HEALTH & FITNESS ecology A Green Market Ecostore USA taps into environmentally friendly products. Ruthan Brodsky it. That is true for cleaning products Special to the Jewish News and especially for personal care prod- H ucts because anything you put on your skin is absorbed by your body." Downing found considerable suc- er grandmother died of breast cancer when Lyne Downing was 19. Twelve years later, her mother also cess at marketing the products with "mommy bloggers," women with died of breast cancer. "Both of them children who are very well connected smoked," recalls Downing. "I was 31 at the time and declared I'm not dying of to each other and give muscle to all the ways of making the world a better breast cancer." Downing was then a bartender in a smoked-filled restaurant. She under- place for their children. Jessica Gottlieb in Los Angeles, for example, tried and approved of the cleaning products, but then criticized stood the hazards of secondhand Ecostore USA in her blog for ship- ping the products in nonbiodegrad- smoke and started exploring another line of work. Inspired by her passion for a healthy lifestyle, she became a per- able packaging peanuts. Thousands of mothers read her blog posts. When Gottlieb found out that the packaging sonal trainer, working two jobs until she built a solid base of clients. "I didn't fully realize the importance materials, the peanuts that look like of a healthy lifestyle until our daughter, Kasey Madelyne Butler Downing, came Styrofoam insulator, were made from into our lives," says Downing. "From then on, I made sure our fam- ily was eating the right foods and I A GREEN on page A34 Natural Products eliminated toxic products around the house. I read about global warming and become a tree-hugging personal trainer and certified yoga instructor." Downing tells the story how she and a friend had been searching for health- related business opportunities for two years. After seeing the Al Gore movie on global warming and examining the mar- keting trends, they focused their search on environmentally friendly products. "I located a business in New Zealand where the owner and founder, Malcolm Rands, had been manufacturing toxic- free household cleaning, baby and personal care products for the past 15 years," says Downing. "I did the due diligence on the company, checked out the products and bought some to test. I was very impressed about the quality of the prod- ucts and the fact that it was already a known brand name in New Zealand." Downing sent an e-mail message to Rands asking, "Are you interested in U.S. distribution?" The rest is history. The next two years were spent acquiring the North American licensing agreement for Ecostore USA and work- ing out the myriad legal, manufacturing, importing and distribution details. In the meantime, Downing surged ahead with campaigns directed at tar- Lyne Downing: "I didn't fully realize the importance of a healthy lifestyle until our daughter came into our lives." get markets. The major one involved ment committee at Temple Israel in mothers with school-age children. West Bloomfield. "Children may suffer more negative Downing spread the news about Ecostore USA products by asking mothers, online and offline, if they were effects because they weigh less and their immune and detoxification sys- interested in reviewing them. Mothers who agreed were given free samples tems are less developed. Children may be exposed to pesticides, for example, of the household cleaning products. Reviews were collected and testimoni- from residues in food, in their homes als given. Downing shared her story this week in honor of Earth Day, which this year fell on April 22. or yards, or in schools, parks and play- grounds. "My philosophy has always been: if you can't eat it, then don't use Naturapathic Pesting Dr. Jen Green, ND, a West Bloomfield-based naturopathic doc- tor, tested the cleaning products at her home. "Pesticides can have a variety of side effects on a person's endocrine, nervous and immune systems," says Green, who also chairs the environ- D IS H WASii 1.1111.,11111 1 : LAUNDRY uQUID PURL oxyGINI wH,INtt 7.• Fortunately, natural cleaning prod- ucts are increasingly available. They are generally made with nat- ural fruit and vegetable enzymes and extracts, vinegar and essential oils, organic salts and other safe compounds that are as effective as the chemical alternatives. Here are a few Ecostore USA cleaning products and a list of their ingredients: • Auto Dish Power is a blend of plant cellulose, simple mineral salts, citrus and coconut oils. • Lemon Spray Cleaner is citrus based, and contains ethanol, palm and coconut oils and filtered wa- ter; works well on all surfaces. • Cream Cleanser uses only plant-based ingredients, including lemon verbena oil, glycerine and Xanthum gum. • Dish Liquid cuts grease with no synthetic chemicals. Contains light amount of palm and co- conut oils, mineral hydroxide and natural citrus oil. • Laundry Powder consists of simple mineral salts and plant-based in- gredients, sodium percar- bonate for whitening and natural lemon verbena oil. April 23 • 2009 A33