Things are getting personal at online organic beauty boutique, Lucy Rose!  The award-winning natural beauty website is now offering a range of personal care products, which have been through the usual fastidious vetting process, to guarantee genuinely natural products, which are not in the slightest bit tinted with chemicals, animal testing or unethical production.

The Organyc Cycle

Organyc is a range of organic natural cotton tampons and sanitary towels, certified by the Soil Association, which feel fresh, safe and clean, and have absolutely no negative effects on the environment.  The natural cotton fibres feel instantly more comfortable as they are skin-friendly, breathable and pH neutral.  Better still, they are 100% biodegradable.  From £1.79 for 24 Flat Panty Liners.

Simply the best Cotton Wool

Go organic with Simply Gentle’s 100% organic cotton wool and cotton buds.  Certified by the Soil Association, choose from cotton balls, pads or pleats, safe in the knowledge that this pure cotton is completely natural, is 100% biodegradable and will not harm the environment or the people in it.  From £1.29 for 200 Cotton Buds.

It’s Easy with Inlight

The balms and oils from Inlight organic skincare are the result of years of research by Dr Mariano Spiezia who is a medical doctor, homeopath and herbalist.  The result is a range of highly effective skincare products which use the very best organic ingredients, such as cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and delicately scented essential oils, chosen for their natural therapeutic and preservative qualities.

The high performance balms include Joint-Easy, Acn-Easy, Ecz-Easy and Nyp-Balm for dealing efficiently with specific skin/muscle complaints.  The range is completed with a collection of rich and nourishing body oils and creams, designed for everyday use, including an Organic Line Softener, for treating scars, burns and even laughter lines.  From £13.55 for Joint-Easy to £50.60 for the Organic Line Softener.

For more details, visit www.lucyrose.biz, where postage and packing is free on every UK order.  The extensive selection of organic beauty and skin care, has been meticulously hand-picked to provide top to toe beauty treatments for people who genuinely care about what they put on their skin. 

Lucy Rose is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Self-catering accommodation in the Champagne region, with many of the benefits and services of a small hotel. An excellent menu of home prepared meals is available to enjoy in your apartment or gite. We grow a large variety of fruit in our orchard, and vegetables in our ever expanding vegetable garden. No chemicals whatsoever are used. Free range chickens and ducks supply eggs. All our home cooking includes organic produce, either from our garden or purchased locally. Homemade jams and chutney are made with fruit from our garden. Maffrecourt is a small farming community of just fifty five inhabitants, many of whom have lived in the village their entire lives. Farming is the way of life here, and hunting is a major pastime. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2858.htm

Organic Holidays is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The Summer holidays are just around the corner and, dare we say it, the long range weather forecast is looking promising, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you about our new Rope Swing Shop on the website. 

It couldn’t be more simple and you can now order on line and pay by Paypal or give us a ring (01297 443084) and we’ll talk you through the options.

 If you don’t have a suitable tree but would still like one of our swings for your garden then we now sell a special Oak ‘A’ Frame too.  Hand-made as always with our famous attention to detail.

Warm hospitality awaits you in the sandy heathlands of the Brecklands at Home Hall. Comfortable beds with crisp cotton and fine linen. Freshly prepared free range organic breakfasts, served on the sundrenched terrace in summer. Choose a traditional ‘full English’, or sample home produced free range eggs poached or scrambled and garnished with fresh smoked salmon, plus homemade bread and local Norfolk honey. Evening meals are served in the oak panelled dining room. We use our own fruit and vegetables in our meals and buy from local organic butchers and farmers’ markets. Please note that we haven’t been signed off with the Soil Association as ‘officially’ organic yet, although we hope to do so later this year. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2810.htm

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Elemental Retreats nestles in a magical spot on the edge of a tiny village in a mountain valley of the Alpujarras, surrounded by fruit trees, nuts, olives, vegetable plots and mule tracks through wilderness. Perfect for artists, hikers and nature lovers travelling alone, or for couples / two friends. The casita is self-contained and can also be rented as a self-catering unit [double from €35 pn]. Come for a holiday or a guided full board retreat. Try your hand at natural soap making in the workshop. Delicous home cooking with organic ingredients, tisanes and mountain herbs. Nearby are three family bar restaurants [one vegetarian] using home-grown produce in their meals. The local market has an organic stall and wholefoods. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2812.htm

Organic Holidays is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Please support our campaign to make real Christmas Trees fair trade

Christmas may seem a long way off, but here at Fairwind we have been campaigning all year to persuade growers and retailers in the UK to start selling fair trade Christmas trees this Christmas.

 We are making good progress but we need your help!

Every year many people in Georgia are injured or killed picking the cones needed to  extract the seeds to grow the UK’s most popular real Christmas tree, the Nordmann Fir.

Fairwind is working with the ONLY supplier of fair trade seeds and trees to bring “Fair Trees®” to the UK.

And here is where you can help:

 1. Join our Facebook campaign

CLICK THE FACEBOOK BUTTON!

2. Email/write to your local garden centre, Christmas tree farm or Homebase or B&Q

 Homebase and B&Q are the largest retailers of real Christmas trees and  here are their email addresses:

socialresponsibility@b-and-q.co.uk

info@homebase.co.uk

 3. Forward this email on to your friends, colleagues and family and get them supporting the campaign

We already have celebrity support from Katie Melua

Now we need your support!

And with a bit of luck you will be seeing this label on your Christmas tree this year!

 Thank you

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The best-selling incognito spray has now been reformulated to create one of the strongest anti-insect sprays on the planet! Indeed, this new formulation is as effective as the most deadly toxic insecticide, yet completely natural.

Officially being launched at BBC Gardeners world LIVE at the NEC Birmingham on the 16^th June 2010 and filmed by Dragons’ Den, it will also be available online from this date. 

Fully tested by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) as giving 100% protection against Anopheles Gambia (African) mosquitoes and officially approved by Trading Standards as “clinically proven to protect against malaria” (The first time this claim has been allowed on any product!) this new ground-breaking formulation still contains organic Javanese Citronella, but in a much lower concentration. 

 The natural insect repellent used in the research was Eucalyptus maculata citriodora and this is exactly what is in every bottle of incognito, under the trade name Citrepel 75, along with some rare essential oils; all blended together in a secret unique process.

Citrepel 75 has recently been tested by the LSHTM as having 100% efficacy against all mosquitoes and insects.

 The anti-malaria claim has been approved by Trading Standards after the publication of a report in the British Medical Journal:  “Plant based insect repellent [Eucalyptus maculata citriodora] and insecticide treated bed nets to protect against malaria in areas of early evening biting vectors: double blind randomised placebo controlled clinical trial in the Bolivian Amazon.”* This study was funded by a Gates Malaria Partnership grant under the auspices of the WHO and carried out partly by the LSHTM.

 According to incognito’s Founder, Howard Carter, who incidentally contracted malaria whilst taking anti-malarial drugs and simultaneously using a deet-based product, “it has taken me nearly 10 years to perfect a natural product which protects against all 3000 mosquito species.  My greatest wish is for this to be made widely available throughout the world.”

 incognito does not cause any neurological damage, as can be the case with other topical toxin insect repellents such as Deet. Unlike these toxic chemical repellents, incognito has a lovely fresh fragrance.

 Due to Climate Change insect populations are growing at unprecedented levels. Which is already being evidenced in the UK and Ireland this Summer, in the form of increasing numbers of insects –exacerbated by the wet weather.

 incognito 100 ml spray is effective against all insects – not just mosquitoes and ticks.

 incognito spray and other products are available at Harrods, Holland & Barrett, John Bell & Croyden, Planet Organic, Whole Foods,  Trailfinders Travel Clinics, health shops and most chemists or direct from their website www.lessmosquito.com.

Secluded camping pitches are hidden amongst a mature tree and shrub garden – an enclosed garden [formerly the old rose garden] that provides a safe haven for young and old. Or alternatively you can pitch down by the River Usk, and enjoy the delights of wild river swimming. You can buy fresh organic fruit, vegetables and flowers grown here in the walled gardens from our farm shop. We limit numbers to a maximum of ten pitches at any one time. Each pitch has its own allotted fire pit, and there is a communal fire pit area for gatherings. Firewood is available to buy, along with our homemade charcoal. We also have a tipi that you can hire should you wish, ready erected and furnished with the essentials [price on application]. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2857.htm

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Slack House Farm is situated within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is an award winning nine acre smallholding committed to sustainability and the natural environment. For those with an interest in minimising their environmental impact we offer not only bed and breakfast accommodation, but also a range of rural courses. To the best of our knowledge we are the only off-grid bed and breakfast in England. The ensuite B&B accommodation is in a converted byre adjoining our house. Furniture is handmade from reclaimed timber by a local craftsman. Bed linen is organic and fairtrade. Fairtrade and organic teas, coffees and herbal infusions. Vegetarian food, organic and locally sourced where possible. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2856.htm

Organic Holidays is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The latest brainwave by Environmentalist Group 10:10 could save the UK 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year and it is so very simple!

In our country, we move the clocks around and in so doing waste valuable daylight in the morning and burn expensive lightbulbs in the evening. 10:10 are proposing a change in the way we do this. A plan called ‘Lighter Later’ suggests that we move our clocks forward by one hour for the whole year. We should then change our clocks as normal in Spring and Autumn. This would equate to GMT +2hours in the Summer and GMT +1 in the Winter, which would give us all valuable daylight hours when we were awake and not at 4.30am when most of us are sleeping. It would also delay the time at which we switch on our electric lights in the winter – sometimes as early as 3.30pm in the afternoon.

So all in all, we would gain more sunlight, reduce our electricity consumption, save money and reduce the carbon emissions!

The 10:10 campaigners are collecting signatures which will be presented to the Prime Minister on June 21^st, the longest day of the year. They already have 10,000 signatures but would love to get 5,000 more in the next few days. To sign up to the campaign follow this link and be a part of the solution!

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