Once attracting traders and sea gypsies, these ports now draw in large vessels and corporations. Sound like a thriving business? Think again!

We avoid the use of palm oil derived ingredients in all of our products. Here are five of the many reasons why.

Loss of culture and human rights

Indigenous people in these areas are being pushed off ancestral land to make way for plantations. Many of these families still do not have the legal documents that would grant them and their children basic rights.

 Feared endangerment of the Orangutan

According to a new study, oil palm plantations over the past two decades have cleared about 16,000 square kilometres of primary and logged forested lands. Palm oil deforestation has contributed to cutting Bornean orangutan populations in half since the 1980’s, down to 54,000, according to environmental groups. At this rate, some predict these animals could be extinct within a matter of years. Yep, that’s why we’ve got orangutans on our website.

Loss of habitat

Borneo started losing its rainforest in the 1960s when the government pushed the expansion of oil palms to complement rubber tree growth. This continues to threaten the habitat of our endangered orangutans

Pollution

A joint study published in October 2012 by Stanford University and Yale University found that land-clearing operations for plantations in Borneo emitted more than 140 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 alone, equal to annual emissions from about 28 million vehicles

 Is it really worth it?

This palm oil industry brings billions of dollars in revenue to the world’s top producers, Indonesia and Malaysia. But at the expense of one of the world’s most biologically diverse areas and given the long-term social costs, you have to ask yourself: is it all really worth it?

Always check the back of pack details. Support products that are palm oil free.

For more information about palm oil check out our palm oil free page.

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It’s Business Clean Up Australia Day, which means there’s no better time to think about how you and your colleagues can be more sustainable in the workplace.

Here are some helpful tips we’ve taken from www.livinggreener.gov.au that you can follow:

Office ‘Green Teams’

1. Get a team together to look at environmental issues and help your organisation work towards improving its performance.
2. Place stickers near light switches and office machines reminding people to turn them off when not in use.
3. Place posters in kitchen areas to highlight what can and can’t be recycled.
4. Send out regular tips to staff via internal email and run competitions between individuals and teams.
5. Make sure you’re using cleaning products that don’t contain harsh chemicals or palm oil.

Prioritise energy efficiency in the office

Most offices are in use for around 50 to 60 hours each week and anything left on outside of these hours is wasting energy and money. Using office machines as efficiently as possible can cut costs and greenhouse gas emissions and may even extend the life of the machine.

Get rid of bad habits

1. Help to reduce the impact of your business activity on the environment by dealing thoughtfully with the waste you produce at work.
2. Promote recycling at work by setting up or requesting recycling bins for organic waste, glass, paper, plastics, e‑waste including batteries and phones.
3. Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy re-manufactured ones. They’re generally less expensive and better for the environment
4. Encourage your workplace to buy recycled paper products

Evaluating your impact

Understanding your workplace’s energy and water use and waste generation will help your organisation develop a plan to improve its energy efficiency for the future (and save money). See here how you can conduct a basic environmental assessment of your workplace.

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Multi Purpose Cleaner

Shower Bath and Tile

Carpet & Upholstery

Prewash Stain Remover

Air Freshener – Orange

Air Freshener – Lime

3 X Laundry Liquid

Whether you love gardening or growing your own fruit and veg, it’s important to maintain your garden’s health – and we don’t mean by using pesticides and weed sprays. People think an organic garden requires a lot of hard work, but that’s not necessarily the case.

Here are some simple ways to start your own organic garden today.

Soil Management

To make good quality compost for all your gardening needs, choose an appropriate shady site where at least three compost heaps can be made from organic household and garden waste. These include grass and hedge clippings, shrub prunings and leftover food scraps. Follow these easy step-by-step instructions to building your own compost bin if you are unsure.

Water management

Saving rain water with strategically positioned storage tanks is important for ensuring emergency water supplies. Find the perfect water tank for your garden with this handy fact sheet. Heavy mulching, preferably with organic material, of all exposed soil areas is essential for reducing the rate of evaporation of moisture from the soil.

Plant Health

Well-grown and well-fed plants should be healthy enough to avoid most diseases but there may still be some occasions when fungal or insect pests appear. These can be treated in an environmentally friendly way. Check out how to make your own homemade insecticide that is just as effective as chemicals without harming the environment.

Follow these easy steps and you will be on your way to having your very own organic garden.

Read more about organic gardening at www.organicgardener.com.au.

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Here are some great initiatives started by a new generation of people helping to reduce our carbon footprint. Here are some organisations encouraging our youth to embrace sustainability.

‘Eco-Friendly’ Music festivals

Some of Australia’s largest music festivals such as Southbound, Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival, with thousands of people in attendance every year, have incorporated measures to reduce their impact on the environment. Some initiatives include introducing a carpooling system encouraging festival goers to travel together to reduce carbon emission and providing recycling stations for all plastics and papers. Some festivals even reward festival punters with ‘green’ money when they collect recycle waste, which can be used towards food and beverage. Festivals often added a minor ($2-3) green fee to the ticket price to assist in planting trees in the region to promote biodiversity. Great work!

‘Green’ Universities

Student run ‘Green Communities’ in universities across Australia are motivating students to participate in sustainable activities throughout their studies. These groups encourage people to do simple things like walk and ride to uni, and provide water fountains to deter people from buying bottled water. Some unis, like UTS, are even rewarding its students with discounts on coffee when they bring in their own mug and encourage students to choose tap beer over bottled beer.

‘Sustainable’ Fashion Shows

Fashion shows aren’t only showcasing the talent among Australian designers – they are also putting on display a new trend for clothing made from materials that are sustainable, whether it is made from organic materials or recycled from vintage fabrics. As such, young fashionistas are actually taking to the trend of one-of-a-kind clothing that is eco-friendly. Undress Brisbane is a fashion show held in the car park above Chinatown, Fortitude Valley showcasing young local designers whose goal it is to create beautiful sustainable clothing.

It’s encouraging to see these sorts of initiatives, so we thought we share them with you. Do you have any projects you’d like to share with us?

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Take your New Year’s Eve a little greener with the likes of organic champagne, recycled glassware and reusable decorations. You’ll be surprised at how many sustainable alternatives there are and you won’t even know the difference. Here are some tips on ways you can go green into 2013!

1. Make your home the party
   Host your own party and share your green party ideas with all your friends, who you’ve invited through Facebook or email, of course.
2. Fantastic plastic
   Avoid waste when planning your NYE party, wherever you are. We’re not saying you ‘have’ to wash up, but if you do want ‘throwaways’, choose brands with biodegradable products from recycled paper.
3. Fulfil the appetites
   Looking for some yummy appetisers to take to a NYE party, or hosting guests yourself? Keep it simple with a spread of easy but tasty appetisers like homemade salsa or hummus, and fresh fruit and vegetable trays.
4. Green drinks
   Ever heard of an eco-friendly beverage like organic wine or local beers (preferably in a keg to prevent wastage). Make this NYE the one to try green alternatives with your friends. When the clock ticks over to midnight, raise your glass to 2013 with ‘bubbly’ made from organic grapes without synthetic additions.
   Remember, keeping drinks on ice is better that opening the fridge every time someone needs a drink. You can use the melted water in the garden the next day! 
5. Decorate responsibly
   No need to kill the fun, but don’t over indulge in cheesy hats, disposable ‘noisemakers’ and paper streamers. See what decorations you can create on your own using recycled materials or put together centrepieces and place settings that are stylish and eco-friendly.

This list is a great start to how you can start 2013 with a bit of ‘green’. There are plenty of other ideas out there and we’d love to hear about yours!

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How did we keep cool 50 years ago?

Having started summer off with some searing temperatures, it’s fair to say that air conditioners will be getting a good workout in office buildings and homes across the country. It’s only after summer that we see the jaw-dropping power bills.

However, it’s not just the financial cost you should be worried about. The environmental cost of air conditioners should be top of mind. Next time you go to turn your air-con on this summer, try the below eco-friendly methods of keeping cool first.

Open windows

It’s simple, but often overlooked. In the evening when the temperature drops, opening your windows to let in cooler air makes a huge difference to the overall temperature of your house. As the sun rises in the morning, close the windows and curtains to keep the hot morning air out.

Block-out blinds

A great way to stop sunshine pouring onto your windows and heating up the inside of the house is to use blinds. Blocking sunlight throughout the day will prevent the temperature from rising inside your home.

Fan where you can

Fans still use electricity, but a lot less than air conditioners. Ceiling and pedestal fans reduce the temperature by a few degrees, so try this before resorting to the air conditioner.

Install insulation

Consider insulating your roof or ceiling. Insulation reduces the amount of heat coming into the house when it’s hot and traps warmth inside in the cooler winter months, keeping it cooler in summer and warmer in winter

Last resort

If you don’t think you can get by without an air-conditioner, choose one that is best suited to the Australian climate with a high energy-star rating and keep the temperature between 24 and 28 degrees.

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How about whether the product has been produced and distributed in a sustainable and fair way, or whether it contributes to the social and environmental good of our planet?

This is the concept behind the booming market for ethical products and gifts.

While there’s no universal definition for what constitutes an ethical product, the term generally refers to merchandise that “gives back” to either people or the planet.

Ethical products include those that fall under the “Fair Trade” label – a certification scheme that aims to ensure producers receive a fair price for their goods; products that promote environmental sustainability; products that provide a social or economic benefit to vulnerable communities; and products that help raise funds for charities and other organisations working for a better world.

But what does all this mean for your Christmas Gifts?

It’s easy to choose Christmas gifts that are beautiful, useful, and also make a difference to the world.

Here’s some ideas for how you can find other great ethical gifts for your friends, family and colleagues this Christmas:

2013 People & Planet Calendar

- Visit an ethical retail store e.g. Oxfam Shop (stores nation-wide and online), The Trading Circle (VIC, NSW, QLD, NZ and online), Only Just (VIC and online), and Green Collect (VIC).

- Shop online for ethical products – for instance, check out the People & Planet Diary and Calendar, which help raise funds for Australian charities; The Social Traders Good Gift Christmas Catalogue, International Women’s Development Agency Gifts of Change Catalogue, Friends of the Earth, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and East Timor Women Australia.

- Contact your favourite charity; many have Christmas gift options e.g. The ‘Food For Hope’ Cookbook produced by Connecting Hands.

- Consult the Fair Trade Shopping Guide for businesses that supply fair trade crafts, clothing and giftware, as well as Fair Trade Certified products

This content was contributed by People & Planet.

For the chance to win one of 10 People & Planet diaries, simply click here to email your name, address and telephone number.

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While overall Australian households are progressively reducing waste each year, as a whole we still produce on average 22 million tonnes of waste that eventually ends up as landfill. With Christmas just around the corner, let’s think about ways in which we can collectively reduce our impact on the environment.

Christmas Cards and Wrapping Paper

We can hear a chorus cry ‘e-cards are just not the same’. Well no, they aren’t, but there is no need to send a card when there is a cheaper option that is more environmentally friendly. If you feel it isn’t personal enough, try to add a family picture or personal message .

Wrapping paper is one of the biggest offenders and with the large number of gifts we receive there is generally garbage bags full of paper at the end. Try and look for recycled paper or perhaps gift bags that are re-usable and can fit a number of gifts into one.

Gifts

Giving and receiving gifts brings a lot of joy, however a study in 2010 found that over half of gifts go unused or are returned every year. Have you considered discussing alternative gift arrangements with your family this year? Some great ideas are experience-based gifts or gifts that have longevity. Think about the life-cycle of the gift you are buying when considering if it’s a good environmental choice. If you find yourself with a gift you don’t need, try donating it to those less fortunate through a local charity organisation.

Decorations

Decorations don’t need to be plastic. Try making decorations from recycled fabric – it’s also a fun way to get the kids involved. Other options are recycling small boxes kept aside throughout the year and wrapping them in recycled Christmas paper.

Don’t let the Christmas holidays get in the way of your sustainable living. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to share your eco-living tips with your family and friends, including what Orange Power products you like to use around the home! Hopefully these Christmas tips are a good start!

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Recycling isn’t just about separating your glass, plastics and general waste into yellow and green bins anymore. Recycling can take place anywhere in your home from the kitchen to the garden, and what better time to start than National Recycling Week 12-18 November.

Here are some easy tips to make your home environmentally responsible without emptying out your wallet:

Give Up Paper Towels

This is a tough one to give up, but a clean rag or cloth replaces a lot of waste caused from throwing out a paper towel every time there is a spill.

Think Before You Print

Do you really need a hard copy? Think before hitting the print button. Also, don’t throw out used paper as you can print on the unmarked side. Don’t forget you can recycle print cartridges too!

Find a Second Use for Those Plastic Grocery Bags

If you’re a plastic bag shopper, try to use them once or twice more after they come home from the supermarket. Use them to line small bins (an extra think you avoid buying), pick up after your dog in the park or provide extra cushioning in postal packages.

Create a Compost Bin

Did you know that every year Australians throw away an estimated three million tonnes or $5.2 billion worth of food? Why not lighten this load and make a compost bin in the garden? You’re not only recycling food scraps, but a compost is an  essential element to a successful organic garden.

Recycling Old Clothes

Instead of spending money on polishing cloths or feather dusters, worn cotton items such as old shirts, towels or washcloths make perfect cleaning, dusting or polishing rags. You can use these for anything from polishing wooden furniture to cleaning windows.

You’ll notice a lot of these tips are based around reducing consumption, reusing and recycling materials. Funnily enough, that’s what National Recycling Week is all about.

Check out www.recyclingweek.planetark.org for more details on how you can get involved!

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I have been looking some time for a “clean” washing powder that is environmentally friendly, economical and safe. And after much experimentation with other natural types of washing powder including soap nuts and laundry balls which I love, but they just don’t cut it for Issy’s stained clothes and Hamish’s work clothes.

I was also asked by ORANGE POWER to do a review, so I thought why not put it to the test and here’s what I discovered;

It is environmentally, economical, and safe to use and ethically sound including being palm oil free and cruelty free, it is also endorsed by PLANET ARK. The package is made from 95% recycled content and is suitable for Grey Water and Septic Tank use.

 My usual washing practice averages about 1 load per day. This includes mostly Issy’s and Hamish’s grubby clothes, towels and bed linen. I found that the detergent did an all-round excellent job cleaning most clothes, I also noticed it doesn’t leave a residue on the clothes and there is no smell!  In comparison when go to my Mothers house and stay for a few days, she uses an off the shelf OMO or something like that, and the smell on Issy’s clothes and the feel are just horrible after they have been washed, I did not have this experience at all with the ORANGE POWER. I have managed to convert her to recycled toilet paper! My next mission is to get mum onto a greener and cleaner washing powder!

I also tested Issy’s Cloth Nappies using the ORANGE POWER.

Now there are some white nappies - Pea Pod cloth nappies are great as you can use the inserts when doing EC as absorbent liners instead of a nappy!

We don’t have many poo stains on Issy’s nappies as I tend to get most of her poos the Potty (as many of you know we do Part-Time Diaper Free), but there were a few I missed and it did the job. I have also been using Rocking Green on the nappies (this is always hard to find) but found that ORANGE POWER did the job perfectly. The plus of this is that I can buy ORANGE POWER at the local supermarket, and will now probably use it instead of the Rocking Green which is sometimes hard to find.

Although I would love to use Soap Nuts on all my washing, it is just impossible to get some clothes clean and that’s the truth of it. But if your looking for an all natural solution they are definitely the way forward for those loads which are not that dirty. For those that don’t know about soap nuts, they are a natural washing detergent that grows on trees…  environmentally friendly sustainably produced (naturally subdried biodegrable and compostable way of cleaning your laundry. But like I said they will work on a load that’s not very dirty.

I was also sent the shower and kitchen cleaner, but I have to be honest here it is not something I would use. I prefer to use Vinegar and Lemon Juice in the shower and on kitchen benches. But for those who do like a cleaner it’s a much better solution than using your high chemical range of cleaners.

We really try and limit the use of any cleaning products in our house, but some we have to use and Orange Power will definitely be my choice when cleaning those grubby clothes from now on!

and… we also have a READER GIVE AWAY

 Here is the fun part Orange Power will give a pack of cleaning items away to the reader who sends me a picture of their dirtiest piece of kids clothing! The dirtiest kid wins!

Beetroot stains yay!

 So send those pictures in and I will send you a great pack of environmentally friendly cleaning products worth around $50 including;

• 2 x NEW! 1kg Orange Power Laundry Powder
• 2 x NEW! 800mL Orange Power Laundry Liquid
• 1 x 500mL Orange Power Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
• 1 x Orange Power Air Freshener
• 1 x Orange Power Sticky Spot & Goo Dissolver

You can send those grubby pictures to sarahtheorganicmum@gmail.com

And happy Cleaning mums!

This blog entry is courtesy of The Organic Mum. The original blog post can be viewed here.

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Container gardens are great if you have little or no yard, are renting and may need to move your garden from house to house or if you want a garden that is easy to maintain.

Herb gardens are fantastic weekend projects as they’re not too difficult to start and many herbs are practically kill proof.

Here’s our little guide to starting up a container garden, whether it will grow in pots, jars or even your old Orange Power bottles.

1.    Pick your containers wisely:

Size is important in your container garden! You need to pick containers that will have enough room for soil and your growing herbs.

If you’re recycling old plastic containers, chop the tops off and be aware that plastics won’t last as long as other materials. If you’re worried about rough edges on little fingers, maybe line them with tape or glued-on fabric.

Reusing Orange Power bottles won’t damage your plants because they never had toxic chemicals in them! You could also use terracotta or wooden pots (just make sure they’re not treated with yucky chemicals).

2. Drainage:

Make sure there are drainage holes or around 5cm (2inches) of gravel at the bottom of your container for drainage. If you’re using pretty pots instead of containers, but they don’t have drainage holes, consider planting your herbs in plastic containers that you can then place inside those pots.

3.    Soil:

Herbs like a nice potting mix rather than garden soil. You can pick good ones up from your local hardware or gardening store that won’t cost you a fortune and the staff there should be able to make good suggestions. Quality soil will retain moisture, feed your plants and won’t compact as much throughout the season. This will make nice, happy herbs for your food.

4.    Happy planting!

Now it’s planting time. Make sure you don’t overfill the container as herbs will need room to grow and overcrowded pots can cramp their root growth and prevent water access.

Not sure what to plant? Mint, basil, sage, thyme and rosemary are all great options as they’re easy to care for and can be used in cooking in so many different ways.

 5.    Watering

Most herbs like between 5-8 hours of sun a day and don’t like to be overwatered. Water once a week or so. If your herbs look a little sad and wilted, they’re getting too much sun or need more water. It may take time to find the best balance for you, but that’s half the fun!

Do you use our Aware Laundry Powders? Why not save water and use the greywater from your washing machine, our Aware washing powders won’t put any unsafe chemicals into your new garden or onto your plate when you cook the fruits of your labour.

Now that you’ve got the tips you’re good to go, have fun gardening!

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While some may grow out of the condition, it can be quite difficult to treat. There are very few alternative treatments available and many sufferers uncomfortable with prolonged use of steroid creams.

One key element to treating eczema is removing irritants from around the home. Some contributors to irritation are thought to be synthetic clothing, perfumes, fragrances and harsh chemicals found in cleaning products and laundry liquids.

Aware recently launched two new low allergy sensitive skin laundry products that are suitable for eczema suffers.  With clothing and linen being in such close contact to skin, it is important to avoid additives to liquids and powders that can trigger allergies like optical brighteners, dyes, enzymes and fragrances.

Other helpful tips on lowering irritation around the home are:

• Keep ventilation systems clean and common areas of the home well ventilated.
• Mould and allergies are synonymous, remove mould from around the home to keep allergies at bay.
• Remove carpets, rugs from your home if this isn’t possible regular vacuuming to remove dust and hair.
• Pets unfortunately are home to many possible causes to eczema, where possible pets should be kept outdoors.
• Keep toys clean especially stuffed or soft toys.

Last week was Eczema Awareness week (Eczema Association of Australasia), which aims to help raise awareness of eczema in Australia. To find out more about Eczema visit the website http://www.eczema.org.au

Click here for further information on low allergy Aware laundry liquids.

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Did you know that even the bottles that hold common household products could be harming your family?

Plastic bottles made from PVC used to hold cleaners and other products often contain a chemical group known as phthalates.

Phthalates are released into the environment as the PVC bottles age and can be easily absorbed into the body, and there is some evidence that this is causing negative health effects to many people.

To make matters worse, phthalates are often not listed on product labels but there is a simple way to protect your family.

All PVC bottles have the recycle symbol 3 usually embossed onto the bottom of the bottle, by avoiding these, you can avoid phthalates.

All Orange Power cleaners use PET bottles with the recycle symbol 1, these contain no phthalates or other chemicals that pose a threat to you or your family and are readily recycled for multiple use.

Orange Power products are Planet Ark endorsed (who independently check to ensure we don’t use PVC bottles for example) and avoid harsh chemicals, so you can feel safe that the products you purchase won’t harm you, your family or the environment.

Click here for a handy guide of what plastics contain and which ones are recyclable.

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This week is Keep Australia Beautiful Week.

This year’s focus is encouraging motorists and road users to responsibly dispose of their rubbish rather than littering our highways and roads.

Each year, thousands of tonnes of litter such as wrappers, cups, cigarette butts, cans, bottles, newspaper and more are left on roadsides. This litter generally then makes its way into our rivers and oceans or causes harm to local wildlife.

Here at Aware Environmental Ltd. we like to think of ourselves as champions of the green movement and encourage Australians to consider their impact on the environment.

If you want to get involved in Keep Australia Beautiful Week, click here to see if there’s anything you can do in your local community.

However it’s important to remember that it takes more than one week of awareness each year to keep Australia beautiful.

By doing the simple things like disposing of waste correctly, recycling and using environmentally sustainable products, you can radically reduce you and your family’s impact on the environment.

Orange Power & Aware are endorsed by Planet Ark and we can proudly say we are the only cleaning product manufacturer available in major supermarkets to have this endorsement – which gives an independent ‘review’ of all our claims.

Hopefully this has helped you be as environmentally friendly as possible. It’s simple to make a few changes in your life, especially if it keeps Australia beautiful.

The Aware Environmental Team.

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Optical brightener is a commonly used ingredient added to laundry products to make clothes appear brighter and cleaner. It is a group of chemicals designed to stick to fabric and absorb ultraviolet light giving clothing a brighter or whiter look. These ingredients are not performance enhancers, just a chemical magic trick.

What many consumers don’t know is this ‘wonder ingredient’ isn’t the best thing if you’re an allergy sufferer or someone with sensitive skin. Skin irritation is often blamed on fragrances, oils or just the detergents themselves but more often than not the culprit is optical brightener. It can attach itself to skin in the same way it does to fabric.

All of our Aware laundry powders don’t use optical brightener or other chemicals like Phosphorus , yet they are still high performance products that are tough on dirt and stains. We are also about to launch some new Orange Power laundry products that avoid using  chemicals so watch this space for details.

All of our laundry products are endorsed by Planet Ark to give you an ever greater reassurance that they are a safer option for your family and the environment.

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We know price has always been a dominant factor when it comes to buying groceries but 83 percent of you said you chose our products because they were safer for your family, household and the environment.

We also know that allergy sufferers in particular are sensitive to more than just price and choosing products that allow yourself or your children to have quality of life are important.

According to the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), allergy is one of the biggest public health problems in developed countries like Australia, with Eczema affecting 1 in 5 infants and Asthma, a third of infants aged less than three years.

Fragrances and dyes are in many common laundry products but if you’re an allergy sufferer these can be unpleasant triggers. Optical brightener is also a common additive that sticks to clothes to make them appear brighter but in doing can also cause human health issues.

Our Aware sensitive products are baby friendly, allergy friendly and an all-round good choice for people with sensitive skin. They also offer good value for money which is often a surprise for these types of ‘sensitive’ products. If you’re an allergy sufferer that uses our products, tell us about your experiences here by leaving a testimonial.

In the past year alone we’ve seen a big rise in the number of people buying our Aware Sensitive Skin powder and if you read the Orange Power eNewsletter recently, you’ll know we’re about to launch some new lines.

So if you’re an allergy sufferer or have sensitive skin, or you just want washing products that don’t use palm oil or petrochemicals and are safe for the environment, you’ll now have some more options to choose from. Watch this space for more details.

If you want to help us by completing a quick survey, click here to have your say.

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When the temperature drops and winter kicks in even people who don’t normally have sensitive and dry skin can suffer. Are you one of them?

An increase in skin allergies and sensitivity can be caused by wind, heating or low humidity and you may realise products that don’t affect you normally may start to in the colder months.

Dry skin can be worsened by using strong products that deplete moisture out of the skin such as your bath & body wash or laundry powders and detergents. Changing your laundry powder to a sensitive skin option might be a worthwhile move, especially if you have a young family. Babies are especially vulnerable to dry skin as their skin is thinner and more sensitive than adults.

Our Planet Ark endorsed Aware Sensitive Skin laundry powder is perfect for people with sensitive and allergy prone skin. It contains no fragrances, enzymes or petrochemicals that can cause irritations and further exasperate dry and sensitive skin.

It’s also Palm Oil free and is formulated to have minimal impact on the environment, so it’s safe to run into your garden and our precious waterways.

Aware Sensitive Skin is great value and usually retails for about $7.17 (1.5kg carton) and will give you over 30 washes top loader or 60 washes for a front loader. Available from Coles, Woolworths and leading independents nationally.

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There is a slow, relaxing pace that comes with the rural Indonesian lifestyle, which at times can have its advantages as well as disadvantages. In a way it is a refreshing change, to slow down from the rapid speed of the Western world and absorb everything around you. But at the same time, when you’re trying to achieve something grand in a short timeframe, operating in this manner can prove to be very difficult. This is one of the many challenges the team of 11 Eco Warriors, who just returned from living in the jungles of Borneo for 100 days, encountered throughout their journey.

This diverse group of young people from all corners of the globe, with a variety of backgrounds and expertise, were selected from hundreds of applicants to take part in a global project aimed to combat the issue of deforestation in Borneo. The group was given the challenge of implementing a solution-based environmental project on ground. The outline of the project was to monitor rainforest to prevent illegal deforestation, protect and rescue wildlife, and educate local communities about the impacts deforestation and the importance of protecting the forest – all whilst connecting with school students from around the world!

The group evolved into four divisions – reforestation, education, wildlife rescue/rehabilitation and EarthWatchers. Throughout my fortnight stay with the Eco Warriors, I was fortunate enough to take part in each of these divisions.

One of our daily wildlife-activities in Tembak was caring for the baby owl that locals stumbled across after it had fallen from its nest. Along with the local children, we gathered food for the small bird, mainly worms and fish, and fed him two to three times a day.

During my stay, the group visited Sintang Wildlife Centre. There are currently two orphan orangutans at the centre in West Kalimantan – Jojo and Juvi. These two beautiful girls currently need to be moved to Tembak, where the local community has given the Eco Warriors 63 hectares of rainforest to use as “forest school” for the orangutans (a site where the orangutans are taught by local carers the basic skills involved with survival in the forest). In order to prepare for the arrival of the two girls, we helped set up their night cages. This involved moving an extremely heavy cage up and over a steep hill (which at the time seemed never-ending!) and into the jungle. I then assisted with the laying of hundreds of metres of thin piping up from the village, to provide the site with running water.

During my time in Borneo I was exposed to wildlife trade. We came across locals keeping macaques as pets, which is not an uncommon sight in Indonesia, but still confronting. These intelligent monkeys are confined to small crates. Unfortunately because macaques are not an endangered species, it is legal for the local Indonesians to keep them as pets, meaning they cannot be confiscated. Instead, all we could do was provide the locals with education on how to keep the animals as healthy and well cared for as possible, including proper diet and cage cleaning.

This was not the only case of wildlife-confinement I came across. On my fourth day in Tembak, which happened to be my 16^th birthday, we ventured out to a neighbouring village. Here we helped the community de-litter their village, we assisted with their collection of river sand and met the oldest lady in their entire township, who is thought to be 100 years of age.

It was near the end of the day, just when I began to reflect on the kindness and beauty of the community, we discovered an injured falcon, a caged gibbon and another cage full of rainforest birds being kept around the back of a family’s home. And this was only the wildlife we actually came across, I have no doubt there would have been plenty more within the village.

As with the macaque discoveries, initially it was difficult not to become frustrated when I saw exotic wildlife being kept as pets. But then I realised – who am I to think this is unacceptable when we do the exact same thing back in Australia? The only difference is, instead of capturing our pets, such as birds, we purchase them from stores or breeders.

On my first day in Tembak I joined the reforestation team in helping Pak Niat, one of the village elders, with his tree nursery. Pak Niat has had this nursery for much of his life. He still goes there almost every day, to sit amongst the forest by himself and sing whilst preparing seedlings.
During their time in Borneo, the Eco Warriors working on reforestation built numerous ‘garden beds’ with the locals. This will act as a site for the matured trees to be placed fresh out of the nursery. We spent a couple of days sifting gravel from the river to place in the garden beds. We also planted the first of many trees up near the orangutan forest-school site, in preparation for Jojo and Juvi’s arrival.

While the reforestation team has been busy replenishing the forest, the EarthWatchers group has been ensuring it is not destroyed. EarthWatchers have been working to develop a project that will enable students to monitor rainforest land and detect any illegal logging. After seeing the camera-helicopter and learning about the software involved with EarthWatchers, I cannot wait to join the program when it is up-and-running.

Throughout the two weeks, I had been hearing bits and pieces about the education team’s school performance, involving an orangutan, schoolboy, greedy businessman and a Dayak community. On my final day in Tembak, I was fortunate enough to watch the play, which was an absolute pleasure. It was very special to see the children’s responses at the end. You could see that the key messages portrayed throughout the performance, about the importance and value of the forest and its inhabitants, came through to them.

While it was only two weeks I was in Borneo, by the end of my short journey it felt like I had known the group my entire life. I am excited to see what the future of DeforestAction holds, and look forward to working with some of the Eco Warriors in the near future.

I cannot thank Orange Power enough for their generous support. Without them, I would never have been able to experience Borneo firsthand, and be a part of an inspiring, solution-based project, which will ultimately benefit future generations.

To find out more about the project, watch the “Rise of the Eco Warrior” trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOMIJTSWi0

Contributed by Thomas King
Founder www.saynotopalmoil.com

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