Monday, September 6, 2010

Monkmee Review- EcostoreUSA

I recently got an email for a company called EcostoreUSA, asking if I'd be interested in reviewing their products. I'm all for going 'green', so I said yes. I was sent Baby Body Wash and Rose and Cardamon Body Wash to try. They smell amazing and clean super good. EcostoreUSA offers several lines of cleaning products, baby care, bath & body, hair, household, and pet care.


Rose and Cardamon Body Wash
With naturally derived ingredients, certified organic essential oils,and moisturiser,our new body wash is top-to-toe luxury. Unlike many leading brands, ecostore USA body care products do not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, artificial dyes, perfumes or preservatives which means they are extremely kind to sensitive skin.
Ingredients

•Water 
•Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
•Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
•Wheat Germamidopropyldimonium
•Hydroxypropyl Hydrolysed Wheat Protein
•Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
•Sodium Hydroxymethyl Glycinate
•Certified Organic Fragrance

Baby Body Wash
The incredibly mild and cleansing formulation will leave your precious child's skin soft and silky. What is good for your baby is good for the planet too. (8 fluid ounces)

Ingredients
•Water
•Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
•Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
•Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
•Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate
•Lavandula Hybrida Oil
•Geranium Maculatum Oil
•Eucalyptus Globulus Oil
•Citral
•Citronellol
•Coumarin
•d-Limonene
•Geraniol

Learn all about ecostore & ecostore USA

ecostore NZ was founded more than 15 years ago by Melanie and Malcolm Rands from their home in an eco village in New Zealand.

All of the families that lived in the farm based eco village shared a commitment to organic growing and healthy living, making this an ideal environment in which a young, environmentally conscious business could thrive. Each household in the village was responsible for their own waste water, which quickly highlighted the problems caused by using regular supermarket cleaning products that relied heavily on cheap, petroleum-based, synthetic ingredients.

Faced with the challenge of protecting the pristine rural waterways of the eco village, Malcolm Rands began to research and seek expert help from scientists to develop household cleaning products using plant-based ingredients that would biodegrade safely and quickly. Achieving his goal, he eliminated the need to use toxic chemicals, leaving the eco villages water pure. His goal was more than accomplished as the product line of this home-based business began to grow, and an exciting future began to unfold.

The original customer base of ecostore NZ was comprised of mostly ‘Greenies’ and organic gardeners. However, it was not long before testimonials from other parents (many of whom were unaware of the benefits of eco-friendly products) began to pour in with wonderful news of their children's allergies and eczema clearing up. Many noted that any respiratory issues were healing, and many lingering chronic conditions were disappearing.

By simply changing to the genuinely clean and green ecostore products, people were experiencing surprising and unexpected improvements in their health. As the notion of using products with “No Nasty Chemicals™” gained popular appeal, ecostore quickly outgrew its location in the Rand’s basement and the business moved to a storefront in Auckland, New Zealand.

Doing good by nature
The team at ecostore USA loves making a difference in people’s lives. ecostore USA does not compromise on performance, so customers can be assured of the efficacy of the products - they truly work. We offer more than 100 products, each one meeting the most stringent environmental and sustainability standards. The guiding principle of every formulation is and will always be that the end product must not only be good for the user, but good for the planet.

Gentle on your budget
ecostore USA knows that it can be expensive to buy natural or organic products, but we've found a way around this by safely super-concentrating each formulation. This means that a little really does go a long, long way. The result is saving money by significantly cutting down on cost per use.

Today and in the future – ecostore USA
ecostore NZ now has its own research and development facility and factory. Addressing individual health issues are at the forefront of eco-friendly product development. Seventeen years after beginning as a home-grown business, ecostore NZ is a well known brand in over 600 retail outlets throughout New Zealand; our products are also exported to Australia and the United Kingdom.

What is green?
Aren't you tired of the terrible confusion about what is really a green product? With the guidance of our ecostore NZ partners, ecostore USA can answer that question for you. At ecostore USA, we are here to help you make the connection between the household products that you have been using for your entire life and the potentially harmful effects that they may be having on the earth and on your family's health. ecostore USA is here to help you become more informed and offer you authentic, safe alternatives. Would you like to learn about what "Green" really means?

ecostore is green!
No Nasty Chemicals™
Of course ecostore products do contain chemicals - after all even water is a chemical. We just do everything we can to eliminate the nasty ones. Here's a list of some of the chemicals we avoid and why.

NO toxic petrochemicals
•overexposure to petrochemicals can contribute to health problems like skin irritations, eczema, allergies, weakened immune system (children with developing immune systems can be even more susceptible), chronic fatigue, endocrine system upsets and even cancer
•many petrochemicals persist in the environment and do not biodegrade
•petrochemicals are an unsustainable, non renewable resource

No Enzymes
•Synthetic enzymes are widely used in laundry products.
•They are effective at breaking down proteins and fat stains on clothes.
•Using enzymes means you can wash in cold water and you don't need as many harsh chemicals.
•We believe the downside of using synthetic enzymes in laundry products is more significant.
•If residual enzymes are trapped in your clothing/sheets/underwear they are up against your skin day and night.
•They can be reactivated by sweat and moisture - and start doing the job they were designed for - removing fats/protein - on your skin and potentially causing allergic reactions or other health complications.

NO Optical Whiteners
•These make clothes appear whiter and brighter by absorbing UV light and reflecting to make whites appear bluer.
•In order to work they need to stay in your clothes after washing.
•ecostore does not use optical whiteners because we believe they can cause an allergic reaction with your skin when exposed to sunlight.
•They also do not readily biodegrade and are toxic to aquatic life.

NO synthetic perfumes or dyes
•Dyes are generally used to make a product look more appealing.
•Perfumes are added to disguise odours and to impart a pleasant scent.
•In 99% of instances the colours and perfumes are not functional.
•We don’t use these ingredients as they are a common trigger for those who are chemically sensitive.
•They are almost always made from petroleum.
•They do not readily biodegrade and are toxic to fish and mammals.
•We use ingredients like lemon verbena in our cream cleanser or certified organic Eucalyptus oil in our laundry liquid and wool wash – as it not only gives a fresh clean smell to your clothes it is also an active ingredient.

NO Sodium Lauryl Sulphate
•SLS is a surfactant which is widely used in cleaning detergents and body care products, including toothpaste, shampoo, flowing soaps and shower gels and dishwashing liquid.
•It imparts foam and viscosity; it’s also a strong detergent to remove soiling. It strips oils and fats efficiently.
•We do not use this ingredient in our products because we believe that if SLS is absorbed through the skin then penetration can include systemic tissues such as the brain, heart, spleen and liver.
•SLS in your hair products could be increasing the rate of skin absorption of other chemicals used – like detergents, preservatives, fragrances and colour additives

NO Phosphates*
•These stimulate excessive growth of plants and algae in our waterways
•Phosphates can build up and endanger aquatic life

*Analytical analysis may sometimes reveal minute traces of phosphates in some of our products. We never add phosphates but some of the raw materials used in production can contain very low levels of phosphates.

During the processing of certain raw materials by our suppliers, phosphates are used to aid production i.e. soften water. Unfortunately some phosphate is then chemically bound into the final product, which is then supplied to our factory as a raw material. For example when using our laundry powder there may be a tracel amount of phosphate present during the wash cycle. This would be no more than approximately 0.1 grams which is significantly lower than many leading supermarket brands.

Even though we have very low levels of detectable phosphate, we are always reviewing ingredient options with the aim of eliminating the phosphate content.

NO Chlorine
•as a result of chlorine production and use, many highly toxic organochlorines have been created which can persist in the environment for decades.
•many orgnanochlorines are known endocrine disrupters, some mimic oestrogen and are linked to certain cancers.

NO Ammonia
•an irritant that can affect the skin, eyes and respiratory passages
•adds nitrogen to the environment which can be harmful to plants, fish and animals

NO TEA, DEA or MEA
•Triethanolamine, Diethanolamine or Monoethanolamine are ammonia derivatives
•they are thought to have hormone disrupting effects
•they are possibly carcinogenic when combined with nitrates present in other products

NO parabens
•Parabens are chemical preservatives used in skin care, hair care and cosmetics to stop mould by preventing normal biological activity.
•Methyl, Ethyl, Propyl and Butyl parabens were found to be mildly oestrogenic which means they have the ability to mimic female hormones in your body when applied to the skin
•Parabens occur in so many products that they could have a cumulative effect

NO propylene glycol
•This ingredient can be irritating to the skin

Buy It: EcostoreUSA
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*This is MY honest and true opinion about this product that I was sent free of charge to review. I was not paid to say these things. *

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