the important stuff

For some people choosing organic is not an option because of availability or budget and until the real costs of "conventional" food production and distribution are added into the prices of items on the shelves, organic can seem to be a choice of secondary importance for the individual. Plus, really choosing a healthier for your body and the planet lifestyle is more than food. It is your soap, your sheets, your pans, your toothpaste, your jeans, your christmas gifts, and on and on. Such a change to simply live more naturally in our modern made in China cities can seem impossible (how does a poor twenty-something pull a lifestyle overhaul?). When I first thought about it, I wallowed in "what-is-the-point" depression and consumer guilt for the better part of a week. Sometimes the feeling still hits me. Connor knows this very well.

What I'm doing (and therefore "we" are doing, you're welcome Con) is a transition. When I am done with something, I replace it with the not-evil version. The food was the first to change since groceries go so fast. Next was the soap (then the laundry soap and dish soap), the Teflon pans (replaced by glazed ceramic), the bakeware, the shower curtains and the sheets. There is still a lot to do but this way I don't have any major budget crises and our choices support the farmers and companies that are producing an honest product.


In the unlikely event that a boy is reading this post (yes, I am aware I write a more female-focused blog), stop reading now.


So you buy organic food, awesome. You eat food every day so that is a big deal and I'm proud of you. Now what about that thing you do once a month. Periods = tampons. Many years ago I started buying O.B. to cut down on packaging waste but I didn't even THINK about organic until I found some in a London Drugs in Kelowna two years ago. Consider, once a month you use a product that is grown with pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals, possibly combined with rayon, definitely cleaned with chlorine and bleach and you shove it into your body. Over and over. For four or five days at a time. I completely freaked out.

Natracare organic cotton tampons are made by a UK company called Bodywise. The tampons themselves are made in Germany. They are only a dollar or two more than evil tampons. As far as my on foot research has revealed, only London Drugs carries them in BC. So, switch. Or just buy a Diva Cup.

Image from Google Images.