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    Multipart Educational Series (don’t worry, it’s not going to be a lecture; we have worked hard to keep it simple and easy to follow) on how to take care of your skincare routine!

    Lesson 1: Introduction and Definitions

    At Go Eco Love, we are passionate about Natural (Herbal) Skin Care Routine and do extensive due diligence and research to make sure that we have excellent quality herbal skincare options for you.  The Go Eco Love team comes from Medical, Chemistry and Engineering backgrounds, everything you need to be able to make your own cosmetics (but no we are not making these 🙂 We have a manufacturer with more than 25 years of experience in natural (Herbalicious) skin care with all the necessary certifications and we have co-product developed our skincare with this manufacturer.  So this experienced manufacturer makes these products for us. We are certainly not mixing anything in our kitchens! Although this is said in a light tone, we must emphasize it is a very serious topic.  Whatever you put on your skin, you must be careful about). 

    Through our multi part educational series, we want to make sure:

    1. You understand and are aware about Natural Skincare
    2. That principles of Natural Skincare are applied correctly in your daily lives
    3. You learn the best way to care for your skin
    4. You are making educated decisions instead of being swayed by media and marketing

    One of the most frequent questions we get asked is what is the best skin care routine? A lot of people seem to be confused and unsure about what to do and how to do it.  The commercial world we live in really doesn’t help.  There are ads after ads and television and social media marketing seem to pull us into all sorts of directions.  Makes your head spin!

    So you have to be careful, you have to think, you have to self-analyse what is being ‘sold’ to you.  By sold, we do not mean only the products.  We mean products as well as the information.  Basically you have to be able apply critical thinking before you go off and buy that expensive 60 face mask!

    So we have put together this multi-part educational series with the aim of achieving the above four objectives.  If you want to know about Natural Skin Care Routine, and you want a moisturized, healthy and glowing skin, then keep reading.  If you really care about what you use on your skin and how you should use these, then keep reading and see what we have got in store for you.

    Lets start it off easy.  Let’s start off with definitions.

    First of all, what does natural skin care mean?

    The word natural, per Oxford dictionary, means existing in nature.  In the context of skin care, it means that the skincare is made of ingredients available in nature.  So a perfect example would be our Go Eco Love Rose Scrub which is made out of organic rose (yes the flower rose) and organic coconut sugar. 

    Go Eco Love Organic Herbal Rose Scrub

    At Go Eco Love we prefer to use the word Herbal over natural.  It’s because we like the romanticized word: herbal.  However, herbal and natural are pretty well the same thing and the terms used interchangeably. Natural skincare means non toxic, healthy, no chemical used, natural or herbal skin care.  Since you are using natural ingredients, by virtue of it being natural, it’s is a great way to keep your skin, moisturized, healthy and glowing. 

    While purchasing any skincare product, the label is important.  The label would illustrate the ingredients used.  The label will tell you what products are used and this will help you to evaluate the ‘naturalness’.  So by reading the label and understanding the ingredients, you become aware of what you are purchasing and putting on your skin.

    Tied into this is a bit of chemistry lesson.  Don’t worry, let’s keep it light and easy. 

    Let’s start with the term formulation. 

    A formulation is composition or make up of a product; a material or mixture prepared according to a formula.  Especially in skincare whether it’s natural or not, without a formula you cannot make a product.  For example, usually the formula for a hand made soap will be lye, solid oils (like shea butter, coconut oils) and liquid oils (like olive oil, sunflower oil).  The formulation will tell you how much % of each of these components is there in the product.  So if you take the product to a chemistry lab for analysis, the lab will be able to test how much of each component there is and will be able to determine the formulation.  All this is a bit mind boggling.  You don’t need to know all the % but you do need to know what products are there in the formulation and how to read and assess the label. 

    Herbal or natural skin care formulations utilize raw materials like flowers, herbs, berries, and other botanical sources.  They don’t always have to use organic raw materials.  If they do, it’s brilliant.  At Go Eco Love, we only source from manufacturers that use organic products however from a product formulation perspective you don’t have to use organic products.  From a quality and ethical perspective, the organic materials are of course far superior.

    Let’s stop here and wait for Lesson 2, in which, we will discuss Natural Skincare and Lifestyle Habits.

    Go Eco Love is also putting together a magazine to be released in February 2021.  It will analyse Natural Skincare from a Scientific perspective.  So certainly keep watching out for the release…..

    Do Visit us at: Go Eco Love Shop

    LET’S EACH ONE OF US TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION INDIVIDUALLY.
    Introduction:
    Table of Contents

      What does sustainability mean? Nowadays, it’s fashionable and chic to use this word. Everybody is talking about it! We read about it everywhere, we see it on Social media, and on our televisions. It’s a cliché topic these days. There was a time feminism was such a cliché topic. Now, it’s sustainability. But what does it mean with regard to our everyday lives?  Simplified, it means that your environmental footprint has a huge impact with regards to sustainability.

      At Go Eco Love, we consider sustainability to be an integral concept of living, a part of our daily lives. So let us explore some thoughts around it. First and foremost, sustainability is personal, which means it is different for each one of us. It’s a dynamic definition and we shouldn’t make the mistake of pinpointing and judging others about their interpretation of sustainability. We’re all different and we all make our contributions indifferent ways.

      Basically, as citizens of this beautiful planet, we should all strive to look after the Environment, the Community, the World, our Mother Nature, and our Earth. By educating ourselves, we are better able to educate our children, their children and all future generations. There is an American Indian proverb we love at Go Eco Love. We think it’s beautiful and aptly captures important element of sustainability and children.

      However, does it stop there? Looking at it from a holistic perspective, which is what we aim to do at Go Eco Love, sustainability is a rounded concept: it reflects the community from macro to micro organisms, from finance to the air we breathe. Yes it also means cows matter. It also means rats matter. It means Covid’s impact on everyone’s finance matters. Everything matters. It means that behavior and ethics matter as well.

      The 3 Pillars of Sustainability

      In general, there are three pillars of sustainability (Fig 1). These pillars are Social, Economic and the Ecosystem. Of great importance is the relationship between these three pillars. Each is pillar is vital, and indeed they are by necessity intertwined and impacting one another.

      Fig 1: Three Pillars of Sustainability

      You might have heard the word conservationism used synonymously with sustainability. Conservationism can be broadly classed as a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to protect natural resources, animal and plant species, and their habitats for the future. Interestingly, a lot of people think that climate change and conservationism are the be all and end all to sustainability. Thus, these words are used interchangeably. Although the underlying principles are the same, these two, are in essence, different concepts.  Therefore, greater care should be used when using these topics. The RSPB, UK, an organization, we support whole heartedly, has a fantastic page on conservationism and sustainability.

      It is absolutely fantastic that we have these movements and concepts. Nevertheless, the ultimate responsibility lies with you. At Go Eco Love, we sell handmade products, especially jute bags, herbal cosmetics and cards made by charitable organizations. This way we are utilizing the basic principles of sustainability and revitalizing the community financially. Our company model tackles the 3 pillars of sustainability. We also ensure we have a holistic perspective on sustainability.

      We significantly involve ourselves in education and awareness and work with children and young adults so that future generations are nurtured. The purpose of our eco products is to reduce the pollution by reusing all the containers in which the products come in.

      However, sustainability does not stop or begin with us. It requires help from all of you.​​ Each one of us can start with simple things like gardening, planting, using water and electricity carefully, making home improvements and buying less. The R concepts of recycling, repurposing, reducing, reusing, up cycling are fundamental to being sustainable.

      Robert Swan is a British polar explorer, environmental leader and public speaker. His quote aptly captures what we should all be doing in a nutshell: the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.

      Let’s each one of us take accountability and action individually.

      At Go Eco Love we work with charities. We also put in effect sustainability mechanisms into our social entrepreneurship model.

      Watch the space, we are going to be putting out a magazine soon discussing some important topics and providing tips and help!!!!

      Sustainable
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        PART 1: How to begin without spending!

        Starting a sustainable living doesn’t mean you need to dispose everything that is non-eco-friendly in your home and replace them with eco-stuff.

        With the kind of living we have now, we are to go down into the basics we knew since we were kids:

        REDUCE

        REUSE

        RECYCLE

        Sounds boring and cliché? 

        Let’s put some drama to it, shall we?

        Meet three kinds of friends while following three simple steps in starting your sustainable living journey!

        3R Cycle Step 1:
        Hello, Plastic PLASTICS

        If Plastic is trying to be your friend, you are not being mean if you turn them away. They may be clear, light, and clean looking, BUT let me tell you – they are plastic (figuratively)!

        Sadly, we all got hold of A LOT of them, plastics. Since we can’t get away with them that easily, let us use them for a somewhat advantage.

        Reuse reusable plastic bags. 

        Sounds a bit redundant but there is a fine line between single-use plastics and those reusable ones, so, be aware of those!

        Reusable plastics are quite sturdy, can be reused a lot of times, and can be sanitized, too! 

        Going for a grocery run? Why not bring those previous bags you got and reuse them as grocery bags again! And again.. And again.. until it wears off. 

        “Hey, can I just use my cloth bags?”

        By all means, YES! Just in case you don’t have one, YOU DON’T NEED TO BUY. Reuse whatever you have.

        Reuse reusable plastic containers.

        Same concept applies with the plastic bags. 

        Remember those take-outs you had for weeks? You have piled up a ton of food containers, right? BUT not all containers are made the same, so, do some research first to which can be used again for food. If not, reuse them as containers for other stuffs! 

        “Uhm, like how to reuse them?”

        Be creative!

        You can reuse them as storage for trinkets, some medicine, dry herbs, and a lot more! You can even use them as a potting container for planting! 

        Just make sure to wash them thoroughly before reusing!

        3R Cycle Step 2:
        Ditch the Singles

        For the record, there is nothing wrong about being SINGLE—except for SINGLE-USE PLASTICS.

        If our previous friend can be a friend for months or years depending on our care for them, this single friend of ours cannot be kept for long. Ooops, sorry! And a grave sorry for Mother Nature!

        For us not to pile a lot of convenient-but-not-friendly friend, we must practice Bring Your Own (BYO)… utensils! (spoon, fork, knives, straws, reusable food containers, etc.)

        First of all, you don’t need to buy new set of utensils for you to bring out. You can always use those extra spoons and fork (and whatever you need) you have at home, place it in a clean container, wrap in clean cloth, or put them all in a small bag, then you are good to go. 

        This step just needs a bit of practice and diligence for it to be a habit. Don’t shy away because you seemed different from the crowd! Make them see how your small act could be beneficial. Be the influencer!

        3R Cycle Step 3:
        Skip the Tissue-issue

        his last friend has been the star of the night (pandemic). Who could’ve thought that she was the sought-after or go-to friend of everybody? She was a star… but have fallen from grace. Why? She was just used to wipe all our problems and then thrown away.

        Remember, tissue paper is not reusable. Miserable. 

        Next to plastics, tissue paper is a convenient product to use. Just tear-wipe-throw, and your problem is done! Magic! But do you know the gruesome reality of your wastage? 

        In 2010, 27,000 trees A DAY are wiped out just for tissue paper use1. What more a decade after?

        So what to do? We should take our action, NOW.

        Skipping the use of tissue paper is just very simple. 

        When eating out, you can use your handkerchiefs or any small towel you may bring.  

        “Wet wipes??? “

        (rolling eyes)

        Let us not even start talking about that! And NO, don’t use it as an alternative to tissue! 

        Instead, you may use some cotton towels, reusable pads, or clean cloth cut-outs, soak them in a minimum amount of safe disinfectant, soap solution, or alcohol that can be used for cleaning. Store them in your reusable containers.

        These can we reused again just by washing them like how we wash our clothes. 

        “Hey, what about toilet needs?!”

        Why do we choose tissue over soap and water for this? If the latter is not available, you may use the alternative wipes and may dispose them properly OR store them until time for cleaning.

        With this simple step, your tissue friend would rest peacefully from all our dirty issues.

        Too much effort? 

        Well, nature already took its toll and it is presently backfiring. Why complain now? 

        Living sustainably starting from what is at hand is truly challenging. You don’t need to start from scratch. We can reassess what we aready have and start:

        REUSING whatever we have now. Reuse until it all wears off or cannot be fixed.

        Through the simple step of reusing, we are mindlessly REDUCING the consumption of plastics and tissue paper.

        Making use of plastics for other functions or using alternatives to tissue paper is already RECYCLING.

        And somehow, we are now set to be consciously taking action to whatever we consume and use.

        Starting something doesn’t have to be grandiose. From these small simple steps and making it a habit and influence others to do the same would make a big IMPACT! 

        START SMALL, START NOW! 

        (Even without spending)

        REFERENCE:

        1. Braun, D. (2010, April 16). Toilet paper wipes out 27,000 trees a day. National Geographic Society Newsroom.               https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2010/04/16/toilet-paper-wipes-out-27000-trees-a-day/

        Do Visit us at: Go Eco Love Shop

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