If you’d like to try out some truly friendly and green goodies, today’s your lucky day as we’re giving away a couple of great hampers from reputable green suppliers.
ROSE THEMED PACK
Rose and Geranium Hand Cream
gorgeous rich hand cream infused with the world’s purest essential oil of Rose and enriched with organic Rosehip. This highly concentrated and effective blend has been formulated to nourish and rehydrate dry skin. Rose was a firm favourite with Victorian ladies. Blended with organic Shea Butter, Jojoba Wax and other exceptionally nourishing botanical extracts, this cream is essential for dry, chapped hands and a must-have for gardeners. Dry Skin
Rose and Geranium Fragrant Hand Wash
An all time favourite during the Victorian era, this fragrant hand wash is carefully formulated with ingredients which do not detrimentally affect the skin’s delicate pH balance. Infused with essential oil of Rose, it leaves the hands feeling clean and soft without drying the skin and leaves the scent of Rose Petals on the skin (SLES free)
Rose and Geranium Body Lotion
A gorgeous rich body lotion blended with the best organic skin conditioners and botanical extracts of Carrot, and Geranium.
LAVENDER THEMED PACK
English Lavender Hand Cream
Exquisitely fragranced with old Victorian favourite, English Lavender, this is an extremely rich but easily absorbed hand cream perfectly blended to regenerate, protect and soothe the hands. Ideal for everyday use. With organic Shea Butter, Aloe Gel and Sandalwood all renowned for their regeneration properties on the skin.
English Lavender Fragrant Hand Wash
Another old favourite during the Victorian era, this aromatic gel hand wash is fragranced with the beautiful scent of English Lavender, renowned for its antiseptic and regenerating properties on the skin. (SLES free) All Skin Types 250ml
Lavender Flower Bar Soap
This soap is made with vegetable glycerin, vegetable oils and essential oil of Lavender. It contains crushed Lavender flowers.
ROSEMARY/ORANGE THEMED PACK:
Rosemary and Sweet Orange Fragrant Hand Wash
An invigorating citrus fragranced gel hand wash carefully formulated with ingredients which do not detrimentally affect the skin’s delicate pH balance. With antiseptic Rosemary this Wash leaves the hands refreshed and clean with the delightful and lingering fragrance of Sweet Orange (SLES free)
Rosemary and Sweet Orange Hand Cream
An unusual easily absorbed hand cream with a blend of organic extracts chosen for their antiseptic and healing properties. Fragranced with the uplifting citrus scent of Blue Rosemary and Sweet Orange. The hand cream is enriched with Shea Butter and Wheatgern and helps to nourish and nurture the hands, feed the cuticles and stimulate nail growth. All Skin Types 100ml
Shea Butter and Orange Bar soap
This is a beautiful soft creamy soap with a delicate scent of Orange. It is made with Shea Butter, vegetable oils and essential oils.
Essential oil based and natural all the way
Based on old Victorian recipes made during the 1800’s, these hand crafted soaps contain natural ingredients with the very best sourced essential oils, plant extracts and cold pressed vegetable oils. During the Victorian era, and during the Tudor era and indeed, in previous times, soap making methods included using the ‘cold method’ which ensured that active organics do not deteriorate as they do when using the ‘hot method’ used by most commercial soaperies.
Their soaps are suitable for sensitive skins and are classed as VEGAN. The soap process removes excess alkali from the bars thus creating a very mild soap. Alkali, used to turn oils into soap, and water are the primary non organic ingredients. Most components come from plant based renewable resources which are farmed and processed without chemicals in a sustainable and Fair Trade manner. When you mix oils, alkali and water, they chemically react and turn into soap and glycerin. The glycerin is then stirred back in to add to the moisturizing qualities of soap. Their Bathroom and Soap products all contain natural ingredients.
About the company
The Victorian Garden are Crafters of organic skincare products popular during the Victorian era. Their oldest product, Double Rose and Geranium skin moisturizer was first created in 1860 for the Ladies in Waiting at the Courts of Britain’s Queen Victoria. These products are found in most health shops, Wellness Centres and Spas in South Africa. They also have two Go Green/Go Organic Organic Skin and Body Therapy BEAUTY SALONS where Phytotherapy is used in the treatments.
The Victorian Garden today recreates these ancient recipes using traditional organic ingredients and without recourse to modern day chemicals. Yellow beeswax, organic honeys, organically grown herbs, flowers, the earth’s minerals, soapwort, seaweed gel, and essential oils are all used to produce this exciting and different range of products. In addition, they hand craft organic African Indigenous products using unusual and powerful ingredients from the African bushveld.
These products are on the approved White List of Beauty Without Cruelty International as they are totally opposed to the use of animal ingredients or testing on animals.
CAMPING GIFT SET
Badger SPF30 and Anti-Bug balm, Rare Earth Ayervedic mosquito incence and Mozzie Be Gone soap
Badger SPF30 and Anti-Bug balm is 100% natural ethically produced from the finest ingredients including Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pure essential oils sourced from around the world for their healing powers. The whole range of badger products are certified by leaping bunny, meaning that not only are products not tested on animals, but none of the suppliers test the ingredients on animals either. The whole range is also certified organic. The cream is vegetarian.
Badger Anti-bug balm for the evenings carries the above credentials but also comes in a reusable tin. The balm is vegetarian.
The Rare Earth Ayervedic Mosquito Incense is from Mereville. Mereville is located in the Auroville region in India where the local community live and work in harmony with nature. All the packaging of the products is derived from recycled paper and the manufacturers belong to the Fair Trade Organisation. All of the ranges of incense are completely natural and free from toxins. None of the products are tested on animals and child labour is not used.
The Mozzie Be Gone Soap is handmade and free of contentious synthetic ingredients. None of the ingredients used in the soap are tested on animals.
CHILDREN’S GIFT SET
Pure Beginnings bubble bath, shampoo and body lotion with Avo and Cucumber Soap
The bubble bath, shampoo and body lotion are all from the Pure Beginnings range. Pure Beginnings products use certified organic ingredients that are certified by a variety of third sources and they do not contain petrochemicals, parabens, synthetic fragrances, aluminium and are also endorsed by Beauty Without Cruelty.
The Avo and Cucumber Soap is also endorsed by Beauty Without Cruelty and is handmade and free of contentious ingredients.
NATURAL NAIL GIFT SET
From Spa Rituals – first time even harmless nail varnish!!
(At last a greeny can paint her nails again.)
All products are from the Spa Rituals range which is completely vegan, and all nail lacquers are DBP, formaldehyde, toluene and paraben free. The formulations are naturally colored and free of synthetic dyes. Eco-friendly packaging is also used for the products.
About the company
Faithful to Nature is a company that has gone out of their way to ground the very concept of a business being people, earth and animal friendly. Robyn and Christian, a couple who started the business in 2007 felt that customers needed to be honoured with full information on the products they were buying so that they could make more informed and conscious decisions as to what they used on their bodies, their pets, brought into their homes, and washed back into our Earth.
They were the first company to compile a strict ingredient policy by which they evaluated ingredients of every product sold. The company make every effort to encourage their customers to become ingredient detectives themselves by sharing related information on the topic in their blog, as well as by handing out free pocket guides with lists of suggested ingredients to avoid. Every product also comes with its full ingredient list in the description so that customers can decide themselves if the product is clean enough for their liking. Each product is also classified by its organic and vegan status to provide further clarity.
Book review
Personal Growth, African Style by Barbara Nussbaum, Sudhanshu Palsule and Velaphi Mkhize, published by Penguin.
‘Against a backdrop of global change of every kind, from climate to demography, from national security to international terrorism, it is becoming increasingly evident that we live in a deeply interconnected world. However, our approach to leaders continues to be stuck in an individual-centred mindset that perceives the world from a disconnected and fragmentary perspective. Never before has it become more urgent for us to choose leaders and to become leaders who possess greater awareness and humanity. In this context, Africa has a vital role to play.’ So reads the back blurb.
I thoroughly enjoyed this very interesting, topical and important book, which educated me on many African concepts I feel we should all know. Many of which we perhaps practice already. Certainly I found, to my delight, that I am more African than I had ever realised. The continent is in our blood, but how do we intelligently verbalise and indeed defend this African approach and feel?
This book is for everyone who would like to see what great power lies behind this humanist continent of our planet, and how we can and must play an important role in balancing the pragmatism of the west, the rationalism of the north and the holism of the east. This book brings much needed visionary hope. Bravo! I can’t wait to get back and finish a stunning read.
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