::Tom's::

TOMS

Not TOMs the shoes, which are cool too, but Tom’s of Maine, the naturally sourced, good environmental steward company that manufacturers toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, deodorant & floss. [This is not a paid advertisement blog post, I promise, but if Tom’s wants to throw me some free product, I would not be opposed!] So, you may know one of my best friends in the whole universe, Stacey [The Mohr the Merrier], she is a crazy new found all natural goddess. I can only aspire to have the time and know-how to make my own hummus & freeze dinners for the next 3 months. And for as much grief as we (her other 3 BFFs and I) give her, we are really giving her HUGE prop’s for what we (or at least I) only wished I was disciplined enough to do.

Convenience, our society loves convenience. Pretty much the reason that every stop light is surrounded by 18 different fast food options and the grocery store is all about instant gratification. No need to cook, just NUK and VOILA! Dinner for 4. I’ll admit, I am a consumer of convenience, more so than I’d like, but hey, sometimes it seems like the only option when what I’ve really done is lacked in the planning department, or just because I really, really need my fix of McDonald’s French fries! I am a product of the Happy Meal generation. When they served them in a box with golden arches handles, not a bag.

So back to my Tom’s rant – I’ll have to blog more about food later [watch Fast Food Nation or the one about the meat factory, both remind me of Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle, a novel written in 1906 that ended up being the basis for why the FDA was founded] The last time Stacey was in town she pointed out to me that my favorite deodorant, Secret w/oil of Olay moisturizers in a lovely fragrance, was full of ALUMINUM and other weird ingredience. She also pointed out that my Colgate with whitening squares toothpaste was full of red dye no. 40’s amongst other things I couldn’t pronounce, much less know what they were….Stacey provided food for thought, but I can’t risk having sweaty pits at work and I sure don’t want to brush with nothing more than baking powder and water made into a paste!

Fast forward about a week & it’s time for my bi-weekly grocery shopping trip to Super Tar-jay, (many of you know I am NOT a WALLY WORLD fan, I think it’s the Evil Empire, however occasionally I find myself in the store and always leave with the echoing of registers beeping in my head). After the lingering thoughts of rubbing aluminum in my armpits and thinking of maybe a correlation to breast cancer? And who knows what other side effects, I make the decision to splurge and pay the $6 for a stick of Tom’s LONG LASTING Lavender fragrance deodorant…and as I round the corner to the toothpaste isle, I decide that I’ll try the WICKED FRESH! Long lasting fresh breath toothpaste and put this product to the test. [I still had some reserve of my regular stock – just in case!]

Results: I’m SOLD. P&G lost a customer; Tom’s gained a customer! Seriously, the deodorant is great because: it’s all natural and I like supporting the ‘little guy’ and a company that is concerned about the environment & best of all – I’m going to get real - when you shave your armpits, you don’t have to shave off a layer of deodorant FIRST & clog up your razor. I’m thinking the $6 investment is actually going to save me money in the long haul because I’m not going to buy $30 mach3 razor replacements as often! And the toothpaste, this one was going out on a limb for me, breath is nothing to jeopardize! But, it’s super minty and refreshing and doesn’t feel like a pasty mixture of just baking soda and water [my biggest concern]. The final exam will be to see if I can convert my husband…for now, he says he’s sticking with Axe & Colgate.

So, I’m feeling good about my good steward trade-offs and I’m sure this will open the door to try other grass-roots, all natural products, organic products that I don’t have to worry whether or not the chemical laden ingredience will give me some sort of weird side effect.

Peace.

(excuse the satellite remote)