Meet Brenda of Brenda's Best Organics
Meet Brenda! She believes passionately that the products that many of us use daily on our bodies may be doing us more harm than good, and wants very much to provide us with superior alternatives.
Her first foray into the production of these alternatives was inspired years ago by her daughter's diagnosis of ADHD, and her subsequent research into the adverse health effects of the ingredients of many of our shampoos, lotions, deodorants etc. She came to the conclusion that health matters such as her daughter's were the result of lifestyle and environmental factors, and therefore best treated not with drugs but with a healthy lifestyle and the deletion of toxicity from one's environment. She was inspired to study Herbalism at the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing here in Calgary, and herbs play a large role in the efficacy of her personal care products, which are of a quality that she feels good about using for herself and her own family.
She is also intent on drawing attention to some of the greenwashing that goes on in the industry. Certain ingredients, such as emulsifying wax and grapefruit seed extract, are used in many products carrying the 'natural' label and may sound harmless, but don't in fact meet Brenda's high standards. The tendency for products to be promoted as healthful when there exists evidence suggesting otherwise is something that Brenda finds maddening and unjust, and that has her encouraging us all to not only read labels, but to be sure that we understand them! She therefore prides herself on the transparency of her own business and won't hesitate to divulge any information about what goes into her products – even that which might be controversial.
So visit Brenda at the Wednesday market! She'll be vending her cream, salve, shampoo, soap, and even flower essences, to name a few. As hers is truly a labour of love, she has prioritized the accessibility of her products over the scale of her own returns, and you will therefore likely find that her prices are quite fair. She is also a wealth of knowledge about those often mysterious ingredients lists and will welcome your questions. If you can't wait until the next market, available on her website (www.brendasbestorganics.com) is a list of her products and details about the ingredients that she thoughtfully puts into each of them, as well as some links to other helpful sites.
