Nova Covington, a fourth generation herbalist, values the Earth and the healing power of plants. Inspired by her young daughter’s health needs, she created an organic alternative to synthetic soap found in traditional baby products. This fueled the creation of safe skincare solutions and the founding of Goddess Garden in 2004. Goddess Garden has the highest organic content sunscreen on the market. This 70% organic natural sunscreen with a 30 SPF can be part of great gifts available at Best Organics and is available in both kids and adult formulas. Goddess Garden chooses certified organic, fair trade, and sustainably sourced ingredients, and scents products with 100% pure essential oils. We invite you to share this great brand by adding Goddess Garden Sunscreen to a summer fun gift and get 20% off through August 15!! Enter code Summer2010 during checkout.

Also of note: The Environmental Working Group just published a guide on how to choose the safest, most effective sunscreens and Goddess Garden is listed as one of the safer products on the market!

The work of internationally renowned artist and painter Jim Freeheart, creator of the colorful scenes of Boulder and Colorado featured on Best Organics™ keepsake gift boxes, is being featured in a new show at the Creative Framing Gallery, a well-known fine arts gallery based in Louisville, CO. Titled “Freeheart in Paris,” the show features paintings done in brush and finger style from Freeheart’s recent travels to France and Italy. More than 30 works are on display during the month of June. Freeheart’s work is sold worldwide.

Since the early 1970s, Jim has painted everywhere he has lived and traveled. His vibrantly colored, impressionistic paintings feature beautiful landscapes, mountain vistas, vibrant downtown scenes, and sandy beaches and crashing surf.

Jim’s love of the planet has made him a staunch environmentalist and philanthropist, supporting food banks, education and environmental causes. He currently lives, surfs and paints in Hawaii. Visit www.JimFreeheart.com for more information.

For more information about Boulder’s Best Organics™ and Colorado’s Best Organics™ gift box collections, featuring Jim’s work–and all organic and eco-friendly snacks, foods, personal care and other wonderful local products–visit www.bouldersbestorganics.com. When you give a Best Organics gift collection, you also support local business, organic farming and sustainability.

Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org and author of The End of Nature and Eaarth, recently visited Colorado as part of an “At the Epicenter” salon series hosted by Best Organics to share ways individuals, communities and businesses can lessen their impact on global warming. Partnering with Natural Capitalism Solutions and Sterling Rice Group, Seleyn DeYarus, President of Best Organics, brought together more than 60 community leaders for a conversation with McKibben. Bill spoke of immediate action steps and encouraged people to get involved in 350.org’s upcoming global rally on 10/10/10 to build awareness of climate change. McKibben was named by Foreign Policy magazine to its inaugural list of the 100 most important global thinkers, and MSN named him one of the dozen most influential men of 2009. Visit 350.org.

Back in 1969 when Earth Day was still an idea, Boulderite Tom Mayberry was traveling in California when he met Denis Hayes at an environmental conference in San Francisco. Tom worked at the time for an educational film company owned by Oak Thorne, founder of the Thorne Ecological Institute in Boulder. Hayes had been asked by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to stage the first Earth Day to raise awareness. When Tom asked Hayes who was the person organizing Earth Day events in Colorado, Hayes told him, “You are!”

Encouraged by Thorne, Mayberry hosted environmental “teach-ins” and lectures around Boulder, and hundreds rallied at Boulder’s Central Park for the first Earth Day in 1970. Nationwide, about 20 million people took part.

Today, we honor the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. At Best Organics, we do strive to do our part by reducing our carbon footprint and promoting local products, grown organically and sustainably.

And we are very proud that Oak Thorne, one of the creators of Earth Day in Boulder, is a regular customer and supporter of Best Organics, giving his valued contacts Boulder’s Best Organics gift box collections throughout the year. Check out the Thorne Ecological Institute at www.thorne-eco.org. Thank you, Thorne!

Most of us know about the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables to avoid unless they are organic. But, what about our cosmetics or body care products? The National Geographic has a guide of the top twelve ingredients to avoid (see below). After reading the list, you’ll see why it’s just one more (or maybe 12 more) reasons to go organic, even in our cosmetics.

1. Antibacterials
Overuse of antibacterials can prevent them from effectively fighting disease-causing germs like E. coli and Salmonella enterica. Triclosan, widely used in soaps, toothpastes and deodorants, has been detected in breast milk, and one recent study found that it interferes with testosterone activity in cells. Numerous studies have found that washing with regular soap and warm water is just as effective at killing germs.

2. Coal Tar
Coal tar is a known human carcinogen used as an active ingredient in dandruff shampoos and anti-itch creams. Coal-tar-based dyes such as FD&C Blue 1, used in toothpastes, and FD&C Green 3, used in mouthwash, have been found to be carcinogenic in animal studies when injected under skin.

3. Diethanolamine (DEA)
DEA is a possible hormone disruptor, has shown limited evidence of carcinogenicity and depletes the body of choline needed for fetal brain development. DEA can also show up as a contaminant in products containing related chemicals, such as cocamide DEA.

4. 1,4-Dioxane
1,4-Dioxane is a known animal carcinogen and a possible human carcinogen that can appear as a contaminant in products containing sodium laureth sulfate and ingredients that include the terms “PEG,” “-xynol,” “ceteareth,” “oleth” and most other ethoxylated “eth” ingredients. The FDA monitors products for the contaminant but has not yet recommended an exposure limit. Manufacturers can remove dioxane through a process called vacuum stripping, but a small amount usually remains. A 2007 survey by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that most children’s bath products contain 10 parts per million or less, but an earlier 2001 survey by the FDA found levels in excess of 85 parts per million.

5. Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde has a long list of adverse health effects, including immune-system toxicity, respiratory irritation and cancer in humans. Yet it still turns up in baby bath soap, nail polish, eyelash adhesive and hair dyes as a contaminant or break-down product of diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea and quaternium compounds.

6. Fragrance
The catchall term “fragrance” may mask phthalates, which act as endocrine disruptors and may cause obesity and reproductive and developmental harm. Avoid phthalates by selecting essential-oil fragrances instead.

7. Lead and Mercury
Neurotoxic lead may appear in products as a naturally occurring contaminant of hydrated silica, one of the ingredients in toothpaste, and lead acetate is found in some brands of men’s hair dye. Brain-damaging mercury, found in the preservative thimerosol, is used in some mascaras.

8. Nanoparticles
Tiny nanoparticles, which may penetrate the skin and damage brain cells, are appearing in an increasing number of cosmetics and sunscreens. Most problematic are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles, used in sunscreens to make them transparent. When possible, look for sunscreens containing particles of these ingredients larger than 100 nanometers. You’ll most likely need to call companies to confirm sizes, but a few manufacturers have started advertising their lack of nanoparticle-sized ingredients on labels.

9. Parabens
(methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl-, isobutyl-) Parabens, which have weak estrogenic effects, are common preservatives that appear in a wide array of toiletries. A study found that butyl paraben damaged sperm formation in the testes of mice, and a relative, sodium methylparaben, is banned in cosmetics by the E.U. Parabens break down in the body into p-hydroxybenzoic acid, which has estrogenic activity in human breast-cancer cell cultures.

10. Petroleum Distillates
Possible human carcinogens, petroleum distillates are prohibited or restricted for use in cosmetics in the E.U. but are found in several U.S. brands of mascara, foot-odor powder and other products. Look out for the terms “petroleum” or “liquid paraffin.”

11. P-Phenylenediamine
Commonly found in hair dyes, this chemical can damage the nervous system, cause lung irritation and cause severe allergic reactions. It’s also listed as 1,4-Benzenediamine; p-Phenyldiamine and 4-Phenylenediamine.

12. Hydroquinone
Found in skin lighteners and facial moisturizers, hydroquinone is neurotoxic and allergenic, and there’s limited evidence that it may cause cancer in lab animals. It may also appear as an impurity not listed on ingredients labels.