Green People Factor 22 Sun Lotion Eco Product Review

Green People wins awards all the time and is one of the most recognisible organic cosmetic brands around. Its sun lotion (or suntan lotion as I always thought it was called) has been voted the best by Natural Health & Beauty magazine. But that means nothing, did we agree? As I’ve been locked indoors, I gave its Factor 22 Sun Lotion with no scent to my father, a well-known pale skinned person that likes to burn easily even in the British summer. Wanting to put it to the test he went and sat outside for a few hours watching some tennis or something. Here’s his prosaic review:

“It’s dark but the morning light is filtering through the net curtains, it’s hot, very hot but it’s only dawn in England, then there’s the pain, the one that seems to envelope my whole being and another of greater intensity that bites across the top of my shoulders. My eyes are so swollen I can’t open them for three days; my whole body is like a radiator on full blast; too late I had donned a t-shirt only to find the neck wore away at the already tenderised skin, first blistering then turning red raw.

“Welcome to sunstroke; being fair of skin, if not of face, this teenage folly forged a firm, longstanding love affair with… you guessed it, sunscreen.

“The good news is that this organic offering works, the not so good news is that it that you can look like an extra from Shaun of the Dead. It’s so thick and creamy it’s almost impossible to rub in. As I washed, a layer of white scum floated on the surface of the water, lovely.”

I think he liked it. It contains things like aloe vera and edelweiss extract but also titanium oxide which helps block the UVA and UVB rays for the fair skinned. It’s free from parabens, lanolin, phthalates, artificial perfumes, petrochemicals and colourants and is vegetarian but not vegan due to the beeswax content.

The 200ml tub is £15.99 while the travel size 50ml tub is £9.50. Or for a limited time, Male Organics has 25% off Green People sun care, so it’s £11.99 for the large size.

ReJAVAnate Reusable Bag Eco Product Review

We’ve tested a lot of reusable shopping bags on Life Goggles and there is a huge variety in the style and type. You can see them all on our Reusable Bag Comparison Chart, and the latest bag we have proves that there is always something new.

ReJAVAnate take burlap from coffee roasters that would be otherwise sent to landfill (about 800,000 tons go every year), and make them into reusable shopping bags.

They work with a company called The ARC, who help over 140,000 individuals with developmental disabilities to find employment, to hand make the bags, and then they sell them to individuals and organizations who “want to make a statement about reducing paper and plastic bag consumption”.

The bag I received was lined and pretty large at 15″ by 15″. It’s very sturdy, I’m not sure what weight it can hold but was my choice for drink bottle and cans as it seemed one of the strongest bags I’ve used. It arrives in an old Vans shoe box, with a proud stamp on the inside that said “Shamelessly shipped in reused packaging”. I like it!

They have a variety of bags, medium and large, plain or with different logos, and lined or unlined ranging from $9 to $11. You can buy them online at ReJAVAnate.

Skoy Cloth Earth Friendly Product Review

Skoy Cloth is a reusable cleaning cloth made from a blend of cotton and wood-pulp cellulose. 100% biodegradable, the cloth is non-toxic, chlorine free and uses water based colors.

Apparently one cloth can last as long as 15 rolls of paper towels, which in my house means a long time. To clean it you can put it in the dishwasher or the washing machine and it will be fine and dandy. You can even microwave it if you want to kill bacteria (as long as it’s wet first it’ll be OK).

Created by two stay-at-home moms living in Encinitas, California, I met Karen and was bowled over by her enthusiasm for the product. Discovered by her business partner Michelle whilst living in Europe, they’ve worked hard to bring a similar product to the US.

The cloth worked well, it was more sturdy than most paper towels and it’s re-usability makes it very cost effective. It’s very water absorbent, which is obviously a good thing in a cleaning cloth, and was also handy instead of a cleaning sponge.

They cost $4.99 (plus shipping) for a four pack and come in different colors. You can buy them online from Skoy and other online and bricks and mortar retailers.

Mighty Wallet Product Review

The Mighty Wallet is another alternative to using a leather wallet.

Made from a single sheet of Tyvek paper (like that’s used for express envelopes) it containing 25% post consumer content (water and milk containers) and is 100% recyclable (grade 2). The wallet is also apparently virtually indestructible. It’s certainly tear resistant as I couldn’t tear it with my bare hands (looks like my phone book tearing days are over), and it’s water resistant too. It’s incredibly thin and light but has lots of slots to put cards in and the wallet will expand just like an stuffed envelope.

Available from Dynomighty for only $7.50 they come in a variety of designs, like the airmail envelope shown, faux wood, “raw hide” (printed to look like leather), camo, dot matrix printer, and one that looks like shredded paper. Available in two, or three fold versions, there is plenty of choice, go take a look for the full range. The designer Terrence Kelleman talks you through the wallet in the video below.

Paper Potter Eco Product Review

Yes, spring is here (if you’re in the UK) and time for the green-fingered among you to get out in the garden. Ecoutlet sent us a great little item to help with planting - the Paper Potter.

Made from 100% FSC certified wood (think it’s oak), the Paper Potter helps you make seedling pots from old newspapers. The picture basically shows you how it works and it’s beautifully simple. I like the feel of the wooden handle and also it’s a great feeling to make the little pots. And then it’s even more fun to then fill them with soil, put a seed in and plant them into the ground. I presume eventually they then biodegrade and the plant’s roots can easily break through into the wide world - we’re not quite up to that point yet but do have some little shoots growing.

But no matter how much fun it was for me, it’s much more for kids. It’s a great little thing they can do on their own and have fun making something. Not every one we made was a success but they soon get the hang of it and it’s great that you can make something they can see. In a way it’s also educational as they get to learn about gardening and plants.

For only £9.99 for Ecoutlet it’s a bargain that you’ll use year after year I reckon.

Ecover Floor Soap Eco Product Review

I’d never been one for floor soap before, but I recently rented a flat that hadn’t a single carpet in the place. So, being too lazy to make my own cleaner, I tried Ecover’s floor soap.

You only need to add a capful or two to a whole bucket full of water so a little goes a long way. Although it says it’s not suitable for laminate flooring, I gave it a go over everything – laminate, tiles, varnished wood etc and it seems fine.

Now Ecover products always say what they’re made from (see below for full list of ingredients), but non of the other products I’ve used have quite the lemon smell that this one does. In its raw form it’s overpowering and even when diluted and I’ve cleaned the whole floor of my flat it’s best to go out for a while. Not that it’s a bad smell, just a bit strong and it does say it’s got “fresh perfume from plant based ingredients”.

Leaving it dry, I returned later to find a nice clean home. It did take some harder mopping to get some marks out, but general grime and mud was no problem. Having not used another type of floor cleaner before it’s difficult to compare but I had no problems with it, the smell was reduced after I’d finished so it was quite a pleasant and “clean” smell.

It’s fully biodegradable and not tested on animals. The plastic bottle can be recycled (I’d be happier if it had already been recycled) and like other Ecover products it can be refilled where facilities exist.

The Ecover website gives a complete ingredients list:

The list below displays ingredients in descending order, with those present in highest quantities first.
Linseed oil
Perfume
Limonene
Nitromethylidynetrimethanol
2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
Citral
Geraniol

It’s now stocked in most supermarkets or you can buy it easily online.

Beyond Organic Hydrating Body Oil Eco Product Review

Following on our look at some of the Beyond Organic Skincare products is the Hydrating Body Oil. Part of their Sensual Massage Gift Pack which costs £29.92, it can also be bought separately for £14.50.

Once again I roped in Claire who looked at the Firming Eye Cream and asked her about this 60ml bottle of body oil which contains a host of ‘good for you’ ingredients such as horse chestnut, fennel, cornflower, green tea, sea buckthorn and macadamia nut.

Do you use a different product normally?
My skin tends to get neglected during winter because it’s always covered in layers of clothing. During the summer I usually use a self-tanning moisturiser. But during winter my legs become very dry and itchy.

How does this compare to that one or nothing at all?
Big improvement to nothing at all. After applying the oil, my skin stayed hydrated for a couple of days, they soaked up the oil and felt nice and smooth and looked really good. No flakyness, no itching.

It claims to ‘deeply nourish and tone the skin, leaving it with a lovely silky feel. Great for bare arms and legs, giving skin a warm glow’ - any good?
Yep, my legs looked and felt soft and hydrated. Once it was rubbed in my skin felt firm and and did have a nice glow to it.

It says it’s not slippery and easy to rub in - was it?
Rubbed in as easily as any moisturiser. It is quite runny though, slips between you fingers and drips on the floor when your trying to get it out of the bottle and onto your arms or legs. I was able to put my clothes on straight after applying it.

What was the smell like?
When I first opened the bottle I didn’t really like the smell, I found it very overpowering. But I found when I rubbed it into my skin, it was still quite strong but it became quite pleasant and relaxing.

It contains… ‘Horse Chestnut helps to increase circulation. Fennel is said to be good for cellulite. Cornflower is very emollient and nourishing. Green tea is detoxifying. The synergy of these herbs and flowers make this an excellent toning and firming body oil. The Macadamia nut oil base is high in Oleic fatty acid which has an affinity with the skin’ - did it do any of that sort of thing?
No. Didn’t really notice any of those amazing effects. I never really look for those kinds of things in an oil or moisturiser, because none of them actually work. I just want my skin to be hydrated and look healthy and have a glow, and it did that.

It says you can put a teaspoon in your bath - did you give that a go?
No. I don’t have a bath.

How would it be to use as a massage oil?
It has a similar feel to massage oil, gives the skin the same sort of ‘oiled up’ feeling (can’t believe I just said that), but also absorbs into the skin easily. And the smell is quite relaxing.

Beyond Organic Hydrating Body Oil is available to buy here.

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