Home » Going clean just got easy
Many of you My Green Pod readers will know our mission is to help you find the most ethical, natural products and make easy switches that, together, could save the planet.
Going clean just got a lot easier, because we’ve decided to take our mission to a whole new level.
We’ve launched a crowdfunder to help raise money for a monthly subscription box packed with amazing clean products that won’t damage you, your children or the planet. We want them to arrive through the post when you need them, at a substantially reduced price due to the orders of magnitude we’re hoping to handle.
You can get a taste of these Clean Starter Packs in the rewards section of the crowdfunder page, where you can buy a range of Clean Living Starter Packs for £25 – all while supporting our mission to get this subscription service off the ground. A win for us, you and the planet!
We know from your great feedback and our 10 years’ experience in this sector that price is a barrier preventing clean products from going mainstream. We want to send the affordability dilemma packing, and give you the chance to buy 100% natural alternatives at rates that are competitive with mainstream options commonly found on the high street.
To kick things off we’ve teamed up with three companies that we consider to be the most ethical in their respective sectors.
They are clean beauty pioneer Weleda, organic hair pioneer Tabitha James Kraan and toxin-free cleaning champion Tincture London. Their products have been crowned Heroes on MyGreenPod.com, which means we haven’t been able to find more effective, ethical, natural products on the market.
Each of the Starter Packs below is a reward for donating £25 to our crowdfunder campaign, which means you’re getting sets of products at up to 50% off.
Other rewards are available for less money, such as a pair of plastic-free reusable coffee cups from Huskup, which are made from the humble rice husk (value £21.90) for £15. You can alternatively opt to plant some trees in the tropics, or just contribute what you can for no reward beyond the feel-good factor of knowing you’re helping to change the world for the better.
CLEAN HAIR STARTER PACK, £25
Supplied by Tabitha James Kraan
Contents:
Tabitha James Kraan Clean Shampoo in Amber Rose or Golden Citrus, 250ml (RRP £25); Tabitha James Kraan Amber Rose or Golden Citrus 4-in-1 Conditioner, 165ml (RRP £25).
Total value: £50
CLEAN HOME STARTER PACK, £25
Supplied by Tincture London
Contents:
All Purpose Tincture (RRP £4.99); Washing Up Tincture (RRP £4.99); Bathroom Tincture (RRP £4.99); Glass Mirror Steel Tincture (RRP £4.99); Floor Concentrate Tincture (RRP £6.99); Furniture Tincture (RRP £7.99), in beautiful refillable bottles.
Total value: £34.94
CLEAN BEAUTY STARTER PACK (WOMEN’S), £25
Supplied by Weleda
Contents:
Pomegranate Deodorant (RRP £7.95); Ratanhia Toothpaste (RRP £4.95); Citrus Creamy Body Wash (RRP £7.95); Skin Food Light 30ml (RRP £7.95); Almond Soothing Facial Cream (RRP £17.95).
Total value: £46.75
CLEAN BEAUTY STARTER PACK (MEN’S), £25
Supplied by Weleda
Contents:
Men’s Deodorant (RRP £7.95); Ratanhia Toothpaste (RRP £4.95); Men’s Shower Gel (RRP £7.95); Skin Food Original 30ml (RRP £7.95); Moisture Cream for Men (RRP £17.95).
Total value: £46.75
CLEAN BEAUTY STARTER PACK (KIDS’), £25
Supplied by Weleda
Contents:
Calendula Shampoo & Body Wash (RRP £7.95); Child’s Tooth Gel (RRP £3.95); Calendula Nappy Change Cream (RRP £7.25); Calendula Body Lotion (RRP £10.95); Edelweiss Sun Cream SPF50 30ml (RRP £13.95).
Total value: £44.05
Click here to support our crowdfunder and bag your reward for being an eco warrior
While personal care products were once made in the field using simple formulations that biodegraded, they’re now made in the lab.
The foaming agents in toothpastes and aluminium salts in anti-perspirants are just two of the hidden ingredients that contribute to a toxic soup in our bodies. The skin is our largest – and perhaps most overlooked – organ, and about 60% of anything you put on it gets absorbed into your body and ends up in your system.
Research from the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) reveals that every day, 12.2 million adults – one in every 13 women and one in every 23 men – are exposed to ingredients that are known or probable human carcinogens through the personal care products they use.
In fact, the daily personal care routine of almost all women (94%) leads to a potential exposure to the carcinogenic impurity hydroquinone.
The cocktail of chemicals we scrub into our skin isn’t just bad for our health – it ends up being washed down the plughole and flushed into our water systems, where it affects marine life and ecosystems.
Mainstream cosmetics companies have a history of banning a harmful ingredient that has fallen out of favour with the public – such as silicone or microbeads – and replacing it with another that’s equally damaging but less known. For this reason the vast majority of mainstream beauty and cosmetics products contain synthetic polymers – ‘liquid plastics’ – that coat your skin and are washed off into the ocean.
In contrast, each product from Weleda is formulated on anthroposophic principles, supporting your body’s innate ability to heal and replenish itself without becoming dependent on chemical fixes. For added reassurance, every single one of Weleda’s natural and organic cosmetics has been certified by NATRUE.
Get your Clean Beauty Starter Pack (£25) from Weleda here
Those synthetic polymers are equally prevalent in the haircare industry, where they’re used to create a glossy, shiny finish for your hair. The problem is, this liquid plastic coating gets washed off as soon as you take a shower, meaning you can only get that shimmering sheen again by buying more product (the manufacturers aren’t silly).
The hair industry is famed for its use of chemicals, which wreak havoc on the scalp. They’re loaded with SLS, perfume, silicones, detergents and many other unpleasant ingredients, all to sell a lie about what we’re supposed to look like. Enough is enough: no bounce or shine is worth polluting your body over, and no sea creature wants plastic soup for dinner.
Tabitha James Kraan is a pioneer of organic haircare, and we don’t believe any better hair products exist on the market. They’re luxurious, indulgent and ritualistic – and somehow deliver the action of a chemical detergent with products that are truly natural (as opposed to ‘nature identical’) and certified Cosmos Organic by the Soil Association.
In a refreshing approach to business, Tabitha – a hair artist with an award-winning salon in the Cotswolds – recommends using less product and giving your hair and scalp time to find its own balance. Reducing the frequency of hair washes allows your own natural sebum to work its magic.
As with clean beauty products, if you use them correctly as part of a clean lifestyle, you’ll get through less of the product when compared with a synthetic alternative, so the cost comparisons don’t really stack up.
Get your Clean Hair Starter Pack (£25) from Tabitha James Kraan here
Awareness of our outdoor air quality is on the rise, but not so many people are talking about the fumes we breathe at home.
We spend about 90% of our time inside, yet according to the Environmental Protection Agency the air inside a typical house, school or workplace is two to five times more polluted than the air directly outside.
Toxic household products – from cleaners and plug-ins to room sprays – all add to the cocktail of chemicals inside your home.
It’s not easy to find truly natural household cleaning products, as ingredients such as phenoxyethanol can be naturally derived and synthetically produced. In both cases its use is linked to eczema and severe skin inflammation.
Another ingredient to avoid is benzisothiazolinone, which is an immune system toxicant and an irritant for skin, lungs and eyes. So why is it in ‘eco’ products? Because it has been classified as biodegradable under the ‘eco’ labelling rules.
In her quest to create a range of affordable, 100% natural products, Angelika Davenport (Tincture London’s founder) looked to ancient monastic wisdom for a steer from the pioneers of modern plant-based medicine.
She looked at all the herbal ingredients used to treat the sick and prevent the spread of disease and incorporated a blend into Tincture’s natural raw material base, to enhance not only the product performance but also our wellbeing and health.
Today volumes of scientific evidence support the active properties of many of the botanical ingredients used in medieval times. Some active essential oils are known to have a number of healing and cleansing qualities, from antibacterial and antiseptic to deodorising and antidepressant properties.
Get your Clean Home Starter Pack (£25) from Tincture London here
By switching to clean products, you would help to speed up the change that is already underway – the conscious shift that might just save the world.
Click here to support our crowdfunder and bag your reward for being an eco warrior.
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