Blog News

Anyone who is subscribed to get my sporadic blog updates (not my newsletter – that’s super consistent, but my blog updates…) knows that I haven’t written much since Stephen was born almost 6 months ago now, except for a couple “major event” type updates (trips to London and Fiji).  And if you’ve been subscribed to my blog for a long time, you know that it has never been consistent and that it’s been what I’ve always called a “mixed use” blog – sharing insights and resources related to my personal journey in sustainable living, topics related to my consulting work in natural health and ethical marketing, and stories of my family’s happenings… all somewhat randomly as I’m able to find time to write (not often) around life with my saint of a husband, 5 amazing crazy kids, and business and volunteer priorities.

I have always said, “I’m not a blogger, I’m a consultant with a blog.”  And a big part of why my blog so often gets neglected is because I’m busy enough each day answering email inquiries that come in to my inbox for my consulting business that I just don’t get time to write on my blog.  As much as I sometimes think, “Oh, yeah, I should really start writing weekly (let alone daily?! maybe at least bi-monthly) blog posts with valuable content related to my business in order to drive traffic to my website” etc etc, I already have strong “traffic” to my inbox and just have to be gracious with myself in this season of life to know that I just can’t crank out that much blog content right now with my young family and the consulting work and educational events I do for people, both offline locally and online across the globe.

But that’s just the time and priorities, or logistical piece, of my challenge.  There’s also the inner-me, deeper aspects of all this.

Part of my hang up is that I have a love-hate relationship with writing – I love it, therefore I am crazy picky about what I write, and thus it sometimes takes me ‘forever’ to write and revise to find the best way to communicate what I want to say, and the time suck makes me ‘hate’ it… not because I don’t enjoy the process (I could get lost in writing for days and enjoy every minute of it), but because time with my family is so important to me (one day, I’ll write a post about my thoughts on the relationship between work and family priorities).

The other, huge piece of my somewhat schizo approach to blogging has been that, as I have gained greater clarity over the past couple years on my life’s message and mission, and my specific giftings and callings, I realize more and more that, while yes, I’m deeply passionate about natural health and sustainable living, and love consulting with people on these topics, and cherish the relationships formed in doing so, and am incredibly grateful for the financial provision through this meaningful work… I don’t so much enjoy writing about these topics…

a) I prefer the two-way communication and relationship of consulting work, and have lots of that already, so the one-way communication of writing falls to the side.

b) There are SO many people writing about these topics today – from both the surface-level “how-to” perspectives, and also from the research/science-based “why-do” perspectives.  But my passion for this realm of work is engaging people on the deeper thought patterns and physical/emotional/spiritual reasons (the ‘why-be’ reasons I’d like to call them) behind these topics and life choices.

Here’s an example… I have a dear offline friend who writes amazing real-food recipes (among other things).  She is passionate about it, gifted in it…  Check out her blog Real Food Outlaws.  I have such mad respect for and appreciation of Sarah – she provides an incredible service to people around the globe, and I love her for it.

But me?  I would go nuts and be bored out of my mind if I had to write recipe posts all the time.  While I appreciate these ‘how-tos’, it’s just not my passion, my niche, or my life’s message, or my voice (besides the fact that I rarely use recipes – we just eat most of our foods raw, or lightly steamed/baked/boiled and seasoned, very simply… just using ‘recipes’ as an example for this context of a ‘how-to’ type of resource out there).  I’d rather refer you all to Sarah for the how-to’s, but have deep conversations on or offline with you about the many reasons why eating real food is so important, physically, emotionally, spiritually…

When I first developed my site, I chose the tagline, “seeking restoration of sustainable life… personally, professionally, and spiritually.”  It’s neat now to look back and see how it still applies so aptly.   And as we draw toward the end of 2013, I find myself gaining even greater clarity on my life and business and how interconnected it all is.

People so often want to compartmentalize personal and business and keep them separate – or maybe reveal just enough personal in business to be viewed as a real person, in this day and age of social media.

I can’t do that.

My business and personal sides are so intimately connected at my core that I can’t separate the two.  They go hand in hand.  It’s critical to me that any work – paid or volunteer – that I do in life align with my core values… how I think, who I am, and most importantly who God is shaping me to be as I continue each day in my journey of following the real Jesus (not who pop-culture and/or some misguided church cultures make Him out to be).  And in turn, my business plays a critical role in financially supporting our family desire to serve the world in big volunteer-type ways.  I have no interest in achieving a luxury life.  I am pursuing a life of impact, where our resources are spent only on our basic needs – which can include an occasional ‘luxury’ since I think the human heart needs those touches of extraordinary beauty now and then, but also to find deep joy and contentment in the every day “little” beauties (oiy – another future blog post… someday when I have time) – and any financial gain above and beyond our basic needs is invested into equipping and empowering others…

Ack!  I get so jazzed about all that God is doing sometimes, that it’s hard to communicate in writing…

So, what does all this mean for my blog going forward?

At this point in my journey, I’m giving myself permission to let go of feeling like I “need” to be writing more surface level ‘how-to’ articles on natural health and sustainable living.  I’m giving myself permission to use my blog to share my thought patterns and deeper whys behind the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ of my choices in life, and thereby to hopefully inspire others to tap deeply and mindfully into the incredible connection between our human hearts and the Creator of all the universe.  I’m giving myself permission to fully use my blog as the space where I keep people posted on our family’s journey into a life of service and sacrifice.  And I’m giving myself permission to just write as often as I can around life with my family, business, and volunteerism – which may actually prove now to be more often since the role of my blog is now more fully aligned with my heart, rather than also feeling like I need to use that space for topics related to my consulting work.  Or maybe it won’t be more often – because man, my kids are a joy and I love spending time with them, learning from them perhaps even more so than they learn from me.  And that’s OK, too.  Will post when I can, and in the meantime keep adding to my “to write” list of topics…  Which could maybe even turn into a book someday…  We shall see.  🙂

My free newsletter – which comes out consistently the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month – will still be a place for great ‘how-to’ resources on natural health and sustainable living.  And if you want to keep posted on the broader journey of my life, my reasons for doing things, and our family as we pursue a crazy vision (oh yeah, if you’re new to my blog – my husband quit his job in June and we’re aiming to move to the UK this coming summer), then look for the “subscribe for blog updates” box on the right.

To all who are reading this, whoever you are, thank YOU for “hearing” my heart in what I write – whether in newsletters or blog posts – and for all your love, prayers, and support.  xoxo 🙂

I’ve been home for 2 weeks but am just now getting to write up a report of our trip to Fiji on the Miessence leadership getaway.  It was a wonderful trip from start to finish, on so many levels.

We left Saturday evening, the 12th, in order to arrive in Fiji by Monday morning the 14th, thanks to crossing the international date line and loosing a whole day in the travel process.  We met up in LAX with the three other North American reps, and then hunkered down to sleep on the 11 hour overnight flight to Nadi (pronounced Nandi).  Thankfully, little Stephen, now 4 months old, did great on all the flights both to and from Fiji.  🙂

We arrived around 5 am and then had an hour and a half van ride along the coast and countryside to the Hideaway resort.  Despite being tired, we stayed awake and enjoyed a relaxing day catching up with other Miessence folks – founders, HQ staff, and reps – as well as enjoying the warm hospitality of our Fijian hosts.  “Bula!”  And Stephen quickly became a beloved member of the resort community – we heard “Bula, Stevie!” every day.  Very sweet.  🙂

Since we arrived so early on Monday morning and our flight home wasn’t until 10pm Saturday night, we had 6 full days to enjoy.  Although there were plenty of fun adventurous things to do around the island, we had Stephen with us, so we mostly just relaxed at the resort and spent time talking with people, swimming in the pool, walking on the beach, admiring the birds, watching the sunset, chasing the frogs that came out in the evening, swinging in the hammock, napping, eating amazing food, learning about Fijian culture and history, and reading books too long on our to-read lists.  I did get to go snorkeling just off the resort’s shoreline and saw some amazingly bright-colored fish – so beautiful.  The fire walking demonstration, kava ceremony, lovo feast, and village tour were especially fun – I love connecting with cultures around the world.  It was especially neat to learn about how only 150 years ago, Fijians were cannibals.  Now, they are known as the friendliest people on earth – and the tour guide credited the transformation to the missionaries who came to the island.  From our brief experience, it seems the Fijian people are a great example of the transcultural power of Jesus to bring love and peace to a people while still maintaining the beauty of their culture.  Contrary to the tragic experience of “missions” in history obliterating or “westernizing” world cultures, the Bible is pretty clear that people from all nations, tribes, and tongues will be clearly and distinctly represented in heaven one day.  What a beautiful day that will be when we see true unity in diversity.  🙂

A day and a half out of the six was devoted to business and training – but this was so much fun it felt like vacation still.  It was wonderful getting to meet with other reps from around the world and hear from the hearts of the founders and HQ staff.  Particularly special was how transparent everyone was about the company’s history, current status, and future vision.  In this day and age, one might expect a company to “blow smoke” and put forth a rah-rah message at such a meeting.  But not Miessence.  Always valuing truth and transparency, it was beautiful to see how strengths and weaknesses were openly addressed, as well as positive and negative outside forces such as the current organic boom and the global financial crisis of 2008.  It was inspiring to hear the challenges addressed with tangible solutions and see the emergent, fresh, vibrant commitment based on a time-tested and trial-deepened conviction.  It is truly an honor to work with such genuine, transparent people.

For a 2-minute video from Miessence’s founder, Narelle Chenery…

And here are the official vision and mission statements of Miessence…

Miessence Vision: We are a global community of heart centered, empowered individuals, grounded in deep reverence for Mother Nature, and our connection to one another, gratefully prospering through inspired actions that contribute to a thriving world.

Miessence’s Mission is to provide a haven for people who want to be part of a global transformation. As a pioneer in holistic business we create 100% pure, potent organic products that nurture true beauty and vibrant health. We aim to educate, inspire and empower our Customers & Independent Representatives by offering an exceptional business opportunity, fair & generous compensation, exciting leadership pathways and transformational education. We invite people everywhere to to be part of our vibrant, global community knowing that by doing so, the world will be changed.

We’ve been back from London for 10 days already, but between reacclimating to life at home,  a 14-hour-each-way drive and a couple days in Georgia for my cousin’s wedding, and another couple days of reacclimation after that road trip, we’re finally getting a chance to write up our report from London.  

To all those who have been praying for us and waiting for this report, please forgive the delay.  As eager as we were to get this to you sooner, we both wanted and needed to invest the past 10 days in family – both spending time and processing things with our kids and seeing Georgia relatives we rarely get to see (on top of the daily life things that needed tending to, such as routine home and business tasks).  Thank you for your grace and patience.  🙂

So!  Without further delay, here is our report…  (If you haven’t already, please first read my thoughts on “missions” and if you’d also like our backstory leading up to this point, and ongoing updates after this report, click here.)

After two very full and productive days at a mastermind retreat for my business, we flew overnight Tuesday 9/17 from Newark (after a train ride up from Philly) and landed in London late mid-morning Wednesday 9/18.  Bryan Doyle, the UK field leader for Greater Europe Mission, met us at Heathrow Airport and took us to our “home base” (mostly just a place to sleep, shower, and leave our suitcase) for the trip – a century old establishment with strong missional roots called the Highbury Centre.

We took a few minutes to freshen up, then it was off to visit Kahaila, a coffee house and a church in one.  We had lunch with the pastor, Paul Unsworth, his wife Amy, and their 6 month old son Finley, and listened to their hearts as they shared successes and challenges they’ve faced during the first year of their ministry at Kahaila.  They shared their vision to use profits from the coffee shop to fund projects like a safe house for vulnerable women and more.  They also shared their vision for possibly launching a second location that would be more accessible for families.

After lunch we took the Tube to King’s Cross station, home of an outstanding sculpture depicting the recent history and diversity of London.  From there we went to the British Library, home to such historical treasures as Codex Sinaiticus and the original manuscript for Handel’s Messiah (having played in the orchestra for this many times, I got a bit choked up seeing that).  It was fun reviewing our British history with Bryan and seeing how much we could remember.

In the evening we returned to Kahaila for their weekly church gathering.  This is Wednesday nights since the traditional Sunday morning is the best day to engage with the tens of thousands that come to Brick Lane for the markets each week.  We saw a true community committed to growing in grace and seeking the Lord together.  Simplicity and genuineness were evident as worship was led by a guitarist and singer, and the sermon was a springboard for small group discussions around tables about life applications of the Scripture.

The next day started early with a ~150 mile drive north to Stourbridge, one of the midlands towns where you’ll find Growing Shoots.  Andy Hodson explained how he has sent off several leaders from his congregation to start their own churches and shared some of the personal challenges faced in continually sending leaders out instead of “keeping” them for himself and his work.

Thursday evening we had dinner with Andy Schofield and his wife Thomasin, members of a community called Matroyshka Haus, a diverse mix of folks ranging in perspectives and backgrounds, pursuing social change together in a variety of creative ways.  This particular couple has opened up their home to a number of immigrants who are remodeling their very old “new” house in exchange for the opportunity to stay there.

Friday we had breakfast with Bryan before he left to return to Texas, then let Stephen (and ourselves) get a good nap not on the go – the sweet little bub had been napping on me in the mei tai on the go for days.  In the early afternoon we headed over to the city center, walked through Westminster Abbey (where Fred was inspired to write in Poet’s Corner of course), then walked past No. 10 Downing Street and around Trafalgar Square.  We then jumped on the Tube to go visit Oasis Church and House at The Well and had dinner at a great little hole-in-the-wall crepe place a couple doors down.

Saturday was a restful day as we joined Andy Schofield and others from Matryoshka Haus for their third Good Brunch and had some very interesting discussions about new economies.  Then we stopped back at Kahaila for dinner and chatted more with a GEM intern named Sheryl about her experiences serving there before heading “home” to the Highbury Centre for a good night sleep.

Sunday we got up around 5:30 to finish packing and meet a 6:30 taxi outside which never came.  So we called another one and just had him take us straight to the airport instead of King’s Cross for the train to Heathrow.  After a long flight, a short train ride, and an even shorter car ride, we were welcomed back home by lots of hugs and energy from the “big 4” and were basically immediately thrown right back into the full swing of life with family, home, and business for a few days before our road trip to Georgia.

No doubt, everyone we met stole a piece of our hearts in a good way, and we definitely felt the Lord growing in us a love for the UK.  So what vision did we get for our future role with GEM in the UK?  Well, we’re working on putting together a presentation about that now.  So, we’re going to leave you with a bit of a cliff hanger.  😉

We leave again in just 10 days for another trip – this time for the Miessence leadership getaway in Fiji – but our hope and goal is to have the presentation complete before we go so that not too long after we get back the week of the 20th we can start working on sharing it with folks.

So stand by.  More news to come from the Swartz Family.  We pray that everything we do on this crazy adventure of life will point people to our amazing God who loves endlessly, guides perfectly, restores completely, and provides always – even if sometimes we have to wrestle with Him to understand how.  🙂

 

If you are not already on our “Missions Journey Updates” email list and would like to receive more frequent news, subscribe here.

The baby’s here!  Stephen John was born at 12:25 am on June 25th, at home, and weighing in at 8 lbs, 9 oz, and 20.5″ long.  🙂  Here’s the story, with a bit of back story first…

Our first four kiddos were all born in the local “baby factory” hospital.  I had epidurals for all four.  With #1 and #2, I had intentions of trying to “go natural” but opted for the drugs since the option was right in front of me and oh so tempting.

With #3, born in 2008, I honestly had the attitude of, “Well, I caved with the first two.  I’m just going to mentally plan to get the epidural this time around.  I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”  So, epidural it was.

With #4 in 2010, my OBs wanted me to plan for the epidural so I could “labor down” more gradually because of the brain injury my 3rd child sustained from a very fast birth (which is a whole ‘nother amazing God-story I should probably write about someday).  So, once again, epidural it was.

About half way through my pregnancy with #4, I met an amazing group of mamas, many of whom had had their babies at home – intentionally.  It was the first time I’d ever consciously realized that this was an option people chose, rather than it just happening accidentally.  I was so impressed and found myself open to the idea, but I was already pretty well down the road with our OBs (who had been my ob/gyns for years!) and didn’t want them to think I was “leaving” for anything having to do with them (I was happy with them and loved them as people, you know?).  Plus, I just don’t think I was really “there” or “ready” yet myself.

When we found out in September 2012 that we were expecting baby #5 (yes, totally welcomed, not an oops!), I knew I wanted to take the home birth journey this time around.  I was “there” and “ready” mentally, emotionally, spiritually…

My ever growing desire to 1) get closer and closer to my Creator in every way possible; 2) become increasingly less (one step at a time) dependent on man made systems; 3) empower especially my girls to know that they were amazingly designed to do this without fancy interventions (but to also be thankful for life saving medical advances if truly necessary in emergencies); and 4) get back in touch with myself on some deeper level physically, having always opted for the path with numbing anesthesia in the past…  There’s a lot of deep stuff there that I’m not sure I could communicate coherently at the moment, just a few weeks postpartum and a tad sleep deprived – not to mention limited on computer time.  🙂  But suffice it to say, I just knew this was the road I wanted to take this time around – and Fred was cool with it, too.  I was glad he didn’t think I was crazy.  We were both used to just living life as normal right up until it was time to go to the hospital, having everything done for us and very little to prep work to do, basically sleeping through labor until it was time to push, and then having what honestly felt to me like a 2-3 day vacation (I did not choose a home birth this time around because of any “bad experiences” with the hospital, it was more more philosophical and spiritual reasons)…  This would be a very different journey!

Thankfully, pregnancy was pretty uneventful.  And as you might imagine, life with 4 other kids, major changes in our future pending (preparing to move to England, hopefully in August 2014), and a growing business never once slowed down until the very end when I finally set my intentions firmly to slowing down.

I signed off line from work on June 8th to give myself a week to get everything ready for the home birth, since our due date was 6/14 and we still had some supplies to gather and a birth tub to figure out how to set up.  And I was really hoping the baby would come early, since #4 had been two days early.  So, we were pretty much ready to go by the beginning of that week – and the wait began.

Waiting, waiting, waiting…  Around the 41 week mark – as we began to wonder more and more not only when the baby would show up, but also whether this baby would be a boy or girl – we thought maybe we should finally decide on a boy name.

We had had a girl name picked out since our 3rd “girl” popped out with a penis…  Yes, they were wrong and we were surprised anyway that time around…  Lydia Grace turned out to be a boy instead and got the name Matthew Paul, for our grandfathers who had passed away at that point.  But we really had no idea what we’d name this baby if it were a boy.  With #4, we had gone through the alphabet, choose our favorite boy name for each letter, then narrowed it down to 5 names based on our usual biblical, name meanings, and/or family/life significance filters.  Then, we let the girls each pick a name.  Aubrie chose Andrew (the first disciple; manly) for the first name, and Ruthie chose Peter (the second disciple; rock; and Fred’s middle name) for the middle name.

So we thought, “Let’s just go back to that short list we had last time around.”  The names Stephen, John, and Daniel were left.  I also have “a thing” about the “flow” of the names being similar – two syllables, one syllable.  Though, yes, I know, I know…  Peter is not one syllable.  Fred likes to pick on me about that one.  But it’s short enough to count in my mind.  😉

We have a lot of significant Steve’s in the family – my father and uncle, and Fred’s uncle – plus we liked the symbolism from St Stephen, the first martyr, and being willing to lay one’s life down for the Lord and His glory.  Something about that seemed to resonate, particularly on the heels of Fred having just quit his teaching job to step out in faith and pursue with great intention our calling to serve overseas in the near future (but that’s also a whole ‘nother God-story – one which I need to type up soon!).  And then the middle name…  The name John is pretty “popular” back in Fred’s family line, and we especially like the juxtaposition of the first martyred saint with the saint they tried to martyr but couldn’t.  Something about ‘crown’ and ‘gentle’ – the meanings of Stephen and John – also seemed particularly special given the things God’s been working on in our personal baggage lately.

So now we had our possible names…  Lydia Grace or Stephen John.  Which one would it be?  We kept waiting…

Finally, Monday night the 24th we went to a poetry event that Fred frequents, and as we arrived, I noticed the slightest contraction.  But of course, I’d been waiting now for 10 days past our due date and really didn’t want to get my hopes up.  But the little contractions continued pretty consistently throughout the evening to the point where around 8:30, I called my mom to see if my mother-in-law could bring the boys over for a sleep over just in case.  The girls said they wanted to be home with us.  So off the boys went to my mom’s, and off home Fred, the girls, and I went, and I started more consciously timing the contractions so I could text my midwife, Christy, an update.

Around 9:30, I texted her that the contractions were maybe 3-4 minutes apart but not very strong yet.  “Keep me posted,” she said.

Around 10:40, I texted: “Definitely a bit stronger and longer, but nothing major yet.  Every 2-3 min…  Stopping to breathe through them, but still relatively short, maybe 30 seconds?”

11:35’s text: “Definitely getting more intense.  1.5-2 min apart.  Lasting 25-40 seconds ish?”

Christy was on her way over – about a 20 minute drive depending on the lights and traffic (which shouldn’t be bad at that time on a Monday night).

12:09’s text:  “ETA?  Felt slight urge to push on that last one.  But can hold off, but…”

Nope, wasn’t going to hold off!  Next contraction was very strong and waters broke!  Here we go!  Christy had called at this point to tell Fred she was just 5 minutes away.

Sure enough, she came rushing up the steps 5 minutes later (at 37 weeks pregnant herself – amazing woman!!), just in time to catch the baby, who was fully out and into his new world by 12:25.

A boy!  Stephen John it was after all!

What timing!!  What relief!  What joy!  Such amazing stuff – and just a bit messy, ha!  🙂

My eldest daughter (my tomboy) stumbled in half delirious shortly after the birth, said something to the effect of “Oh yay, it’s a boy,” and went promptly back to bed.  My #2 (total girlie girl) slept through the whole thing (somehow?!) and it took two tries to wake her to come see the baby (which she had asked us to do).  She saw him, said he was cute, and went right back to sleep.

Stephen and I spent the next hour snuggling and nursing, then we cut the cord to get everyone cleaned up and discovered that he’d had his first giant meconium poop all over me.  Lovely!  But hey – the upside was that I still had feeling in my legs and could get right up and into the shower – yay!

Stephen checked out to be in great shape.  Christy and Val brought me food and drink and cleaned up and were heading home by 3:30 or so…  It was so nice to just rest in our own bed with no hospital noises and interuptions…  Such a different and wonderful experience…

It’s funny.  Though at the time I know I was calling out to the Lord for strength and reminding myself in mantra fashion, “I know why I’m doing this…” pretty intensely, I looked back just 5 minutes later and thought, “Wow, that wasn’t so bad!”

We are SO thankful that all went smoothly – especially since we know there is never any guarantee in life other than the Lord loving and guiding us through whatever may come our way, good or bad.

I’m sure there is more I could say about the “deeper stuff” of this birth experience, but for now, it’s taken me long enough to get just some of the basic story typed up – and I really want to get back off my computer.  So for now, there it is – our home birth story.

Many thanks to the inspirational mamas of the West Jersey/Philly chapter of Holistic Moms, and in particular Sarah Outlaw and Erika Zane.  An extra special thank you to Christy, Val, and Asasiya – the most awesome midwives ever!  A big thank you also to my Miessence colleagues who have kept things running for our business team during my babymoon – to the point even of blessing me with a promotion in June while I personally did very little.  A huge thank you of course to my amazing husband, who was/is an incredible support and totally awesome during the labor and birth except for when he stepped on my foot in the middle of a contraction – I can look back on that and laugh now.  🙂  Thank you also to my 4 wonderful older kids – such great big sisters and brothers… I love you each so very much!  And of course, the biggest thanks of all goes to my amazing Creator, Savior, and Lord…

“With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man.”

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Enter the giveaway below.

We hope you enjoyed the “Probiotics: Because Disease Begins in the Gut” teleseminar with Czerral and co-hosted by myself and Adrienne from Whole New Mom on 5/30/13.

If you missed it live, but were registered for the call ahead of time, you will receive (or should have received) the recording by email on Friday morning, 5/31/13.

If you were not registered for the call and would like to listen to the recording, you may still request the recording.  Whole New Mom readers, please request it here.  Everyone else, please request it using the “Read Your Labels” form to the right (you’ll get access to all my free resources, including this recording).

Enter the giveaway below to win a free tub of InLiven Probiotic Superfoods or free bottle of Fast Tract Liquid Probiotic Drink. 🙂

Note 1 – Questions about InLiven or Fast Tract?  Please visit this FAQ page I set up to help cut down on some of my email consulting work as I prep for my upcoming home birth (any day now).

Note 2 – We sincerely hope the teleseminar is helpful to everyone, whether interested in these particular products or not.  For those who would like to try InLiven or Fast Tract, when you request the recording using one of the links above, you will also receive information on a special promo code just for teleseminar listeners to save 20% on your order (if you were pre-registered for the teleseminar, please refer to the email you received after the call with the promo code).  Whole New Mom readers please order here; everyone else, please order here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As an increasing number of companies begin to more carefully consider their global environmental impacts, we see at least four logistical areas of business enter the discussion: materials, packaging, manufacturing, and shipping.

Since I discuss raw materials and ingredients pretty frequently, I’m just going to summarize this piece quickly: organically grown, renewably-sourced raw materials have the greatest potential to work in harmony with creation’s sustainable provision for us.  Agrochemicals, GMOs, and such do not.  For a great overview, check out this video.

But what about the other three logistical matters?  For today, let’s discuss packaging, using the example of personal care product packaging in general and Miessence in particular.

I’m always a bit shocked by the many product brands claiming “natural” and “green” but then come in non-recyclable or toxic packaging – and often in extra boxes wrapped in cellophane!

Miessence’s founding director and product formulator, Narelle Chenery, spent extensive time researching appropriate packaging for her range of certified organic products.

After examining glass, Narelle learned that it has an extremely high end-to-end cost. Although plastic is not a perfect solution either, more energy and resources are required to make glass packaging than it does to make plastic.  For more details, see the “read more” link below.

However, not surprisingly, the right sort of plastic is critical.  Many plastics contain bisphenol A, a chemical produced in the production of polycarbonate plastics, associated with endocrine disruption, and linked to asthma.  Because not all plastics are created equal, Miessence uses non-leaching, fully-recyclable polypropylene, a more environmentally-friendly form of plastic.

What about the new bio-plastics, made from plants?  Unfortunately, these are almost always made from GMO corn, which is something Miessence cannot in good conscience support.  If you are not yet aware of the long-term environmental dangers of GMO crops, check out The Future of Food – or for info on their more immediate health dangers, check out Genetic Roulette.

So for now, vacuum-pumped, non-leaching plastic keeps Narelle’s freshly made (every month), certified organic products in their potent condition. Since Miessence uses no preservatives, the 100% active ingredients could suffer accelerated oxidation if repeatedly exposed to air.  The polypropylene packaging ensures that every last drop of your product is 100% pure, 100% active and 100% fresh, while also being 100% fully recyclable once empty.

And Narelle is always on the lookout for viable ways to reduce environmental packaging burdens even further.  Her goal is to someday have compostable packaging that functions well enough to both protect and fully dispense (i.e., not waste) its precious contents.

READ MORE: Surprising Facts on Glass vs. Plastic

I probably don’t have to tell this community of readers that “natural” is basically a meaningless word in most marketing claims these days.  It can mean anything from synthetically derived chemicals to genetically modified foods – neither of which I would consider natural.  And when you cross over from the food world to the personal care world, the term is even more loosely used.

But what about organic?

In the food world, organic claims are regulated, although there are an increasing number of issues with the USDA National Organic Program, for sure (which makes me all the more grateful to know and trust Narelle Chenery personally and know that her products are certified to the more stringent Australian organic standards).

But in the personal care world, organic claims are NOT regulated – and consequently subtly misleading, as well as blatantly greenwashed claims abound.

Did you know that there are multiple, manufacturer-made standards vying to become “the” organic standard for personal care and cosmetic products?  And that they all allow ingredients and processing methods that are not allowed in organic food standards?

Here are just a few “catch phrases” of which to be mindful.  Sure, everyone needs a quick and simple way to describe products for first impressions, but buyer beware!  You must ask more questions and dig.

Brand names such as “So-and-So Organics” or claims of “Made with Organic Ingredients” – Often means they use some organic ingredients, but they may also use other toxic synthetic ingredients.

Eco-cert Compliant – Considered the most lenient of the competing cosmetic standards, only 10% of a total product formulation is required to be certified organic (to the food standards) in order to claim that a finished product is “certified organic” by Eco-Cert.  An “Eco-cert compliant” ingredient is anything that could not actually be certified organic by itself but is allowed in an Eco-cert approved product.

“100% Certified Organic Ingredients” – In the food world, this would mean that 100% of the finished product formulation is certified organic, not just some of the ingredients.  In the personal care world, it is often manipulated to imply this same total product percentage, but can actually mean that only that the ingredients that happen to be certified organic are “100% certified” – as if they could be somehow partially certified!  Do you see the subtle twist on words and meaning?  Any given ingredient is either certified or not – there is no 60% certified.  Likewise, finished products are either certified or they’re not to various percentages (such as the 100% or 95% standards in the food standards).  This phrase is intended to make you think that 100% of the ingredients, and thus the total formulation, are/is certified organic, when all it really means is that the certified ingredients are certified.

If you want a truly organic (truly natural) product, then the bottom line is this: Whenever you see any organic, or even “certified organic” claim, you really have to ask “certified by whom, to what standards exactly, why, and how?”  The company or representative should be forthcoming and logical in the explanation of their standards and usage of terminology.

And then, be sure to read the ingredient labels to make sure everything matches up with what you’re told.

One of the things that most impressed me about Miessence when I first found them in 2010 was their transparency, commitment to education, and the fact that they used these words the way I do as a customer, not the way the industry does as manufacturers.  I loved that!

For a short but excellent discussion on the terms “natural” and “organic” in the personal care industry, check out the first video here.  And for a quick overview explanation of exactly which products in the Miessence range are certified to which standards and why, check out the second video here (note: Narelle has also added a dish concentrate to the line since this video came out, which does use one green chemistry, non-toxic, renewably sourced synthetic ingredient to tackle tough dish grease).

Guest post by Erin Demory

The concept of sustainability is best defined simply as “meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  In honor of Earth Day this month, here are some tips for creating a more sustainable home. It is always good to learn new ways to reduce our consumption and burden on the earth, and also to review more common practices that regularly reminded us of the importance of our commitment on this journey together.

Yard and Garden: A garden is a great family project. It puts fresh food on the table and helps reduce the amount you need to buy at the grocery, cutting down on transportation which uses fuel and creates pollution. Growing it yourself is healthier, more economical, and fun!   Instead of sending more to the landfill, start a compost pile or bin with leaves, yard debris, and food waste. Over time and with proper care, you will be rewarded with fertile compost for your garden. Rain barrels are a wonderful way to conserve water. They collect runoff rainwater which can be used at a later time, especially in the yard, garden, for washing cars, pets, and dirty little feet after playtime.

Sustainable Inside: Inside the house, consider water saving shower heads, low flow toilets, and water efficient appliances. Sometimes just fixing leaky pipes can save thousands of gallons of water. When it is time to replace appliances, consider more energy efficient models. Hanging clothes to dry can save energy and money on your electric bill, and it can be fun for little helpers! Save energy and money by weather-stripping windows and finding ways to let natural light in during the winter and shade in during the summer (skylights or landscaping around the house with deciduous trees).

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle: In the reduce, reuse, recycle triangle, recycling is actually the least desirable action item. It is much better than adding trash to the landfill, but reusing items that still have some life in them is much better for the environment, and finding ways to reduce your consumption is even better.

Make Wiser Purchasing Choices: There are more sustainable products on the shelves every day. Look for products you can reuse and are less of a burden on the environment. Examples: Glass water bottles and re-usable lunch containers, recycled paper products, rechargeable batteries, products made from renewable materials, and cloth diapers.

Non-toxic household cleaners: Chemical cleaners, and even many “natural” cleaners contain synthetics which go down our drains and into the water supply. Some are persistent, carcinogenic, and toxic and can accumulate in the environment and be dangerous to animals and people. Consider DIY cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, lemon juice, etc…or go with a trusted brand of organic cleaners, such as the Miessence MiEnviron products.

Non-toxic body products: As with the above mentioned cleaners, many body care products on the market contain harmful chemicals. Of the 10,000+ ingredients on the market which are used in body care products, 89% have not been well tested for safety and many are known environmental toxins. Sometimes deciphering what is truly safe and eco-friendly can be tricky due to greenwashing and the lack of regulation in the market. Just reach out to your Miessence Representative who will be happy to assist.

Eat organic: Organic food is a better choice for our bodies and the Earth. Organic food production has been around for thousands of years and is the sustainable choice for the future. Modern agricultural practices are typically destructive to the environment through widespread use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers and have resulted in drastic environmental damage in many parts of the world.

Get Involved: Many cities have a sustainability institute or local non-profit organization promoting  sustainably awareness and programs. Reach out and get involved with your local group to meet other like-minded folks and learn more ways to create a more sustainable lifestyle and home.

Happy Earth Day Everyone!