A new study has found that there may be a link between childhood leukemia and pesticides. The study, completed by the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center compared urine of kids with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) and their mothers along side healthy children and their mamas.

Kids with ALL more often had elevated levels of common household pesticides then the mama-child pairs without ALL. Obviously the research can’t prove that pesticides cause the cancer, but the findings are evident that we should take a careful look at what we’re exposing our kids to both in food products and household items like …read more

Today’s reader question comes from Karen, who asks…

I have a question for you. I’ve decided to start going green slowly, as you’ve suggested, and have focused first on body and cleaning products. With both of these, I am finding some difficulty in figuring out what products are actually green and which are not. Some products say they are biodegradable, some say eco friendly, some talk about fair trade, and as I’m sure you know the list goes on. How do you choose what types of products to use? Since you seem to really know about these things, I’d love …read more

Many of you entered the Sparklehearts giveaway and seem totally interested in trying out Sparklehearts products. Sadly, we can only have one winner. As a reminder, our winner will be receiving TWO Sparklehearts products of their choice.

And our randomly drawn winner is…

Tomorrow is your final chance to enter the Barley & Birch giveaway. We’re giving away an adorable piece of Barley & Birch organic clothing for a special tot in your world so don’t miss it. Enter the Barley & Birch giveaway!

Then the day after tomorrow is you final shot to score some cool teen-girl-friendly organic beauty products from Sparklehearts. Your little miss green teen could win organic glitter body lotion, organic bubble bath, and more, so enter the Sparklehearts giveaway today before time runs out!

Good luck!

We’re smack in the middle of our Sparklehearts Natural Beauty Giveaway and today I’ve got a Sparklehearts product review for you.

Product: Sweet Hearts Sparkly Body Lotion; the product specs note, “Glisten Up, Gorgeous. Sparklehearts Sparkly Lotion moisturizes and brightens your skin with a beautiful shimmer. Natural mica sparkles add glamour to your glistening beauty. Naturally antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory, sesame oils are pro-healthy and protective. Moisturizing murumuru butter feeds your skin fabulous nutrients, enhancing your inner glow. Skin-softening sweet almond oil improves your complexion.”
Reviewers: I reviewed this product, but being that I’m not a teen girl I also enlisted …read more

In a recent post I told you about Sparklehearts: a girl-friendly line of natural beauty products. If Sparklehearts looked good to you (or your daughter) then good news – you can win some to try!

SPARKLEHEARTS GIVEAWAY PRIZE:
One lucky Tree Hugging Family reader will win TWO Sparklehearts products of their choice.
HOW TO ENTER:

I recently got the heads up about a newer company, Sparklehearts. Sparklehearts has a line of fun, eco-friendly, and good-for-you body products for kids (little girls in particular will enjoy the line).

Some eco-perks of Sparklehearts:

99.6% natural and organic ingredients used in all products.
No harmful toxins ingredients used. Sparklehearts uses essential oils, violet extract, coconut, Shea butter, and green tea extract in their products.
No artificial colors.
Never tested on animals.
100% post-consumer recycled packaging.

Obviously eco-body care for little girls is a good idea. Petroleum, sulfates, and other icky junk don’t belong on your daughter’s skin. In fact, recent laboratory tests by the Environmental …read more