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Monday, June 8, 2009
For the Love of … bathing

Great name for a beauty brand, don’t ya think? No, no … it’s not mine.

For the Love of … is, however, an organic luxury bath and body product company located in Washington DC. The products are organic, mainly vegan and handcrafted by Kristina Libby. Kristina has an interesting story in that she left the corporate world to devote herself to her passion of creating organic beauty products for men and women. Recently featured in Daily Candy, the company is taking off big!

The company has a triple bottom line mission. Their goal is to make a great product and service while also having minimal environmental impact and an aggressive social mission. Libby says all their products contain only organic ingredients and meet the standards for organic certification. The products are also all packaged in recycled and reusable containers. Even their labels are created using a mass printing process which ensures minimal environmental waste. To read more, visit their site.

May 29, 2009

Do the Loca-Lotion

For the Love Of Beauty Products
love it!

We’ve assembled an elite squad from around the world. Code name: For the Love Of.

Participants, you’ve been chosen for your special skills and ability to combine forces for greater potency. To say nothing of your natural and organic ability to exfoliate, moisturize, and perfume our targets.

Of critical importance: keeping things seasonal. Orange, you’ll pair with Blueberry on the luxe lotion. Geranium and Mint, you’ll join in on the summer line. The entire lineup will change come fall.

Local team leader Kristina Libby, who trained as a florist, travels the world sourcing new ingredients and partnerships with small farmers. To that end, Team Florals and Team Essential Oils, you’ll work with Libby on custom fragrances for clients.

You should choose to accept it.

Available at Greater Goods, 1626 U Street NW, between 17th Street and New Hampshire Avenue (202-449-6070 or greatergoods.com); online at fortheloveofbathing.com.

Check out their online store: http://greatergoods.com/ and stay tuned for upcoming classes: http://greatergoods.com/classes.

Stolen from their website, a little more information to make you want to rush to their store, say hello to Daniel, feed the puppy a treat and make a quick purchase or two:

How We Select Our Products
At Greater Goods, we believe living sustainably starts with each of us doing simple things at home to make a difference for our family, our neighborhood and, ultimately, the whole world. For this reason we only sell products that either help you live a greener life (like energy saving electronics, solar phone chargers, composters and recycling bins), or products that provide an eco-friendly alternative for things you use every day (like low-flow shower heads, rechargeable batteries, and chlorine-free diapers.)

There are thousands of “green” products out there, and more appear every day, but many of them do not work well or are not made to last. For this reason, our second criteria for carrying any product is that it must function well and be durable. We either test our products ourselves, search out consumer ratings and reviews, or both. For example, we only carry brands of energy-efficient fans and space heaters that truly do the job they are meant to do. Our non-toxic cleaning product brands actually clean what they claim to, and our tankless water heater brands are user-friendly and come from companies with good customer service.

Once a product has met the first two critieria, it usually has additional environmental qualities too: We prefer to carry products that are certified organic, FSC-certified, or made from natural, recycled, or renewable resources; products that are non-toxic, BPA, lead and phthalate free; and products that are reusable and/or recyclable.

While these qualities are preferable and describe the majority of our products, they are not strictly required for a product to be on our shelves. For example, our recycling bins and composters are made from virgin plastic, but they are recyclable, and help people recycle waste and reduce the burden on landfills. Envirosax reusable bags are made from polyester, a type of plastic, but this makes them very attractive, durable and foldable into a very small package so you are more likely to have them with you when you are shopping. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) contain mercury and must be carefully disposed of, however CFLs are the best available alternative to incandescent light bulbs for energy savings and living more sustainably.

Where Our Products Come From
While most of our products are made in the U.S. or Canada, about 35% of our products are manufactured in countries like South Africa, China, Thailand and Indonesia. We try to make sure that these products are made by companies that, at a minimum, pay a fair wage in the country of manufacture, provide safe working conditions, and do not employ children. There are so many different “fair trade” and environmental certifications these days, that it is a challenge for us to figure out which certifications are actually valuable, and what type of certification, if any, a product needs to meet to be on our shelves. This is something we dance with on every product decision.

With the exception of electronics, to our knowledge, we do not sell any foreign-made products that aren’t either certified “fair trade,” or whose companies make regular factory visits or have staff on site. For labor standards, we rely on third-party certifications such as Co-op America Seal of Approval, SA8000, and Fair Trade, among others. If a company is not certified, we ask if and how often a company makes visits to inspect their factory, or if there are company staff on site. We trust the honorable word of brands like Sigg, Bambu, and Envirosax, who stake their business reputations on fair practices and environmental sustainability. Bambu, for example, has the Co-op America Seal of Approval. Sckoon Organics has the SA8000 Certificate, MiYim is owned by a Chinese-American family that maintains their own factory under fair and safe conditions, Envirosax makes yearly visits to inspect their manufacturing factories in Asia, and Sigg has staff on site at their factory in China.

Our energy-saving electronics, solar devices, and CFL/LED light bulbs, which make up less than 10% of our inventory, are also made overseas or contain components made overseas. Almost all electronics in the U.S. are made in Asia, where it is common for multiple factories to manufacture the different components that go into a device. Beyond checking that a company has not been cited for sweatshop manufacturing, it is not possible to expect any electronic companies to maintain the strict standards required for third-party “fair trade” certification. For this reason, we only carry electronic devices we believe will make a real difference in protecting the environment and living sustainably.

As you can see, selecting products that we believe will help you live greener, healthier lives is a delicate balancing act, and we have two staff members who carefully scrutinize each product we stock. We also rely on you, our customer, for continued feedback on the new products we offer. If you’d like to inquire about our products or provide feedback, please contact us.

Please be aware that while Greater Goods strives to maintain these standards and selection criteria, it does not certify or guarantee that its products meet these standards and selection criteria and is not otherwise responsible for obtaining, updating or maintaining these standards and selection criteria. Please see our disclaimer.

Our Story
Greater Goods was an idea born in February 2006. Founder, Daniel Velez was thinking about Iraq, energy independence, and global warming. At the time, he was traveling 45 minutes each way from to Rockville, MD from Adams Morgan in DC by car, and had a lot of time to think and listen. It came not as a flash of inspiration, but more like something borrowed from NPR:
Product areas

Daniel realized that living more sustainably is about the choices we make around engineering and technology. Its also about how we as humans use our living and work spaces. Since most people on the planet live in cities, that’s where energy, water, and waste technologies should be applied. Most of the buildings in major metropolitan areas will not be rebuilt any time soon, so we need to improve what we already have.

Daniel wanted to find the kinds of goods and services that would help him improve his home so he could have less of an impact on the environment without sacrificing toilet paper. Not finding such a place, he decided to open one. Along the way, Daniel discovered that living sustainably is about a little DIY, and it’s kinda fun.