Consumers who want to move to more environmentally friendly beauty produces – whether because they want to ensure that they are biodegradable as well as kinder to their skin are now scrutinising ingredient lists more carefully (though they’ll need a magnifying glass for some!). Several companies making beauty products are trying to jump on the “green” bandwagon and respond for increasing demand for organic and natural makeup and body and hair care products by writing eco-friendly phrases into descriptions of their products.
Organic ingredients have to be untreated and natural products need to have natural ingredients: the ingredients have to be present in or produced by nature, and have the minimum of physical processing. They have to be grown and not produced synthetically and should not include genetically modified ingredients.
This is an ideal that is rarely reached, though more and more companies are now producing “natural” ranges with a much higher proportion of natural ingredients though they may have up to half of their ingredients from a synthetic source.
Some beauty products, such as perfumes, are made from a selection of chemicals and cannot (or at least are not yet) be a natural product.
It is easy enough to spot natural ingredients in a contents list – jojoba oil and aloe vera are obviously from plants. However, to be natural ingredients should really be produced by the minimum of physical processing or extracted using very simple methods. The distillation used to extract, say, lavender essential oils, could be said to involve some chemical change, and other processes may alter the chemical composition in a significant way.
The best way to be sure that you are buying a natural beauty product to benefit your skin and hair then go for product ranges of trusted companies after checking the ingredient list!

There are literally hundreds of eco friendly gift ideas with gifts that are either made from recycled materials or biodegradable materials ( remember that all clothes made 100% natural materials such as cotton or wool are biodegradable).
Just a quick peek around will show you how you can switch your gift buying to environmentally friendly materials. Many are different, trendy and quirky and prices tend to be very reasonable too.

Just a few available include many of these at under £5
•    Wind up torches (some like animals or birds)
•    Wind up eco radios
•    Wind up toy microphones
•    Water powered clock
•    Water powered shower radio
•    Solar torch
•    Solar mobile phone charger
•    Low energy night light
•    Duck shower timer
•    Bamboo notebooks
•    Bamboo socks
•    A recycled mini circuit board keyring (for techie geeks)
•    Recycled tin wind-up toys
•    Tree in a bag
•    Herbs in a board pot
•    Summer garden seed

There are also a whole range of gifts where you buy something in your friend’s name to benefit the planet or help other people. These include such things as planting a tree, providing water for a village, buying an animal or medical service.

Not only will you feel positive about benefiting the planet however small your eco friendly gift is, but also you will be spreading awareness to the recipients. Children particularly will appreciate the need for planet-supporting and energy-reducing gifts.

More and more concern is being expressed about the amount of packaging being used on many goods. There are often layers and layers of different materials that are currently the main items of bob-recyclable rubbish that has to go into landfill. There are a number of different types of eco friendly packaging and consumers should be writing to their supermarket chains and asking them to use more of them.
Eco Friendly or Environmentally Friendly packaging causes far less damage to the environment. Packaging is of three different types:

•    Reusable packaging which are materials that can be cleaned and re-used. For example, glass milk bottles are reused, and carrier bags made from plastic that is non-degradable SHOULD be reused many times. However, shopping bags made from natural materials such as cotton or jute are even better as they are biodegradable as well as being reusable.
•    Recyclable packaging is made of materials that can be used again, usually after processing. Recyclable materials include glass such as glass bottles, metal such as drink cans, card and paper. Eco friendly recycled packaging includes such things as PET plastic cups, compressed paper and board cartons.
•    Biodegradable packaging will easily break down in the soil or the atmosphere. All kinds of different biodegradable packaging are now available such as PLA bioplastic, paperboard and sugar bagasse containers, palm leaf and bamboo containers. We can expect that new types of such packaging will become available and eventually become much cheaper.

Cleaning your house without using any cleaning products whatsoever? I use no cleaning products for much  of my cleaning and not only is my house cleaner, but also is not accumulating week by week another load of chemicals which may not ever disappear. I am not a person who jumps at the newest technical marvel and do not easily fall for marketingese. I did, though find myself impressed enough with publicity about steam cleaners to check out the range of equipment.
The steam cleaner I bought is just brilliant and I use it to clean:
•    The bathroom, including those cracks and creases around the taps and bottom of the shower. Dirt just washes away with the steam.
•    The kitchen including the outside of the microwave and cooking hob, oven splash back and cooker hood. Grease and stuck on yuccy stuff loosens and comes off easily
•    Conservatories – windows, window frames, doors and the wooden floor came up sparkling!
•    With the attachments I clean the chairs and sofa, the curtains and the carpets. No chemicals but the dirt comes off beautifully. It also will kill unwanted anythings crawling in your carpets and furniture after your pets have brought home little friends.
The steam also disinfects everywhere I clean so I also use the steam cleaner for
•    Going over the mattress, duvet, pillows and bedding  to kill dust mites (no spraying chemicals to breathe in)
One major benefit is how quick this equipment is to use, so even though it is using electricity that cleaners don’t, it is not for long, and it doesn’t leave an unpleasant residue when I’ve finished. After cleaning the house isn’t perfumed, it is just clean.
Used together with my vacuum with a hepa  filter my house has become so much more eco friendly  and much cleaner. My nephew who suffers from hayfever and asthma no longer sneezes when coming through the door.

More and more people are becoming environmentally aware and wish to shift their buying choices to be more natural and eco-friendly. This is not just for some doing-good feeling (though it does have this effect) but because they believe that these products will be kinder to their skin, cause fewer allergies and skin conditions and not load their bodies with chemicals that have unknown long-term effects.
Some companies are increasingly guilty of what is being called “greenwash” where they use words to indicate green and “natural” credentials and so associate their products with a positive and popular trend.
The following language may not be what you think:
•    Contains organic ingredients (and what else?)
•    Contains natural ingredients
•    Made with non-toxic ingredients (but may well be synthetic)
•    Earth-friendly (What does this mean?)
•    Environmentally safer (Than what?)
•    Vegan (?)
•    Cruelty-free (Chemicals can be cruelty free)
Check the ingredient list –if the product contains any of the following it can’t be termed as “Natural”
•    Petrochemicals – any kinds of alcohol, isopropyl, methyl  ethyl or butyl or the terms isopropanol etc.
•    Sodium Lauryl Sulphate –used in shampoos etc
•    Propylene glycol and ethylene glycol – used in all kinds of products
•    Formaldehyde and paraben preservatives
•    Synthetic dyes – usually with an E number, or there are other colour additives
•    Artificial fragrances – most perfumes and colognes are not made from natural ingredients
Such substances may be well tested and safe, and have a particular usefulness in some products. However, the point is that products that contain them cannot be truthfully labelled as “natural” as such products must be from a grown not synthetic source.