Once we learn something is important, it is impossible to keep it to ourselves!
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.
Teaching and educating is my passion! My desire is to stir a ‘proactive spirit’ in people regarding their choices and the danger of harmful chemicals. Many people are not aware that what they are currently using is harmful to our environment.
University of Bergen Study
The University of Bergen in Norway recently performed a study of 6000 people over a 20 year period, who had regular exposure to cleaning products. It was found that their lung function had been significantly affected as much as a person who had smoked a pack-a-day for 20 years as well as put them at a 40% higher risk of developing asthma.
The study revealed was that “the small particles from the spray [cleaners] can remain in the air for hours after cleaning. The small particles can travel deep into the lungs and cause infections and ageing of the lungs” Dr. Svanes explains. Dr. Svanes, the main author of the study, recommends “You [do] not need a lot of chemicals after all, when cleaning. Microfiber cloths may be just as effective.”
Norwex performed chamber tests to compare the number of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs or small particles) released by chemical spray cleaners and paper towel vs. Norwex Microfiber cloths and water. The results were AMAZING!!! Traditional chemical cleaners released 800 times the VOCs than Norwex products! There is no need for dusting sprays, room deodorizers, artificial fragrances, floor cleaners, all-purpose cleaning sprays… when you have a Norwex EnviroCloth and water!
Problem: Paper Towel
Let me share some information about the truth about paper towel consumption in North America… and how Norwex provides a solution.
On average, a person uses and disposes of 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels every year.
Paper towels are used in 90% of households.
The average family of 4 uses about 26 rolls of paper towels a year. That’s an annual expense of approximately $91 for a single-use, throwaway item that is clogging our landfills!
Paper towel creates 13 billion pounds of waste every year! That works out to a whopping 3,000 tons of waste daily… comparable to the weight of 1650 economy cars!!!
Most are made from virgin tree fibre and used only once.
One paper towel is often not enough for many jobs, and some brands are even bleached with harmful chlorinated compounds—not good for your family or the environment.
Residential dwellings are the largest contributor to pollution, not industrial.
Long-term exposure to many of the cleaning products you use in your home every day has cancer-causing potential.
What does it take to produce just 1 ton of paper towels? Approximately, 17 trees and 20,000 gallons of water!
In North America, we have a huge paper towel habit. 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced every day and accounts for the consumption of approximately 51,000 trees and 60 million gallons of water!
Paper towels, even when made of recycled materials still produce an environmental impact. The recycling process still uses water, energy and chemicals.
If everyone cut back by one sheet of paper towel per day, it would save North America 571,230,000 pounds of paper towel waste, every year. Now imagine, if, one-by-one, households began to eliminate paper towel waste altogether…what kind of impact would we see then?
Solution: 4 Norwex Cloths
Norwex is a company that provides solutions for problems like paper towel. Let me highlight a few different eco-friendly Norwex products you could use to replace your paper towel.
EnviroCloth
The EnviroCloth is Norwex’s flagship product!!! The microfiber cloth has the ability to remove 99% of bacteria from a surface when following the proper care and use instructions. It contains Norwex’s exclusive Baclock™ agent – micro silver antibacterial agent – goes to self-purify and inhibits odours from bacteria, mold and mildew growth within the cloth within 24 hours so that it is ready to use again. The microfibers in the EnviroCloth are 1/200th the size of a human hair and if unravelled, have a maximum length of more than 3 million meters (10 million feet). The splitting process that happens during manufacturing creates open spaces in the fibres and enables the cloth to lift away dust and dirt and absorb serval times its own weight in water. And it only needs water to clean; no cleaner, chemicals or sprays required.
Doesn’t that sound better than a disposable paper towel??
Window Cloths
Window Cloths are designed to be used with the EnviroCloth. Once you have cleaned a surface with an EnviroCloth, use a Window Cloth to polish it to a streak-free shine. No paper towel or window spray required. If you love clean windows, but hate how long it takes, the EnviroCloth and Window Cloth will take 50% less time to clean and leave you with better results. The Window Cloth or ‘polishing cloth’ is constructed of tightly woven Norwex microfiber with the self-purifying Baclock™ agent, is lint-free, traps dust and grime in the cloth so your surface is cleaner, only needs water so there is no “chemical muck” left behind. This cloth will change your cleaning regime.
Counter Cloths
Norwex introduced Counter Cloths as a great alternative to paper towel. They are the same size as a half-sheet paper towel, come in beautiful colours, are made from 50% recycled materials, have a super-absorbent unique new weave for quick spill clean up. These beauties are perfect for your kitchen and bathroom. They even have Norwex’s self-purifying Baclock™ agent in the cloth. Seriously, with these handy little cloths, you won’t ever grab for a paper towel again!
Napkins
For anyone who loves to use a half-sized paper towel as their dinner napkin, Norwex has an alternative for you too. On average, a family of 4 uses more than 3000 paper napkins/paper towels a year. The Napkins are made from 50% recycled materials (5 plastic bottles per set of 4) and are lovely. They come in either charcoal or peacock blue, the microfiber also has Baclock™ agent so you can use them more than once before laundering, they are quick-drying and very absorbent, plus they make your dinner table look pretty. Saving trees and dressing up dinner all at the same time… not bad.
So, what can you do?
Let me give you a challenge! Next time you start a new roll of paper towel, take a pen and write in the date inside of the roll. First, try if you can go 4 months with one roll, then 6… then try if your family can stretch one roll of paper towel to last an entire year! You can do it! Other customers have done it, I know you can do it too. Imagine with me the impact that would be realized by simply changing the way we use paper towel.
Become an Educator
Since I started my Norwex journey in 2006, thousands of Consultants have been working with me to spread the word about these amazing products. I believe Nelson Mandela’s statement about the power of education… which means, we have a lot more educating to do! Every grocery and department store has at least one aisle stocked with toxic cleaning chemicals. Only 2% of North American homes use Norwex products… we have a lot of people to educate! Join my team, become an educator and help Norwex make a difference.
Are you going to take the paper towel challenge? Leave a comment about how it went. Was it easier or harder than you thought?
Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.
While we may not see the impact of our decisions now, our children and grandchildren certainly will. We need to develop a mindset of change for the better, and it is for this reason that I love my job! Like John Muir, I find that, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” Our choices today, are writing our future.
Here is an eye opening study done by Simon Fraser University, their finding are remarkable. Watch: Little Things Matter: The Impact of Toxins on the Developing Brain.
It is my heart’s desire is to make a difference, one home at a time. In 2006, no one in my community had a clue what Norwex was. But back then, our hospitals, nursing homes and health care workers were struggling with a Norwalk virus outbreak. So, when I would say “Norwex”, they would ask “Norwalk?” Literally no one knew what Norwex was, it was unheard of.
However, Norwex is now becoming a common household brand name! I am delighted to do presentations for all types of families. I have grandparents putting away their traditional window-cleaning sprays, mothers and fathers abandoning their use of paper towels and young couples wanting to set up their new homes with ONLY Norwex products.
Young brides were teenage girls less than a decade ago, attending their mother’s first Norwex presentations when I first began as a consultant. Now, they are ready to start families of their own, and Norwex is the only way they want to clean their homes. It is my goal to educate this upcoming generation, and show them they are able to clean effectively without the use of harmful chemicals!
I am just one person, but my one shift to switch to the Norwex product line, is now linked to thousands of home across North America who have now made the same shift. That is humbling. One person can make a difference. I never would have guessed that my desire to teach others would have this ripple effect. You can have the same impact as Norwex is underrepresented across North America. You have your own contacts, friends and family whom you can educated. Join my team today! I would be happy to train you. How many homes will you give the gift of Norwex to? How will you impact their quality of life?
The testimonials which Norwex consultants receive weekly from their customers are evidence that these products are positively impacting the environments of those using them. One of my greatest satisfactions is knowing that our girls have no recollection of toxic cleaning chemicals in our home. When they help me at Tradeshows, they explain that the mop pad we are currently using in our home, is the original one we purchased over 10 years ago… and it still works!
Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.
It is often tragedy in our lives that causes us to want to lead healthier lives; tragedy tends to bring about change. Few around the world have been fortunate enough to have been unaffected by cancer, allergies, or disease. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, cancer affected 1 in 87,000. Today, cancer is present in 1 in 3 people, and 150 chemicals found in the home are connected to allergies, birth defect, cancer and psychological disorders*
In 2000, I had my wake up call. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and passed away six weeks later. Born and raised on our family farm, we had all been blessed with perfect health. My dad’s sudden passing was a shock! We had grown our own vegetables, raised our own beef, grew chickens for meat and eggs, and drank milk straight from the dairy cows. Mom had us ‘canning and jamming’ every fall. The water in our taps ran off the local glacier. Our diet would be perfectly described as what is now often referred to as “Clean Eating”. However aside from preparing our own food, we were unaware that how we tended to some areas of the farm could be harmful to us in the long run. We stained the fences and then washed our hands and arms with farm gas, mixed fertilizer with our bare hands, and inhaled and absorbed all sorts of chemicals inside and outside of our home.
Sir Tom Blundell, Chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, said, “Given our understanding of the way chemicals interact with the environment, we are running a gigantic experiment with humans and all other things living”. And indeed, we are. We are the human guinea pigs of many major chemical companies, and in turn, need to ask ourselves how these products will affect us in the years to come.
Research done by Dr. Dick Irwin, a Toxicologist of Texas A&M University, has proven that “Chemicals have replaced bacteria as the main threat to health. The diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of death in the latter part of (the 1900’s) and into the 21st century are diseases of chemical origin.” Thankfully, Norwex allows to us to move forward into a brighter, healthier, and chemical-free future.
Whether you purchase your cleaning products from store aisles stocked with chemical-containing products or from a company like Norwex, it is your choice how to maintain your home and body. We all are exposed to a myriad of chemicals daily, but the only environment we can truly control is that within our own homes. Use of Norwex product is an easy way to radically reduce your exposure to chemicals within your home and ultimately improve the health of you and your family. While we cannot prevent illnesses from occurring, we can certainly be conscientious about the choices we make for ourselves and our loved ones.
It has become my mission to educate home owners that they have other options in the cleaning of their homes. I believe when consumers are taught that cleaning can be effective and efficient with the use of natural products, they will definitely choose Norwex!
One home at a time, I will spread the word. As a team of consultants we are on a global assignment to be good caretakers of this earth and to help others do the same.
Resource: The Consumer Protection Agency.
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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.
When I was pregnant with my eldest daughter, my awareness of the dangerous chemicals that could be in our home and environment was heightened. My desire was to give my young daughters a healthy environment to grow and play in. Not only was I unaware of the magnitude of dangers typical cleaning products held, but I liked how they had made my home smell and feel. The scent had made it feel CLEAN, and eventually, I began to realize that I had affiliated the smell of chemicals with cleanliness. I suppose this makes perfect sense, as the only way I had been taught to clean was with chemicals. As well as our smell being our strongest of our senses gave me the false sense of, “If it smells clean, then it must beclean!”
Like many, I assumed if these common household products were sold in stores they must have been approved safe to use. However, the skull and crossbones plastered across thousands of cleaning products indicate something different.After doing extensive research on the effects of chemicals in household cleaners, I decided I NEEDED an alternative. That’s when I discovered Norwex! The CHEMICAL-FREE way to clean. I was thrilled and to further my delight, I discovered hospitals were using them too! I instantly fell in love with the products and what they were all about. I could not wait to share the fantastic news of a chemical-free-future with others. Read more about my story: “Why Norwex?”.
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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.
I have always loved the outdoors. I was raised on a farm a couple of hours from Alaska, in Smithers, B.C., Canada. Being raised on a farm was an amazing way to grow up. I was a member of the local 4H Club, participating in beef and sheep raising, as well as showmanship, but mostly I loved the public speaking opportunities and demonstrations the club presented me with.
My first job was at the local fish hatchery as a tour guide. The job encouraged me to stay active and healthy. These are two traits I have instilled in my family. As a family we enjoy camping, biking, geo caching, hiking and playing games outdoors. In order for our families to continue enjoying our earth, I strongly believe that ALL of us are called to take care of it. Everyday we have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of creation and everyday we have the responsibility to protect it.
It wasn’t that long ago when hikers didn’t hesitate to drink out of the lakes, rivers or streams. Now we all think twice. What has happened? Our society has made everything disposable. The lakes, streams and oceans are polluted. We need to clean up our act to protect our earth. David Suzuki was right when he said that “What we do to nature, we do to ourselves.”
We cannot solely blame commercial industry without pointing the finger at residential homes that are carelessly dumping anything and everything down the drain and into our landfills. Studies have shown that the largest contributors to pollution are actually residential homes not industries.
A particular verse in the Bible that rings true to me is: I completely believe that we must “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” (Matthew 23:26). We are such a small part of this universe with the ability to make a huge impact. Many of us believe that one person cannot change the world, but the truth is, WE CAN. One person at a time, one step at a time. That one persons is you and your first step in in your home.
Gandhi’s call to action is a phrase to live by, “we must strive to be the change that [we] wish to see in the world”.
Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.
Norwex introduced Counter Cloths as a great alternative to paper towel. They are the same size as a half-sheet paper towel, come in beautiful colours, are made from 50% recycled materials, have a super-absorbent unique new weave for quick spill clean up. These beauties are perfect for your kitchen and bathroom. They even have Norwex’s self-purifying Baclock™ agent in the cloth. Seriously, with these handy little cloths, you won’t ever grab for a paper towel again!
For anyone who loves to use a half-sized paper towel as their dinner napkin, Norwex has an alternative for you too. On average, a family of 4 uses more than 3000 paper napkins/paper towels a year. The Napkins are made from 50% recycled materials (5 plastic bottles per set of 4) and are lovely. They come in either charcoal or peacock blue, the microfiber also has Baclock™ agent so you can use them more than once before laundering, they are quick-drying and very absorbent, plus they make your dinner table look pretty. Saving trees and dressing up dinner all at the same time… not bad.
