I Heart Eco-Mama

Hello Eco People! I want to introduce a little more about me and why I am writing Eco Mama stories. I started out by endorsing 2 products, (Weleda and G Diapers) which isn't my ideal way to introduce my eco friendly life, but when an item is truly great, it deserves recognition! I'd like to share with you the experience and reason for my eco existence. It starts with a belief, a level of consciousness, and a determined spirit to really live eco friendly. I have to admit first and foremost, that I do not do everything I can to be eco friendly. Its hard and time consuming, especially as a single mama with a baby. Not a good excuse, but a reason I don't always follow thru with effective eco living.
My reasons for trying to sustain an eco friendly existence on this earth started with my father and mother. They met on a bio dynamic farm in Pennsylvania in the mid 70's. They raised us on a farm in rural Maine which housed my fathers business of compost testing and analyzing. We always had a compost pile, it was so normal to me that when I moved out, I was so weirded out by throwing food scraps in the trash. oh, and I was a baby in cloth diapers too. We grew our own vegetables, ate locally, and my mother made quite alot of our clothing. My parents were a resourceful pair, and we never had much plastic in the house either. None of our toys were plastic and our clothing was all natural/organic fibers. Fast forward to my existence as a young adult, with my 4 month old baby. Having Siena made me so conscious of my part in contributing to this earth's waste problem. The biggest shock is how many diapers in a baby's life are thrown away and won't ever disappear. Half a ton a year!! And you figure a baby wears diapers for the minimum of 2 years. That's 2 tons. Now I am so spiteful of plastic, it scares me, I freak out about it! I wish that every packaged item and bag was NOT made out of plastic. I am going on a "Plastic Strike" for the month of September. I will be writing about it for sure. Besides the plastic issue, I love natural organic body products, foods, and clothing. Unfortunately right now I can't afford all the organic clothing I'd like to, but so far I have most of Siena's onesies in organic cotton. If not me, then at least I can clothe her organically. Her skin is so soft and precious who wouldn't want to protect it!!
All the best from me to you in our eco existence!
ps- this is a picture of Siena and I, (July '08) in my father's bio energy field: rape seed, which makes canola oil. American's almost never call it rape see, apparently its too offensive?!
~Mariah, your Brooklyn eco mama