I’ve been a user of hand sanitizers for such a long time, so I got bothered when I read about how some anti-bacterial ingredients, like Triclosan, can be bad.  And then I was introduced to Human Nature by my mom.  I began to research, and well, I am now a regular customer.

But it doesn’t just stop with the hand sanitizers.  I also use their hand soap, their lip balm, facial wash, massage oil, and their foundation.  I love that they only use natural ingredients, and they even have a lengthy explanation on what “natural” means.   In their website, they also listed the bad chemicals that they’ve replaced with natural and organic ingredients.

What I love most about Human Nature is their philosophy with the three core principles of being PRO-POOR, PRO-PHILIPPINES, and PRO-ENVIRONMENT.  They employ people from Gawad Kalinga communities , they only use natural ingredients, and as much as possible, all materials and ingredients come from the Philippines.  Such an eco-ethical company!

Check out their online store!  I highly recommend their hand sanitizers and hand soaps!

Donations for deployment!

One of the concerns with donations is the disposal of the trash afterwards.  There were A LOT of donations, which meant A LOT of plastic bags.  But with the bags from 7-11, we didn’t worry anymore.  At least the bags will decompose right away (as opposed to being there for… 100 years?) and they won’t clog drainages and contribute to environmental pollution. (Now that I think about it, I should have a separate entry on biodegradable plastic bags…)

So, kudos to 7-11, for going green early on.

More green good news! (Or is it good green news?)  Mini Stop is already using biodegradable plastic bags! That’s A LOT of plastic bags. I’m a happy camper!

I hope more and more establishments follow suit!

Rustan’s Department Store is also going green. They are now using very thin paper bags.

I love it when companies go green, because of the huge impact. Imagine how many (non-biodegradable) plastic bags have been avoided with their decision to shift – we’re talking about thousands of bags! That’s a lot!

Yay for Rustan’s. I hope other companies will start going green as well and be conscious of the environmental impact of their practices.

I really like Earth Hour because of the awareness it generates, and because it can serve as a starting point for many people who are only starting to be conscious about the effect of their choices on the environment.  Earth Hour reminds me that the commitment to go green, though difficult, is shared by others.  There is hope.

I hope you will celebrate Earth Hour this year by turning off your lights at 8:30PM on March 26.  Or, be at an establishment that supports Earth Hour.  Or, go to the planned events and be with kindred spirits.   And then go beyond the hour by changing your habits throughout the year.  We can do this!

I’ve seen them online a couple of times but didn’t really pay attention until Rags2Riches teamed up with them for Christmas 2010.  So I searched for them online.

Messy Bessy, as they describe it, is a line of worry-free household cleaning products.  All of their products are safe, non-toxic, all natural, and biodegradable.   They are proud to note in their packages that since they are locally made, no excess fuel was used to bring the product to the  customers.  The phrase “earth friendly” is perfect to describe Messy Bessy.

I got really interested so I went to the Echo Store to buy some of their products.  So far, I’ve tried the following:

• The Little Warrior – an all-around product that can sanitize your hands, and clean and disinfect surfaces; the green tea smell is too strong for the hands, so I’ve been using it to clean surfaces instead.  They now have new scents, including bergamot, chamomile and candy cane.
• Aloe and Green Tea Handwash – biodegradable liquid soap with aloe; though a bit watered down (scent isn’t strong and doesn’t stay long on the hands), it still cleans well
• Tea Tree Mold and Mildew Spray – I followed the instructions, but it didn’t work.
• Eucalyptus All Purpose Scrub – great for kitchen countertops, sinks, and even toilets; my favorite product, because it cleans really well plus the area will smell good

They just released their holiday gift guide. Check it out here:

You can check out their full product list here.

And click here to find out where to get hold of their products.

Dolphins, the adorable and playful creatures of the sea, are very intelligent. Some of them even teach their young to use tools. Last May 2005, an Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin was found teaching its young to cover its snout with sponges – to protect itself while foraging. Like us, humans, dolphins are mammals. They are carnivores, feeding mostly on fish and squid.

Dolphins occasionally leap above the water surface, performing acrobatic figures and sometimes playfully interacting with swimmers.  Their friendly appearance and playful nature has made them popular in human culture. Dolphins can now be viewed in a number of aquarium facilities and tanks around the world. We take so much pleasure in seeing them in flesh and watching them perform stunts and do tricks. Do we even think and bother to ask how they got there? For most, the answer is a big NO. We are too overwhelmed by their intelligence and beauty that we fail to understand their situation. In Japan, some 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are either slaughtered for food or captured alive and sold to aquariums. Meat from a single dolphin amounts to $500 while marine parks offer $150,000 for a captured dolphin. It may be fun for us to watch them in tanks but is it fun for them? NO, it is not. Some dolphins in captivity even do commit suicide.

In the small fishing village of Taiji, Japan, pods of dolphins are chased and driven into a hidden cove. Once trapped inside the cove, their throats are slashed with knives and stabbed with spears. This brutal massacre turns the water red and fills the air with screams. This goes on for six months every year. Yes, it is true that they hunt them for food and that they sell them for good money. The first few false killer whales of Ocean Adventure are actually from the Taiji killing coves. The real reason though for this sad tradition is that they treat dolphins as pests that have to be eradicated in huge numbers. They don’t kill dolphins for their meat. They kill dolphins as a form of pest control. They see dolphins as competition for food. Perhaps also to address their food issues, the Japanese government recently introduced pilot whale (large members of the dolphin family) meat to children’s school lunch programs despite the fact that the meat is contaminated with methyl mercury (MeHg). Taiji residents tested high for mercury, averaging 11.0 ppm for men and 6.63 ppm for women. On a continuing research, 43 out of 182 surveyed tested above 50 ppm MeHg. MeHg causes irreversible central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) damage. Locals of Taiji reject the idea that they are slowly poisoning themselves. Mortality rate in Taiji is about 50 percent more than that of the other villages in Japan with roughly the same population.

Let’s help save the Taiji dolphins and the Taiji locals, too.

Why do we have to help?

Some species of dolphins had been hunted to the precipice of extinction. We have to help because Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are also being hunted in the Philippines. Sadly, our country is also a hunting hotspot. Let’s help save the Taiji dolphins and hopefully in the process, convince our countrymen to stop the ongoing dolphin hunt.

How can we help?

We can read more about the wrongful slaughter of Taiji dolphins and help educate others. We can support environmental activist whaleboy A.G. Saño’s silent protest and help paint twenty-three thousand dolphins in public places and walls, raise awareness of the sad tradition, and hopefully stop the capture and slaughter of the Taiji dolphins.

Members of Kiwanis Club of Buklod-San Pablo helped paint 300 dolphins in gates in Makati City and Quezon City last May 2010.

Wall paintings of dolphins graced San Pablo City last July 2010. The dolphin murals in San Pablo City: (1) at the VYP – MSC Institute of Technology Green School Campus in San Gabriel  and (2) at the San Pablo National High School (Main Campus). A.G.Saño and the members of KC Buklod – SanPablo are against dolphin slaughter and dolphin capture.

Other dolphin walls may be found in Bacolod, Sarrangani, Cabuyao, Los Baños, Marikina, Quezon, Bohol, Antipolo City, Batangas etc. If you wish to help, sign in on FB and like the Dolphin loves Freedom page and express your intention to help.

Sponsor air fares and lodgings, donate paints and brushes or just come to help paint. Together, let’s help save the Taiji children and the Taiji dolphins (bulls, cows and calves), let’s help save the children of the world.

• by Veronica S. Prudente
• Kiwanis Club of Buklod-San Pablo

Rustans Reusable Bags

I started being conscious of the use of plastic bags when Shopwise (and Rustan’s Supermarket) introduced

their reusable bag program a couple of years ago.  I thought about how much plastic bags I used with our grocery shopping.   Too much!  So I bought their reusable bags for P99 each, and have been using them eversince.  I am now at a point where I don’t go to the grocery or buy very little when I forget the reusable bags at home.  I think we now have 8 of them at home, if I’m not mistaken.   Shopwise and Rustan’s have a very good scheme for their cardholders – if you use their reusable bags, you will earn double points for that particular purchase.  Isn’t that nice – you have double points AND you’re being environmentally responsible.

Now I wonder why the Rustans group isn’t using biodegradable plastic bags as their default bag…