Check ballot box please

Do you remember Captn' Crunch? What about Coco Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles, or TRIX? The shiny, sparkly sugary goodness of my childhood past. If you were an 80's kid (me being part of that demographic) you too, will remember looking for the box with the best free toy inside the cereal box. Thinking of this bring me straight back to my frizzy perm and plastic Hello Kitty faced watch.

But I'm not here to talk about sugary cereal perse. I'm here to talk about the sudden disappearance of aforementioned breakfast foods. Notice, how over the years they have basically vanished from the face of grocery store shelves? Well that folks, demonstrates the power of voting with your money, and an example of how individuals have power over large corporations.

We are in an age where cheap and unhealthy foods is as accessible as a mouse click away. We don't see that living beings are cruelly raised and slaughtered for our taste buds (no this is not a blog entry about being a vegetarian), and making us sick or dead in the process (listeria, mad-cow etc…)

for those of you who have yet to watch Food Inc., this is 2 hours of your precious time worth spending in front of the boob tube. It's scary, but eye-opening stuff.

Going back to the cereals of my childhood…they have almost altogether gone the way of the dinosaur because people no longer purchased them. Somehow, parents realized that no matter how fun or tasty these cereals were…they weren't too good for the kids…so they stopped buying them. Here's a hot tip, if no body buys certain product lines, guess what these big food manufacturers do…they stop making them!

I know I'm stating the obvious, but I'll still say it: retailers, food manufacturers and share holders look at what sells, what doesn't and they react to what YOU WANT. People make their living studying growth and declines in the market (I used to be one of them), and rationalize product lines so that they maximize profits and sales.

Did you notice, a few years back that EVERYONE was getting into the organics game? All of a sudden. your local grocer started carrying certified organic teas, cookies and snacks. A small, but obvious section was carved out at the butcher section for free range chicken or eggs? Head honchos realized that they could actually make money from these ethical choices, because everyone and their uncle started asking for them.

So every time we go to the grocery store, every time a barcode passes that creepy red laser…we are, in essence, voting with our purchase. When we buy GMO or pesticide laden foodstuffs, we are essentially saying…it's okay…keep producing this stuff which could or will make me sick. When we buy that toxic laundry detergent that was on sale for 1.99, that will be fed back into our water supply, we tell them it's okay to keep producing this sick stuff.

On the flip side, when we purchase free-range chicken from foul that actually saw real sun-light, we are supporting that farmer and entire production line that promotes ethical treatment of animals raised for consumption.

And if sustainable becomes the norm and expected, guess what happens?? Competition between manufacturers..which means…better/affordable prices for you and me, and eating hormone laden protein will be likened to eating asbestos…we wont stand for it.

Let us vote with our money, and as much as I love Captn' Crunch, I'll only be eating it in my fond memories of childhood.

It's an honour to just be nominated....

Pan a camera to my (Joanna's) face as someone else wins the Academy Award for Best Actress.

You'll see my well composed visage and unfaltering smile as someone else accepts the Oscar...

Okay, so I'm not in performing arts, nor am I an actress...in fact this has nothing to do with the movies.

Green Lavender was short-listed for Best Eco-Store in Toronto according to Today's Parent Magazine Parent's Pick Awards 2010.

Thank you parents!

P.S. Pick up a complimentary copy of Chris Metzler's children's book Me and 10 Babies in store now (while supplies last!!). Makes awesome stocking stuffers for the awesome kids in your life.

Do it yourself holiday gift-organic perfume

With the Holidays just a month away we thought we'd share an easy guide to make organic perfume for those on your list.

Here is a couple of reasons why we find this to be such a great idea:

-Save $$$
-There is nothing better then giving a present that was made with love.
-Umm considering there are thousands of harmful chemicals in the department store perfumes, who wants to spritz those on...yuck

Here it is, enjoy!

1: Grate 2 tablespoons of unbleached beeswax (use an old candle stump or buy a small solid beeswax brick from the health store).

2: Melt the beeswax and 3 tablespoons of high-grade oil (either organic jojoba oil or almond oil). Placing a thick glass measuring cup in a pot filled with a few centimeters of simmering water. Melt everything in the glass vessel.

3: Remove from heat and stir in 30 drops of your favorite blend of certified organic essential oils. You can get oils here at GL, or head to your local health food store they're sure to have a good selection as well. Make sure its organic!

4: Pour into a cute second-hand containers/tins or get some small glass containers online or from a health/dollar store. Let cool.

Your loved ones will love it, we promise.

The last 365 Days

In the spirit of American Thanksgiving, I’d (Joanna) like to talk about gratitude and gratefulness.
This is a great topic to embark upon, because this past weekend, was our one year anniversary. And if you met two people who were more thankful this weekend, than Mia and I…well, I simply wouldn’t believe you.

It’s been often said that 80% of all businesses fail within the first year of opening their doors. By this standard alone, Green Lavender is a success.
However, I’m happy to report that not only have we kept our doors open, but, we are, in my opinion, thriving. Imma break it down:

exibit a: I look at pictures from our opening night (which can be found on our FB page here) and we have built our humble selection of a few eco lines to more and more cool and useful items. Not only that, but we’ve really worked hard to source more and more responsible local and Canadian companies to our assortment i.e. apparel, yoga & meditation props, greeting cards and stationary. And I’ll stop there b/c now I’m just starting to sound like a brochure. In short, you folks have really seen the value and importance of buying locally and supporting responsible companies…success!

Above: Family & Friends celebrating our grand opening

Below: Geez guys, would it kill you to smile just a little bigger?
(documenting first sale ever!)

Current Holiday gift idea table - everything on table is less than $30

and proudly made in Canada

exibit b: It was such a treat to see folks who came to my very first yoga class this weekend, continuing and loving their practice. As if I needed a reminder as to why I love my job…success!

exibit c: Mia and I have not yet hurt or maimed one another. In fact, the more that we grow together as business partners, the more harmonious our points of view and ideas become. Sometimes I wish I had a camera to document our conversations when we get really heated and excited about something…I imagine we look like two male peacocks pluming against one another, one’s “caw!!” louder than the last. Our passion for responsible living and spreading the joys of yoga is every growing, and evolving.

exibit d: New friends! We’ve met so many awesome people along the way. From other yogis, neighbors, business owners and just really really cool folk we now call friends. We would have never met them, if not through GL….success!

So here’s to another year. Thank you…what more can we say.