I’ve been out of the office a lot for the past week visiting Whole Foods stores, doing demos and talking to lots of people about all things natural – from the new natural Frito-Lay products to the air we breath to skin care. What I’ve been hearing is that with most people, it’s not all or nothing. Many are doing their best to do what’s best, but few are willing to go hard core in one direction. I even find myself in that category. Everything I buy isn’t organic (I simply can’t afford it), but I do make sure that my conventional fruits and vegetables are triple washed. I do buy organic dairy and meats, but stay away from (most) processed foods. Just the other day, I found myself at a department store make-up counter purchasing a bottle of Lancome foundation. Nothing natural about that, right? I have dark skin and, believe me, I’ve tried to to find a foundation that isn’t heavy and blends, but nothing (NOTHING) came close to working. Finally, I gave in. (I think it’s worth noting that my sister who cooks every meal from scratch, buys ONLY organic, gets her meat from the local butcher, etc. etc. actually recommended the Lancome because she, too, was a loss for a natural product that actually worked.)
So, when is it OK to compromise?
I have a few boxes of Girl Scouts thin mints in my freezer because I was guilted into buying them. I didn’t mind because it’s for a good cause, but now what am I supposed to do with all these cookies? Did I mention that “partially hydrogenated oil” is on the list of ingredients? Did I also mention that I sneak at least once a week? Is that OK? I mean, I know they’re definitely not good for me, but it’s not like I’m eating them all day every day? So, is it OK if it’s just a once in a while treat?
I don’t wear make up that frequently. Maybe for a meeting or of I’m going somewhere special. Otherwise, I’m perfectly fine rocking the au natural look. So, is it OK to compromise by wearing a foundation that I’m sure contains ingredients that are harmful? Again, it’s only once in a blue moon, so is that OK? (And, remember, I did look for a natural alternative.)
I’m curious what you all think. I’m also interested in knowing when, where and with what products you’re willing to make concessions.
We’ve been talking about this for so long that some of you may have started to wonder whether this was all just talk. Well, today Gary and I made our rounds to a few stores in our area and met personally with the Whole Body Team members. They were all awesome – so friendly and so helpful in working with us to best position our new brand in their stores. We actually got to put our products on the shelf in Fort Lauderdale. Edgar, the Whole Body Team Leader for the store, made space for us right next to Burt’s Bees – right at eye level! We couldn’t ask for better shelf space! They’re doing their part and we’re going to do ours to promote JOON and create awareness in their stores. What an amazing first retail partner.
If you’re in the area, check us out on the following dates:
To be a Summer Girl is to live forever, to dance and play, and have the freedom from almost everything. It’s a life of eternal summer. … Melissa Marr, Wicked Lovely
I read Wicked Lovely several years ago when a close friend recommended the series to me. (Warning: Wait until your daughter is at least 12 before you run off to the bookstore or Amazon to buy it!) It’s a fantastical story about faeries and the tension between the Winter and Summer faerie courts. I won’t go into too much detail.
What I absolutely loved about the books was the beautifully vivid description of Summer and the strong connection that the Summer Queen had to the earth.
I see the JOON Girl in much the same way that I envisioned the Summer faeries as I was reading the book. As I think about our young JOON followers, I see amazing young girls who are free – free to express themselves, free to be their own person, free to create a better world. I see them running and dancing and playing and laughing. I love going to events where we get up close and personal with girls, talking to them and seeing them interact with JOON, each other and their environment. It’s what makes everything worth while.
If you haven’t heard, at the end of the month, WalMart is launching a line of cosmetics for tweens called Geo-Girl. I’ve had tons of people e-mail me asking me what I thought of this. I’ve also read lots of blogs, articles, etc of reactions to the line and I feel compelled to weigh in.
As you would imagine, the media and a lot of parents think it’s a bad idea. Why? Because they believe that exposing girls to make up at a young age erodes self-esteem and encourages girls to focus on the exterior self versus the interior. I even read a blogger that said it’s a “Gateway drug”. WOW! I never thought I’d see the day when make up was likened to illicit drugs.
I’m a parent of a little girl. (It’ll be a while before she wants to experiment with make up, but the day will for sure come.) When I grew up in the 70s and 80s, I played around with the Barbie perfume maker, Hello Kitty make up and nail polish and who knows what else. And, that was when I was a kid, not even what we consider a tween today. As an adult, I still like to play around with make up, but I’m not really good at applying it, so I keep it pretty simple.
This isn’t the 70s. Our kids are growing up in a new new world and have access to so many things via the Interweb, phones, apps, etc. Of course the age of experimentation is lower than what it used to be. I think that placing the blame on WalMart’s new line of products is akin to blaming fast food restaurants for the obesity epidemic. It’s our job as parents to instill a foundation for healthy self esteem in our children. And, if they are going to experiment, we need to provide them with safe ways and products to do so. Parenting in the 21st century requires even more vigilance. If you’ve never texted or sent a media message (video, photo) to someone, then how could you possibly understand the world that your child inhabits? If you’ve never watched Youtube or been on Facebook, then you have no idea how fast it is for messages to spread and what your child is influenced by. If you’re computer illiterate, then you probably don’t know how to put parental controls on your computer to block certain sites from your child.
(excerpt from a blog post that I read on the topic)
The line also features products named as they relate to texting, for this supposedly tech savy age group. Great! Not only are they applying pressure for girls to use makeup at such a young age, but also pressure to use technology to text each other. To me, Wal-mart is creating products to profit from shortening, objectifying, and sexualizing childhood— and that is morally corrupt.
I actually believe that the core of the debate about Geo-Girl is less about make-up and more about this new world that our children are growing up in. If you’re going to blame WalMart for “pressuring kids to use technology to text each other” then you may as well vilify Apple, Nokia, Microsoft, Facebook…the list goes on.
I applaud WalMart for the launch of this line. I’d much rather my child experiment with a safe product than the ones I grew up experimenting with. I have yet to see the list of ingredients, but if they check out OK, I’m on the side of WalMart.
I have to say that I’m really loving technology and all of this social stuff happening on the Interweb (really, I know that’s not what it’s called, but I stole it from a good friend because I think it’s quite an appropriate description and pretty funny when you use it in conversation). Curated sales are my favorite these days. I’m a huge huge fan of Gilt.com – I look forward to my daily e-mails announcing the upcoming sales and I make sure that I’m in front of the computer precisely at NOON if there’s something that I’m interested in.
A few people got smart and figured out that we moms also want great things for our kids! BrightZoo is one of those sites (which we love) and there’s The Mini Social which has been around for a while longer. The Mini Social was started by moms with a great eye for great style for kids. And, to top that off, they’ve donated over $10,000.00 to various children’s charities. How could you not love that?
This Thursday, visit www.theminisocial.com for JOON products at exclusive prices. All of our products will be discounted for three days only, so pass this on to your friends!
This video is a bit log, but I urge you to listen to it in its entirety. It’s about the most important thing…our children.
(Note: Typically, I blog about natural products, JOON, ingredients, and all things related to girls and personal care. I’m going to diverge a bit here, but it’s a topic that I think moms will find interesting.)
As if I’m not busy enough, I decided to take on a project that is very dear to me. As a mother to two young children, ages 5 1/2 and 1 1/2, I’m always thinking about what I’m doing (or not) to ensure that they are learning in a way that inspires and fosters their creativity. I saw a Facebook post calling for creative strategists to come up with ideas, apps, programs, campaigns to nurture creativity in kids. I immediately called a friend of mine who is actually on the JOON Board of Advisors and the new Group Planning/Strategy Direct @ Strawberry Frog in NYC and asked him to form a team with me. Turns out, a group of people in his agency also saw the post and were inspired to work on it, so I’m tagging along as part of their team.
Creative thinking is essential. Some may think of creativity as the arts or having the ability to create something original. Creativity, I believe, goes beyond that. It’s the core of the development of critical thinking – being able to understand ideas and thoughts in new and different ways. Our children are growing up in a world that is much different that the ones that we grew up in. The challenges that they face will require a new way of thinking.
This project will be interesting because it’s not an easy one to tackle. There are so many things to consider. But, I’m up for a challenge because I have a vested interest in how children are taught and how creativity is nurtured and fostered.
Not Burt of Bert and Ernie, but Burt of Burt’s Bees.
Though I’m loath to reveal my true age, suffice it to say I thought I’d be done with acne at my age. It comes with the territory when you’re a kid or teen, though it’s no less embarrassing when you’re young even though half the population your age is going through the same thing. I’ve been there, so I know.
Moms and girls always ask us if we have a product that works on acne. The answer is always a resounding “no”. JOON Happy Face Wash is non-foaming and gentle on the skin, but it’s not designed to treat acne or minimize inflammation. Lately, I’ve been looking everywhere for something to work not only on my skin, but a natural and safe product that I can recommend to girls experiencing the same problems. I have to admit that I came very close to throwing natural out the window in an effort to find anything – ANYTHING – that would clear my skin. Fortunately, I didn’t have to cross that line because I came across Burt’s Bees Natural Acne Solution at my local Target and decided to try it.
I bought the three-step kit which contains a wash, moisturizer and spot treatment, all of which contain willow bark, the natural source for salicylic acid. I’ve been using them all religiously twice a day for the past 3 or 4 weeks and I’ve definitely seen a difference. I can’t say that my skin is completely clear – it’s still pretty obvious that there’s something going on – BUT for the first time in a long time someone actually told me that my skin looked GOOD!
There are lots of blogs out there that do product reviews. This isn’t one of those blogs, if you haven’t noticed:-) I’m just someone in the natural category who can appreciate good product development. Burt’s Bees has no idea who I am and I’m 100% sure that they have no idea that I purchased their acne products.
I had a problem and they happened to provide a solution. And, I thought I’d pass this on to the moms and girls who have been asking for such a product.
When my son was 1 1/2 he was enormous. Even the pediatrician was amazed and would tell us at every visit “he’s going to be heavy, you know.” Not a question. A definitive statement. We didn’t overfeed him; he didn’t eat junk food – in fact, he ate healthier than my husband and I did. Wow. We were amazed because neither of us are heavy. We both exercise quite a bit and lead pretty healthy lifestyles. Surely our genes and habits would pass on to our progeny, right? Now, he’s almost 6 and is long and lean. He plays sports and still eats well. When he says he’s full, I listen and allow him to stop eating. (as long as he has eaten a variety of what was put in front of him) I’m thinking that genetics and lifestyle played a role in how he developed.
I think the article was well-written and easy to digest for all. I also tend to read all the comments on such articles, which I find interesting. I agree with the author that we do need to stop our daily exposure to toxic chemicals at work, home and school. Legislative changes must take place in order for true change to occur and we all know how long that can take. But, we can make personal choices and changes in our daily lives to begin to do what we can that is within our control. That means looking for plastics that are BPA free when shopping; choosing green household cleaning products (Greenworks makes great affordable products); and being more careful about the choices we make when buying personal care products, looking for products that are free of parabens and phathalates and are packaged in bottles that are free of BPA. If you’re active in your community and with your local government, you can begin attending meetings and demanding that change take place in schools, businesses and the workplace. That takes time and effort, but I am sure that there are some out there who are willing to be the voice for many.
Back to where I started. The story about my overweight baby…remember? (good, because I almost forgot why I told that story!). I think there is another side to the epidemic which some people commented on in the article. Inactivity and poor eating habits also play a tremendous role. When I was young, there was no such thing as a video game. I played outside every day – riding my bike, playing cops and robbers, etc. Playing video games has become an activity. And, it’s convenient to cook pre-packaged foods. I get it. I’m busy too and there’s a box of Annie’s organic mac and cheese in my pantry. Sure it’s Annie’s organic, but it’s in a box for goodness sake. And, the cheese in in powder form. Not a good thing. Oh, and genetics. I think genetics can’t be overlooked. I’m certainly not an endocrinologist or any kind of doctor or scientist, but I do think that genes are a powerful thing.
The bottom line: I think we need to look at the issue from ALL angles and have a meeting of the minds of people from different disciplines. It’s just that I think that it’s complicated. I do what I can and encourage moms and kids to make choices that will set them on the right path. Eat better, move your body a lot, and consider what you’re putting on your body and in your home. This issue is just now bubbling to the forefront of conversation and I do believe that great change, legislative change, will soon come.
Image courtesy of Flickr: Photostream by itslefty “Fat Children Wanted”
We’ll be talking about this for the next few days because we’re jumping out of the seat of our pants in anticipation of being on national TV. And, on Lifetime to boot!
Tune in to the full segment on Monday, January 17th on your local Lifetime channel. The Balancing Act airs from 7AM – 8AM Monday through Friday.
Each day I devote time to reading articles about the goings on in the personal care industry, specifically as they relate to ingredients, legislations, and natural products. I came across a web site that I thought I would pass on.
If you’ve been following the JOON Natural Beauty Blog, hopefully you’ve come to realize that we’re not about pushing things down your throat. We’re more than happy to highlight other personal care brands and even provide alternative perspectives on stances that we, ourselves, take. We believe that you should make the best decision for you based on facts.
The first thing I did when I found the site was checked out the bios of the “experts”. I’m always skeptical about who these so-called “experts” are. Admittedly, there were a handful that I think have great experience, but I don’t believe that just because someone starts a personal care company they can be considered an expert on all matters scientific. I like to rely on actual scientists to provide real data and information. As we formulate our products, I work closely with my chemist for guidance because he knows more than I do. He’s a chemist, after all. I am most certainly not. Of course I follow blogs and read the many facebook pages of people and brands discussing the topics of ingredients in personal care, but I try not to get caught up in the hype. I have concerns of my own, which is why JOON was created. But, JOON is an alternative. It’s fun, it’s functional, it smells good and it’s safe. It provides young girls with personal care products to call their own. They no longer have to use baby products long after they are babies and they don’t have to begin using adult products long before they are adults.
Mom. Aunt. Sister. Lover of nature. Runner. (soon to be duathlete!)
Middle of the road green consumer (i.e. trying hard to balance practicality, my wallet, the health of my family AND the environment ... that's a lot!) Co-Founder of JOON.
JOON is a part of who I am. It inspires me to do more, to make a difference, to open up a new and accessible world to every day moms and girls. Welcome to that world - the world of JOON.
