Kelly Ripa Green Ideas Swap Live Podcast 04/13/2010

This is taken from Ecofabulous.com

"On April 13th at 1pm EST (10am PST), Zem will join Josie Maran, mastermind behind the Josie Maran cosmetic line, and Anna Getty, greenliving and holistic lifestyle expert, in a live webcast hosted on kelly-confidential.com and facebook, by the beautiful Kelly Ripa herself. In support of Earth Day and Global Green, Kelly will take questions from the live web audience and swap green ideas with Zem, Josie and Anna. RSVP for this special event and start getting your list of questions ready!

The “Green Idea Swap” will continue after the webcast. Each timesomeone shares an eco tip at kelly-confidential.com, Electrolux (themakers of some very ecofabulous energy star appliances) will donate $1to Global Green,a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering aglobal shift towarda sustainable and secure future. Plus, when youshare an eco-tip you’llbe automatically entered to win eco-friendlyKelly Green laundry from Electrolux."

Please join me, Anna Getty, Josie Maran and Zem Joaquin for this fun event. RSVP here:

http://green.kelly-confidential.com/

Best,

Anna

It's exciting to see companies being led by individuals whose focus on their business model is holistic and not just about making a ton of money on a trend. It's also exciting that a male run company is so focused on uplifting women. I believe more companies will continue to embrace social, moral, ethical and sustainable practices as building blocks for success. Did I mention the beverages taste delicious and some are zero calorie sweetened with stevia? A plus for those with children addicted to soda pop. Soon they are coming out with a kids beverage as well. I did receive some product from Steaz but no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here are my own. Please verify any product claim, statistic, quote or representation with Steaz.

Nicobella Chocolates (nicobellaorganics.com) won my heart with their Pumpkin Chai truffle. I actually first came across them a few months ago at a green event and stuffed my face with her samples. Not sure if my nursing son appreciated that. Anyway, the chocolates are organic, vegan and fair trade and the packaging is made from sustainably harvested FSC certified trees. The small company is run by Nicole Dandrea and was recently featured on Daily Candy.

Lastly as a former fashionista I was thrilled to connect with the people from Livity Outernational,www.livity.org whose line of hats, shoes, clothing and accessories spice up my mommy wardrobe with cool fabrics made from hemp, recycled plastic bottles (their POWERFLEECE is a blend of the aforementioned), organic cotton and straw. Although many of their products are made in China they reminded me that we cannot shun China, that they too need to learn about manufacturing sustainably. They also partner with artisans in Ghana, Jamaica and Ecuador. I especially LOVE their fedoras. They totally put the eco in "econista."

My mission to keep my home pure and toxin-free is not only to benefit India’s health, but for the benefit of my husband and myself. Our home is shoeless (to keep out the street dirt) and we use air purifiers. It may sound like we live in a glass box but I assure you we don’t. But as we live in one of the most polluted cities in this country, I leave no stone unturned when it comes to my child’s health. I stand by that.

Last year India started pre-school. I was forced to relinquish my dominion over what my daughter came into contact with, as hard as that was. This year she joined in some of the after school programs, one of which is a drama-type class where she gets to act out her fairy fantasies. Her dream come true! Sure beats time with a babysitter.

However, she was coming home with smelly glitter on her arm, a little fairy princess kiss. And I will be honest, I tried to ignore it. I thought, what’s the big deal, it’s only once a week? Filled with excitement, she would show me the pink sparkles and begged me to sniff the intensely artificial fruity aroma coming off of her sweet little arm. But I knew in the core of my being that whatever was being used was toxic.

After 3 classes, I decided that was it, I would write her teacher, Queen Laura, an email. My impulse was to rant and rave. Shouldn’t she know better? Shouldn’t she know about the threats to our children’s vulnerable immune systems?

But I decided to take the soft approach. I did not want to undermine this young woman by making her feel bad or ignorant. I let her know about my involvement with Healthy Child Healthy World, and explained that many children’s personal care and make-up products (did I just write that?) are laden with chemicals. I requested the ingredient list of the sparkly smelly product and assured her that if the product was toxic, we would work together to find an alternative. I wanted her to feel respected and empowered by the email.

About a week later she emailed me with a long ingredient list that looked like it belonged on the label of a can of roach killer. Indeed, the product was filled with numerous parabens, fragrances, dyes 1, 4 and 6, and a host of other dangerous carcinogens. Ladies and gentlemen, this glitter fragrance is designed to be rolled across our children’s skin!

Queen Laura was very grateful that I spoke up, and open to making changes. She was completely stunned that the products she had been using were toxic and dangerous. We came up with a homemade solution and she ran with it. Now she is even thinking about starting a business of non-toxic glitter products for children, and she has asked me to advise her on it. So cool!

So, this was a win-win situation for everybody. My lesson was that standing up for my beliefs in a supportive and non-confrontational way encourages small changes that have a big impact. People are really ready and willing to change, sometimes they just need a little guidance and encouragement.

This blog was featured on Healthychild.org October 28, 2008