Renewable resources: our ingredients are made using the leaves and flowers of plants and cold pressing them to extract the oils.
Less waste: during production, both the oil and powder left from the press/turbine are added back into other products. This brings out the best of the plant by using every vitamin, mineral, trace element, amino acid, and enzyme that the body needs to maintain whole health.
Pure natural ingredients: every product we use is paraben-free, in order to ensure the health and wellness of our team members and guests.
Fair trade: we gather the freshest ingredients from suppliers who believe and implement fair trade values, making sure we give back to the communities we partner with.
Generation aware: it’s imperative we provide a healthy Mother Earth for many generations to come.
Daniel Jaramillo
San Antonio, Texas
I just recycled my 18-year-old portable table into an electric lift table by purchasing the Oakworks ProLuxe Convertible. Folded my oldie-but-goodie down flat, quickly clamped it onto the sleek base, and fulfilled several decades of dreaming of this asset for my clients and me.
No more pregnant women climbing onto a footstool. No more compromising on table height for me as I switch clients from side-lying to semi-reclining positions. No waste of wood, vinyl, or foam to get an unnecessary new tabletop. Don’t dispose of your serviceable portable table to get an electric lift model until you check out this option.
Carole Osborne
San Diego, California
I don’t use paper receipts. I have them sent via text message and email. I also use a green company (Melaleuca) for all of my cleaning supplies, laundry soap, and lotions. They ship your products concentrated so they “don’t ship water,” which saves shipping costs and fuel, among other things. After each session, I usually give my clients Eco2Go water bottles, but since I’m trying to get away from plastic bottles, soon I will be giving/selling actual water bottles with my logo on them so clients can reuse them instead of throwing them away.
Kendall Slotte
Roseville, California
I start with nonaerosol room fresheners—my favorite is Citrus Magic Air Freshener. It is made from 100 percent natural citrus fruit, and smells better than any artificial scents do. Also, I use postcards for advertising—they use much less paper! With the same amount of paper, you can make four times as many postcards than with a single piece of 8.5’’ x 11’’ card stock and an envelope.
Jenni Massaro
Weymouth, Massachusetts
From Facebook
At Massage Harmony, we use cloth towels for therapist clean up instead of paper.
Kelly Johnson Lopez
I only use organic or ethically harvested products.
Bernadine Talmadge
I’ve gone meat-free, and I encourage my clients to do the same. www.chompingclimatechange.org
Michael Willemsen
We use all-natural massage creams and cleaning products, and towels instead of paper towels, and we recycle everything we can.
Angela Morris
At Jasmine Salon & Spa, we use all Aveda products and go BIG on Earth month. We recycle all we can, and I have a plant-based diet.
Casey Bonyata
At Alaska Women’s Massage, I use natural cleaning products, organic Biotone or jojoba oil, and cloth microfiber cleaning. I no longer give my clients water from paper cups and instead have drinking glasses for them.
Melanie Loring
We installed solar power at our Emeryville massage school campus! http://on.fb.me/NtEXC2
National Holistic Institute
Transformations Therapeutic Massage uses organic and high-quality natural oils, lotions, aromatherapy, and cleaning products. Sheets are cleaned with “green” irritant-free products. We recycle, and use washable towels for cleaning and hand-washing. My clients are also treated to reverse osmosis purified water and organic teas, served in reusable cups.
Tama Stull
Beware “Greenwashing”
Greenwashing is a term that means “expression of environmentalist concerns, especially as a cover for products, policies, or activities deleterious to the environment.”1 The word has become relevant recently, as companies jump on the green bandwagon, regardless their policies or behaviors, in order to entice consumers toward their products.
Futerra, a British sustainability communications company, offers the following signs you’re being “green sheened”:2
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Fluffy language: words or terms with no clear meaning (e.g., “eco-friendly”).
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Green product vs. dirty company: such as efficient lightbulbs made in a factory that pollutes rivers.
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Suggestive pictures: green images that indicate a (unjustified) green impact (e.g., flowers blooming from exhaust pipes).
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Irrelevant claims: emphasizing one tiny green attribute when everything else is not green.
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Best in class: declaring you are slightly greener than the rest, even if the rest are pretty terrible.
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Just not credible: “eco-friendly” cigarettes, anyone? “Greening” a dangerous product doesn’t make it safe.
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Jargon: information that only a scientist could check or understand.
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Imaginary friends: a “label” that looks like third-party endorsement—except that it’s made up.
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No proof: it could be right, but where’s the evidence?
Notes
1.Merriam-Webster Unabridged, accessed July 2012, http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?va=greenwashing&x=0&y=0.
2.Futerra, accessed July 2012, www.futerra.co.uk/downloads/Greenwash_Guide.pdf.