Saving Trees… One Cloth at a Time

Saving Trees… One Cloth at a Time

Norwex Paper Towel Alternative

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??Norwex Cloth

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 Counter ClothNorwex 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

Norwex NapkinsFor 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?

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Resources:

https://www.uib.no/en/news/115228/household-cleaning-can-be-bad-smoking-lung-function

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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.

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My Trip to China: Part 1

My Trip to China: Part 1

China was amazing! It far exceeded my expectations and was definitely a trip of a lifetime. Over the years I’ve heard so much about the Norwex factory in China. Now, I am delighted now to have a first-hand experience, meeting the people who run the factory, seeing the factory with my own eyes, and touching the materials with my own hands. After this experience, I can confidently report that Norwex is making a difference globally. Our products are proudly made in China! Norwex products are the best quality, produced with the highest standards, in the most pristine condition!
My plane landed in Shanghai.  My exit off the plane was a good indication for my week to come. Busy! With two rows exiting the plane,  I patiently waited for my turn.  But without a break in the line up the flight attendant said to me,  “Sweetheart you better just push your way into the crowd or you’ll never get anywhere around Shanghai.”
Extreme Hi-density Living

Extreme Hi-density Living

Shanghai is a very beautiful city.  The population of Shanghai is over 24 million as compared to 35  million people who live in all of Canada. There were people everywhere!  I had always heard that the citizens were only allowed one child.  This is partially true.  If you are an only child and marry an only child, you may have two.  This gives every other generation two children.  That said, you always have the option to pay to have more children.  To overcome the one-child policy they can pay $130,000 yuan per additional child.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting Summer and Joyce, two long-term Norwex employees.  They met us at the airport and stayed with us for the entire duration of our trip.  Their english was very good and it was amazing to connect and learn about their lives and families.  Norwex has radically impacted my family and it is amazing to hear how it impacted their families.
We stayed at the Westin Bund Center in Shanghai.  This hotel is an iconic for it’s remarkable view of downtown.  It is also near the famous Bund waterfront that we walked a number of times!

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 When we pulled up to the hotel we were greeted by David Peeters- Norwex China Factory Manger and Global Product Development, Debbie Bolton-Norwex North American CSO, Judy Letain-Norwex Canadian CEO and Eivind Schackt-Norwex Global CEO.  Eivind shared that when we drove up to the hotels, he was feeling anxious and excited to see the reactions upon our arrival in China.  It was amazing!!  What a great company that they care so much!!  This was a dream come true for our corporate staff too.  They were excited to show their top leaders the Norwex factory.
On this trip, I had the privilege of traveling with a number of the top executive leaders from Norwex globally.
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Our first experience was walking along The Bund admiring the view of the Huangpu River which they call the Mother River.
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Across the river was the beautiful Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the sign of Shanghai as well as the tallest building in China, the Shanghai Jinmao Tower with 118 floors.  The skyline on our arrival was overcast and we were unable to see the tops, but to our delight later in our visit, the sky was clear and sunny!
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The Bund has 52 different classical reveal buildings including: Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, Chinese and Western style.  This area is know as the “International Architecture Exhibition Group”.
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We had the opportunity to walk The Bund numerous times. One morning we went for a walk in the rain, it was nice to see many people exercising along the river. One memory that will stick with me was watching senior citizens walking backwards while clapping their hands. This is what I learned about the purpose of this exercise: “Walking backwards, or retrowalking, is a form of light exercise that the Chinese have been doing since ancient times. Walking backwards is more tiring than walking forwards, and this will give you a better cardio workout in general. But that’s not the only effect it has: according to an article published in the North American Journal of Medical Sciences, retrowalking has a positive effect on patients with knee osteoarthritis. And you know who has osteoarthritis? Seniors. That isn’t where the benefits of walking backwards ends. According to a Dutch study, walking backwards may also sharpen your thinking. And as for the hand-clapping? While the methodical hand-clapping may look silly and resembles a poor man’s chest fly, it does give your arms some exercise to do.”
There were lots of signs which also made us chuckle.  No honking, which they do alot.  But this had to be the funniest, “Don’t believe the ‘tour guide’ on the road”.  If you are visiting China, the locals will always give you directions even if they don’t always know what you are talking about.
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I also enjoyed the beautiful flower wall.  Shanghai was exceptional clean!!
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IMG_4410We also walked up Nan Jing Road. It was very modern area with a couple North American stores.  It used to be the only road with North American shopping. At the end of the street was the people’s square, a beautiful green space with gorgeous flowers.
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We visited the Shanghai Urban Development Planning Museum. They have a model of the city that is 1/60th the actual size. It was exceptional.  The intricacy of every detail in this massive city was displayed and explained. It was amazing to learn about their advancements. There are 10 bridges that cross the Huangpu River and 13 tunnels that run under it.  My city doesn’t have that kind of access across the river that runs through it. The growth that Shanghai has experienced in the last 15 year is nothing short of explosive!!
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In our exploring of Shanghai we saw many North American stores and products.  We were all delighted to stop at Starbucks for our favourite familiar drink!
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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.

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Streak-Free Windows?

Streak-Free Windows?

The first Norwex product I owned was the Window Cloth, it didn’t take me long to use it wrong.  The cloth didn’t come with any instructions, so I used it with Windex.  I thought I was being environmentally-friendly by not using  paper towel with my Windex.  Needless to say, my windows and mirrors were a mess.

The Window Cloth is now one of my favourite products and I give it as a gift to bless other homes.  It is often the first product customers will try and love!

What Can It Clean?

  • Windows / Mirrors
  • Shower Doors / Glass Tables
  • Crystal / Jewelry
  • Granite Counter-tops
  • Stainless Steel and Black Appliances
  • Chrome / Knickknacks
  • Patio Tables
  • Shiny Surfaces

It is woven with the superior microfiber embedded with the Norwex exclusive BacLock™ agent.  The BacLock in the cloth goes to work to self-purify and inhibits odors from bacteria, mold and mildew growth within the cloth.

How To Use:

  • Mist water on the surface and wipe with the Window Cloth.
  • For dirty surfaces, first wipe the surface with a damp EnviroCloth and polish dry with the Window Cloth.

*Note:  Do not use on anti-glare coated surfaces.

Getting your windows clean quickly is not easy.  Using paper towels to dry the glass around your home just adds to the problem of overloaded landfills and deforestation. In addition, many of today’s popular glass and window cleaners contain harmful chemicals like butyl cellosolve and ammonia.

Did You Know?

  • Butyl cellosolve is a chemical commonly found in glass cleaners.  Readily absorbed through the skin, overexposure can irritate mucous membranes and may cause liver and kidney damage.

Resources: www.osha.gov/dts/sltc/methods/organic/org083/org083.html

 

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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.

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The Norwex  Hair Turban: a Must-Have

The Norwex Hair Turban: a Must-Have

Regardless of where my travels take me… the Norwex Hair Turban is always packed.

When my girls were young, I would use the turban to dry their hair after each swimming lesson… in turn, they would all share the same turban as they were being dressed.    It was remarkable how they all left the pool with dry shirts.  Previously, I had used a regular towel to do the job, but it just wasn’t up to the task; their long hair would make their shirts soaking wet.

Now that our daughters are older, it became apparent we each needed our own turban!  Now no one enters the washroom to shower without bringing it along.  It’s become a staple in our home!

Drying your hair can be tiresome and time-consuming, especially on those days when you’re in a hurry.  Over-drying can cause your hair to lose its lustre, form brittle/split ends, or even cause breakage.  Plus, every minute you use your blow dryer increases your utility bill.

Simply wear the Norwex Hair Turban for 10 minutes after bathing and it will absorb almost 70% of the water from your hair.  Saves you time, hair damage and money!

The lightweight turban is quickly wrapped on and will not fall off.   The superior microfiber has Baclock™ agent , which goes to work to self-purify and inhibit odors from bacteria, mold and mildew growth within the cloth.

TIPS:

  • Flip your head upside down.
  • With the turban button at the back, tuck your hair into the turban.
  • Twist and loop over hair & fasten the button.
  • For ultra-shiny hair, once a week apply a deep conditioner to your wet hair.  Wrap it up in your Norwex Turban.  After 20 minutes, remove the turban and rinse out the conditioner.
  • Give the Norwex Turban to your friends or family members with long hair…it is the BEST gift!!

Did you know?  If you use a 1500-watt hair dryer for 10 minutes a day, at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, your utility bill will increase by approximately $9 per year.

One of my hosts commented to me that she was not interested in receiving the Hair Turban as part of her hosting package of free products.  She said she already owned a different brand of hair turban.  I encouraged her to simply give the Turban away as a gift, as that particular portion of the hosting package was predetermined by head office.  About 6 weeks later, it was November, she was attending another show that had been booked as a result of her own party.  Her order that evening consisted of 6 more turbans!  I just had to ask why.  She said that she had used the Norwex Turban she received and felt it should go the on “Oprah’s Must Have List”.  That year all of her friends received one for Christmas!

Yes, it’s that good!!  Try it, you will love it too!

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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.

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Super Soft & Extra Gentle Baby Care

Super Soft & Extra Gentle Baby Care

Babies and kids have extra-soft skin and they deserve all of our extra loving care.  Norwex Microfiber cloths and towels are both super gentle and remarkably absorbent.

Many new moms have commented to me that they’ll swaddle their precious baby up in Norwex Hooded Towel after a bath, and by the time they are laying on the change table… they are totally dry!

Norwex Microfiber towels and cloths are quick-drying and embedded with the exclusive BacLock™ agent in the cloth that goes to work to self-purify and inhibit odors from bacteria, mold and mildew growth!

I have three Microfiber recommendations for your child’s skin:

  • Newborns:  The Baby Hooded Towel Set comes with a face cloth in the package.
  • Young Children: The Kids Towel which is vibrant apple green in colour with a sunshine yellow trim.
  • All Ages:  The Baby Body Pack includes a set of three face / body cloths which are extra gentle on skin.  These cloths are excellent for wiping up after meals, bath time, craft time or snack time.
    • These cloths are an excellent replacement for using wipes which contain toxic chemicals.
    • These cloths are also excellent for cleaning babies gums.

Somehow during the past 20 years, wiping a baby’s bottom has turned into a ‘disposable wipe event’.  Years ago, all moms used only cloths and then they laundered them and reused them.  Today we see more diaper rashes, skin conditions and allergies than ever before. Our skin is our largest organ, it is constantly absorbing that which it contacts.  Let’s protect our little ones’ fresh, absorbent, and innocent skin by wiping it with only a cloth and water.  Think twice before you rub it down with something you wouldn’t drink.

Speaking of baby skin, let’s talk about the body washes and lotions available.  Norwex has shopped the world over for you.  Their products come from over 12 different countries.  Our Body Lotion, Shower Gel and Hand Cream are sourced from Germany.  These products are fantastic and will work amazing on your babies and yourself.

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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.

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