of the Green Works (not the best, but easily accessible) and DH LOVES just plain vinegar and water, bless his heart.

Now if I could just get him to go with the idea of family cloth...

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

I'm really curious now on the information about Lush if you have a link. If another company would focus on less or zero packaging that would be great. I just love the shampoo bars, bubble bath bars, solid deo, and soap though. I don't see too many other ecofriendly companies jumping on this bandwagon.

If you're curious, check out this gal's site. She'll work with you on stuff if need be - that's why she's been my soap lady for maybe 3 years now. The packaging? A paper bag with my dozen soaps, in a Priority box. Here's her whole loaf price. I've got to learn how to make those soaps from her so I'm not SOL when she decides to stop/retire.

(I've also tried the baking soda/vinegar thing here, too, and it just doesn't work - unless I maybe scrubbed the house floor to ceiling every single day, which ain't gonna happen.)

[pixiewytch]

Thanks so much for that link! What a great variety of soaps, and they have shampoo bars too, for half the price as Lush!

[mnnice]

There are certain things I buy green because I have found if I shop stragetically they aren't more expensive (canned tomato sauce, 7th generation hand dishsoap, Annie's mac and cheese, sometime breakfast cereals, organic prairie sausage).

Dairy (milk, cheese, butter, eggs) are nearly always organic (unless I get sucked into a free deal) or if I just can't find organic (i.e. parmesean cheese). Price isn't much of a factor.

We have local grassfed beef, grassfeed lamb, and organic chicken. We also buy pork that is not feed organic feed, but is raised on a local farm and has access to pasture. By buying in bulk we pay less than we would for the same meat factory farmed at the supermarket. DH's also buys shrimp from "the shrimp guy". It's truly a splurge, but its super fresh, wild caught and real treat for people that live a gazillion miles from any oceans.

Coffee is always FTO from a local roaster. This is DH's other splurge since we could find organic coffee for less, but he'd lose the ritual of going to the coffee shop and asking for the freshest roast, recycling the paper coffee bag.

Flours, grains, beans, spices I'm never sure how much of a priority organic should be. My pantry is a mismash of convential and organic for that reason.

Veggie as nearly all organic except for things like mangos, avacados, and banannas that are low pesticide to start with. I also buy convential local apples, because a no spray local apple is just doesn't work very well, but most apple growers have figured out how to get good apples with two applications of nasty stuff.

[traceface]

Originally Posted by mnnice

There are certain things I buy green because I have found if I shop stragetically they aren't more expensive (canned tomato sauce, 7th generation hand dishsoap, Annie's mac and cheese, sometime breakfast cereals, organic prairie sausage).

Can you tell us more about how you shop strategically to get good prices on these things, especially 7th Gen, Annies, and the sausage?

thanks!

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by traceface

Can you tell us more about how you shop strategically to get good prices on these things, especially 7th Gen, Annies, and the sausage?

thanks!

the 7th generation stuff usually goes on sale near earth day. I try to get my hands on as many coupons (usually $1/1)as I can. 7th generation has printables and will send you paper coupons if you e-mail and ask. I buy a years worth of soap at my local grocery store because they will double them if you shop on Wednesday. I end up paying about .25 per bottle. Walgreens also has good sales on the 7 th generation products too.

Annie's has coupons frequently and Target had Annie on sale for $1 recently I ended up with 5 boxes for .50 each. I would have gotten more, but I'd run out of coupons. Also one of the groceries in my area always has it for 1.19 as a lost leader.

The Organic Prairie sausage in usually $3.49 for a chub at one of my local stores. There are Organic Prarie $2/1 around or I live where there are wine tags that don't require wine purchase so if I can find a $2 meat wine tag I often buy sausage with it (it's the one thing we consistently run out of in our bulk meat purchases).

Hope that helps

[matey]

Anymore, the only thing I buy is soap for ds. He likes a certain kind, and it works well withhis oily skin. Oh, and his deoderant too. I do get nutritional yeast too, and the occasional dairy free treat, but we cant afford to do much else. DS does have california baby bug spray and sun lotion, because he has very sensitive skin.

I get myself the near bottom of the barrel. Suave is horrible on my hair, but I got herbal essences shapmoo yesterday, with a soft soap body wash. I just cant afford to live better. There are so few options when you are poor if you want to live well.

We dont buy prepackaged foods, and I try to make things from scratch when I can. This week though I cant spend any grocery money, so I am going throught he fridge and cabinets seeing what is in there.

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

Thanks so much for that link! What a great variety of soaps, and they have shampoo bars too, for half the price as Lush!

The shampoo bars didn't work well with our oily hair though, or do super great at conditioning my shoulder-length hair though. They smell fabulous though, and were fun to try out. If you do get her regular packaged soaps, all the packaging with those is the saran-wrap type wrapping and the stickers, nothing too exciting or over-the-top.


Oh, and Annie's mac & cheese? We snag it at Costco for I think around $.66/box (the Kraft stuff is actually only $.03 less per box! complete with preservatives!) - we just get a whole case at a time. At the regular grocery store it's $1.79/6oz box, or $1.39/box at Fred Meyer. They never go on sale below $1/box here, at least that I've seen in the last few years. So I bet it very much varies by location.

[pixiewytch]

Okay, I wondered about that. The Lush shampoo bars have SLS in them but they really work great. I know I've tried other shampoo bars in the past like Burts Bees that didn't do too well.

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

Okay, I wondered about that. The Lush shampoo bars have SLS in them but they really work great. I know I've tried other shampoo bars in the past like Burts Bees that didn't do too well.

Ah, Burt's Bees. I've never had BB work for us. Ever. I tried to like the stuff, but it just wasn't meant to be.

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

Okay, I've looked at this Charlie's soap and I'm not seeing where it is any cheaper. $12 for laundry powder sounds like the equivalent of seventh gen 64 loads...or am I missing something here?

The 3 lbs. of laundry powder washes 80 loads... you only need a tablespoon (or sometimes less) of the powder. Also 1st time buyers get a discount, so the 3 lbs. bag is closer to $10.

We tried the smaller bag first, liked it so much we bought the 5 gal. bucket of it.... got the bucket a year ago and we still have plenty!

[Natsuki]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

Okay, I wondered about that. The Lush shampoo bars have SLS in them but they really work great. I know I've tried other shampoo bars in the past like Burts Bees that didn't do too well.

Here are the ingredients in Lush's "Squeaky Green" shampoo bar - notice that the 'perfume' is in black which means it uses synthetic ingredients in addition to the essential oils. I personally emailed LUSH about this a few months ago b/c I make it a practice to avoid all synthetic fragrance b/c those chemicals are baaaad:

Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Perfume, Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Nettle (Urtica Dioica), Water (Aqua), Tea Tree Powder (Melaleuca Alternifolia), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria Chamomilla), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Coumarin, *Geraniol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Hydroxycitronellol, Chlorophyllin.

Here are the ingredients for Lush's bubble bar "Blue Sky and Fluffy White Clouds" (notice that there are a lot of synthetic ingredients that you find in many drugstore beauty products):

Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar (Tartaric acid), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Cocamide DEA, Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Frankincense Resinoid (Boswelia carterii), Cinnamon Leaf Oil (Cinnamomum cassia), *Eugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, FD&C Blue No. 1.

Here are the ingredients for the soap "Rock Star" (the pink one that smells like cotton candy) - notice how many ingredients are in black ("safe" synthetics) vs. how many are in green ('natural' ingredients):

Propylene Glycol, Water (Aqua), Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Stearate, Perfume, Titanium Dioxide, Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, D&C Red No. 33.

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You can go here - http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/tools/index.php and once you sign up you can enter in each of those products and see specific breakdowns of the known risks of the ingredients. Some that are labeled 'natural' are actually riskier than those labeled 'synthetic' which is why it's so important to read the labels and decide what you are and aren't ok with instead of trusting the brand to make those decisions for you (same goes for Burt's Bees who market themselves as 'natural' but have many ingredients in their products that aren't .