Jennifer McColm partners with Whole Foods Markets

Jennifer McColm, Whole Foods Markets, Inc. and farmers’ market operator, Raw Inspiration, are opening their first farmers market in a joint venture between the three parties and developer Comstock Cosser Properties, the owners of El Segundo Plaza.

The market is located adjacent to the Whole Foods Market store at the El Segundo Plaza and the Grand Opening is set for Wednesday, September 23. The Whole Foods Farmers Market will be open every Wednesday between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm.

For further information, please call 818-591-8286

Green Your Cleaning

When most people think of going green, they expect the transition to be an expensive one. Luckily, a common sense approach to eco-friendly cleaning products doesn’t have to be difficult or costly. Here are several tips to green your cleaning that can be easily incorporated into your household cleaning routine.

Simple and inexpensive items, such as soap, water, vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and Borax can take care of the usual cleaning needs of most households. Washing everything that comes in contact with raw meat or eggs with soapy, hot water is the most reliable way of killing Salmonella and E coli. Additionally, white vinegar can kill bacteria, viruses, and mold.

If you want to get rid of soap scum and some stains, instead of grabbing for the Comet or Ajax, make a paste of baking soda and water. If you want a commercially prepared product, try Bon Ami (calcium carbonate); it’s safer than similar products in that it doesn’t contain any chlorine bleach. Sprinkling baking soda in a sink and scrubbing with a damp sponge or rag will work in the same way as Comet or Ajax.

You can also green your cleaning by using the all purpose 20 Mule Team Borax. This product has been around for ages and is still popular. It contains no phosphates or chlorine, and it’s safe for septic tanks. It’s a great laundry booster, stain remover, and clothes deodorizer. Speaking of removing odors, its deodorizing abilities work wherever you need it – in the refrigerator, trash can, and bathroom. It’s also good in removing carpet stains and odors, but make sure you test on a small patch of carpet first to see if your carpet’s dye is colorfast. You can use the Mule Team for cleaning bathroom surfaces, just as you would with baking soda and water. Just sprinkle some on a damp sponge or rag and scrub. If you don’t want to deal with a powder, Ecover makes a plant based cleansing cream that is gentle on the earth. For toilet bowls, just a quarter cup of Mule Team Borax, soaking for at least 30 minutes, will do.

Green your window cleaning by making up your own mixture and placing into a spray bottle. If you want a lemony fragrance, put one tablespoon lemon juice with water inside your spray bottle. If you don’t mind the smell of vinegar, you can use 1/4 cup white vinegar in your spray bottle. In addition to a do-it-yourself window cleaner, a couple reputable eco companies make glass cleaners: Seventh Generation or Ecos.

The average laundry products you find in the store contain petroleum and phthalates, which have been suspected of causing cancer and harm to human’s reproductive system. It’s best to choose products that are fragrance free and not petroleum based; they should be plant based - such as corn oil, coconut oil, or palm kernel oil. If you have a stubborn stain, an eco friendly way of getting rid of it is water mixed with lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, or white vinegar. Non-chlorine bleach, such as Ecover and Seventh Generation are made with safer ingredients, such as hydrogen peroxide. For fabric softeners, a natural way is adding 1/4 cup baking soda or white vinegar to the wash cycle.

As you can see, green your cleaning takes common sense and getting back to the cleaning basics. Much of the going green movement is all about simplicity, and these common household products will have your house looking and smelling clean.

Eco-Friendly Toys

The organic movement mainly focused on food and some recycled products. There were some eco-friendly toys offered, but they were little known and not mass produced. After the recall of dozens of toys made in China due to safety concerns, however, more parents looked to going green with their children’s toys. Eco-toys are generally made from organic cotton, wood, recycled milk jugs and other plastics, felt, soybeans, kapok (tropical trees’ silky fibers), vegetable dyes, and other all natural materials. These materials aren’t harmful to the earth or to children. This is particularly important since babies and young children often put toys in their mouths.
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Many eco-friendly toys don’t have batteries, featuring solar power racers and robots. Sprig Toys feature good old fashioned toys that are kid powered. There are no batteries needed for kids to have fun, so that means less batteries in the landfills. Additionally, kids are more active - physically, creatively, and mentally - with these toys.

PlanToys have been an eco-friendly toy company since 1981. They started by making wooden toys with “replenishable rubber wood.” The wood doesn’t have any chemicals in it, and the colors are water based. They also use a non-formaldehyde glue. Some companies have a policy of replenishing the earth, such as Blue Orange. They plant two trees for every tree that’s cut down to make their games.

ImagiPlay offers environmentally educational toys called “Toys with Integrity.” They’re made from eco-friendly materials, featuring plantain grown rubberwood, which is a splinter free hardwood. Under the Nile sells organic toys and children’s clothing. They use cotton that is 100% handpicked and organic. Their dyes are vegetable based and have no metal, and their buttons and zippers are made of wood or shells. Purchasing Under the Nile products also helps fight poverty in rural Egypt by offering fair wages to the workers involved in the production of the toys and clothing.

Big name toy companies, such as Toys R Us and FAO Schwarz are also going green. Toys R Us is using packaging for its eco-friendly toys, made from at least 70% recycled paperboard stock. Additionally, some of their gift cards are made with recycled plastic or biodegradable products, such as corn. FAO Schwarz has a line of green toys made from recycled plastic milk jugs.

The eco-friendly toy category also includes toys that educate children about the importance of the earth and going green. Idbids offers educational toys that let children know they can help the earth “one iddy biddy step at a time.” Toys and packaging are made with organic, recycled, and other “green” materials. Idbids revolves around a kit that includes a nine inch plush toy, storybook, field guide, and cinch sack – all of which are organic or recycled materials. The plush toys are Scout (cloud), Lola (flower), or Waverly (water drop).

Eco-friendly toys are usually more expensive because the materials are harder to process and/or recycle than what it takes to make toys with synthetic materials. While they’re more expensive, however, the purchase of eco-friendly toys isn’t akin to buying organic food. A toy will last longer than organic food, which is gone in a meal or two. Paying an extra $10 or $20 for green toys is worth it to parents for organic, non-toxic, and gentle on the environment toys for their children.