Reuse again... and again

I love second-hand shopping for numerous reasons, including the inexpensive prices, the ability to obtain higher quality goods that I could afford if they were new, and the fact that it's great for the environment.

For example, due to thrift shopping, my daughter received more gifts from her father and me than we could have privided her if we were buying new. We gave her a set of roller skates, a bigger bike, a boy Barbie, a dress, several cute tops and pants, and a Christmas teddy bear, all in excellent condition, for about $50 total.

Some object, however, that the second-hand market isn't practical for society at large since it always requires a first-hand market. That's true, but the complaint usually assumes a one-to-one relationship between the first-hand and second-hand market for each item. In other words, someone buys something new and donates or passes it on, then someone else gets it second-hand. Once the second person has finished with the item, that's the end of its life cycle.

Many items, however, can have multiple life cycles as long as they're still in good condition. Well-made, durable items like bikes and children's clothing (since kids tend to outgrow things quickly) can be passed on multiple times to multiple users before they're no longer in good condition.

Here's a good example: I purchased my daughter's old bike $8 from a thrift store two years ago. She has recently outgrown the bike and we found a larger one, in great condition, for $10 at Goodwill. It's very possible that either bike had multiple users (say, an older and younger sibling) before being donated and purchased by us.

One of my daughter's friends, two years older, also got a new bike for Christmas. Her mom and I planned at first to pass on both old bikes to younger children, but they were too big for the younger children we knew.

So I came up with an even better plan for passing on the two bikes. I had a meeting in Olympia today and had to pass through Lacey, where Alaffia, my favorite natural body care company, is based. Alaffia has a project, Bicycles for Education, in which they collect bikes from Washington residents to ship to Alaffia's founder's home country of Togo. These bikes make transportation to and from distant schools possible for many rural children who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend.

I dropped off both bikes at Alaffia's headquarters today and was able to have a follow-up conversation with them about hosting a bike drive at Marlene's Natural Market in Tacoma (which will take place in June). So you see, many items can be used not once, not twice, but again and again and again, for older children, younger children, and children across the world!

Great product recommendation

For some reasons, the skin problems that have affected my scalp and face have never affected the rest of my body, so I've always been able to use commercial body lotions without problem. I've been looking for a good eco-friendly body lotion for a while. I like Alba Botanica and Trader Joe's body lotions, both of which contain mostly natural ingredients and feel great on the skin. However, both contain parabens as preservatives, which are possible carcinogens.

On a recent visit to Super Supplements, I found an awesome product: Alaffia Everyday Shea body lotion. There are so many great benefits to this products:

~ It's made from all-natural ingredients, including and primarily shea butter, which has been such a healing product for my face.*
~ The company operates according to fair trade practices.**
~ The founder of the company is from Togo, and started the company as a way to help empower his fellow Africans. They donate 10% of sales to community development projects in Togo.
~ For me, the company is local: it's headquartered in Olympia, WA.
~ It's very affordable. I paid $10 for a 32 oz. bottle. (Note: Products sold at Super Supplements tend to be cheaper than I find them elsewhere, so it normally retails for $13.99).

Please visit the Alaffia web site to learn more about the company's great story, as well as about the wonders of shea butter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Shea butter has a distinctive odor reminiscent of both chocolate and almonds. I really like the aroma, but it takes getting used to.

** Fair trade "means paying a fair price or wage in the local context, providing equal employment opportunities, engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing healthy and safe working conditions, being open to public accountability, and reducing the number of middlemen between producers and consumers." Please see the Alaffia web site for more information about fair trade.