Green Goddess Prize Pack

HI to all of Green Goddess's newsletter subscribers who are in the draw to win a wonderful prize pack from Red Rata. Thanks for entering and welcome to Red Rata. I hope you enjoy visiting Red Rata's website and checking out our fantastic range of natural body and home care products. Our aim is to offer you the best choices in chemical free products, all tried, tested and chosen by my family and I.

Follow us on Facebook as well to keep right up with what is happening.

You may be wondering what you are in to win so here is what's in the prize pack...

The Herb Farm Citrus Body Lotion 100ml

Clean Earth Soaps Manuka Honey & Calendul 85g

Red Seal Sodium Lauryl Sulphate Free Herbal and Mineral Toothpaste

Earthwise Citrus Air Freshener 250ml

AND Tui Bug Balme 50g

A little bit of everthing for everything. A great pack to receive if you were just wanting to try out a range of natural products, or needed stocking up on the essentials.

Good luck to all of you who have entered. Watch out for Wendyl's Green Goddess newsletter next Thursday where the winner will be announced.

Are natural products natural??

A recent article in the Consumer magazine (Issue 505) tested several supposedly 'natural' cosmetics and found the majority are not living up to their claims. I find this shocking, although not surprising. Many products propose they are natural or organic but may only contain a small amount of such a product and the rest is synthetic chemicals.

Consumer tested 18 'natural' cosmetics, only some made in NZ, such as eye creams, face creams, body moisturisers, nipple creams, bodywashes, deodorant. They tested these products for synthetic perservatives and found only TWO did not use synthetic chemicals to prolong the shelf life of their products!!!

Parabens are a common preservative in cosmetics but there is concern as to their toxicity. So avoid anything saying methyl, butyl, proply or ethyl.

Many of the products tested by Consumer had phenoxyethanol in them which also has questions raised about its safety. The Cosmetic Database gives it a moderate hazard rating, with links to skin irritation and immunotoxicity, and restrictions as to its use. Avoid this in your products too.

Good news is that there are cosmetics out there that are made with natural chemcial-free preservatives which pose less of a risk to your health. Red Rata is really proud to only sell products that have natural preservatives in them, and they are all made here in New Zealand by some fantastic companies.

The Herb Farm uses a combination of herbal extracts, essential oils and colloidial silver as their natural preservative. Earthwise use sea salt and essentials oils. Essence use grapefruit seed extract in their products that contain water.

The best thing you can do is learn to read the ingredient lists on the products you use. If you cannot read the word, it is likely to be out of a chemistry lab. If it looks Latin, it is probably plant derived and usually the better option. Get wise, be informed and choose the safest products for you and your family. Don't beleive what the pretty labels on the bottle tell you, read the ingredients.

Visit Red Rata to check out our range and find out more information about a wide range of New Zealand made natural body and home care products. Treat your body to the care it deserves.

Basic Olive Bar Soap perfect for sensitive skin

I've had great success with the olive bar soaps. No worries at all - which is great. Thank you for everything you have done for me. It's very much appreciated.

This is the feedback I received from a lovely lady who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. She reacts to numerous chemicals in our environment, along with synthetic chemicals in body care products, and even some of mother natures purest scents and additives.

She went on a search and found a great simple soap from Red Rata. The Basic Olive Bar made by Clean Earth Soaps. This very mild soap only contains olive oil, organic coconut and palm oils and water, with no scent. Therefore ideal for very sensitive skin and new born babies skin.

This and more natural body care products avaliable from Red Rata.

Spring Cleaning

Its that wonderful time of year when spring arrives. And often we look around our home and decide a good old clean is on the cards.

Red Rata make it super simple for you. We have the best natural multi-purpose spray cleaner that will do the trick. From Earthwise, it contains only 4 ingredients plus essential oils of tea tree and pine. No more harsh chemicals needed to keep your place clean and shiny.

I use it on floors, bathroom, benchtops, around the loo. A quick spray, wipe and you are done.

This month it is on SPECIAL!! 500 ml trigger bottle is now only $7 (usually $9).

We would all rather be doing other fun stuff instead of cleaning so try this great multi-purpose spray. Check out more information here.

Clean Earth Soaps are awesome

I just unpacked a big box of gorgeous Clean Earth Soaps this morning with my handy helpers :-).

These soaps are yummy, Lavender & Cocoa Butter, Manuka Honey & Calendula and Basic Olive Bar.

They are handmade in beautiful Golden Bay so probably have some sunshine mixed in with the ingredients to warm you up.

Clean Earth Soaps are totally natural and synthetic free soaps. They contain 50% Olive Oil. This is combined with Certified Organic Coconut Oil and Certified Organic Palm Oil plus a mixture of other delights like essential oils, clays and plant butters to treat your skin.

Store your Clean Earth Soap in a dry place and use a dry wire soap dish. It will outlast commcercial soaps by far.

Live, Laugh and Lather Up.

Get your Clean Earth Soap from Red Rata and get some Golden Bay sunshine for your skin.

Wanaka Playgroup's Winter Raffle

Red Rata is proud to support Wanaka Playgroup by donating a Bath Pamper Pack as a prize for their awesome winter raffle. There are loads of prizes up for grabs so if you are in Wanaka get your ticket for just $2 from Wanaka Pharmacy or the Plunket Rooms.

Playgroup is a fantastic place where families meet and children play. Especially if you are new to a place it is a brilliant way to meet others with children. And the kids have so much fun. Wanaka Playgroup meet Mondays and Thursdays 9:30-11:30 at the Church Hall on Tenby St.

Go Wanaka Playgroup and good luck to all the lucky raffle ticket holders.