Natural Products with Corporate Owners

I see a lot of people checking out my post on which companies perform animal testing, and thus I wanted to make sure to spread the news. It seems many small companies which make green products, and often don’t test on animals, have been bought up by larger companies that do.

In 2006 Tom’s of Maine was purchased by Colgate-Palmolive.

In 2007 Burt’s Bees was purchased by Clorox.

There was a third one, however, I can’t recall what it is at the moment. I am not suggesting to those who read this blog that they refrain from purchasing Burt’s Bees or Tom’s of Maine. I leave the choice to each individual, as they have to decide what they want to support. I haven’t made up my own mind yet. I think continuing to purchase green products owns by corporations will help send the message that this is what we want, so perhaps the corporations will lessen their production of harmful chemicals. However, I also realize that if I buy these brands, knowing they test on animals, then I am sending a message of a different kind. It’s not an easy decision. I just like consumers to be informed.

I welcome posts on other green products which are owned by corporations, so that people can be informed. I also welcome discussion on which side of the argument y’all are on.

Conform to beauty standards, or…

Someone on one of my blogs recommended Manolo for the Big Girl because it was funny. I decided to add it to my feed in order to evaluate for myself. Then one day I came across a post where Plumcake asks what big girls who don’t dress “chicly” are afraid of. This upset me. It is yet another person calling out those who “don’t fit” and trying to make them feel ashamed and broken. It’s another hierarchy being created. Oh yes, we here at Manolo for the Big Girl are fat, but we’re “fashionably” fat because we do our hair and wear cool clothes and buy high heeled brand named shoes. Just like the healthy fattie discussion. Anyone who doesn’t adhere to this is obviously just coping out. There is no excuse not to dress up and look good! What is wrong with /you/?

Needless to say, I removed the feed and was going to leave it alone, especially after reading the comments which all rang in about how horrible it is not to dress nice and look one’s best. I wanted to leave it alone, but the post kept rising up in my thoughts and causing me to get upset and even more offended. So I returned, and saw that Plumcake had received an outraged response to the post and then asked her readers what they thought. Again, more comments about how shameful and inferior women who didn’t follow fashion were. There was even a comment associating how a woman dresses to her house not being clean enough to accept guests. I mean really folks, have we regressed to the 1900s here? I know the role of women has changed, and the work isn’t done, but we have made a lot of progress and this just breaks my heart.

I admit I posted a comment, which was likely too emotional and not logically sound. I hate letting my emotions get away from me, yet I couldn’t leave it alone. I encourage you ladies to voice your opinion of the situation, either here or there. I do not want to encourage any flamewars or nastiness, so please don’t go there to do that, just honest, open communication about this subject.

What is Thanksgiving?

When I was growing up, I was taught that Thanksgiving started with the Pilgrims and Indians. The Pilgrims had a horrible winter and would have starved to death were it not for the kindness of the Indians. As I aged I learned about the massacre of the Indians, who should be called Native Americans, and instead of the Pilgrims just being helpless colonist they were actually responsible for murder, mayhem, destruction and theft. I decided, at that time, that I wouldn’t be a supporter of Thanksgiving anymore. As I think back, it was likely just an excuse to get out of family gatherings. As ignorant and uncaring as it sounds, while the destruction of the Native American people is horrible, my juvenile self was much more self centered. It was always a holiday I shied away from because of my preconceived notions of negativity, but never bothered to really learn about, as so many “facts” circulated society. As I come into adulthood and have a family of my own, I feel it’s time to take another look at this American holiday, find out what its origins are, and really assess the validity of my earlier decision.

My first stop in learning was Wikipedia. While not always the most accurate, I find it to encompass a lot of information and I make sure to look at the citations before taking anything literally. My focus, also, is on the United States Thanksgiving Day. From my reading, it seems no one really knows when the first Thanksgiving was had, but that most everything that was taught concerning it is a lie.

The first recorded Thanksgiving was held by the Spaniards in 1565 in thanks of their arrival in a new world. The article specifically lists it as “Mass of Thanksgiving”, and given that Roman Catholicism is the major religion in Spain gives implication that this was a religious ceremony. The next recorded celebration was in 1619 when the Virginia colony gave thanks to God on the first day of their arrival per the group’s charter. Next, in 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag surfaced with their Thanksgiving celebration. A major element with this, however, is that these people didn’t regard their celebration as “Thanksgiving”, as we do now, but as a celebration of the harvest which was traditional for both culture prior to this. While the Native Americans did teach the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn, it was not the great feast and friendship that Charlie Brown would have people believe. Especially since a year later the Indian Massacre of 1622 took place. From this point, the idea of Thanksgiving was primarily based upon colony and culture:

The Pilgrims did not hold a true Thanksgiving until 1623, when it followed a drought, prayers for rain, and a subsequent rain shower. Irregular Thanksgivings continued after favorable events and days of fasting after unfavorable ones. In the Plymouth tradition, a thanksgiving day was a church observance, rather than a feast day.

Gradually, an annual Thanksgiving after the harvest developed in the mid-17th century. This did not occur on any set day or necessarily on the same day in different colonies in America.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony (consisting mainly of Puritan Christians) celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in 1630, and frequently thereafter until about 1680, when it became an annual festival in that colony; and Connecticut as early as 1639 and annually after 1647, except in 1675. The Dutch in New Netherland appointed a day for giving thanks in 1644 and occasionally thereafter.

Charlestown, Massachusetts held the first recorded Thanksgiving observance June 29, 1671 by proclamation of the town’s governing council.

During the 18th century individual colonies commonly observed days of thanksgiving throughout each year. We might not recognize a traditional Thanksgiving Day from that period, as it was not a day marked by plentiful food and drink as is today’s custom, but rather a day set aside for prayer and fasting.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) in 1777, after victory at the Battles of Saratoga, the first National Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by the Continental Congress to be on December 18th. The Continental Congress also proclaimed additional Thanksgiving Days every year or so throughout the war until 1784. These proclamations were heavily laced with Christian language and in support of the “just and necessary war” and very rarely done in November. No Thanksgiving proclamations were made again until 1789 when George Washington issued one as the first President of the United States. It wasn’t until 1863, under Abraham Lincoln, that Thanksgiving began to be celebrated annually on the last Thursday in November, without a government proclamation. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt that broke this tradition, and moved Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November when the month had five, and the third when the month had four. Finally, in 1941 that the U.S. Congress passed a law dictating that Thanksgiving be celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday in November. Thus the holiday has evolved into what it is today.

The history of Thanksgiving in 700 words, ladies and gentlemen. If you’re still with me, congrats and thanks. What this all seems to boil down to, for me at least, is that Thanksgiving’s roots are in religious (namely Christian) celebration, praise of victory in wartimes, or when neither of the two were available, just a good ole slap on the back for America and praise for “the Almighty”. Even when the celebration was had for wartime, the proclamations were decidedly Christian in nature. So while families may not play up the religious side of the holiday, it definitely stems from religion. However, does that make it a religious holiday? As someone considering converting to Judaism, should I be partaking of this holiday because it is part of the history of my country despite the Christian connotations? Should I ignored the history of the holiday and instead focus on the ideal of thanking God, or my family, or myself for all that has been accomplished and received? Should I just be thankful and celebrate without worrying myself so much about what Thanksgiving really means? Is Thanksgiving just another consumerist holiday like St. Valentine’s?

Knowing what you now do about Thanksgiving, what are your thoughts?

Natural Skincare

I went out the other day to visit a local business. It was once a place where folks could buy organic produce (before the fad hit) and other natural items. However, it’s been revamped and turned into a natural skincare/cosmetics store. They sell a number of vitamin supplements and other green dietary things. I am in the market for lip balm, lotion and perhaps some vegetarian Omega-3 DHA/EPA supplements. I thought this place would be perfect because it would be supporting a local business owner, as well as allow me to talk to a real live person concerning the natural products and their ingredients. Unfortunately, I was not impressed and left without purchasing anything. The shop came off as being more interested in making profit off the natural care industry than being genuinely interested in natural products. The saleswoman told me several times that the cosmetics adhered to the European standards and were “high-end”. When I inquired as to why the products were better, she again said they were high-end. She told me that petroleum cosmetics were bad for the skin because they couldn’t penetrate, and so I inquired about the wax (bees and such) which were in the lip balms and if that was similar to the petroleum. The lady honestly seemed stumped by this question.

She then went around the store checking the ingredients in assorted products while repeating that they were high-end and agreeing there was wax in them. Oookay, so I’m thoroughly confused. I should point out that these lip balms were $8 a pop, and yet she could not give me any real information on why they were better. I also saw a bottle on the shelf which was labeled as a hair care product, 100% jojoba oil. I was confused by this. Jojoba oil, as I know it, isn’t just used to treat hair but also as an excellent skin moisturizer, among other things. Yet they were selling this $20 bottle of 8oz Jojoba oil (I didn’t see anything about certified organic either) and proclaiming it this wonderful hair tonic. Seriously, slapping a fancy label on something does not make it worth $20. This lady also spent 10 minutes looking for a vegetarian Omega-3 supplement, swearing they had one before pointing out the “high-end” one they can’t keep on the shelves. Why is it high-end? I ask, and was directed to the brand name and how quickly it sells. Cue the eye rolling.

So I went online to my favorite LiveJournal natural community to see if they had any suggestions. I found several rave reviews about a place called My Lip Stuff. It’s made by one woman called Brea, and is 100% natural. There are even several Vegan options. It’s not just lip balm, but lotions and body scrubs and body sprays. I decided to buy a Vegan lip balm for myself, a no-nonsense balm for my husband (labeled as men’s, which basically means there is no scent or taste; I didn’t like the gender label but not everyone is perfect), and a body butter stick. All three cost me $14.75, which included shipping. I was impressed that I placed the order on November 4th at 3:30pm EST and it was shipped by November 6th. Most orders are shipper Priority Mail, but since I got samples (same size as normal, just shipped first class instead) it’ll take a couple days longer.

I’m looking forward to this. I opted for non-scented body butter since I’ve never used a body butter and wanted to try it raw, and a Sweet as Sugar lip balm. Apparently it’s flavored with vanilla and Stevia. I’ll post my thoughts once it gets here and I try it out. Yay for natural products from small businesses!

Glade’s Opinion of Women

The first Glade recent Glade commercial I’ve seen is where the leading lady lights a candle in her fancy little black dress and answers the door to find her friends waiting there. Of course they oooh and aaah over the fragrance, and instead of this woman confiding in her friends that she could buy this great product which doesn’t cost a lot, she decides to tell a bold faced lie. Yes, instead of sharing frugal tips with her friends she decides to act like she got a flippin’ candle from France, because being a bougy upper middle class person and flaunting one’s privilege always earns respect and envy. Of course, her friends all laugh and point out the lady has a Glade sticker on her bum. It’s just so funny when friends lie about things that don’t even matter! I thought this commercial would be one of a kind and Glade would realize how big of an idiot they’re being.

Instead there has been two more wonderfully intelligent commercials released. One playing to the holistic culture where this pompous woman invites her friends over for Yoga and tries to brag on the scent which makes her connect with her inner self. Of course, more giggling from the friends when they realize it’s a Glade plug-in. I haven’t quite decided if these friends are laughing because their hostess is so friggin’ stupid or if it’s a message from Glade that all women are airheads whom think lying and being pretentious is cute. I wish I could find links to these commercials y’all, but I’m sure you’ve seen them.

The one I dislike the most, which I am hard pressed to say, let me tell you, is where our lady is in the bath tub and is rung up by her friend. Then, of course, is the need to lie to said friend about being in a spa. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Seriously, Glade, what the hell possessed you to approve and produce such a bunch of bloody rubbish? I have to swear at you in British I’m so flippin’ angry and irritated by this. It’s just absurd. I swear I will never buy another Glade product, or any product produced by the mother company, for this atrocity. And you bet your sweet patootie that I’m going to be writing a strongly worded letter to Glade. I won’t be holding my breathe for a reply, but at least I’m speaking out.

I just don’t understand why they feel the need to portray women as lying, deceiving, privileged assholes. Nor do I understand how they expect to sell products, which are targeted towards women, this way. I would seriously like to meet the woman who watches these commercials and goes “AMAZING! I want to be just like this woman! Let me rush out to the store and buy Glade products so I can pretend to be something I’m not and try to make everyone else see me as better than them! That’s a marvelous idea!”

Is this the world we live in? Where people feel the need to pretend to be privileged and wealthy instead of just being who they are? Do we still feel the desire to assert superiority over others and maintain dominance? It’s just so sad.