Manly West School Organic Market

Quick note to let you know that every saturday morning from 8am through to 12pm Solution Living has a stall at the Manly West schoolgrounds on Sydney's Northern Beaches. There are great certified organic vegies, music, sprouts, trinkets, cakes, vegie and lentil patties.

And of course http://www.solutionliving.com.au/ has a stall there so it you want to order something and save yourself the postage we'd be happy to see you there!

Annoying Morons at the Supermarket

Yes .. this is going to be a little rant. I am SO annoyed at people at Supermarkets who STILL don't get that plastic bags are BAD and that we should NOT use them! I stood behind a lady the other day who had EVERY item possible in a plastic bag - even the already wrapped items such as watermelon were also in another plastic bag - she actually could not have used more bags if she tried. Not only was I horrified at her stupidity, I was also quite depressed and I looked around and people everywhere were merrily using the plastic bags.



There is more as I observing her plastic I noticed that she was a mother from kindy and she is my age! She has no excuse for being old and set in her ways .... what was she thinking?



Ok I have had days when I'm in a rush and I've left the green shopping bags behind and have sheepishly shopped and scurried away with my plastic bags - which of course I re-use at home. We all have those days. Because I know I am busy and a total scatter brain I have two sets of bags one at home and one in the car.



So what do the people who are still using plastic bags think as they shop?



Anyway http://www.solutionliving.com.au/ is now stocking a brilliant inventio to bansih the plastic bags people use to weigh their fruit and veg. These clever bags weigh nothing, and a little bag of four clips on to your normal shopping bags. The Onya Weigh bag is a must for those of us who do actually THINK at the check out. Follow the Solution Living link and go to the Kitchen section of the site.

Eat Free Range Pork!

I wanted to write to let you know that in Australia now, you can buy Free Range Pork at the supermarket! Woolworths are now stocking RSPCA certified Free Range Pork in the meat section (as well I might add as quite a good range of organic meat). This has just appeared in the last couple of weeks. I have deliberately not eaten Pork for some time (nor has my family as I am the primary shopper) due to the way Pigs are farmed in cruel, cramped little prison pens (yes even in Australia). So I was really pleased to find this range on offer.

KR Castlemain are also now offering Free Range sliced sandwich ham and bacon However they are labelled 'bred free range' to which a fellow blogger alerted me to - and which means I think they were still raised indoors - so I'm looking in to this and will get back to you with my findings.

The more people who are choosing to eat meat from cruelty free farming practices the more pressure there will be on the mass producers to whom the animals happiness is worthless.

http://www.solutionliving.com.au/ is now stocking "The Ethics of What We Eat" it is really essential reading for anyone wanting to make better informed food choices. So follow the link and head to the shop and then the reading section.

To read more about this and the RSCPA certification process in Australia you can head to http://www.rspca.org.au/ it's a pretty shocking state of affairs for Australia to have such terrible practice in Agriculture.

What's wrong with a bit of bi-carb and vinegar?

I am a bit tired of reading books where people are telling me 1000 uses for bi-carb of soda. I much admire people who mix their own concoctions at home and manage to get a good finish on the surfaces without a white residue .. but really.... here are my reasons for not wanting to go down the bi-carb route
1) Well for a start it doesn't smell that good does it?
2) It kind of feels like going back to the dark ages.
3) Who has time to mix up various concoctions (let alone read up on how to and what for)

Mainly I have to come back to the smell as I am sure the results are probably good, let's face it there was a reason we looked for something better in the first place ... and now we can have fabulous smelling, effective products that clean our clothes, homes, cars, kitchens and don't harm our environment ... to buy some of these great products click here http://www.solutionliving.com.au/shopping/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Why choose organic Feminine Hygine products?

It seemed logical to me without looking in to it too much that organic tampons and sanitary pads would be a good idea. They are not readily available in supermarkets and are for many women an every day essential item. However I thought some of my shoppers would like a bit more detail. Natracare the company that manufactures the products available on the Solution Living site was founded by Susie Hewson out of concern to help protect both women's health and the environment.

Dioxins are the reason why your regular (pardon the pun) sanitary items are an inferior choice. The use of Chlorine in the bleaching of the cotton used to make your run of the mill tampons etc creates dioxins and it is these dioxins that are harmful to both the environment and your health.

According to an article on the Natracare site titled 'Women seek out more natural feminine care products' dioxin has been "linked to cancer, endometriosis, low sperm counts and immune system suppression". The Natracare products are made with organic cotton, no chlorine and no fragrance. "Hewson, explained, "Women simply want to use a product that is natural, and Natracare feminine care gives them that choice. Choosing natural means that you are avoiding potential contact with pesticides, herbicides, dioxin residuals, deodorizes, azo dyes, plastics and synthetics." To read the full article go to http://www.natracare.com/news/news_articles_7.htm
It is a pretty compelling read, so now you know ....... to buy Natracare products as well as other natural bathroom essentials click on this link http://www.solutionliving.com.au/shopping/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7

Why Phosphate Free Cleaners?

I was having dinner with some good friends the other night and was showing them some of the Solution Living cleaning products. The male of our party asked why the products were good for the environment and how they were different to supermarket brands and why were phosphates bad?

Well lets start with Phosphates...... Phosphates are naturally occurring in the environment as a result of rock weathering and organic decomposition. Phosphates in the water only become a problem when they reach “unnaturally” high levels and are taken up by phytoplankton and other aquatic plants. When this occurs these high levels can result in algal blooms. By sending detergents used for washing clothes, dishes, cars etc down the drain and into our waterways we cause ecological imbalances. So ... Solution Living Products are Phosphate FREE.

Other reasons to buy Solution Living products are: They contain organic ingredients, are fragranced only by essential oils, are 100% biodegradable, grey water friendly, are free of animal products and are not tested on animals. They are made in Australia, contain no chemicals including SLS and artificial preservatives. They work well, smell good, look good .... what more could you ask for! To buy them click here http://www.solutionliving.com.au/shopping/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

In the begining

The idea behind Solution Living - Is that you can live well, and in fact better by being a conscious consumer. There is no reason at all why you should live like a hippy and give up all of your mod cons to save the planet. Environmentally responsible products need not look ugly, smell bad or perform poorly. In fact there are sophisticated, highly developed and exceptional products now available and you find them on our site.

At Solution Living we have sourced, developed and tested products either manufactured by us or sourced by us that : smell great, work really well and look good.

The other products that we sell have all been tested or are used daily by us. The products all boast some, if not all of the following qualities: they work well, smell good, are organic or have ingredients that are farmed using organic practices, are associated with fair trade markets. Without exception they are far superior to the products you'll find in the supermarket.

We also care about where they come from and who makes them. We endeavour to give you as much information about the background of the products as we can.

None of our products contain the toxic chemicals found in mainstream products. All of our products are environmentally responsible, contain no animal products (except for the goats milk soap!), are not tested on animals.

All of our containers are re-cycled and if you order from us you will get an interesting mix of packaging as we re-use and re-cycle all of our packaging.

All in all if you buy anything from this site you are likely to be : creating to a healthier environment in your home, a less toxic world, fair trade, reducing pollution and our impact on the planet.

You will also be buying superior products, luxury products and products of the finest quality.

We hope you enjoy our store and tell your friends about us! Spread the word!