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Ezine 11 04 09

Dropwise Essentials Health & Beauty News

November 4, 2009
Vol. 2, Issue No. 18

A Note from Donya

Hello and welcome to all our new subscribers since the last issue. It's hard to believe, but November is already here, marking the start of the holiday season and the count down to the year's end. In my world, early November is time for the San Francisco Green Festival and the Green Business Conference.

For several years I exhibited at the Green Festival –an exhilarating, sometimes overwhelming, and yes, exhausting experience. It's hard to describe the feeling of being in a space with over 30,000 excited and eager people for 3 days straight. I would say it's similar to some of my past experiences at Grateful Dead concerts –a cornucopia of sights, sound, and smells filling the senses, and a pervading sense of unity and common purpose. I think for many people the Green Festival is the ultimate symbol of the Green movement in the U.S. It represents hope for a sustainable future and a place where kindred spirits can connect and rejoice in the discovery of some really cool products and the cool companies who make them.

If you want to know more about this year's event, tune into my blog at the end of next week. I'll be sharing a series of posts about the latest trends, insights, and products that I discovered at the conference and the festival. To get you thinking Green, this week's article offers 5 things you can do to start greening your life or to improve on what you’re already doing.

Yours in health and prosperity,

Donya

p.s. If you like our products then help us spread the word! Follow us on Twitter or become a fan of Dropwise on Facebook.



Recommended Products & Specials

2 For 1 Be Green Special: Buy two 4 oz or two 8 oz Gentle Cleansing Body Washes for the price of one.



Feature Article

Being Green Has Never Been Easier: 5 Steps to Help You Get Started or Improve on What You're Already Doing

Well it's official ... the Green movement here in the United States has gone mainstream. What was once the province of crunchy granola hippie types trying to save the planet is now almost everyone’s concern, and with good reason. Climate change, over-use of pesticides, other food safety issues, toxins in personal care products, air pollution, rising fuel and energy costs … all these things have taken a tangible toll on our environment and our health and wellness that we can no longer ignore.

While most people want to do the right thing, they don't always "walk the talk." With so much information and chatter out there on the subject, it's easy to see why. Whether it's confusion over conflicting ideas, perceived economic barriers to changing behavior, or simply a case of information overload, just figuring out where to start can be overwhelming.

From the outside looking in, being green seems complicated and hard to do. The truth is, with all the information that's out there and the many resources and new alternatives to help you do it, being green has never been easier!

There are so many little things you can do right now, that when done on a larger scale (i.e. adopted by many people) can have a MASSIVE impact on some of the daunting challenges we face today.

Here are 5 simple steps you can take to get started, or to deepen the work you're already doing:

1. Make a List of All Your "Eco Sins" and Pick 3-5 Areas You Want to Work on or Improve.

Eco Sins (or Guilty Pleasures) are things you know you shouldn't or probably shouldn't do because of their potentially harmful impact to the environment or to your own wellbeing, but you do them anyway. None of us is perfect. We're all at different levels of awareness or willingness to make changes to our habits or lifestyles based on what's most important to us.

A simple first step is to identify specific habits or behaviors that you might be able to modify or eliminate relatively quickly. Start by making a list of your perceived "Eco Sins" with the goal of prioritizing and converting it into a checklist you can use to measure your progress.

Some examples of Eco Sins are things like driving a gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting vehicle; leaving lights turned on when you don't need them; eating meat more than once or twice a week; not recycling waste that is recyclable, etc.

There's no need to rationalize why you do these things, you just want to come up with a list to help you identify where you can do better. Once you have it, take a look at which ones you think you can easily change or eliminate. You'll be surprised how much easier it is to do once you have them written down on paper.

2. Convert it Into an Action Item Checklist & Prioritize It for Maximum Results.

Prioritize your list based on one of two ways: 1) what's easiest for you to accomplish or 2) what's likely to have the biggest impact.

This is entirely up to you and the criteria you use to decide should be based on whatever motivates you the most. If you are results-oriented you'll be more motivated by tackling items that are measurable and have the biggest impact. Or maybe you feel a greater sense of accomplishment by crossing more items off your list faster, so focus on what's easiest for you to achieve in the shortest period of time.

Little things that can have a big (and measurable) impact typically fall in the categories of energy, fuel, and water consumption, and reducing your carbon footprint.

Less tangible or harder to quantify but equally important are things like food, clothing, and personal care product consumption, purchasing habits, recycling, re-using, and eliminating toxic exposures.

Just for fun, prioritize your list both ways to see how different (or similar) the results are. Seeing where they overlap may give you even more motivation!

3. Challenge your Beliefs About What's Possible and Be Open to Changing Them.

This is where you have to go a little deeper with yourself to understand why you do something in spite of your awareness that doing it may not be the best thing for you or others.

It's important not to judge or blame yourself or others, while doing this. There may be many legitimate reasons for engaging in a behavior or habit --ranging from not knowing it was a problem to not having the resources or knowledge to change it. In some cases it could be laziness or apathy, or just a bad habit that's hard to break.

Remember that everything you do is a choice. Even not doing something is a choice. In any given situation you can think and choose differently. So what are some of your limiting beliefs that you can challenge right now to help you take action towards positive and meaningful change?

Don't make decisions based on assumptions. Get the facts first so you understand the real impact of doing your chosen steps and affirm that it’s possible.

4. Set a Realistic Timeframe for Completing Action Items and Reward Your Self for Doing It.

Give yourself a realistic deadline to accomplish this and be practical. If your deadline is too far out into the future then you won't be motivated to do it sooner and might lose momentum early in the process. If your deadline is too soon then you might lose motivation if you can't accomplish it fast enough.

Next to each item write down a deadline for completing it and how you will reward yourself for accomplishing it. When you've completed the top 3-5 items, move down the list and start on the next 3-5 items. As you get better at this and learn more about being green you may want to re-visit and re-prioritize your list.

5. Get Support and Enlist Others to Help You Do it.

Changing any habit or behavior generally requires repetition over a minimum amount of time before it sticks but getting the support of friends, family, neighbors and co-workers is priceless.

Tell other people what you're doing and why it's important to you. Ask them if they would like to join you in accomplishing one or more of the items on your list. Inspire them to come up with their own list. Remember this is a process that starts with you, but in the end it's a movement whose success depends on recruiting as many participants as possible.

And don't forget to consult the numerous online resources available to you to help with the process and share them with everyone you know.

Some excellent resources include:


Green America
(formerly Co-op America)
Tree Hugger
Planet Green
The Daily Green
The Green Guide
Sustain Lane
Pristine Planet
Carbon Conscious Consumer

Copyright 2009 Dropwise Essentials

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Donya Fahmy, is a green business owner and the creator of Dropwise Essentials' spa-quality aromatherapy body products that help you safely relieve stress, increase vitality, improve confidence, or simply manage your emotional state any time or place without popping a pill. For more free tips and valuable information visit www.dropwise.com and subscribe to the Dropwise Health & Beauty News Ezine or blog feed.


The Aroma Zone

If you enjoy the articles in this newsletter then be sure to visit our blog The Aroma Zone for even more valuable articles, practical tips, and helpful resources on Aromatherapy, Health & Beauty, and Greener & Better Living. You can access the blog any time by clicking on the links to the Aroma Zone found throughout our site. If you don't want to miss anything then you can subscribe to the RSS Feed and all new posts will be sent to you via email.

Please feel free to post comments. Your feedback is always welcome. If you have a burning question about something send it in an email to feedback@dropwise.com.


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About Dropwise Essentials

Dropwise Essentials is a San Francisco-based manufacturer of pure aromatherapy and organic plant-based personal care products that give people a safe and effective way to relieve stress, increase vitality, improve confidence, or manage their emotional state any time or place without popping a pill. Our products are:

  • Free of synthetic chemicals and petroleum ingredients
  • Made with high quality certified organic oils and pure essential oils sourced from around the world
  • Packaged in re-usable or recyclable materials
  • Hand-made locally in northern California

Dropwise Essentials was founded by Donya Fahmy, a writer, producer, and consultant whose avid interest in the curative powers of aromatherapy and herbs ultimately led her to design and create the seven products and seventeen unique essential oil blends that make up the current Dropwise product line. She has studied aromatherapy with Carol Schiller - a successful author of several aromatherapy books - and with Dr. Daniel Penoel - a renowned expert in the field of medical aromatherapy.

Dropwise Essentials is a proud member of the Indie Beauty Network (formerly the Handmade Beauty Network), the Green America Business Network (formerly Co-op America), Green Product Alliance, Natural Ingredient Resource Center, and a Friend of PETA. We were among the first companies to join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics by signing their Compact for Safe Cosmetics - which simply formalizes our existing commitment to formulate products free of known or potentially toxic ingredients.