Switching Over is Worth It

Switching over to all organic, all natural, and fair trade products (food, household needs, etc.) can be a bit overwhelming at first. You begin reading labels, researching companies, and searching for places that carry this items and sometimes you can begin thinking that it is just going to be tough to take it on. I mean, who has time to read labels, research companies, and drive all over the place just to find items that meet this criteria? Well, let me say that yes it is a big switch. Yes, it does require effort on your part to make sure that what you are purchasing is truly organic, all natural, or fair trade. Yes, it may require you to abandon some products that you have had a long standing relationship with. But, in the end is completely worth it! Once you make that first plunge, it does get easier. Once you start learning about all the benefits that organic, all natural, and fair trade bring then the feeling of being overwhelmed will be replaced with a sense of peace. Not only will you improve your health and the health of your family (think about less doctors visits), you will also improve the health of your home. When you begin to replace harmful chemical filled cleaners & other products your home becomes healthier. When you clean your home, you won't have to worry about any harm coming to your family members (including pets). The air in your home will become cleaner. And when you buy fair trade, you will also be helping to improve the life of someone else. So, you might have to put a little extra effort on your part, but in the long run it is worth it.

Why Am I Blogging About Organics, All Natural, & Fair Trade?

Today I decided that I would embark on the adventure of blogging about organics, all natural, and fair trade. I came to this decision because of my interest in these topics, as well as wanting to share with others the importance of organics, all natural, and fair trade. My husband and I decided a while back that we would seek to live as clean as possible by purchasing and consuming organic and all natural products. Both of us had dabbled in these areas before marrying, but not enough to call ourselves "green" people. I also have a very dear friend who introduced me to homemade ( and eco-friendly) laundry detergent. Yes, that is correct: HOMEMADE. She also introduced me to making my own household (again eco-friendly) cleaning products and using cloth napkins. So, now I make our laundry detergent and household cleaning solution, and we no longer purchase paper products (with the exception of toilet paper.....that's a must). We purchase almost all organic and all natural food products, and I hope to get us to purchasing ALL organic and all natural food items soon.

But wait, where does the fair trade come in? Ah, yes fair trade. My husband and I slowly began to educate ourselves on fair trade. Let me borrow from Wikipedia for a moment to let those of you who might be scratching your heads as to what fair trade means.

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine^[1], fresh fruit, chocolate, flowers and gold.^{[2] )+(Wikipedia)}

We began to really think about what we buy. Are the people who made our clothes, grew our coffee, grew our tea, made our jewelry, and etc. being treated fairly? Are we willing to purchase an item for $40 knowing that the person who worked on that item was only paid 10 cents an hour and can barely provide for his/her family? Are we willing to acquire things at the expense of another person? Was someone forced into human trafficking so that we could have the best coffee or the finest clothes?

We are still educating ourselves in all of these areas (organics, all natural, and fair trade), and I hope to shed some light on the importance of going organic, all natural, and purchasing fair trade items. My purpose for this blog is to do just that. Shed light on organics, all natural, and fair trade. On this blog I will discuss each of these areas. I hope to provide insight as to what products are available, websites thar I think are helpful, websites where items can be purchased, recipes, and more. I also welcome questions and suggestions. If there is something you want to know more about, just ask and I will do my best to answer. If there is something you would like to see me discuss, just suggest it. If there is a recipe you would like to have, just request it.  This is just the beginning, but I hope that you will stay with me for this adventure.