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BANG FOR THE BITE
There's no better way to relax and revive than at a world-class eco-spa, but they're on the pricey side.
COCKTAIL FACT
In a 1999 study, researchers found that venting anger on inanimate objects increases, rather than decreases, aggression.
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home › tip library › Eco - Spas
Are you about to join Alec Baldwin in anger management class?
The Bite
There are so many better ways to chill out. For a deluxe decompression session, head to an eco-spa, where sustainable settings meet eco-friendly pampering.The Benefits
- Rejuvenating treatments. Organic-oil aromatherapy and purifying enzyme baths get toxins out and renewal in.
- Eco-friendly practices. Eco-spas use non-toxic and biodegradable products on your bod, and some spas are even built using sustainable materials.
- Better working conditions. The best eco-spas pay their workers fair wages and use non-toxic chems to clean their facilities.
Personally Speaking
Heather's excited about Leo DiCaprio's not-yet-open eco-spa, Blackadore Cay, in Belize, even though there's no guarantee Leo will be there.Wanna Try?
- Naturopathica Spa - the eco-body products company operates its own spa in East Hampton, NY.
- Osmosis - a Sonoma, CA day-spa where Bay Area Biters can get rubbed and scrubbed, created by a founding member of the in-the-works Green Spa Network.
- Rancho La Puerta - one of the first eco-spas in North America, located in Baja California.
- Aveda - almost twenty full-service spas worldwide use Aveda's natural body products.
- Natural Body Spa - several locations throughout the South.
- SpaFinder - a list of green spas around the world.
May 25,2007
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Rub-a-Dub-Dub
Last year, I remodeled the bathroom. For the first time in years, fixtures matched. The tile grout wasn't stained gray from mold (despite endless scrubbing). I stopped knocking my shoulder against the unwieldy cabinet someone thought to install on the back of the door. Even the accidental drill-through to the neighbor's apartment turned out: at last, I can borrow that sugar I've been needing.
The bathroom has taken shape as my own little spa, my own little sanctuary. A few candles, a few rubber duckies (when better company can't be found), and some bath salts set me right every time. My faves: Lush Ne Worry Pas bath bomb (leaves skin supersoft), Aveda Soothing Aqua Therapy (seriously relaxes muscles), and Baththerapy Natural Mineral Bath (which you can sometimes find in bulk at Whole Foods). If you can't make it to an eco-spa-create one of your own!
- Jenifer Morgan... off to test the waters...
The bathroom has taken shape as my own little spa, my own little sanctuary. A few candles, a few rubber duckies (when better company can't be found), and some bath salts set me right every time. My faves: Lush Ne Worry Pas bath bomb (leaves skin supersoft), Aveda Soothing Aqua Therapy (seriously relaxes muscles), and Baththerapy Natural Mineral Bath (which you can sometimes find in bulk at Whole Foods). If you can't make it to an eco-spa-create one of your own!
- Jenifer Morgan... off to test the waters...
Biter Comments...
Hmm... Aveda is not eco-friendly. They might put a drop or two of an essential oil in a chemical-laden product. The whole "natural" thing is really just a marketing gimmick. They are owned by Estee Lauder, which has refused to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.
Alec Baldwin is a domestic violence tragedy within hairs of reality. A trip to the spa is shallow guidance.
All members of this family deserve our emphathy. The American family is almost dead.
Each adult would be activated by seeing the immense complexity that is stuffed in mental health fragmentation.
This is our culture how might we bring mental health to the financial-attention that spas enjoy.
I really enjoy Ideal Bite as it provokes lots of stretching and reflection of personal perceptions and values.
Let's all stretch to seek help for our families.
EarthThunder
Thanks for the Biter Tip of the Day and thank you for including details that maybe would get overlooked when planning a spa trip. Like, fair wages for their workers and if the building was made from sustainable sources.
Blogger Donna has opened my eyes this morning about Aveda, and I will be doing some research. I am a very loyal Aveda customer but if her comment is correct a drastic change is in my future! Thanks for the heads up.
she is oh so right about aveda!!! I have been trying to get people to listen for years.... when they were bought out by estee lauder, the only thing that they maintained was the fragrances of the products. check the labels. they use every paraben ( a hormone inhibitor that they site as a "preservative"- not natural, not safe in anyway) in the books-
you want great paraben free organic products? check out miessence. the only certified organic line of cosmetics & skin care.
http://www.geauxorganic.mionegroup.com
Before buying any form of cosmetics, you should check out cosmeticdatabase.com, the Environmental Working Group's database that rates products and their ingredients for safety concerns.
I know that one product laveré Lip Expert, rated a very high 6 due to a nasty FICUS CARICA (FIG) EXTRACT whose use has been banned by the EU.
I have learned that just because it sounds "natural" doesn't mean it is so. I got a facial cleanser from a friend called "Clarity" filled with parabens and other synthetic stuff.
Personally, I try to buy things that are 0-2 on the EWG rating scale. Then diet, exercise, and generally taking care of myself does the rest.
i'm with you ellen. it's getting kinda scary out there, with the Treehugger / WorldChanging generation (that's me) pushing the latest and greatest green products, or even sustainable thought.
we're really past time for the "awareness" and light green thing. smaller action is fantastic, but given our window of opportunity here, it's not enough.
I have to admit, I didn't even see Ellen's comment until JS responded.
I definitely agree, as well. I take steps in every aspect of my life, including politically. I create new and lasting changes everyday.
That being said.....
There are many people out there who aren't aware yet, and do need to take green one hue at a time. Instead of brow beating and actions that separate the growing community, embrace the fact that so many newbies to the green are making the small steps. They need to open the door before they feel welcome inside.
Give people the opportunity and the services necessary to implement real lasting change, and try to invite- not demand.
I keep learning this lesson over and over again.
Oh, and one more thing- if we are going to be consumers anyway- shouldn't we be conscious consumers? I was always taught to QUESTION EVERYTHING. Do homework, do research. Find out what you are using and where it came from. We are all revolutionaries.
It is time for real lasting change.
Our planet deserves it, and so do we.
christal...i agree, completely.
i don't think that's the issue. in my consulting business, i describe sustainability as encouraging creativity, innovation and cooperation. whether it's green building or whatever, it's about excitement, passion and educating, not criticizing or deriding or guilting people into efficiency or preservation. unless sustainability instills a sense of awe (i.e., that first sense of Yosemite or a god-honest wild bear within dinner distance, you being dinner)...there's no force to preserve, restore or protect.
my big issue with inhabitat, treehugger and other websites started by people of roughly my generation is that we're collectively missing something in the scramble for paraben-free moisturizer or VOC-free plywood. treehugger highlights the newest bamboo floor, or IdealBite the greenest new eco-spa in Belize.
small steps for sure, and that's great...but nobody goes further than a cute little blog photo and paragraph write-up. those bamboo floors...possibly grown by companies that clearcut Chinese forests to plant bamboo to meet exploding "sustainable" flooring demands. that Eco-Spa...possibly creating a carbon footprint bigger than Al Gore, and destroying as much biodiversity as smaller mining operations.
there's no accounting...just internet blurbs designed to create good vibes in those who read and possibly adopt them.
my only point in this hurried rant (as i'm out to a meeting)...almost nobody honestly accounts for the sustainability of whatever, before putting it out there as green...typically on the justification that, "well, it's better than nothing". i disagree...sometimes doing nothing is the better choice.
Although it is less wasteful to not scrap the old bathroom, it must be done! Bathrooms are such a key selling point in the home (if you are thinking down the road, but aren't all biters). And with all of the green products popping up on the market, remodeling is getting a lot more fiendlier!
www.stagedmakeovers.com
www.mystagedlife.com
Sigh...that's kinda my point Rachel. If people actually invested the green claim, most products and wildlife aren't such friends, as the manufacturer, Treehugger or wherever would have you believe. :)
rachel did have a little Freudian slip there.... you said feindlier. and it is a bit fiendish to consume over and above what we truly NEED. while it is nice to have a green home, it is more important that we create change with our voices, and with our affiliations with groups that create lasting impact as opposed to getting some new grout. green is a way of life, not a product on a shelf. rethink how your purchases affect the planet. think of it in a butterfly affect or ripple affect mentality. what we do here, greatly exacerbates the problems over there. we can all be a part of the revolution, we just need to be more conscious and find our own way to be radical. this generation can learn from the ones before us.
oops...
just a little typo earlier...
I meant friendlier.
Hi Jenifer, as a carpenter, eco friend, seller of organic products and spa lover I can appreciate your excitement in having your own spa set-up!
Just a few friendly suggestions, you might want to visit www.loveorganicenergy.mionegroup.com and check ou the worlds first certified organic personal care products. No toxic stuf in this...
Set up a bilge pump to hose the water ou the window to a convenient spot in the garden..
Enjoy your bathroom!
Cheers, Kate
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Ellen | May 25, 2007 at 06:20 AM