General

Cotton is made from the natural fibers of cotton plants, which are from the genus Gossypium. They are soft, fluffy staple fibers that grow in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of cotton plants. They are composed of cellulose; a soft and fluffy material.

The cotton plant needs lots of sun, a long period without frost, and a good amount of rain in order to prosper.

Cotton fibers are naturally soft, cool, and known as breathable and absorbent fibers. They hold  24–27 times their own weight in water and are strong, dye absorbent and can stand up against high temperatures.

Cotton is known for natural comfort. It is used to make clothes and homewares, industrial products like tarpaulins, tents, hotel sheets, army uniforms, and even astronauts’ clothing!

Cotton is a plant that needs a long frost-free period, a lot of heat and plenty of sunshine. It prefers warm and humid climates. Cotton seeds will have a small germination rate, if the soil temperature is below 60°F (15°C). During active growth, the ideal air temperature is 70 to 100°F (21-37°C).

Cotton is heat-tolerant. It does not require excessive amounts of water –  it uses less water than many other major crops produced.  Cotton is sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable; making it an excellent choice as an environmentally-friendly fiber throughout its entire product life cycle.

As cotton is a plant, people use the bark of the root to make medicine. But don’t confuse cotton with cottonseed extract (gossypol)! Cotton is used for nausea, fever, headache, diarrhea, dysentery, nerve pain, and bleeding.

Cotton can be easily processed into a number of products that we use on a daily basis, like coffee filters, book binding, paper, and bandages. Cottonseed oil, which is made from the crushed seeds of cotton plants, is used in a multitude of products including soap, cosmetics, and margarine.

6 Common Uses for Cotton

• Cotton is used to make a variety of woven fabrics, including canvas, denim, damask, flannel, and more.
• They are also used for clothing, and to make bed sheets and towels.
• Cotton is usually used for home decor, such as curtains and sofas.
• The extracted seeds, after being treated, can be used as cottonseed oil.

Features of cotton clothing:

• Cotton is an all-weather textile – it will keep you cool on a hot summer’s day and provide insulation on a cold winter’s day.
• It is hypoallergenic and less toxic than other materials.
• Cotton clothes are comfortable, but shrink and wrinkle easily as they are not too strong.
• As compared to other fabrics, cotton fabric is expensive.

Helping Charities

At Go Eco Love, it is our passionate objective to help others in any way we can. From encouraging people to make wiser buying choices to make the world a greener place to be, to donating our profits to organisations to lift up those who need extra support – we try our best to give back to communities whichever way possible. We have had a lot of exciting developments take place lately with regards to our charity work, so here are 3 examples of our charitable endeavours to help build better, brighter futures for everyone.

Aram Foundation

A charity we have long worked with is the Aram Foundation; an organisation based in Sri Lanka that aims to educate children so that they can reach heights never achieved before. We source many of our products such as our leaf boxes and cards from this charity and donate our profits to them – a two-way system for success.

Green acres Animal Rescue

In partnership with Nisa Paramount Stores Milford Haven, we are pleased to announce that we are now working with Greenacres Animal Rescue in Pembrokeshire. This wonderful charity cares for dogs, cats and all animals in danger of being put down if they’re not rehomed within 7 days. Together we’re prepared to help our furry, four-legged friends with donations to the rescue and raising awareness of the centre’s work.

Sponsoring Margam Football Club

Another addition to our list of charitable partnerships is Margam Football Club. The team in Port Talbot have been wearing our sponsored football jerseys with our logo on them, which has us smiling from ear to ear whenever we see this! We hope this will encourage youngsters to run outdoors and get their blood pumping in the fresh air.

For more information about these organisations, head over to the ‘charity’ section on our website.

PART 3: Home Quarantine Best Practices

By : Kim Ceniza (theashletters.com)

Being on quarantine may have its ups and downs. Enjoying the great outdoors and being in the company of good people seemed to have restrictions due to the pandemic.

Nevertheless, the somewhat “time freedom” we got gets our creative juices working while being safe at home.

Staying at the comfort of our abode does not always mean “less work” (especially for moms). But having “more to do” may also mean you are getting busy at something you may have been wanting to do all along! And that is great! So, why not put a bit of a challenge for it?…

By making our stay-at-home be a sustainable living!

First thing, there is no need to turn your house upside-down and inside-out for you to start this!

With three simple to-dos’, you may start your home living sustainably!

Unleash Your Inner Master Chef  

Ordering a to-go meal is very convenient…

Click – Pay – Wait.

Then you get your food on your doorsteps. No more dishes to do after! Just serve the food, dig and stuff, and just throw containers out. Sometimes, we tend to keep those reusable plastic containers. Such convenience, it is!

This will be very helpful for very busy days or for those times that you need some sanity check. But ordering at most times will not be sustainable. It will be expensive in the long run and you will be piling up wastes (worse, plastic wastes) exponentially. Oh no!

Remember those microwavable plastics you got from all your food deliveries? Where are they now? Maybe being piled up in your kitchen counter corner? Or hidden in a special place in the cupboard? Ain’t it? That is lesser evil than just throwing them, right? BUT, how are you to deal with them afterwards?

Cooking meals at home is not only sustainable, but it is also way cheaper. It also enhances your skills and creativity in the kitchen, and brings family better together. Nothing beats a freshly cooked meal out from the stove or oven and the smell covers your home. Ugh, heartwarming! It is like a blanket during a cold weather or like the best medicine during your down days. 

So how does home cooking become sustainable? 

It starts with PLANNING. 

Planning on what to cook will help you break down the things that you need to buy and with it, you can also prepare the things you need before going shopping, like, bags and containers you can bring to avoid asking for plastic wraps or bags. Planning is also best when you are on a budget. Another added advantage is you can monitor the food that you intake. Incorporating whole foods in season should always be the top priority in shopping.

In cooking meals, you can opt to cook in big batches and just store them in the fridge or prepare all what is needed, like marinations, cleaning the meats and vegetables, and sorting them out. Planning and preparing ahead would definitely give you more time off. The best thing, you can include your family in doing all these! More hands, less time to finish! 

There are a lot of recipes and videos we can search out now that are easy and quick to cook and there are also those that are specified in which type of diet you are in, like keto, vegan, low-carb, or just all out deliciousness! There are also cooking videos that challenge you to prepare 10 meals under a $25 budget. The options and ways are limitless when it comes to cooking! 

Less wastes, more home-cooked meals, healthier, and sustainable! Yes to this!

 Build Your Urban Garden

Planting and/or collecting plants has been one of the 2020 trends that kept most of us sane. The inability for most to go outside and enjoy the green scenery led us to build our own home garden. For most who are living in the city and those who are confined to small spaces, bringing in nature within the corners of our home has somehow brought life into the concrete walls. 

There are a lot of plants that can be kept inside our house with minimal attention. Some examples of these plants are: aloe vera, pothos, snake plant, spider plant, succulents, monstera, philodendron, and many more. 

For those who are more into the practical side of things, planting vegetables, herbs, and fruits is the way to go. For small spaces, there are a lot of these plants that can be grown in small pots or containers and can be placed in specific areas in the house depending on their needs like sunlight, darkness, and humid atmosphere. For these cases, special attention should be given for different plants that may need different care.

Planting and taking care of plants is a good jumpstart in sustainable living. Getting hooked and the grip of it would lead one to understand and study more about them and how important plants are in a cleaner life. Growing your own plants for food is also a good example of sustainability and would greatly help one in saving money and little by little helping in the unethical ways of big productions.  

Reusing + DIY

Sometimes, boredom attracts spending. Oops, guilty here!

Stuck at home and being bored staring at every corner and thinking of ways to spend hours rather than washing dishes or doing laundry could increase our screen time. This includes online shopping. Ouch!

New gadget  …. Add to cart!

New kitchen stuff… Add to cart!

New pantry finds… Add to cart!

Anything that we think we might need or don’t have doesn’t have to be ordered or bought. Some  or many of them can be made through recycling and some creativity! 

Here are some good ideas using common or usual waste we gather:

Cans

Cans can be reused as planters. You can turn them into hanging ones with wires and hooks and place them in balconies.

So instead of buying pots or new planters,  you can use those clean tins/cans. 

Aside as planters, these can also be painted over to avoid rusting early. You can paint and decorate them however you want and these can be used as organizers.

Glass Containers / Glass Bottles

Bottles can surely be used longer and easier to clean than tins. And the ways on how to reuse and recycle them are endless. 

They can also be used as organizers. But apart from that, similar shaped and sized bottles can be used as spices containers. 

Glass containers, in general, can be reused as containers for food, sauces, any liquid, or even leftovers.

Plastics

Plastic bags, plastic containers, plastic utensils, plastic bottles, plastic what not?

Reducing plastic waste is but a challenge. Most of the items we buy are contained in plastics or covered with plastic. Plastic is convenient and cheap but is not really environmentally friendly. The best way that we can do for now is reuse them until they wear off. 

There are many ways on how we can reuse them aside from their original use. 

From being planters, to organizers, to room decorations. Just use some basic tools and materials to create something out of them!  

4. Old Clothes

Due to fast fashion and changing trends, clothes seemed to be disposable. The clothing industry is not exempted in the environmental and ethical issues. Supporting slow fashion, using second hand clothes, and repurposing old clothes are some of the movements and practices that are followed to go against fast fashion. 

Through the help of some internet finds and creativity, there are tons and tons of ways on how we can repurpose old clothes or even upcycle them. Some examples are: turning old socks to dolls or coffee glasses cozies; turn outdated denims to napkins or organizer buckets; transform your old sweaters into beautiful winter socks, hand warmers, or beanies; sew old flannel shirts into scarves, patchwork runner, or as a tote bag; make colorful rugs from your overworn tees or even crochet coasters or baskets from strips those tees; and a lot more to think of!

5. Food wastes and some paper

Staying at home more means loads of compostable wastes: food leftover, fruit and vegetable peels, some kind of paper/cardboard/boxes, dried leaves, and a lot more. Instead of throwing them into the trash that would lead to greater dumps that would emit ginormous crap of greenhouse gases, why not compost them into grounds that can be mixed in soil to make your plants happier? 

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided very good information about composting at home. They gave a breakdown of compost basic ingredients:

BROWN – dead leaves, branches, paper, and twigs; these are the carbon contributor into the mix.

GREENS – grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds; these materials provide nitrogen.

WATER – proper moisture/humidity is also important in breaking down the materials into compost.

The following are the common materials that you can include in your compost:

Fruits and vegetables            Eggshells          Coffee grounds and filters         Tea bags

Nut shells        Shredded newspaper         Cardboard           Paper         Yard trimmings

Grass clippings          Houseplants          Hay and straw         Leaves        Sawdust

Wood chips        Cotton and Wool Rags          Hair and fur           Fireplace ashes

In terms of paper, not all kinds of it are allowed. Some papers that are glossy and colored may be highly processed papers that may contain heavy metals and poisonous inks, waxes, and clays. So you may want to avoid them.

Here are a list of compost safe papers varieties:

Bills        Credit card statements         Non-glossy junk mail         Envelopes        

Office paper (plain or printed on)          Receipts           Newsprint          Notebook paper

Used school/work papers          Scrap paper          

Of course there are a lot of ways on how we can make our safe-from-home living be  sustainable. The above suggestions are good practices while we spend most of our time now indoors. If we try to practice them little by little until we get used to it, the better for our environment and for us.

Extras sustainable tips!

Since we love to send out our love to the world and to you, here are extra tips we can share to add up to good habits:

1. Go paperless!

Bills, statements, and more bills and statements… if there is an option for you to go paperless with these companies, go ahead and choose paperless receipts and billing! This would reduce paper usage and carbon footprint from paper, printing, delivery, and energy used in the process. 

Lectures, books, manuals, and the like?

If you are one of those who can read and study using your laptop or cellular phone or tablet, better choose downloading or purchasing ebooks or electronic copies of what you need instead of purchasing the hard copy or printing them.

2. Recycling centers

If the above tips exhaust you or if you are just too busy to get your hands do the cooking, planting, ang DIY-ing, maybe you can search out local recycling centers near you! There are a lot of recycling centers nowadays that collect different kinds of materials and transform them into new products. 

Search these centers out now then collect small batches of whatever you may want to recycle and send them out. 

Part 2: From Pantry Skin Care

By: Kim Ceniza 

theashletters.com

Sustainable living

Acne, dry or oily skin, mask (acne due to wearing face masks), wrinkles, dark circles… UGH! 

Facing face problems is not as easy as picking your favorite color. With the vast choices on the skin care products aisle, one with no ideas would get lost in the pile promises and perfect packages!

If you haven’t found the product that suits your skin needs and works wonders for you, a better way to start is with whatever you have in your pantry. This is a great tip for those who may have certain allergies or irritation with any ingredients in processed products. Whatever it is that you consume would make you easily filter out what type of products, items, produce, or ingredients that you need to avoid. Another advantage is you reduce your risk in introducing toxins in your face or body from some skin care products. 

    The very basic steps in skin care are cleansing and moisturizing. Cleansing inhibits growth and spread of bacteria. Part of the cleansing routine is exfoliating, which helps removing dirt and bacteria deeper. On the other hand, moisturizing balances our skin from being dry or oily. Through proper moisturizers, locking-in moisture in the skin is maintained and skin is softened. 

    These two are the basic part of a skin-care routine. Adding in sun-protection, nourishment, hydration, or maintaining youthful skin would be options for you depending on your skin needs or daily activity.

Here are some of pantry finds and preparations that you may use for make-up removal, cleansing and exfoliating, and moisturizing. 

Make-up removing

Removing make-up can be tricky. Soap and water sometimes do not hit all spots and do not completely remove, especially heavy make-up. Simple pantry finds that make wonders are plant-based oils like coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil, to name a few. 

Simple use would be just to place a small amount of your choice of oil into your hands and rub it against each other until you slightly warm the oil and massage it gently into your face for a few seconds to a minute. You may remove the oil by wiping your face with a warm washcloth. You may stop after this or would want to cleanse your face further.

Apart from removal of make-up and dirt in the face, oils also moisturize our skin! So, this is a double-acting step! 

Cleansing

    Typically, the use soap and water is enough but some soaps are drying or stays in the skin. Here are some pantry-made cleansers that you may try that will give you benefits apart from cleansing. 

Plant-based oilsThis is as described in the make-up removal discussion.

Apple Cider Vinegar 

    Apple cider vinegar (ACV) surely is a pantry staple. Apart from its health benefits when consumed, this can also be used for our skin. This vinegar helps restore skin’s pH levels, clarifies skin, and clear out pores. But always remember, this is harsh in the skin when applied without diluting! So, follow this simple recipe for your ACV cleanser.

    ACV cleanser: Add one-part apple cider vinegar to two-parts water, then shake well. Apply this solution to your skin with a cotton ball or pad. After your skin dries, you may then moisturize.

Honey-Lemon

    Honey and lemon have well-known benefits for our health and skin. The combination of these ingredients is perfect for they are antiseptic and moisturizing.

    Honey-lemon cleanser: Mix one tablespoon of honey with the juice of half a lemon. Apply this solution directly to your face, like a mask but avoiding the eyes. Leave it for about 20 minutes, then wash off with warm water first, then with cold water.

Exfoliators

This step can be substituted to usual cleansing or can be added after cleansing for deeper removal of dirt and dead skin cells. This may be done once or twice a week depending on your skin conditions. If you have a sensitive skin, you may skip this or research first on the ingredients you may use. 

Oat flour, almond flour, rice flour, salt, sugar, and coffee grounds are the well-used types of pantry-available exfoliators that can be used. A choice of exfoliant is mixed with a choice of plant-based oil to make a loose paste then massage to skin. Remember that some of these ingredients may be abrasive, so always be careful! Do not press or rub them hard on your skin.

Moisturizing

    In some cases, cleansing could be drying depending on what cleanser was used or on the condition of your skin, thus, moisturizing is important. Simple pantry finds can be used mainly and directly to your skin without any preparation needed, like: plant-based oils, butters (shea, cocoa butter, etc.), fresh avocado, and raw honey. 

    You can opt to prepare a mask with these ingredients if you feel like treating your skin more! You can create a simple DIY moisturizing face mask by mixing mashed avocado, rolled oats, and honey. Apply this mixture to your face and leave for 10 to 20 minutes. Wash your face after using warm water, then pat dry. 

    There are a lot more that you can use or substitute from the examples provided. You may try to check on your cupboards or refrigerator what ingredients you may find and search on natural ingredients that you can use. Hopefully, you may be able to discover the perfect match for your skin!

If you are one of those who may be uncomfortable to use pantry goods on your skin, but still wanted to find great skincare products made from natural or whole ingredients, worry not! There are good products out there that we highly recommend! This can also be for those who are looking for products that are tested to cater certain skin issues and needs. Check out goecolove.com for their amazing roster of herbal skin care and cosmetics that you would surely love! Supporting them would also bring benefit to their good cause! 

Glow and be radiant!