Wednesday, November 29, 2006

HOLIDAY GIFT SERIES: Eco-Me


While I'm against zombie consumerism, please let it be known I'm unequivocably PRO-gift. And so for this holiday season, I am going to present you with some gifts that keep on giving.

This Eco-Me cleaning kit fits my Platonic ideal of a gift. It's cute, somewhat fancy-schmancy and indulgent, and what better gift than the gift of cleanliness and health.

Basically, you (or the giftee) fill up these cool looking sprayers with your own vinegar and water (or olive oil, for the wood polish), add some antimicrobial essential oil, and you're off to the races, with the brush and the fancy-schmancy micofiber towel.

This is pretty much my own recipe, too (tea tree oil is my antimicrobial), but this kit makes it easier and nicer, a perfect way to get a loved one who feels like stuff HAS to come in some neatly branded package (complete with vivid colors and synthetic scents). There's even "FILL TO" marks on this, so it should take two seconds. Don't forget that white vinegar is dirt cheap (and kills 98+ percent of surface bacteria!) and you can take all that money you saved and buy some organic kale.

It also comes nicely packed in a stylin' jute bag PLUS they support one of my favorite groups, the Breast Cancer Fund. Not to bring up the specter of cancer during the holidays, but put it this way, cancer and toxins don't take a holiday, as much as we wish they would. Here's Eco-me's mission statement (emphasis mine):
In March of 2005 my 36-year-old sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. How does a healthy, athletic, spiritual and nutritionally organic young woman face the challenges of breast cancer? With no family history of this disease nor a lifestyle to promote it, could my sister’s breast cancer be linked to the pollutants in our environment or toxic chemicals in our homes?

Is it possible that by simply cleaning your home you are creating a toxic environment? Could the chemicals in products that line our shelves lead to life threatening health risks?

Why are we taking such risks in our homes and with our well-being?
The need to remove unnecessary chemicals from our homes led our search for completely natural and chemical-free products.

The only problem was finding the products. Most natural cleaners still use synthetic chemicals for colorants and add trace amounts of ammonia and harsh additives to their products. So we decided that if we wanted a truly natural product we would have to make it ourselves and a few months later Eco-Me was born.

3 comments:

GreenFertility said...

I actually use 100% vinegar in a glass plant mister that the previous tenant of the house left, but the Eco-Me kit has suggestions of water/vinegar ratio...if you use their recipe your house doesn't smell like tea tree oil pickles (the smell DOES go away).

Lynn said...

Ooh, just the sort of thing that would be great for my sister. She's been trying to live in a greener manner, so this would be handy.

GreenFertility said...

Yes, it's the EZ wa to green.

p.s. I like the typos photo on "you're cite."