It is a misguided belief that when buying 'made from cotton' products you are buying something made of natural fibres. More chemical pesticides and herbicides are put on cotton than any other crop on the planet. What's more 25% of global pesticides used, are sprayed on non-organic cotton crops.

Scientists have found that the residues of these chemicals on finished products can put our health at risk as they continue to be released from the garment as it rubs on our skin throughout the products lifetime. The clothes we wear, the sheets we sleep on, the toys we give our babies to chew and suck, could all have potentially harmful effects.

Consider also the people harvesting cotton crops and making the garments. Before the cotton is cleaned, spun and woven into cloth it is sprayed with toxic defoliants to make the leaves fall off. Heavy metals like chromium and copper are used to dye fabrics and chlorine bleach to whiten them. Formaldehyde is used in almost all polycotton to stiffen cloth and prevent wrinkling. All these chemicals can cause serious health problems, so serious that there have been reports of Indian cotton farmers dieing from many years of daily exposure.

We have more of an incentive than ever to say no to pesticides in our products and thankfully we can do this by choosing to buy organically grown cotton products instead. For more info visit the Pesticide Action Network.

The Chinese have been eating hemp seed for 8,000 years, Buddha ate one seed every day on his path to enlightenment and ancient Russian nomads cultivated the crop for its protein rich oil. This non-drug variety of cannabis has managed to adapt to most climates and over many thousands of years has proven a practical, useful plant.

Hemp is going through a rejuvenation of sorts as more industries look for alternative materials, energies and practices in an attempt to serve our planet better. Hemp Plastics (UK) for example is using it as an alternative to petro-chemicals to produce sustainable, biodegradable forms of plastic.

Cultivating and processing hemp uses a lot less water than cotton - organic or not. A shirt made of 55% hemp, 45% cotton would save 2,800 litres of water. When it comes to paper, hemp produces four times the amount of pulp in 14 weeks as 30 years worth of trees grown on the same amount of land. As a strong, highly absorbent material, hemp is also a good non-textile material to insulate and protect.

With nearly 80% polyunsaturated fatty acids hemp oil makes a great base for cosmetics. In moisturisers it soothes dry skin or scaling scalps, and can be used in body lotions, shampoos, massage oils and hair care products.

In nutritional terms hemp is high in protein, Gamma Linolenic Acid (the perfect balance of essential fatty acids), vitamins, minerals and enzymes. You can make bread, milk, yoghurt, oil, butter and snack bars with hemp seed as it has quite a tasty nutty flavour. This isn't surprising as the hemp seed is technically a nut!

Hemp is an annual plant that grows up to four metres tall and is very eco friendly to our land's soil for it grows relatively deep (2-3 meters) below the ground, drawing up previously untouched nutrients.

Water is as vital to our existence as the air we breathe, which is probably why some big soda pop corporations started selling it in a bottle for a sweet sum. But we don't have to buy our water from a plastic bottle or drink the not quite clear tap variety. A water filtration system can improve the taste of your tap and remove any impurities such as chlorine, fluoride and oestrogens etc. Other than the health benefits of less ‘additives' there is no mineral build-up in kettles or shower screen.

The reverse osmosis treatment is when water is forced under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane with holes so small they don't allow any nasties or contaminants to pass through. The system doesn't use electricity, however can waste a lot of water depending on how impure the source is.

To maximize filtration performance you need to change filters - for some it's every month or so but doesn't take more than a few minutes. Many water filtration companies hire out systems and provide a service person to make routine repairs and filter changes. It is recommended you change your filter at 50 parts per million or once year however we tested our water after one year of having the system installed and it measured contaminants at 19 parts per million. At the same time we measured regular tap water which tested at 347 parts per million!

Some better know companies supplying reverse osmosis waster filter are Freshly Sweezed Water, Detox and Derwent Water Systems.

There are a number of carbon calculators available on the Internet that can estimate your carbon footprint according to the consumption habits of your lifestyle. They might question, for example, how far you travel to work each week, what your monthly gas bill is or how many air miles you fly each year. There are none yet which specifically pinpoint brands or product types but there are a few that incorporate the total amount you spend on beauty products like the Government's Act on CO2 calculator. The eco point is of course that it's not whether we configure our calculations correctly, but rather what impact we actually have (or don't have) on the environment.

If you want to lower your carbon ‘beauty' footprint a good way to start is by using magic potions and beautification lotions made from organically grown ingredients. Organic farming increases the accumulation rate of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the earth, thereby sequestering more CO2 from the atmosphere. The Rodale Institute estimates that if 10,000 medium-sized farms converted to organic production, they would store enough carbon in the soil equivalent to taking 1,174,400 cars off the road.

The farming practices used to create organic and natural products incorporate less chemicals, pesticides and synthetic substances during production and transportation thereby releasing less CO2 into the atmosphere than traditional farming practices.

With half the UK's CO2 emissions created by industry and commerce supporting our ‘everyday' lifestyles it's a good idea to look at reducing our carbon footprint in all facets of our lives - including our morning face cleansing routines. By taking a closer look at product labels and learning more about the ingredients on them we are able to choose products that are friendlier to our bodies and the earth.

Other useful carbon calculators are Carbon Footprint, Resurgence, Coinet and Carbon Balanced.

350

The latest research tells us that 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is the upper most limit to which irreversible damage occurs to the earth.

We have already passed this number but it's not too late to lower it... yet.

A huge global campaign is swinging in to effect and it's not just the activists and scientists pushing to lower our emissions below the 350 line. In the US businesses, governments, schools, politicians and churches are starting to embrace this new target and it will hopefully catch on in the rest of the world soon too.

The 350 campaigners envision their aim to be met by evolving into a totally clean energy economy.

Check out this educational film by the team at Free Range Studios for a more visual preview of what the 350 campaign is all about.