Greeneroo

Kate Seely and Katherine Lorenz, two young American philanthropists who were fascinated by the nutritional value and economic potential of amaranth, founded Puente in 2003 in Oaxaca, Mexico.

In late 2012, Forbes named Katherine as “an up-and-coming face in philanthropy.”

It’s easy to see why. Some solutions to hunger are so easy to understand and so straight-forward that they make sense instantly. Please take a look at the videos on the Puente site they tell the stories from the farmers perstpective.  Here’s the link: in celebration of its 10th anniversary, Puente created a 4-minute video that communicates Puente’s special story (http://www.puentemexico.org/index.php/multi-media).

I’ve eaten this ancient grain in cereal, and it can easily be added to the cereal you currently eat. The composition of amaranth makes it easy to realize that this plant is a life-saver in poor villages, and a health booster all over the world.

Novato, California (May 15, 2013) – Over the past several years, the team at Navitas Naturals has watched natural foods chef Julie Morris create hundreds (if not thousands) of amazing smoothies during a variety of events, classes, product development sessions and store demos. That’s why it’s a pleasure to announce her delightful new book Superfood Smoothies released this week by Sterling Publishing. In this comprehensive smoothie how-to book available at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and bookstores in the U.S., Chef Julie shares 100 quick, healthy and delicious recipes that use the world’s most nutritious foods.

Julie Morris is the Executive Chef for Navitas Naturals – the leading superfoods brand at retail stores across the continent. Superfood Smoothies demonstrates her culinary and writing talents, and her vast experience blending up the healthiest smoothies. Her new book is loaded with helpful advice and tips about the best culinary methods for making the ultimate smoothies. Chef Julie shares her insight about using the hottest nutrient-dense superfoods in the marketplace, including chia seeds, goji berries, raw cacao, hemp seeds, acai, and goldenberries.  Whether you’re looking for an energy boost, seeking a gentle cleanse, or just trying to get healthy, you’ll be inspired to power up the blender!

Beautiful food photos are key to the success of a cookbook, and Superfood Smoothies has a lot of eye-candy to enjoy. The gorgeous new book also includes informative chapters on smoothie “basics”, “essentials” and “nutritional rewards”, a helpful conversion chart, and a resource guide. It is thoughtful that the recipes are searchable by both style of drink, and nutritional health function. For example, this Maqui Banana smoothie recipe from the book, below, is indexed under Beauty Foods, due to Maqui’s high level of skin-healthy anthocyanins – the antioxidants that give it that deep purple color.

Maqui Banana Smoothie

3 frozen bananas

2¼ cups coconut milk (boxed variety)

1 tablespoon Navitas Naturals Maqui Berry Powder

1 tablespoon of Navitas Naturals chia seeds

Sweetener, to taste (optional

Blend together all the ingredients until smooth. Taste, and sweeten if desired. Makes two 14-ounce servings.

About Navitas Naturals – The Superfood Company

The mission of Navitas Naturals is to provide the finest organic superfoods that increase energy and enhance health. Since 2003, health-conscious people have been choosing their organic superfoods because they’re a diverse whole-food source of antioxidants, protein, essential fats, minerals, vitamins and other key nutrients. All of their products are certified organic and Non-GMO Project Verified, and use methods such as freeze-drying and low temperature processing to ensure maximum nutrition and flavor.

About Julie Morris is a Los Angeles-based natural food chef and author. She has worked in the natural food industry for close to a decade as a recipe developer, culinary writer, and cooking show host, and is a spokesperson and executive chef for Navitas Naturals, a fair trade company that specializes in 100% organic superfoods. Morris is an active advocate for whole, plant-based foods and superfoods for optimal health. Her mission is simple: to share recipes and nutrition tips that make a vibrantly healthy lifestyle both easy to achieve and simply delicious to follow. To learn more about Julie and superfoods visit juliemorris.net.

Update on Bike Sharing, April 2013

At the start of 2013, the U.S. was home to 22 modern public bike-sharing programs. By spring 2014, that number will likely double as a flurry of cities joins the more than 500 bike-sharing communities worldwide. With the expansions of current programs and new openings in larger markets like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the nationwide fleet of shared bikes is poised to quadruple in the next couple of years, from nearly 9,000 to more than 36,000. And with a growing list of American communities exploring the possibility of setting up bike shares, this number is expected to continue to climb.

——————-

From 2009:

Information on Bike Sharing programs and tax incentives for riding to work are changing often. Several groups are getting the word out for our California based information, there is alot more information available, this is a start…

• California Bicycle Colation
• Bike to Work Week in California MAY 11-15 2009 Lets look forward to 2010!
• Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

TRAVELING?  You could benefit from bike sharing. The best kind of Tour de France! The Dutch had long been sharing pedals, and the French company JCDecaux is providing a way to pick up pedal power in France. The kiosks are located all around town (Lyon was the test city, also in Paris).

Some communities are combing Bike Sharingwith their RideShare programs, these programs are expanding all over the United States.

Canada has Vancity Bike Share among others.

Finalists to Compete for Green America Award Recognizing Entrepreneurs With an Overall Green Way of Doing Business and a Commitment to a Sustainable Food System; 10 Small Businesses Located in CA, IN, MA, OH, PA, TX, VA, and Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 6, 2013 – A public voting period is now open for finalists of the fourth Green America “People & Planet” award recognizing America’s best green small businesses. Each of three winners will receive $5,000.

Voting for 10 finalists was opened to the public online beginning May 1, 2013 at http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/ and will continue until 5 p.m. on May 31, 2013.

What are you waiting for? This is a chance to learn more, get involved and help a great group!! I voted for Archi’s Acres, because I love their idea of putting our amazing Vets to work in a teamwork setting. It’s healthy, green and repeatable in your community! Take a look at the 1o finalists, and click the link above to vote.  You can’t go wrong! It’s quick and easy. –editor

The quarterly “People & Planet Awards” recognize innovative entrepreneurial U.S. businesses that integrate environmental and social considerations into their strategies and operations. This round of the Awards will focus on businesses that have overall green practices and are committed to a sustainable food system. Votes will be tallied and three quarterly winners will be announced during the week of June 3rd.

The 10 final contenders for this round of People & Planet Awards are: Alter Eco, San Francisco, CA; Archi’s Acres, Escondido, CA; Blue Ridge Produce, Elkwood, VA; The Chile Woman, Bloomington, IN; CleanFish, San Francisco, CA; Flying J Farm, Johnstown, OH; Frankferd Farms Foods, Saxonburg, PA; Green City Growers, Somerville, MA; in.gredients, Austin, TX; and Love & Carrots, Washington, DC.

* Alter Eco, San Francisco, CA., http://www.alterecofoods.com/.  Alter Eco believes whole, healthy, delicious food can make life better for people all over the world. By working directly with small-scale farmers who grow quinoa, rice, sugar, and chocolate, helping them institute Fair Trade and organic practices, and giving them the tools to improve the quality and value of their product, Alter Eco is creating a system that benefits everyone involved. Since their start in 2004, Alter Eco’s co-op partners have enjoyed improved yields, true living wages, profit-sharing, medical insurance and the capital to create better infrastructures, healthcare and conditions in their communities.

* Archi’s Acres, Escondido, CA., http://archisacres.com/.  Through their farm, Colin and Karen Archipley have found a way to support sustainable agriculture while serving our nation’s veterans. Now, Archi’s Acres is rolling out its VSAT program nationwide. This rollout has commenced with the construction of a 30,000 square foot “farm incubator” that can serve as the prototype for job-creating, water-saving, food-producing, veteran-led hydroponic organic greenhouses nationwide. The intention is to create real value and good jobs in countless American communities, by harnessing the power of the 1 percent of Americans who served in the past decade of war.

* Blue Ridge Produce, Elkwood, VA., http://blueridgeproduce.net/.  Founded two years ago in the Northern Virginia Piedmont Region, Blue Ridge Produce aggregates produce from farms in Virginia for sale to wholesale customers in the Mid-Atlantic. Blue Ridge Produce lets farmers be farmers by giving them a consistent market for their produce and handling the marketing and distribution logistics. By taking the retail headache out of the equation, farmers can spend more time doing what they do best, growing crops in Virginia soil. This system keeps more money in the local economy, and significantly reduces food miles traveled.

* The Chile Woman, Bloomington, IN., http://www.thechilewoman.com/. The Chile Woman is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and growing chile pepper varieties from all over the world, as well as preserving chile pepper biodiversity. The Chile Woman now maintains a seed bank of over 1800 chile pepper varieties, and excludes all hybrid, GMO or bioengineered seeds.  The business was hit by a tornado in May 2011. While the rebuilding has been arduous, there has been an uplifting outcome. Because so much old-growth tree cover was lost, solar power became a possibility. The company is celebrating the installation of a 5.2 K solar array that went online in January of this year.

* CleanFish, San Francisco, CA., http://www.cleanfish.com/.  CleanFish has developed a trusted platform of both wild and farmed fisheries by turning their backs on industrial commodity fish operations. CleanFish looks to the artisanal, or family farm, levels of seafood production. The company has carefully cultivated regional networks of smaller, ethical fish producers whose principles and practices they know well through their proprietary screening and vetting processes. CleanFish has created access to native fisheries, such as Nunavut tribe’s Arctic Char that is uniquely available through CleanFish. They have promoted innovation such as the move to organic production of many fish farms. Additionally, some producers have gone to larger infrastructure innovations such as wind and solar energy powering of their farms

* Flying J Farm, Johnstown, OH., http://www.flyingjfarm.com/.  Flying J Farm believes that sustainability begins with human health and that humans were placed here with brains to care for the rest of creation. Therefore, recycling, waste management, alternative energy production and management, minimizing financial costs, and environmental care are essential to sustaining life on this planet. Highlights of Flying J Farm’s sustainability efforts include: 1) Outdoor wood furnace , 2) Solar thermal water heating, 3) An 11 KW solar electric system, 4) Biodiesel fuel  produced from waste oil and used in most tractors, and much more.

* Frankferd Farms Foods, Saxonburg, PA., http://www.frankferd.com/. “Frankferd Farms Foods has been providing the region with organic, natural, and bulk foods for over 35 years. In 1978, Betty and T. Lyle Ferderber launched Frankferd Farms Milling. They were some of the first organic farmers in the area, receiving just as much praise as they did raised eyebrows. After seven years of growing and milling grains on their 81-acre organic farm, Betty and T.Lyle  expanded to become a food distributorship in 1985. Since then, the food business outgrew its space on the family farm and moved to a much larger warehouse a few miles away. Frankferd is the only company of its kind in the region and serves over 3000 customers in 7 states. Since the business essentially grew out of an organic farm, its ethics are rooted in stewardship to the land.”

* Green City Growers, Somerville, MA., http://growmycitygreen.com/. Green City Growers (GCG) transforms unused space into thriving urban farms, providing clients with immediate access to nutritious food, while revitalizing city landscapes and inspiring self-sufficiency. GCG produces and installs raised-beds, cold frames, and rooftop farms in addition to providing farm maintenance, educational programming, and consulting services for all interested in growing fruits and vegetables.  GCG’s clients include urban and suburban homeowners, corporate wellness programs, schools, healthcare facilities, and restaurant/food service providers, etc. Quality organic produce is expensive and difficult for the average family to procure. By bringing the farm to the consumer, GCG increases access to produce, fostering a stronger connection between people and the food they eat.

* in.gredients, Austin, TX., http://in.gredients.com/. In.gredients is a zero-waste micro-grocer in Austin, Texas providing the community with real, local food. As a business, they are changing the way people shop for groceries. By providing a majority of products in bulk and sourcing from local farmers, ranchers and producers, the store has become a green food leader in the Austin community. Customers can bring their own containers, fill them with high quality, organic GMO-free food and household items and leave without any unnecessary packaging. The store has over 300 products, with a majority of them made and produced in Texas.

* Love & Carrots, Washington, DC., http://www.loveandcarrots.com/. is a home organic gardening service which designs, installs, and maintains vegetable gardens in DC and the surrounding suburbs. Organic, locally grown food and fruitful green spaces are beautiful, healthy, and better for the soul. Founded by ecologist Meredith Sheperd, the vision of Love & Carrots is to educate people about the importance of local food and environmental stewardship through gardens. Love & Carrots promotes the growth of urban agriculture through a home-based garden education service that teaches families, businesses, and organizations how to grow their own food.”

Judges for this award include: Katie Galloway & Gigi Abbadie, Aveda; Justin Conway, Calvert Foundation; Elysa Hammond, Clif Bar; Lisa Stokke, Food Democracy Now; Jenny Burns, Honest Tea;  Kristin Bower, Neighborhood Farm Initiative; Jonathan Reinbold , Organic Valley; John Lively, Preserve (winter winner!); Eric Henry, TS Designs; and Reed Doyle, Seventh Generation; Fran Teplitz & Andrew Korfhage, Green America..

Future rounds of the quarterly small business awards from Green America will focus on workplace innovations, and other sustainability practices.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

Easy tips and tricks for making and growing your favorite food and kitchen products, right in your own home. 

Back to basics is the name of the game in TakePart’s Home Grown Kitchen Series which launched today and is the ultimate guide to getting a sustainable kitchen up, running and fabulous. Want to help change our food system and the way you eat for the better? TakePart is providing the DIY Nitty Gritty on 6 areas that anyone can easily make changes in their personal life, including:

• Canning & Preserving
• Green Cleaning Supplies
• Kitchen Gardening
• Heirloom Seeds & Produce
• Composting and even raising Backyard Chickens!

TakePart has gone to the experts and learned that the solutions are actually very simple! They’re the kinds of things our grandparents and great grandparents parents used to do.

Highlights include:

• “Saving the Season’s” Kevin West who says “home canning is just home cooking by another name” and shows us how easy it is to savor the fruits of summer year-round. West says, “If you have the kitchen skill to make cookies from scratch, or the patience to simmer a pot of tomato sauce for pasta…, then you have everything you need to make a batch of jam, pickles, or relish.”
• Dianne Ott Whealy, founder of Seed Savers Exchange which she started to share her Grandpa’s Morning Glories and German Pink tomatoes talks heirloom varieties and what the big whoop is, especially given the current Heirloom Hysteria, a condition seen today in grocery aisles and on restaurant menus everywhere.
• 5 Simple Make-Your-Own Green Cleaners—You don’t need chemicals to keep your kitchen sparkling!
• 10 Essential Beginners’ Tips for Raising Backyard Chickens from Robert Litt who wrote the book on it and says “Raising backyard chickens is one of the easiest ways to enjoy a healthy source of protein while eating more sustainably and cutting down your carbon footprint.”
• And tips for making homemade jams from Los Angeles Restaurateur Jessica Koslow—something she knows a thing or two about since she launched her career with signature flavors like kumquat-rhubarb and strawberry-rose geranium.

You will want to read more, here is the FULL FEATURE: http://www.takepart.com/homegrown

IS YOUR BABY PART OF A RISKY SCIENCE EXPERIMENT? NATIONAL COALITION CALLS ON BIG 3 INFANT FORMULA BRANDS TO REMOVE GMO INGREDIENTS AND PROTECT AMERICAN BABIES

Mounting Concerns About The Health Effects of Genetically Modified Ingredients And The Herbicides Used In Production Incite Consumer Action On Top-Selling Formula Companies to Remove GMOs

WASHINGTON, DC//May 1, 2013// Similac, Enfamil, and Gerber Good Start – which combined account for more than 90 percent of all infant formula sales in the US – are exposing American and Canadian babies to potentially grave health risks by using genetically modified ingredients. Commonly referred to as GMOs (genetically modified organisms), these ingredients have been banned or at least require a packaging label in more than 60 other countries including China, Mexico, Russia, and the entire European Union.

GMO Inside, a national, non-GMO coalition led by Green America, is calling on these brands’ parent companies (Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson Nutrition, and Nestlé), via an online petition, to remove GMO ingredients immediately as infants face particular health risks when it comes to consuming GMOs.

GMOs have never been proven safe for human consumption and a growing number of peer?reviewed studies show the negative health impacts of consuming GMOs on laboratory animals over their life span. Inadequate research has been conducted on the health impacts of GMOs on humans and infants; however, an increasing number of concerned parents and pediatricians have voiced that using GMOs in infant formula is far too large of a risk to take. Babies are particularly vulnerable when it comes to consuming GMOs as their digestive and immune systems are not fully developed and GMO crops have very high exposure to dangerous pesticides and herbicides such as Roundup. Infant livers do not reach maturity for about two years and therefore are less equipped to process toxins in the body, such as the high levels of chemicals used on genetically modified foods.

“For the infant that is unable to nurse I insist upon an organic commercial formula,” says pediatrician Michelle Perro. “Because of the toxic effects of herbicides, particularly glyphosate (due to its prolific usage) as well as other organophosphates and genetically engineered foods in non-organic commercial formulas, these are not an option for infant feeding. In order to ensure the health of our infants and children, there is no amount of acceptable herbicide or GMO that should be in their diets.”

Adding insult to injury, these companies all spent money to oppose GMO labeling in California last year, thus obstructing a parent’s right to know whether or not the first food they are feeding their newborns contains GMOs.

Unlike more than 60 countries around the world, the United States and Canada do not require companies to label and reveal their GMO ingredients to consumers. This means that American and Canadian babies are exposed to ingredients that parents in Europe, China, and elsewhere would never feed their children. In fact, due to these labeling requirements, all three companies offer non-GMO formula options to their consumers in Europe.

“It’s infuriating that parents in the United States are not given the same assurances as citizens in more than 60 other countries including China, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, when it comes to GM ingredients,” says Green America President Alisa Gravitz, “All parents have a right to healthy food options for their children.”

So who are these companies peddling these unhealthy infant formulas?

Throughout May, GMO Inside will call on Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson Nutrition, and Nestlé to remove their GMO ingredients, while also offering consumers suggestions for non-GMO choices.

Consumers can sign our petition to the companies here or take action with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GmoInside

ABOUT GMO INSIDE:
GMO Inside is a coalition of businesses, organizations, and individuals that support a healthy, GMO-free food system. The GMO Inside steering committee is made up of the following organizations and individuals and convened by Green America:

Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots community dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families. Food Democracy Now! members know we can build a food system that gives our communities equal access to healthy food, and respects the dignity of the farmers who produce it. We believe in recreating regional food systems, supporting the growth of humane, natural and organic farms, and protecting the environment.

GMO Free USA works to harness education, advocacy, and bold action to foster consumer rejection of genetically modified organisms, until they are proven safe. They support the labeling of GMO foods with the ultimate goal of getting GMOs out of the food supply and environment. Their current campaign focuses on engaging Kellogg’s to get GMOs out of their entire product line.

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses, investors, and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org

Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) is a world leader in educating policy makers and the public about the documented risks of GM foods and crops, as well as the problems associated with current research, regulation, corporate practices, and reporting. IRT’s founder, Jeffrey M. Smith, is an international bestselling author, filmmaker, and the leading spokesperson on the health dangers of GMOs. He documents how the world’s most powerful Ag biotech companies bluff and mislead critics, and put the health of society at risk.

Label GMOs advocates for transparency in the food supply and for clear and concise labeling of genetically modified organisms. They are the California grassroots network that helped to lay the groundwork for Proposition 37. Label GMOs continues to educate in California and provide support for other on the ground grassroots GMO labeling efforts throughout the US.

Nutiva® is dedicated to a healthy and sustainable world, demonstrating its mission to nourish people and planet by using delicious organic ingredients, enriching the soil, and donating 1 percent of sales to sustainable-agriculture groups. Founded in 1999, Nutiva is the world’s best-selling brand of nutritious organic hemp foods, extra-virgin coconut oil, and chia seeds. Fifteen thousand retailers in the United States, Canada, and the European Union offer Nutiva products, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, Publix, Safeway, Loblaws, and Amazon.com. Nutiva is located in Richmond, California. For more information, visit www.nutiva.com.

Vani Hari is a management consultant, food activist writer and a two time elected North Carolina delegate, endorsed by President Obama. Vani started foodbabe.com in April 2011 to spread information about what is really in the American food supply. She teaches people how to make the right purchasing decisions at the grocery store, how to live an organic lifestyle, and how to travel healthfully around the world. The success in her writing and investigative work can be seen in the way food companies react to her uncanny ability to find and expose the truth. She been featured in the Washington Times, NY Times, Lawyers Weekly, Prevention.com, NBC WCNC, ABC – WLOS, and profiled in Charlotte Observer.

Be Nice to Yourself~
Yes we all need to exercise, eat right and count our blessings. But if you have goofed … let it go and keep moving toward your goals. Being healthy can be a joy!

• Say something nice about yourself. For every negative thought, come back with a compliment. If you need to, write a few on post-its and stick them to the mirror or your computer screen.
• Retrain your brain. Practice mindfulness by realizing your thought patterns, and reversing them if they are damaging. For example, when flipping through a magazine or watching television, if you notice yourself thinking, “Wow, if I only looked like that, then I’d be happy,” remind yourself that looking like that requires make-up, special angles, airbrushing, and sometimes very restrictive diet and exercise plans (as well as great genetics). Plus, happiness is a state of mind, not the shape of your body.
• Stop criticizing yourself and start criticizing the ads. Research the techniques that their creators employ to get the final, unrealistic result, and analyze ads instead of taking them at face value.
• Exercise because it makes you feel good. If you hate the gym but drag yourself there just because you want to maintain your appearance, stop going! Instead, find an activity that you enjoy, like hiking, swimming, dancing, walking, biking, gardening, or sports, and stay fit that way instead.
• Be patient with yourself. Years of brainwashing won’t disappear overnight. But if you adopt these techniques, bit by bit you’ll learn how to like your body. After all, it’s the only one you’ve got, so you’re much better off appreciating it!

From SparkPeople, thanks for the information.

This well-being site is powered by Humana Health, it has some great tips, exercises without excuses. It’s easy ~ you don’t have to go anywhere. In addition to the video (linked below) there are more than 100 other videos to select and learn from.
Check this quick video of hints: Join Kori McBride (Miss Fit), the My Well-Being fitness expert, as she demonstrates simple yet effective exercises that can be accomplished from the comfort of your own home. Who says you need a gym to have a great workout?

Middlebury, VT (April 23, 2013) – Vermont Soap, inventor of the world’s first certified organic Pet Shampoo, does it again with Hot Spot Oil for Pets. The new, super-concentrated certified organic herbal healing oil soothes and calms pet hot spots and pledges instant relief for hot spot itching and irritation.

Pet Hot Spots are raw and painful patches that can be caused by allergies or any other skin irritations.  They worsen over time and can often become infected.  Vermont Soap developed Hot Spot Oil over several years of testing.

Relief for your pet is actually just a few drops away.  Hot Spots are worsened by detergent-based grooming products and so we are excited to offer a new adjunct product to work with our certified organic liquid soap based Pet Shampoo. We guarantee that it will help provide relief to your pet’s raw hot spots with the first application.  It is important to know that there are healthier solutions out there for our animal companions and for the Earth. —according to Vermont Soap founder Larry Plesent

Hot Spot Oil contains no preservatives or artificial colors or fragrances.  It is also gluten, animal product and lactose-free.  This revolutionary herbal product is offered in a 2 ounce bottle for a suggested retail price of $19.99 and in 1oz testers which retail for $12 each.  Vermont Soap products can be purchased online at http://www.vermontsoap.com and at discriminating retail outlets nationwide.

Now in their 20th year in business, Vermont Soap is an organic and natural soap innovator. They are dedicated to replacing yucky petroleum based products with yummy organic and natural botanical based solutions.

The company just launched an Unscented Version of its award-winning GREEN GOLD Organic Herbal Moisturizer and an Organic Honey Love Beauty Mask.  Vermont Soap created the first certified organic floor cleaner and the first certified organic toothbrush sanitizer spray.  Other breakthroughs achieved by their Vermont Soap Organics line include the first certified foaming hand soap; bath & shower gel; spray cleaner; multipurpose concentrated cleaner; and yoga/exercise mat cleaner.

YOGA mat cleaner? Wow, that would really help me!! Our Open Heart Yoga group is often doing partner yoga and we spend a lot of time on our mats. Clean mats = Happy Yogis.    - editor

About Vermont Soap

Larry Plesent started Vermont Soap in 1992 after experiencing severe skin problems from detergents and other chemicals used by his window washing company.  He began researching healthy alternatives for himself and the many people like him that are sensitive to detergents and to other synthetic ingredients commonly used in personal care product formulations.  The company has grown from a two person operation in 1992 to the largest manufacturer of handmade organic bar soap in North America, selling products in more than 2,500 stores nationwide.  Vermont Soap also operates a Discount Factory Outlet Store that features an Antique Soap Museum, factory tours and demonstrations.  Vermont Soaps’ manufacturing operation was among the first in the US to be certified as a USDA organic processing facility specializing in topical products.  For more information, visit www.vermontsoap.com