If you love natural, organic body care products you’ll love our line. We only use natural essential oils to scent our products and we source the highest quality organic and fair trade ingredients. No fillers here.

So here’s your chance, enter to win our giveaway HERE! Good luck!

Prize consists of a Sweet Orange body lotion, Rosemary and Mint sugar scrub, Rosemary and Mint body balm and a 3 pack of our compostable vegan lip balms. Contest ends June 10, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find us here:
ContestCanada.net

Looking back to May of 2012, Chris and I were both nervous and excited as we watched the first attendees stream into Epic Expo at the Vancouver Conference Center. Over the course of three days we got to meet some great people and share the story of our products.

Soon we had our bath and body products in local stores who supported our products and vision from the very beginning. We sent our fair trade lip balms, lotions and scrubs to customers across the globe, from England to Australia. And spent many, many weekends packing up our products to attend events all over Greater Vancouver.

Fair trade has always been a part of our lives, but with Fable Naturals we’ve been able to get involved in a bigger way. Within the fair trade community we’ve connected with visionary companies and community leaders that have taken the time to listen to us and share their knowledge. We searched far and wide for the fair trade certified ingredients that we use to create our products. Even if that meant waiting up until 1 am to call Palestine to speak to our olive oil suppliers.

With another year ahead us, we can expect new challenges and accomplishments, but with new friends to help us along the way. So thank you to all of you who supported us through purchasing our products or just giving us the confidence to pursue our dream!

What better topic to cover first than Mother’s Day. I might be biased but my Mum ranks in the top 10 greatest moms of all time.  I know, I know, everyone says, or should say that, but I truly mean it.  She has stuck by me all these years, through the good, the bad and the very bad. My mother has always been there.

Now, as Gwen and I have ventured out into the world with Fable Naturals, producing some of the best fair trade products possible, my Mum is continuing that tradition of standing by me.  Not only does she buy our products (of course she gets a discount), but she is our biggest supporter. I dare you to bring up the topic of skin care around my Mum!

As I’m writing this post I’m recalling all the amazing things my mother has done for me over the years. So this Mother’s Day, if you feel the same way about your mother, do something amazing and special for her.  Not only should you buy her a wonderful present but make sure you tell her just how much she means to you!

To all the mothers out there … thank you for all you do, it doesn’t go unnoticed.

I love you Mum!

We’re super proud of our lip balms. We source fair trade cocoa butter from Peru and fair trade olive oil from Palestine to make them really moisturizing. They’re also vegan (most lip balms contain beeswax, which is an animal product). Best of all, they’re packaged in 100% compostable paper tubes!

So go ahead, cast your vote here!

Cactus cloth

The cactus cloth was a bit rough when I first touched it, but it immediately softened up once I wet it in the shower. With a little bit of shower gel I was able to use it to exfoliate my skin without causing any irritation. The best part? It can be thrown in the wash like a face cloth to keep it clean.

Root scrubber

The root scrubber is the perfect little brush to sit by our kitchen sink in place of our conventional scrub brush. I used it to scrub down pots and pans (if you use silicon coated pans, they warn you that it might ruin the finish) and many dirty dishes. The zacaton roots are extremely firm, making it a good option for hard to clean dishes. It stands upright, allowing it to dry between uses. It can also be used to scrub vegetables.

Features

Sayula have six different products for the kitchen and bath. All are harvested from plants local to Mexico by fairly paid producers.

Pros

Apart from being functional, the cactus products are beautiful. They look great hanging around the apartment, so that’s a big plus for me. The natural fibres will break down in a compost unlike a lot of “biodegradable” plastic products.

Cons

I haven’t had any problems with the products so far in regular usage. Although the root scrubber is a little bit rough for scrubbing all dishes, Sayula offers a cactus cloth for lighter dish cleaning. The only little issue I foresee is having to remove the metal banding on the root scrubber when it is time to compost it.

Verdict

These products are the perfect replacement for the plastic brushes, loofahs and cloths that we’ve become accustomed to using. As a fair trade supporter, I am especially excited to know that Sayula supports fair trade practices.

Where to find: You can purchase Sayula directly from their website or visit one of their retailers around Vancouver.

This year’s Fair Trade Fortnight is especially exciting for us as it’s our first time participating as a fair trade business. From May 1-15, fair trade communities, businesses and supporters across the country will be celebrating and promoting fair trade products.

One of the fun things happening is the launch of Fairtrade Canada’s Karma Campaign. The campaign is about spreading the love. Do something good and the deed will be returned to you in some way or another. Fair trade karma, baby.

During the Karma Campaign (until the end of 2013) we’re going to do something good and donate a portion of every online purchase from our Rosemary and Mint line to a charitable cause. The best part? You get to vote for where your money goes when you make your purchase. We’ve chosen 3 charities for you to pick from, each with a different focus.

– Local –

Beauty Night Society offers much needed wellness and skill-building programs to impoverished women in Vancouver.

– Social –

MOSQOY is a Canadian charity that funds the post-secondary education of Peruvian youth in the Sacred Valley.

– Environmental –

Trees for Life, based in Palestine, provides olive tree saplings to farmers who have lost trees due to the ongoing conflict with Israel.

So go ahead and support fair trade, good things will happen!

1. Get Educated

Although books and articles are great, I find documentaries to be the simplest and most entertaining way to get introduced to a new topic. These are just a few of our favourite documentaries for Earth Day.

• Food Inc. – a look at the mass production of food in the US and the effects it has on the environment, farmers, consumers and of course, the farmed animals

• Chasing Ice - a beautifully filmed documentation of glaciers diminishing due to climate change

• Who Killed the Electric Car? - a film that investigates how the electric car is unjustly
“murdered” just as it begins to gain a loyal following in the US

2. Make a small change

The notion that if everyone makes a small change, together we can make a big difference holds true. Whether it’s biking to work once a week or trading your paper bills for online statements, there’s always something we can do better. This infographic chart from 50 Ways to Help the Planet has lots of great ideas for small changes.

3. Make a big change

So you’re ready for something bigger? Growing your own vegetables and buying from farmer’s markets when you can’t? Using a car share program in place of a new car? Or aiming for a plastic-free lifestyle? Get inspired by another one of our favourite documentaries, No Impact Man.

4. Get involved

If you have a hard time rising to the challenge alone, why not join a group to support an environmental cause? Earth Day is the perfect time to find people gathering together to clean up local parks and talk about current issues. Earth Day Canada has a useful calendar of events in the country.

5. Educate

If your backyard veggie garden is filled with healthy plants, maybe you can help your neighbour with his less than perfect veggie patch. Or lead a bike ride through your favourite city route once you’ve become a confident rider. Whatever it is, there’s always someone who wants to learn – so teach!

What positive actions are you going to take this Earth Day?

After eagerly waiting for my sponge to arrive by post, I couldn’t wait to try it out. It came packaged in a sealed plastic pouch, hard as a rock. I soaked it in water as directed until it became a springy little sponge that felt soft enough for the face. I chose the French green clay version, for normal to oily skin and added a tiny amount of castile cleanser. The sponge did a great job of gently exfoliating and cleansing. It really left my skin looking and feeling polished without any redness. Although the directions state you can use it without a cleanser, I felt that it worked better with one to take off makeup at the end of the day.

Features

The Konjac sponge is available in a few varieties for different skin types: original for normal skin, with French green clay for normal to oily skin, French red clay for mature skin, French pink clay for sensitive skin and with bamboo charcoal for acne prone skin. They also have a gentle baby sponge and a new body sponge available.

Pros

This sponge is a great example of a sustainable product. It’s made from 100% natural vegetable fibre that can be composted at the end of its  life cycle. It’s gentle enough for all types of skin and can be sterilized with boiling water. The sponge also reduces the amount of facial cleanser you need to use. The suggested shelf life is 3 months, which is a reasonable time frame for the use you get out of it.

Cons

The biggest issue is that this sponge is relatively new to Canada. I could only find it through a few online retailers, but I’m sure that will change soon. The only other  thing to note is that you need the sponge to hang to dry (on the little string it comes with) between uses so that it doesn’t sit in a puddle of water.

Verdict

I love this sponge. It feels nice to use and it’s a true eco product. I’ll be testing out some of the other versions of it once this one is finished.

Where to find: I ended up purchasing mine online from The Konjac Sponge Company, based in the UK. A quick search will find you a few more retailers in Canada and the US, but all were about the same price.

Find out why lemon and lavender go so well together. Enjoy 25% off all of our lemon and lavender body products range. Includes lotion, sugar scrub (our personal favourite), body balm, lip balm and body wash. Offer good until March 20, 2013 and eligible for free shipping on orders of $60 or more (Canada and US only).

I’m sure a lot of people are in the same situation as I am. How do you find a shampoo that actually leaves your hair feeling clean AND isn’t full of sketchy chemicals? I have to say I’ve tried just about everything – castile soap and apple cidar vinegar rinse, many of the “organic” shampoos out there (a few of them being not the least bit natural) and of course, my own concoctions. Having fairly fine, long hair, I find it difficult to find a shampoo that doesn’t leave a residue or one that leaves my hair looking clean for more than a day.

So my first few experiences with Acure have been pleasant. The shampoo smells of almonds (almond extract) and is easy to lather and work through wet hair (see tip below). My hair rinsed clean without any residue and remained clean until my next wash (every other day). Overall I’m happy with the results.

*Eco shampoo tip: work a small amount of shampoo through the hair, then rinse it out – but not completely. Then use your regular amount of shampoo. The pre-wash helps you work the shampoo through your hair more easily.

Features

There are lots of nice ingredients in here – olive oil, vitamin E  and pumpkin seed oil to name a few. I’m not sure how important these ingredients are in a rinse-off product, but they definitely give some label appeal.

Pros

This shampoo doesn’t contain any of the harsh foaming agents that we try to avoid like SLS or artificial fragrances or harsh preservatives. The shampoo uses many organic certified as well as fair trade ingredients…and the bottle is made from 70% recycled material!

Cons

It’s scented with a rather strong cherry-almond extract. Not my favourite for the shower, but it’s better than a lot of natural shampoos that don’t smell very nice. It’s also not readily available in Canada, making it hard to find in a pinch.

Verdict

I’m going to finish this bottle and see if I want to continue with it. This shampoo works well, but I’m tempted to find a Canadian-made brand that works for me. I prefer to walk into my local store and buy most of my beauty products.

Where to find: I bought mine while in the US, but you can find Acure from many online retailers.