Freeze until you need!

Did you know you can freeze some of our products until you need them?

As you know, we don't use any preservatives in our products. This is great for people allergic to preservatives, for those who suffer from cancer, or for those wanting the purest products they can get, but the downside is that the shelf life is reduced.

Many of the lotions, creams and other body care products you buy in the supermarket have enough preservatives in them to give them a shelf life of at least two, and possibly five, years.

It makes sense - especially at a time we have a sale on - to buy your moisturisers, for instance, and freeze until you need them.

Just pop them into the freezer for two hours and they'll be frozen solid.

When ready to use, take out, thaw slowly in a warm room, and use as required.

I would not recommend keeping in the freezer for more than 3-6 months, and once opened I would recommend using within a month.

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The death of aerosols

I wonder if any of you remember the horrific news stories about the damage that aerosols were doing to the ozone layer? I do. It may surprise you to learn that it was On 23 January 1978 that  Sweden banned aerosol sprays.  It  was the first country to do so and, I'm glad to say, things have moved on a fair bit since then.

But, although aerosols with their dangerous propellents have disappeared, the contents of the sprays rather than the carriers they use have not changed that much. I remember when no-one thought twice about zapping flies with ten-second bursts of fly spray, regardless of the insecticide, and even today insect sprays still contain damaging ingredients that can harm not only humans and animals that breathe them in but also the surfaces they touch.

In our field of work, it's the deodorants that concern me. Well-known brands of antiperspirants (still using the good old spray can) contain nasties like paragons and chemicals that stop the natural process of perspiring or sweating. Young people in particular seem to have a need to use mountains of the stuff and take no heed of the harm these antiperspirants do to their skin.

We all need to get rid of toxins, and sweating (perspiring) is the natural way for the skin to rid itself of toxins. Deodorants, however, seek not to stop the action of perspiring but to lessen the odour of the sweat which, in our modern civilisation, we regard as bad.

The use of essential oils in natural deodorants also should be viewed as a benefit. These essential oils act as anti-bacterials and anti-inflammatories, so helping to lessen the risk of harmful infection taking root under the arms or in other places.

So, when choosing a deodorant, consider the benefits to your skin and the fact that they are helping your odd perform what is, after all, a normal function.

Was this tip helpful? Please do let us have your comments.

Lots of interesting news again from the Soil Association

I make no apology for pointing readers to the Soil Assoiation's Daily News again. Lots to read about, all of interest.

bToday's news:

 

"The university has a history of achieving awards and playing a pioneering role in sustainable issues. Now students can be sure that food isn't just freshly
prepared using quality
ingredients, but is also supporting the local economy and higher standards of animal welfare."
Ian Macaulay, assistant director for catering at Edinburgh University
Scotsman online (22 Jan)

"The world has enough food so why do 870 million people go hungry?": 100 charities join forces to tackle world hunger
The launch of the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign, which is open to the public in several UK cities, will be attended by more than 1,000 campaign supporters.
The Mirror (23 Jan)
The Soil Association has joined the campaign. Find out why from Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association and add your voice here

University lands top food award
Edinburgh University has landed a prestigious award for food served to students at its main halls of residence. It has become the first Scottish university to land the bronze Food for Life Catering Mark for the quality of the 24,000 meals dished up to 2000 students every week at Pollock Halls.
Scotsman online (22 Jan)
Find out more about Food For Life in Scotland here

Four out of five people have not heard of green deal, poll finds
Four out of five people have not heard of the UK government's flagship programme to transform the energy efficiency of 14m homes, just days before it launches, according to a YouGov poll.
The Guardian (23 Jan)

Europe 'has failed to learn from environmental disasters'
Europe has failed to learn the lessons from many environmental and health disasters like Chernobyl, leaded petrol and DDT insecticides, and is now ignoring warnings about bee deaths, GM food and nanotechnology, according to an 800-page report by the European Environment Agency.
The Guardian online (23 Jan)

UN and partners launch global campaign to reduce food waste
Consumers, food retailers and governments can take simple actions to dramatically reduce some 1.3 million tons of food waste every year, according to a new campaign launched today by the United Nations and its partners.
United Nations News Centre (22 Jan)

Forestry Commission appoints planning and infrastructure chief as its new director
Ian Gambles, former director of national infrastructure at the Planning Inspectorate, said he would champion a stronger woodland culture and ensure his team would ramp up its emphasis on the green economy.
Horticulture Week (16 Jan)

French stench hits southern England after gas leak
Households in Kent awoke to the stench of rotten eggs, cabbage and garlic wafting across the channel yesterday after the accidental release of a cloud of mercaptan gas from a factory in Rouen.
The Telegraph (22 Jan)

Landslide blamed on 'river of fat' leaves dozens of homes at risk
Dozens of cliff-top homes are at risk after a landslide that residents have blamed on leaks from a pipe carrying waste from a frozen food factory.
The Telegraph (22 Jan)

'Cow power' turning turns manure and food waste into electricity in England
Waste from the cows and food products are used to produce gas to power electric generators in a city in England, it has been revealed.
NewsTrackIndia.com (23 Jan)

Compost Moves Up in NYC
Half-eaten salads tossed out by Midtown office workers these days can end up being carted to an upstate compost farm and then returned to Midtown buildings for use as fertilizer on green rooftops.
The Wall Street Journal (22 Jan)

Environment Agency's flood management under fire
The Environment Agency has pledged to look at ways of making it easier for farmers to maintain watercourses and flood defences on their land.
Farmers Weekly (22 Jan)

UK farming 'better off in EU' despite PM's referendum pledge
Union chiefs have claimed UK farming is 'better off inside the EU', despite Prime Minister David Cameron's pledge to hold a referendum on the country's role in Europe.
Farmers Guardian (23 Jan)

Farming Today 
The Government is bringing in tighter controls over plant imports into the UK.
BBC Radio 4 (23 Jan)

And Finally… An interactive map on how to choose sustainable fish
The Guardian online (22 Jan)

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you can sign-up to the Soial Association Daily News for free here. 

Preparing for Valentine's Day?

Preparing for Valentine's Day

If you are not wining and dining your beloved at a local restaurant (Italian, perhaps?), and if you haven't the time to nip into town and face the crush of shoppers all buying their last-minute gifts, you need to buy now if you're ordering online for that special day.

We at Essentially Natural are busy putting together our featured  products this year, all, of course, organic and handmade by us in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire.

And if you've forgotten or wondered about the reason we celebrate 14th February, you can read about it here.

So what are your views on Valentine's Day?

Commercial? Yes, I think so. Worth celebrating? Definitely, if you want to be on speaking terms with your partner for the rest of the year.

But for those of you who are still young and/or unattached, why not do what we always used to do with cards when we were at primary school -  send a gift unsigned and perhaps with a little something to make someone think it's actually from someone else -rather than you. From an admirer, rather than their boy- or girlfriend, to keep them guessing.

Put a bit of fun back into Valentine's Day!

Competition - Popcorn Day

When I asked our IT apprentice, Matthew, to 'populate our work calendar with upcoming events' so I could write about them in our blog or on Facebook, I never imagined he would find that tomorrow, 19th January, is 'National Popcorn Day'. No, not in the States but here in the UK calendar of events.

I have desperately researched this morning, and can find no relevance to Essentially Natural or what we do to write about. Apart from an evening watching a 'soap' on TV with a bag of popcorn, or having a romantic (soy) candlelit night in with a loved one and, yes, you've guessed it, a bag of popcorn.

So can anyone tell me why we in the UK would even think about celebrating popcorn with a day of - what, eating popcorn? Making popcorn? Scattering popcorn outside for the birds (I would have thought this rather dangerous given the hard husk, unless you cook them first, in which case your kids would eat them anyway)?

So, here's what I propose. Anyone who can come up with a reason that will make me accept that tomorrow is a day of national importance, and convince me that the celebration of popcorn will lead towards planetary harmony and environmental change, I will send them our Soap & Candle Club goodies for free at the end of the month.

Come on, guys, share this with your friends, and please try to make me smile on this cold and frosty Friday.

Help with the cost of shipping to wholesalers

Help with the cost of shipping to wholesalers

One of the problems any manufacturer faces when trying to sell to shops or other retail outlets is high shipping costs. Retailers have to buy a minimum quantity in order to get wholesale discounts, but this in turn puts the weight of goods shipped up.

To ease this problem we are introducing a two-tier delivery system, depending on delivery times.

The 'Parcel Force Standard' is at a higher rate and goods should arrive in 1-2 days from dispatch. The 'Courier 3-5 days' service will take longer but is cheaper.

To further help our wholesale traders, we're offering free shipping (via the 3-5 day courier service) on your first order just for subscribing to our Trade Newsletter. We will not bombard your inbox but will only send out emails once every two weeks, although in exceptional circumstances there may be an extra one - perhaps at Christmas or when we have surplus stock to pass on to you at reduced rates.

We hope this will help go some way to meet your costs.

                                

Some Interesting News from the Soil Association

Did you know that our organic solid shampoo bars are specially formulated to be used as a normal soap as well as on the hair? They contain castor oil which is a natural conditioner that will also nourish your skin.

Was this tip helpful? Please let us have your comments.

It's been a while since I've reminded readers of the wealth of information in the Soil Association's daily news. You don't need to be a member to read these, although it of course would greatly help the Association (and organics in general) if you did join.

Today's news is packed full of interesting articles, from the continuing debate about the benefits and drawbacks of GM food, to the need for clear labeling on foods, to the waste of food around the world and the over-use of antibiotics.

Today’s News:

                            

“Farming is just a fantastic life. I get a real satisfaction from my job through the good times and bad.” 

Organic farmer George Butler on his MBE in the New Year’s Honours list, Mid Sussex Times (7 Jan)

Organic dairy farmer becomes an MBE
George Butler becomes an MBE for his services to agriculture and charity. Milk from his organic dairy herd at Tremains Farm in Horsted Keynes, Sussex goes to the award winning High Weald Dairy.Mid Sussex Times (7 Jan)

Professor John Vandermeer challenges environmentalist Mark Lynas on GMOs
Mark Lynas' rant is bringing responses from actual scientists. Prof John Vandermeer from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan comments on Mark Lynas' promising scientific conversion.Food First (8 Jan) 

Biodiversity congress seeks ban on field trials of GM crops
The second Indian Biodiversity Congress (IBC 2012) held at Bangalore last month has called for a ban on field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in India and a 10-year moratorium on Bt food crops.The Hindu (2 Jan) 

Public health and use of antibiotics on intensive farms 
Private Members’ Debate: Public health and use of antibiotics on intensive farms – Zac Goldsmith. Live stream available for the debate at 4:30 today

Welfare system for Red Tractor dairy scheme
New welfare assessments for cows are being proposed for inclusion in the Red Tractor Assurance Dairy Scheme. An industry consultation is open until 24 January 2013 and proposes that dairy herds are assessed regularly for conditions such as lameness and mastitis.Farmers Weekly (8 Jan)
To read more about dairy welfare assessments, visit the AssureWel website

Sows will continue to suffer as 14 EU nations are expected to break the law
The partial ban on sow stalls came into force on 1 January, but Compassion in World Farming claims that 14 EU nations (Italy, Poland, Cyprus, Finland, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, France, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark) will not comply fully with the ban. Meat Trade Journal (4 Jan)

UK farmers concerned about Spanish slug invasion
A species of Spanish slug, nicknamed the killer slug because of its aggressive nature has been identified in the UK for the first time. There are fears that large numbers will hatch in spring and damage crops.Farmers Weekly (8 Jan)

New Weather demands new politics
George Monbiot wonders what Tony Abbot, the Australian opposition leader will say about the record heat wave ravaging his country. The politician has repeatedly questioned the science and impacts of climate change. Monbiot asks if it’s time for Australians to rethink their sceptical views of climate change.The Guardian (9 Jan)

The farmers leading a Twitter revolution
All sorts of agricultural groups are springing up on Twitter, providing a way for farmers to connect. The three leading groups in the UK are #AgrichatUK, #clubhectare, and #AgGen – each with its own distinctive community and purpose, but all with a shared passion for the industry and its people.Farmers Weekly (5 Jan) 

Teaching kids how to cook before Britain forgets to cook
The Women’s Institute is calling for more cooking skills to be taught in schools to encourage us to use leftover. Ruth Bond, the head of the WI says schools have a duty to teach all children how to cook to prepare them for adult living. (Food for Life Partnership mentioned).Western Morning News (8 Jan) 

Badger cull trials could start in new counties
The NFU has said that badger cull pilots aimed at reducing bovine tuberculosis could be moved to different counties.Farmers Weekly (8 Jan) 

MEP urges vigilance over ongoing Schmallenberg threat
Southwest MEP, Julie Girling, urges farmers to continue to be vigilant over the threat of Schmallenberg.Farmers Guardian (8 Jan) 

Farming Today
Anna Hill hears that our fruit and veg is less nutritious because the wet weather is causing the nutrients to be washed out of the soil.
BBC Radio 4, (9 Jan) Listen again 

Back to work!

Well, where back to work and poor Janet is ill so I'm left with all the parcels to do myself for the first time.

More orders than usually because of our January sales so I've been snowed under with packing, and I've even got to take them to the post office.

Not sure if Janet would approve of my way of doing things but she's not here to tell me off so I'm doing it =)

Really didn't feel like coming back to work today after the two holiday we had, although i think Dennis was ready to start again.

January Sale now on!

January Sale now on!

To help us all over the January Blues, we're offering 20% off all our products (apart from clearance) until the end of the month while stocks last.

If you have not bought from us before, this is a great way to try out our new products for yourself or your friends. Please do let them know!

As always, you'll receive loyalty points that you can spend whenever you like, and there's no minimum spend so you can order just what you need.

(Please note cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts)

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