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Category Wars: Despite Economic Dip, Organic Food Sales Soar

Demand for organic products grows despite downturn.

If there's a recession, organic food doesn't know it. Even in a down economy, green consumers have shown a willingness to pay more for organic, natural or environmentally-friendly products, per a study released last week by the Natural Marketing Institute and The Nielsen Co. (which is parent to Brandweek).

The Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (or LOHAS) consumers are top spenders in many consumer packaged goods categories. "They are less price sensitive, and also have more fully integrated LOHAS products into their lifestyle and are less likely to go back," said Gwynne Rogers, business director at NMI, Harleysville, Pa.

About 20% of Americans make up this segment of buyers. These highly desirable consumers tend to spend 10% more in warehouse clubs as well as buy more cereal, jelly, pasta, produce, soup and ready-to-serve prepared food than "non-green" consumers. Products labeled organic represented $4.4 billion in sales for the 52 weeks ended April 19 (excluding Wal-Mart), per The Nielsen Company. Mintel, Chicago, forecasts sales will grow to $6.8 billion by 2012.Small brands are seeing big growth. Ian's Natural Food's grows 45% annually, per the company.

Nature's Path Foods, meanwhile, grew 30% in the first half of this year and will launch 15 new products by year's end."It's much easier for [organic products]…to get onto shelves today than it was 10 years ago," said John Foraker, CEO of Annie's, in Napa, California. "As big CPG companies give organic credibility, that's made it easier." But once inside the battle for shelf space can be fierce. Annie's natural macaroni and cheese, for example, is going head to head with Kraft's organic offering."There is some brand loyalty [among organic foods] but not as much as you would hope," said Pam Dietz, director at soy milk manufacturer Vita Soy in Ayer, Mass.To compete, smaller brands have beefed up in-store promotions. I

n one program, Nature's Path is co-branding with Organic Valley and Stoneyfield Farm yogurt to include cross-promotional $1 coupons to push joint purchases of organic yogurt and cereal.Annie's and Vita Soy are plucking the cause-conscious heart strings of shoppers with promos that raise funds for school gardens and breast cancer research, respectively. VitaSoy's pink-colored containers court retailers by allowing them to choose the local breast cancer program they prefer to donate to.Nielsen and NMI point out there are also still numerous categories that have yet to be exploited. Its report shows organic noncarbonated drinks, baking mixes, frozen desserts and syrups are "opportunities for CPG manufacturers and retailers seeking to capture LOHAS consumers wallet."

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Sephora skin care for men

sephora skin care for men

ATHENS (Reuters) - Nine British women were facing prostitution charges after being arrested at the weekend for taking part in an oral sex competition in the Greek holiday island of Zakynthos, police said on Monday.

Six British and six Greek men, including two bar owners, were also charged in the incident, which took place at Laganas beach in the south of the Ionian island, which lies off the west coast of mainland Greece, police said.

The women, who came to the popular resort on holiday, had been paid to take part in the competition, which was video recorded and was to be posted on the Internet, police said.

The men were charged with encouraging obscene behavior.

In recent years, Laganas has established itself as one of Greece's most popular destinations for twenty-something holidaymakers and is known for its wild party scene.

Around 15 million people -- a fifth of them British -- visit the eastern Mediterranean country each year, drawn by its soaring summer temperatures, azure waters and sandy beaches.

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Pomegranates and antioxidants

DOES IT WORK?

Pomegranate - and its juice - are a most useful source of antioxidants in a proper, varied diet

POMEGRANATE JUICE has received much attention in the past couple of years, although the fruit remains relatively unfamiliar in much of the west. The fruit grows on a small tree, Punica granatum , that is native to Iran, Afghanistan, the Himalayas and parts of the Mediterranean.
Grenadine was originally made from the fruit, giving it its blood-red colour, though other fruits and flavourings are now used.

The name pomegranate comes from the Latin term for seeded apple. The fruit looks like an apple with a crown where the flower once blossomed. When opened, hundreds of shiny ruby-shaped seeds spill forth in the midst of an intense red juice.

For this reason, pomegranates have long been seen as a symbol of human fertility. Currently, interest is focused on the potential benefits of pomegranate juice in preventing heart disease and cancer.

Evidence from studies

Pomegranate juice contains several compounds belonging to the class called polyphenols. These are important antioxidants. Oxidation is a chemical reaction by which the body breaks down food to release energy.

But if too much oxidation occurs, cells and tissues can be damaged. The body uses a variety of antioxidants to keep things in balance, including a range of antioxidants from the diet. People who don't eat enough fruits and vegetables often get insufficient dietary antioxidants.

A large amount of evidence has shown that people with lower amounts of antioxidants in their diets are at higher risk of heart disease and some cancers. This finding has been part of the reason why much emphasis is being placed on increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables that people eat.

Analyses of pomegranate juice have found that it has a higher antioxidant potency than any other commonly recommended antioxidant drinks. A study released earlier this year found that the order of potency was pomegranate juice, red wine, grape juice, blueberry juice and black cherry juice. Green tea, another commonly recommended antioxidant, was ninth on the list, with black tea tenth.

Different tests are used to calculate this potency, with some of them finding pomegranate juice more than twice as powerful as the second-ranked red wine.

Such findings have triggered a lot of research into whether the antioxidants lead to better health in those drinking pomegranate juice. A small number of studies have shown that people drinking pomegranate juice daily have reduced oxidative levels in their blood.

This is a good sign that their risk of developing some types of heart disease may be reduced. A very small study (with only 19 patients) found that after three months those drinking the juice daily had less narrowing of their arteries compared to those consuming a placebo drink. A few other studies have shown beneficial effects on blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Interest has also developed into whether pomegranate juice might lower cancer risk, with some early positive findings with prostate cancer. Research is at the earliest stages, but such benefits would be in keeping with pomegranate's high level of antioxidants.

Problematic aspects

Studies have not revealed any problems with the juice, although very few people have been involved in studies so far. Allergies to the juice and seeds have been recorded. Concerns have also been expressed about anyone with liver problems consuming large quantities of the juice.
Some studies found benefits when people drank 50ml of juice daily, while others recommended drinking 240ml per day. Anyone being treated for any heart condition should talk to his or her doctor before starting to take pomegranate juice regularly.

Recommendations

The importance of having sufficient antioxidants in one's diet is well established. Pomegranate juice is an excellent source of antioxidants. Being new to the dietary supplement scene, little clinical research has been conducted on the juice. As part of a diet that includes a variety of plants and vegetables, pomegranate juice appears to be a healthy option.

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Premium body care products by POMEGA5

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines cosmetics as “articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body…for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance.”

That definition covers a lot more products than just eye shadow and foundation. It includes everything from lipstick and lotion to deodorant, shaving cream, toothpaste and mouthwash. Both women and men regularly use products that are defined as “cosmetics.” The average person uses as many as 25 personal care products everyday, coming into contact with as many as 100 chemicals before breakfast.

Shockingly, the US government is not regulating the safety of these chemicals. The FDA does not test the chemicals in any cosmetic product before it hits store shelves and is not authorized to require recalls of cosmetics that are found to contain toxins. Cosmetics companies are not required by the FDA to register their company, provide information on the ingredients used in their products, or to report injuries related to their products.

The FDA has banned or restricted the use of only 9 of the over 12,000 ingredients commonly used in cosmetics. The European Union, on the other hand, has much more stringent standards and has banned more than 1,000 chemicals thought to be carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxins.

So who is responsible for regulating the safety of cosmetic ingredients in the US? The Cosmetic Ingredient Review, or CIR, established in 1976 and funded by the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association is responsible for this task. Sound a bit inbred? Perhaps. The CIR is also a voluntary program and has reviewed only about 11% of all ingredients used in cosmetics.

This brazen lack of accountability has led to some very dangerous chemicals in our cosmetics. Lead is a major ingredient of many lipsticks and, in the US, it’s a legal ingredient in cosmetics-no matter how high the amount. When California tried recently to ban its use, the beauty industry lobbied against it so hard that the bill was overturned. A proven neurotoxin, lead was banned from use in paints. So while it’s illegal to paint our walls with lead, it’s perfectly legal to paint our faces with it.

Besides lead, there are a variety of other toxic, as well as just plain foul, ingredients commonly used in cosmetics. Phthalates, used often in perfumes and nail polish remover, are a chemical plasticizer and solvent that have even been found in babies’ bloodstreams. Cow placenta and “ethically sourced” human placenta are also sometimes used as ingredients. Ahem…did you say human placenta? Watch out for ingredients such as “placental protein” and collagen if you’re not interested in various human or animal parts in your daily skin regimen.

Cosmetic ingredients are not, however, all dire. There are organic and natural body care companies that have adhered to strict guidelines on the purity of their ingredients for years. Other companies are taking action and pledging to make their cosmetics safer.

In March, Whole Foods began screening products for safety and environmental impact. They placed a Premium Body Care seal on products that are free from synthetic fragrance and that don’t contain about 250 synthetic chemicals that are commonly used in cosmetic products. CVS has promised to remove chemicals linked to poor health from its house-branded products, as well as to increase placement of products that are safer alternatives.

So, what can you do to ensure you’re getting the safest and most environmentally sound body care products?

Start with the products you use every day: read the labels, investigate any mysterious ingredients, and replace toxic products with organic and chemical-free alternatives.

Check the Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database where they rate the safety of various cosmetics brands on a scale of 1-10.

Check out the Greener Alternatives list by Teens For Safe Cosmetics and avoid their “Dirty Dozen Plus” list…

Butyl Acetate
Butylated Hydroxytoluene
Coal Tar
Cocamide DEA/Lauramide DEA
Diazolidinyl Urea
Ethyl Acetate
Formaldehyde
Parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl)
Petrolatum
Phthalates
Propylene Glycol
Sodium Laureth/Sodium Laurel Sulfate
Talc
Toluene
Triethanolamine

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Finding beauty with Pomega5 ultra natural skin care

When people talk about where they find beauty and what is beautiful to them, they reveal whom they love and how they love, and what they love to do.

Listening as people recollect and offer their own beauty stories, I am in awe of the ways that beauty moves in our lives. Everyone who has a family, or loves an animal or a place or a piece of music, has a beauty story to tell. A man reflects on the challenge of keeping Eros alive in a long marriage, a woman speaks of what it was like to grow up with a mother who was a model, another comments on learning how to appreciate her own beauty when compared to a classically gorgeous sister.

As we speak about our personal relationship to beauty and what is beautiful to us, we reveal our longings to be seen, our need for acceptance, the powerful influence of mothers and fathers, grandparents, older siblings, first loves and favorite cousins, our keen ability to remember what embarrassed, confused, and delighted us, our yearnings to stand out and to fit in, our desire to be loved. In our own stories we mark the distinction between looking beautiful and feeling beautiful — the part of us trapped by our culture and the part of us that knows our own value.

A nurse declares that her beauty secret is that the husband who adores her is nearsighted, so when she is close enough for him to see her, is seeing her with the eyes of love. A newspaper story describes how a young interracial blind couple got together when she became attracted to voice, reminding us that prejudice is born in dismissing people because look different, because we see them as exotic and frightening.

“Love is blind,” we say, but perhaps it is more accurate to say love sees with different eyes. Love sees beyond the surface. Love opens the door for beauty. When we see with the eye, we develop the ability to refine, to judge, to discriminate. When we see with the heart, we expand the view of what it is to be human, see the common dream, see the wisdom of friends and neighbours, and see there is no separation between that which is most beautiful and the everyday world. The eye of the heart sees with a wholeness that allows imperfections and idiosyncrasies to coexist with beauty. The eye of the heart knows surface and depth are not opposites. Beauty is a process, a revelation, not a finished state.

Beauty reveals itself over time in relationship. The people I love are beautiful to me. I’m not sure if my eyes are blinded by love or it is love that lets me see their beauty. Knowing them over time, my appreciation of who they are and how they appear increases. Their beauty comes from their liveliness and authentic sweetness, their intention to live lives that make some sense (and some nonsense), the spirited coherence of being who they are.

A teacher recalls sitting in on another teacher’s class and thinking, “Isn’t it strange how ordinary looking, how rather plain these kids are? My students are beautiful.” She sees her students as gorgeous because she knows them well. “When you sit with them or work with them and see them every day and know their moods, they become more amazing, not less so,”‘ she says. “And then, I realized that the kids in the other classroom look beautiful to their teacher, too.”

When a beautician notes, “All my clients are beautiful,” I hear how her awareness of and attention to beauty brings it out in others.

When we are most alive, we are beautiful. When we are in love, we are reminded that we are beautiful. And sometimes when we know we are beautiful, we find ourselves in love. “In love” usually means the romantic sense of being with one other person who in that moment we feel reflects us perfectly. In love, living in the field of love. Sometimes I have felt like I was in love, even when there was no one I was in love with. I couldn’t talk about my lover’s hands or eyes or voice. I couldn’t focus all this love on one other, and it was both confusing and revealing to realize how much we become places for each other to rest in. Alone and “in love” it is easy to feel like you’re making it up. Our songs and movies have told us such great sentimental stories about being “in love,” we forget that being in love can be a state of truth as well as an illusion.

Long-time friends witnessing a friend “falling in love” often caution the infatuated person that being in love is a dizzy, temporary state. I think of this territory not just as a delicious romantic dance, but as a field to which we can travel from many places. There is a way in which being in love with anything — a person, a place, a project — is crossing a border into a country where the ego does not rule, being in a state where essence is honoured. We are both inside and outside our everyday selves. It is always interesting to observe what happens when we return to the land of ordinary life. Can we live with more generosity and trust?

I never want to underestimate the capacity that being “in love” has to change our seeing, expand our vision, and remind us of both human beauty and human frailty. The search for the beloved is full of paradoxes. We want to be who we are when we are our best self, and sometimes because we have met that self when we are in love, we believe that self only exists in the presence of the other. So we hold on to the other and lose ourselves, forget that love is partly of this world and partly of some other place.

An old beau spoke of the danger of trying to make our lovers be God, insisting that we each need our own relationship to the Source. It sounded logical, but I rebelled at his analysis. In this world, one of the ways we glimpse God is when we are in love. Not that the beloved is God, but that God is the Beloved, a tradition as old as the Song of Songs and the ecstatic poems of wandering Indian mystics, the Sufis. One of the most beautiful and accessible ways to address God is as Love.

The Greeks gave us an image of Eros, the unpredictable archer before whom even the Gods trembled. Hindus tell their stories of the Gopi maidens seeking Krishna, the bewitchingly beautiful, blue-skinned god; Krishna with his soft glowing eyes, perfumed hair, Krishna drawing women to him, touching each in forgotten registers of being.

What is done with love is done in beauty to celebrate the God that loves. More and more I believe the messengers of love, the envoys and the couriers of beauty are everywhere. And I wonder how something so clear can also be mysterious. The Indian poet Ghalib writes, “This earth, burnished by hearing the Name, is so certain of Love that the sky bends unceasingly down, to greet its own light.”

I love POMEGA5 products -- how do I become a natural cosmetic chemist?

If You Want to be a Cosmetic Chemist Here is What You Do

Hi, I’m currently looking in to Cosmetic Science as a career. I will be graduating from uni this year but have no previous experience in the area. I plan to do a diploma from the SCS in Cosmetic Science to start me off. If you have any advice or information I’d be very grateful. Thank you!

We respond:

Heather, how wonderful that you want to enter cosmetic science. This industry, and science based industries in general, need more women. I have always found it amusing/appalling to hear non-make-up wearing, bald men men in our industry blab on about exactly what women want.

Ha!
We often get asked this and similar questions about becoming a cosmetic scientist so we’ll provide a general answer here. Hopefully, some of this information helps you.

Key Moves to Become a Cosmetic Scientist

1. Get a science degree. Unless you have a relative who started the company, you will need a college degree in science since most cosmetic firms require it. Preferred ones include degrees in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering. However, plenty of scientists in our industry have Biology, Microbiology, and even Physics degrees. The specific college or Uni that you attend is less important than which degree you received.

2. Consider getting an advanced degree. True, a 4-year college degree is all you need, but you can improve your chances of breaking into cosmetics by getting an advanced degree. Your involvement with the SCS is a great start in the UK. In the United States, there are only a few advanced degrees offered. These include places like the University of Cincinnati, St. John’s University, Rutgers University, University of Southern California, etc. Check the college’s Pharmacy departments for more information. You can contact the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) for a complete list. In addition to getting something good for putting on your resume, you’ll get invaluable experience making cosmetic products & meet some great people.

3. Find the companies where you’d like to work. This industry has thousands of companies that employ cosmetic chemists. Where do you find them? If you like, internet searches work, but you can also search trade magazines like Happi or GCI. In GCI, your search can be done by region of the US or world. Of course, you can also look at what company makes a product you like and Google their contact information to inquire about jobs.

4. Figure out what job you want. Speaking of jobs, many different different ones exist in the cosmetic industry for scientists. If you actually want to make formulas, you’ll want a formulating job. People who enjoyed experiments in Organic Chemistry might like these jobs. If you were more interested in Analytical Chemistry than you’ll want to find a job in an analytical lab. You can also find jobs in microbiology, perfumery, and quality control. For chemical engineers, your job search can lead you to process engineering which requires you to figure out how you might scale 1kg batches up to 10,000 kg tanks. Finally, if all else fails you can get a sales job. Raw material suppliers always look for people with technical backgrounds who can sell product. Personally, I think formulating jobs rule!

5. Find a temporary assignment. If it is too difficult to break directly into the industry, you might try finding a job through a temp agency. These companies can place you at big cosmetic companies like P&G or Unilever for a short or longer term assignment. Many people get hired on permanently at companies after starting as a temp.

6. Network with other cosmetic chemists. If you really want to step ahead of the other cosmetic science job seekers, strike up relationships with other scientists that already work on cosmetics. The most popular US association is the SCC and in the UK it is the SCS. For other countries you can contact the IFSCC to find out your local organization. The SCC has chapters throughout the US and you can often visit a monthly meeting for free. If you prefer computers, look on LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace for chemists who list their affiliation. You can even join our Beauty Brains Forum and get connected with other cosmetic chemists.

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Paraben free sun screen by a reader of our blog

The July 8th article in Live Science "Most Sunscreens Fail to Protect <>" came as no surprise to me. In fact, it seems that most sunscreen companies have been keeping us all in the dark for far too long. Last March, while I was cooking dinner one night and watching my two kids fighting over a toy in the backyard, I got a phone call that would change my life.

It was my dermatologist. She told me that a mole I had removed a few weeks back was melanoma. I was in total shock. After a big chunk of my leg was removed and the lab determined that I was in Stage 1 cancer, the fear of never seeing my kids grow up finally began to dissipate.

I had faced my fear of death. But how was I going to live? I had to figure out a way to do that in our sun-obsessed, outdoor, year-around sunbathing California culture. This meant no more afternoon beach walks. No more family "Surf Sunday" trips. No more trips to Maui to visit friends. No more afternoons at the park with my kids. "Don't be in the sun between 10 and 4," the doctors told me. Well, my misery knew no limits.

Yes, I was going to live, but not in a bubble. I refused. The only answer to my constant question to every doctor I saw was the same - "use a Zinc Oxide SPF 30+ sunscreen, cover up and stay out of the sun." Ok, now I was on a quest. A quest to find the perfect sunscreen. A quest to get my old life back, or at least some sense of freedom. I was driven and determined and probably too obsessed by it, but I found out some pretty scary things along the way.

In my search for the amazing elixir that would banish all my pre-cancerous cells and stop the formation of any new ones, I bumped into some ugly things about our skin care industry. I knew that since I would have to wear sunscreen all over my body every day of the year I began to do some research on what is actually in it. It was pretty shocking. Almost every brand I found contained a preservative called Parabens (menthy, poly, etc.).

I also found out that recently scientists have found topical parabens in human breast cancer tumors. So basically anything with Parabens added to it to preserve the product's shelf life will be absorbed into your bloodstream and act as an estrogen mimicker. Then it will bind to estrogen receptors in your body and create a negative feedback system where estrogen-related tumors can flourish. These chemicals are the "Trans-Fats" of the cosmetic world and they are in everything! Even "all natural" products contain them because they are cheap for the manufacturers to use. For years Parabens have been added to our favorite shampoos, conditioners, lotions, moisturizers, makeup and lipsticks. So now I had to protect myself from skin cancer and end up with breast cancer instead. No thank you!

According to my research, more than 60% of your favorite skin care products are absorbed through your skin, which is the largest organ in your body. This means that chemical preservatives, fragrance, coloring agents, and stabilizers added to almost all skin care products are being introduced into your bloodstream every time you apply a cream or lotion. The thought of this can be staggering when you realize how many products most men and women use each day before 8 am.

I finally found a brand called Pomega5 which satisfies all my needs, the best skin care ever.

And there is Terrain (Vanicream is good too, but a bit thick and hard to apply) that is chemical free, Paraben free and uses 9% micronized Zinc-Oxide as a sun blocker (the best you can use for sun protection). And to my delight, they also made a sunscreen for my kids. It is perfect for the body, but I needed something more sensitive for my face. So I use Elta MD, paraben free and SPF 40 on my face and chest every day. But as for my other skin care products, it was really hard to find a natural substitute for my Dior Show mascara or Aveeno lotion. But it is really worth it. I love the Jane Iredale makeup, Alba lotion (only some are paraben- free, so always check labels), and Alba shaving lotion. And that is about it.

I have tried lots of things, but nothing else seems to fit my high standards and my needs. As for my kids, i am very protective (as you can imagine) about what is absorbed into their bloodstream. Kid's skin is much more porous that adults, so these toxic chemicals affect them quicker and can have more serious side effects. My favorite is still California Baby Shampoo Sensitive and Fragrance free. I use this for all washing (hair and body) and they use Tom's of Maine toothpaste. That's it for them. Kids don't need a lot of fuss or products. Just clean and simple. Another thing i have added to my diet is Calcium D-Glucarate. It bonds with any toxic estrogen (like parabens) in my body and helps to remove it so that it will not build up in my tissues where estrogen receptors are located (like breast tissue and ovarian tissue, just to name a few).

A great site I have found to check out the toxicity level of a skin care product is: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. Sometimes they don't always have the products listed, but i have found this site very helpful before I buy anything new. Always educate yourself and don't trust manufacturers. They watch out for their bottom line, not for your health. That is your job!

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