The Chicago Flag Bar continues it's trip around the world

 

•  

  Our Sun kissed and solar produced embassador of the city's new eco-spirit most recently summited Africa's highest peak; Mount Kilimanjaro.  For a complete trip log and details on it's next adventure 'Like' and follow us on Facebook.com/ethicallyengineered or email: info@ethicallyengineered.com.

   

   

  Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain as well as the 4th most prominent mountain in theworld, rising 5,882 metres or 19,298 ft from the base.

  

   

  Our good friend and fan Erin L. from Chicago heeded the call for adventure and chose to take The Chicago Flag Bar along as a token of appreciation for her hosts while visiting Tanzania.  While in country she visited historic animal preserves as well as trekked up this million year old dormant volcano with a Chicago Flag Bar in her bag.
  
  As Erin climed and eventually summited the moutain's Uhuru Peak she bore witness to the melting ice and snow that have been dated to 11,700 years.  Between 1912 and 2007 the ancient mountain has lost as much as 85% of it's ice.  If global temperatures continue to rise the ice is estimated to be gone in 11 years.
  
  Our goal is clear and we are renewed with dedication to our goals of carbon neutral production and delivery.  Thank you Erin for sharing the eco-spirit of Chicago with the people of Tanzania.

  
  

  

   

Are Girl Scout cookies killing orangutans?

Source:  Grist

Please take a look at the article above from The Grist.

Below you will find my reaction to it's over simplified reporting.  In reading this article from The Grist one can easily be outraged at palm oil, cookies, The Girl Scouts, or all of the above.  However, it's once again, economics to blame.  Well, economics and the global affects on agribusiness.

Palm oil is the problem?  Girl scout cookies are the problem?  Really?!?!  An ingredient produced by the planet and little girls are to blame?  C'mon; the growing practices are to blame.  Look...I make products with sustainably grown/sourced and fair wage palm oil from a Columbian Co-op and have for a few years due to their bio-sphere positive agricultural practices.  Never once did I say to myself that the ingredient is to blame or that little children were to blame.  I just switched to a better, and more ethical producer.  

Nature or nurture?  It's not me.  It's how I was raised.

Look; it's just plain bad reporting to say things like "palm oil, the No. 1 culprit behind deforestation in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia."  Palm oil is not an evil to stamp out.  The GROWING PRACTICES are!  Support the users and producers of ethically grown and bio-diverse palm oil.  Don't just make statements, out of hand, that encourage consumers to blame a product.  Go the extra step and tell them to look for ingredients and growing cooperatives that do not contribute to rain forest deforestation, invest in adult education, build evaporation awnings to protect valuable irrigation water, and protect animal habitats.

Look I understand it's easy to vilify and tear down a product like palm oil; but if you really understood how much good this product does in our daily lives; from common baked goods to Soaps and detergents, Candles, Cosmetics, manufacturing and transportation lubrication, biodiesel, glue, printing inks, textile industry just to mention a few.

In addition to oils extracted from the oil palm fruit, other parts of the tree can be used in industry. For example, leaf fibers and empty fruit bunches are used to produce chipboard and plywood. After plantations are cleared out, the trunks of old palms can be used to make furniture.

Look, I'm all for bringing the attention to problems a affecting change but oversimplifying and demonizing a great product from the earth like palm oil is not the way to do it.

Tell your readers to look for sustainably grown products and to support businesses that "get it".  Tell you readers to vote with their dollars.  Put down the candy and cookies made with deforestation palm oil.  Sure, it's the cheapest.  Pick up the products that may cost a little more due to organic (reduced yield) farming, vegan, fair wage or fair trade, carbon neutral, or chemical free (no parabens or petrochemicals or toxins that harm the grown water or bioculture and travel up through the food chain).  Then email the Girl Scouts of America and tell them that you will buy more when they switch ingredients and that you are willing to pay for the extra cost.  Sustainable agriculture practices, humanity, species and the planet are worth it.

The Chicago Bar travels to New York

Every so often Joe and I get a nice email from a fan who wants to take The Chicago Bar to different parts of the country or the world.  From weddings in Jamaica, to holiday gifts in Amsterdam or just for gift giving to a misplaced Chicago-an who is missing the thrum of the city ; we really enjoy getting photos of our humble little high lather emissary on the road.  So it was nice to receive this little request from Kelly.

"Hi! I've been sending your amazing Chicago bar soap to friends/family in NY and I'm heading over this weekend and wanted to bring some! I went to XXXXXXX and XXXXX and both are out. Is there any way I could get some before tomorrow?"

Kelly C. -- Chicago

We are happy to report that she was able to drop by the studios to pick up a couple of bars before heading out and we hope that mornings will be a little bit brighter in Syracuse with a shower full of rich moisturizing suds and our invigorating RX of coffee for the senses;  peppermint.

Send us your pictures of  The
Chicago Bar travelling and joining you on your adventures wherever they may take you.

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Try Organic Soap

Organic soap is made out of 100% natural ingredients that don’t cause harm to your skin. This has become the preferred soap for more and more people because over the years, ingredients in most commercial soap found on supermarket shelves have been revealed to have bad side effects.

Regular mass-produced soap often have harmful ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate, which is a heavy-duty industrial cleaner used for floors.

They also include alcohol products which dry the skin, and fragrances that cause allergies and other skin reactions.

On the other hand, organic soap is safe and pure, made completely from plant, fruit, and vegetable extracts. These ingredients have been harvested on a purely organic method, which means that farmers did not make use of any chemicals or artificial pesticides and other means to speed up their growth and production.

These pesticides, in the long run, harm the soil and the plants, instead of helping to make them fertile for future growth. They also end up in our water systems and pollute the air.

Additionally, it also means that the production of organic soap did not harm farmers, plants, or fight natural growth processes in order to harvest. Organic soap is produced completely environmentally friendly.

Top 5 reasons why organic soap is something you must try

1. It is not tested on animals. By living healthy and switching to organically produced soap, you are also helping to save an animal’s life.

2. Ingredients used are all-natural and safe, and are also great for sensitive skin. Commercially produced soaps are loaded with artificial ingredients, preservatives and additives that lead to breakouts, acne, allergies, and other skin conditions.

3. You will be able to easily feel the difference once you start using organic soap. You will never want to go back to using commercially produced soap again, because your skin will instantly feel healthy, smooth, and moisturized.

4. You will greatly reduce the toxins you are putting into your body when you are using organic soap. The chemicals found in regular soap have serious side effects, such as cancer, brain damage, and damage to the nervous system. They may not be felt right away, but over a longer period of time these can build up inside your system and cause serious disease later on in life.

5. Organic soap is pumped with natural moisturizers that leave your skin feeling light, refreshed, and moisturized, even on humid days.

Organic soap is safe and friendly for everyone, so it’s something you should consider when doing the groceries for your family next time.

However, you shouldn’t pick just about any soap products in the aisles. It’s important to review labels carefully, because many brands can label themselves as organic when in fact they mix the ingredients with other chemical products.

Some of the common ingredients in organic soap are the following:

* Colorants from nature

* Sustainably sourced Palm Oil

* Coconut Oil

* Plant matter

* Peppermint

* Sea salt

* Olive oil

* Essential oils

Source: Alternative Medicine Zone

Each day the power of the mind amazes me with new and wonderful records broken. A Swiss led team of engineers and researchers has managed to complete a 26 hour flight in a Solar Powered plane called the Solar Impulse. Huge solar panels stored the power during the day and the plane amazingly flew overnight. The news of the Solar Impulse's accomplishment is remarkable and they were able to reach a hight of 28,000 feet. Plans are in the works to circle the globe with a new plane and work will begin on that project soon.

The panels Joe and I use to power our facility pull in 15% of a charge even at night. Simply amazing. However, we hope these efficiencies will be seen as the vault bar to raise higher and higher each week, month, and year as we embrace renewable energy. It is simply amazing to be living in during what the scientific community agrees is a tipping point. Each day I am looking for signs that the compassionate evolution is indeed occurring and today's landing has filled me with renewed optimism that a 'Manhattan Project' of green technology can push us forward in the struggle to maintain and improve our precious bio-sphere.

Each day the power of the mind amazes me with new and wonderful records broken. A Swiss led team of engineers and researchers has managed to complete a 26 hour flight in a Solar Powered plane called the Solar Impulse. Huge solar panels stored the power during the day and the plane amazingly flew overnight. The news of the Solar Impulse's accomplishment is remarkable and they were able to reach a hight of 28,000 feet. Plans are in the works to circle the globe with a new plane and work will begin on that project soon.

The panels Joe and I use to power our facility pull in 15% of a charge even at night. Simply amazing. However, we hope these efficiencies will be seen as the vault bar to raise higher and higher each week, month, and year as we embrace renewable energy. It is simply amazing to be living in during what the scientific community agrees is a tipping point. Each day I am looking for signs that the compassionate evolution is indeed occurring and today's landing has filled me with renewed optimism that a 'Manhattan Project' of green technology can push us forward in the struggle to maintain and improve our precious bio-sphere.

Oils from Bergamot, Grapefruit and Petitgrain are essential, uplift ones spirits, decrease anxiety and depression. Also antiseptic, antispasmodic and deodorizing agent.

This weekend's Green Music Festival was a great time.  Listeneing to the Wailers and The Aggrolites was amazing and we made so many new friends.  Thanks to everyone who came out and thanks as well to all the support of our carbon neutral process.

It's back to work today and I'm making small batches of our zen-ful Bergamot and Grapefruit high lather body bars and massage oil today.  Ohmmmm.  They say if you truly love your work you never work a day in your life.  So true.

Bergamot’s distinctive citrus smell helps lift a blue mood, builds confidence and self-esteem.  Coming from the Citrus bergamia tree its oil is mechanically cold-pressed from the fruit’s rind. I've obtained the finest quality oil however which is hand-pressed.  

Grapefruit oil is believed to reduce cellulite and fluid retention, as well as reducing muscle aches and pains when massaged into the affected area.  The oil is obtained from the fresh peel of the fruit, by means of a process known as cold expression; which involves rupturing the fresh peel and pressing out the essence or zest.