Will yours be a green 2011?

With the excesses of Christmas behind us but New Year's celebrations just around the corner, this is the time to reflect on 2010 and consider what 2011 holds for us.

Most of us are getting quite good at being green and hopefully you have already been converted to organic skin care and make up!

However by doing just a little bit more, you could help 2011 be an even greener year for you than 2010.

Here are some suggestions:

• Take home plastic bottles and cans to recycle instead of disposing of them in public bins
  
  
• Don't leave your mobile charging all night - pop it on charge when you get home and it should be done in a couple of hours. Remember to turn off the charger afterwards!
  
  
• Switch to green cleaning products and buy some reusable cloths rather than using throwaway kitchen towel
  
  
• Switch to a green electricity supplier, like Ecotricity
  
  
• Set your computer to hibernate after a short period of inactivity or buy an eco button
  
  
• Sign up to a mail preference service which will remove you from junk mailing lists
  
  
• Get on top of those jobs around the house which can cause wastage - fix that leaking tap and dripping overflow pipe!
  
  
• Install a water butt linked to your guttering system and use the water for your plants or topping up your pond

Roz Savage: adventurer of the year?

National Geographic are searching for the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year and we are delighted to see that Roz Savage, ocean rower, is in the last 10.

If you haven't heard about Roz before, she is a remarkable lady who one day decided to give up the life of a management consultant and row across oceans. What's more, it is her birthday today - Happy Birthday Roz!

This year, she became the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean, a feat to build on her previous conquering of the Atlantic in 2005. To date she has rowed more than 11,000 miles and cumulatively spent almost a year of her life at sea.

Her slogan, "Rowing towards a greener future," sums up her eco ethos, and she has also been named a United Nations Climate Hero.

In 2011 she plans to row from Freemantle to Mumbai, and after that, she will brave the ocean crossing from New Jersey to London in 2012.

National Geographic - vote for Adventurer of the Year!

Green People has long supported Roz in her various adventures, supplying organic sunscreen and other ocean-friendly toiletries for her to use whilst at sea for weeks at a time.

Please join us in supporting this amazing lady by voting for her to become National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year.

Green People make-up - vote

Green People's organic make up has been put forward for the Beauty/Bodycare category of the Natural Lifestyle awards.

If you can't live without our concealer or think our powders are perfect, please vote for us!

Simply vote here by scrolling down the page and then ticking the box next to "Green People - Organic Mineral Make Up" in the Beauty/Bodycare section.

Thanks from all of us at Green People.

Are you getting your beauty sleep?

Getting a good night's sleep really does make you more beautiful, a new study has found.

Nearly everyone has stayed up late and thought the next day that they aren't looking their best but scientists have now proven this with a simple experiment.

They sent their 23 volunteers to bed for a good night's sleep - 8 hours - and photographed them the next day. The following night their sleep was restricted to just 5 hours, 2 hours less than recommended, and they were photographed once more.

They were then rated on a 1-10 attractiveness scale by members of the public.

The participants were rated as less attractive and less healthy when they were tired than when they were well rested.

Scientists from the Surrey Sleep Research Centre believe that the effects of 'beauty sleep' could be even more pronounced if the photos had been taken at a different time.

"The photographs were taken during the daytime when the biological clock promotes wakefulness.

"Can you imagine how sleep loss makes you look at night or early in the morning when the circadian clock (body clock) promotes sleep?"

Fresh mind = fresh skin

Just as the night time hours are vital for reviving your mind, they are also important for your skin.

During the night your skin 'breathes' to rid itself of waste as well as repair any damage caused during the day.

By allowing yourself a good 8 hours a night for sleep and treating your skin to a nourishing night cream, you can give your skin a boost.

Try also sleeping on your back, rather than on your side. Resting your face on the pillow in the same way every night can lead to sleep lines. Over time, these lines become etched onto the skin and do not disappear when you get out of bed.

Beeswax/berry wax vs petrochemicals

Green People is proud to use berry wax and organic beeswax in its natural skin care products instead of petrochemicals like paraffin.

They both perform a similar role - creating a protective barrier on the skin - but why should you use one over another?

Here are a few reasons:

1. Beeswax and berry wax are both truly natural ingredients. They do not need intensive industrial processing, like paraffin, which causes harm to the environment.
   
   
2. Beeswax and berry wax are both renewable resources, whereas the mining of fossil fuels cannot be reversed.
   
   
3. Beeswax and berry wax nourish the skin whilst protecting it, whereas petrochemicals create a clingfilm-like barrier that prevents the skin from breathing.
   
   
4. Beeswax and berry wax rarely cause irritation to the skin, whereas mineral oils (a form of petrochemical) are a common cause of break outs.
   
   
5. Beeswax can be certified organic (which is what we use in our natural skin care products) whereas petrochemicals never will be. Berry wax is totally natural but is not yet available in a certified organic form.

Here are some of our products which contain organic beeswax:

• Mineral make up
• Adult's No Scent SPF25 Sun Lotion
• Sensuous Body Butter

and berry wax (suitable for vegans):

• No Scent Soft Lips
• SPF15 Sun Lotion
• Aloe Vera Hand & Body Lotion

Day 12 of Advent Offers

Finally we have come to the end of our special Advent Calendar...but we've got one last treat in store.

Click the calendar to see our final special offer!

Don't forget we have free delivery until the end of the month too! (UK mainland only)

Day 11 of Advent Offers

Don't miss out on today's special offer! Take a peek behind Day 11 on the calendar now...