Episode 62
A Holistic Approach to Product Research
This podcast episode elucidates the significance of individualized research in the realm of holistic health, particularly concerning consumer products. We delve into the intricate process of evaluating products, emphasizing the necessity for discerning consumers to examine ingredients, materials, and certifications that align with their health and ethical standards. Our discourse highlights the importance of transparency from companies, urging listeners to scrutinize brand reputations and avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing, which often masquerades as sustainability. Moreover, we share our personal experiences in curating a thoughtful registry in preparation for our upcoming addition to the family, illustrating how one can navigate the overwhelming array of baby products with intention and care. Through this episode, we aspire to empower our audience with practical strategies for making informed purchasing decisions that reflect their values and promote a holistic lifestyle.
Takeaways:
- In the realm of holistic health, it is paramount to scrutinize the ingredients and materials of products to ensure they align with a low-tox lifestyle, thereby safeguarding one's well-being.
- The significance of third-party certifications cannot be overstated, as they provide an unbiased evaluation of product safety and efficacy, thus instilling consumer confidence.
- Transparency from brands regarding their sourcing, manufacturing processes, and ingredient lists is essential; without such transparency, one must remain wary of potential deception and greenwashing.
- Engaging in thorough research of a company's reputation through customer reviews and advocacy groups will elucidate the integrity of the products one intends to purchase.
Support Us
Savannah IG: Holyistic_Wife
Jeremiah IG: Holyistic_Husband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Casting-Seeds-Podcast/61557099641711/?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Email: CastingSeeds.Podcast@gmail.com
Remember to subscribe, share, and leave a review if you find this episode valuable. Connect with us on social media to join the ongoing conversation.
Check out our Amazon Store
https://www.amazon.com/shop/holyistic_wife/list/2F14REVMYQGBR?ref_=aipsflist_aipsfholyistic_wife
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker A:And welcome back to Casting Seeds.
Speaker A:I'm Savannah, your holistic health practitioner and host.
Speaker B:And I'm Jeremiah, your co host.
Speaker A:And you're listening to the only holistic health podcast that uses God's singular truth to give you individualized discernment.
Speaker B:Individualized.
Speaker B:Today's gonna be fun.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker B:Because it's.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:We're gonna be individualizing how we do research.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:I didn't understand the connection.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You, like, stumbled through the word individualized, and then you're like, today's gonna be fun.
Speaker A:What are you talking about?
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, I can see how you're kind of making that connection.
Speaker A:Do you want to explain what we're doing so other people can kind of make that connection?
Speaker B:So have you guys ever just, like, you.
Speaker B:You have something you want to purchase, and you're like, what kind of research should I do about this item?
Speaker A:Or how do I look into it?
Speaker B:Yeah, like, what's healthy, what's not healthy?
Speaker B:Or what is a good performing one?
Speaker B:Or not good performing.
Speaker B:So we're gonna go into a little bit of detail on what a holistic person is looking for in products in a consumer.
Speaker A:Well, so this has become a topic of conversation that often comes up for me right now because people are constantly asking me, how do I know what baby products I want to buy and not buy?
Speaker A:And Jeremiah and I have been very particular on our registry, and people are already giving us things that are not on our registry.
Speaker A:And one of the.
Speaker A:So we're doing a.
Speaker A:What is it called?
Speaker A:A nesting party.
Speaker A:Not a baby shower, which I've known about for a few years because.
Speaker A:So we had to cut for a second because my sister called to ask me what our baby's middle name was, and I don't remember being pregnant.
Speaker A:What the heck?
Speaker A:I was saying.
Speaker A:So for context, just to sum it up again, I guess we're already getting things on our gift.
Speaker A:Our registry.
Speaker B:Oh, you're talking about.
Speaker B:Not a baby shower, but.
Speaker A:Yeah, the nesting party.
Speaker A:So for a nesting party.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:And I've known about this for a few years because Jeremiah and I had miscare just before.
Speaker B:You got it.
Speaker A:Yeah, Here we go.
Speaker A:Which, by the way, if you guys want to know our gender, we're going to be announcing it either next Monday or Tuesday because that's the anatomy appointment.
Speaker A:So obviously, our family already knows the gender of the baby, but there's a 20% chance that the gender's wrong because the baby was turned around when our OB saw.
Speaker A:So I was like, 20% chance is big.
Speaker A:I'm not going to tell people.
Speaker A:I've told a few clients we already.
Speaker B:Have baby clothing for that specific gender.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:So that's the thing we told some people at church.
Speaker A:And our church is small, so now the whole church knows our baby's gender and we got clothes.
Speaker A:But thank the Lord, this person knows that we're pretty picky, so she got us all organic clothing.
Speaker B:But still great colors too.
Speaker A:Yeah, but still, at the end of the day, could be the other gender that.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And when it comes to actually looking at the material, right.
Speaker A:And how it's processed and the dyes, it's still not 100% what we would love.
Speaker A:But I mean, 80.
Speaker A:20 rule, right?
Speaker A:80% healthy, 20%, do your life, live your life.
Speaker A:So what I was going to say is, with a nesting party, it's huge blessing because people come to your home instead of like standing around awkwardly at a baby shower like I've always done, or a bridal shower, people get to come and love on you and pick a job and do it and be there with you and pour into your home and the nursery or your car or whatever you need help with in your home to prepare for the baby.
Speaker A:And then you provide food and snacks like you would at a regular shower.
Speaker A:But it's like truly a time to be loved on by your community, which this is what you really need when you're pregnant.
Speaker B:So Especially first pregnancy.
Speaker A:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so that's why, to sum this up too, because we're going to be going in today on, like, how we researched products and what we did specifically to fit our taste and our needs.
Speaker A:And then you guys can practically apply these things to whatever you buy, whenever you buy them.
Speaker A:Um, of course, we're always huge promoters of buying things used.
Speaker A:And that's actually something that we put on our registry.
Speaker A:When you open it on the Evite, it literally says, if you can find any of these things used, please buy it.
Speaker A:Because one.
Speaker A:So many baby products are.
Speaker A:Are like one and done use or like even.
Speaker A:We actually just got our little Bajorn Bouncer thing.
Speaker A:We got it.
Speaker A:It's like originally almost a 300 baby baby bouncer, which why.
Speaker A:And we got it for $115 at a used store.
Speaker A:So if people can find the things that we want and love, in fact get them for free in mom groups and Facebook marketplace or whatever or however we are 100 for that because the uses are for such a little limited amount of time and so stupidly expensive.
Speaker A:So that's one way that we're doing it.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But ultimately we just want you guys to take these really practical things and apply them into your life.
Speaker A:And that's why, because so many people have asked me about my registry, how I've been doing pregnancy, what vitamins and minerals.
Speaker A:I'm taking all these things.
Speaker A:I am now coming out with a holistic pregnancy 101 ebook that's going to have also a workbook attached to it.
Speaker A:And I'm really, really excited.
Speaker A:I have all the chapters written out.
Speaker A:I'm going to be allowing pre orders pretty soon.
Speaker A:So a bunch of people on Instagram and Facebook are so excited.
Speaker A:If you guys are not following me, Holyistic underscore wife, I suggest you do that now because baby's gender will be out.
Speaker A:All the things.
Speaker A:All the things are being revealed.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Which I don't know why this matters to people, but people get really excited.
Speaker B:I mean, we are kind of giving a little update.
Speaker B:Another update.
Speaker B:I got a job.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for the prayers.
Speaker B:Thank you for all the prayers for that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't know if it matters that we say we're at.
Speaker B:I work in tech.
Speaker B:Not a big deal with company, but it's something to do with AI.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And once I start the job, I have to sign my NDA and I won't be able to talk about what I do for a living.
Speaker B:But yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, he probably shouldn't now, just in case.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But that.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Or Jeremiah will be also trying to possibly look into helping out with law enforcement as well on the tech side.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So there are a few things and opportunities that are coming up.
Speaker A:But right now, Jeremiah having steady income is just such a blessing.
Speaker A:So thank you so much, you guys, for prayers on that.
Speaker B:And the handyman side also.
Speaker B:That's been going pretty great.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Lots of work.
Speaker B:Thank you for all your prayers.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:For our family.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And even my work, too, been getting a lot busier.
Speaker A:And that's just a blessing when you have a baby on the way.
Speaker A:But let's get into this episode before.
Speaker A:I feel like this has kind of gotten too long.
Speaker B:No, it's perfect.
Speaker A:So getting into today's episode, we're going to be going over six different individual things that you can look into with any company.
Speaker A:Whether you're looking into something in tech or packaging.
Speaker A:I mean, literally anything and everything in between.
Speaker A:These are the six things that we looked into when we were checking out companies in general.
Speaker A:But honestly, so many of the baby things were really hard to find that were perfect.
Speaker A:And of course, we ended up using Amazon for quite a few different things, but it was more of like the small dumb stuff that kind of didn't matter as much.
Speaker A:But like the.
Speaker A:What's that thing that like sucks boogers out of baby's noses and stuff?
Speaker A:It's like $5.
Speaker B:I don't know what it's called.
Speaker B:Booger sucker.
Speaker A:It's like a, it's $5, but it's a medical grade one.
Speaker A:So that's the thing.
Speaker A:Like, even though we were looking for something that was more inexpensive, we tried to find like, okay, well is it medical grade?
Speaker A:Is it BPA free?
Speaker A:So there are ways to look at stuff to make it inexpensive, but also still practical.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And within the morals and boundaries.
Speaker A:So before we get into this checklist, I just want to say first and foremost, just like anything with holistic health, of course Jeremiah and I always say, who are you doing this for?
Speaker A:But outside of the who are you doing this for?
Speaker A:I would say focus in specifically on what is like your moral boundaries and moral code.
Speaker A:Jeremiah and I know that whether or not our baby is a girl or a boy, we wanted to make it very clear that we were going to be as sustainable and holistic as possible with our child, specifically, especially in the first year of life, because a lot of those forever chemicals can really be exposed to a baby and be harmful for them developmentally for the rest of their lives.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So like the BPA's right.
Speaker A:If we're going to stick something up our kid's nose, we want to make sure that it is medical grade and that it is safe for our child.
Speaker A:So I just wanted to give that caveat before we go into number one.
Speaker B:Number one, checking ingredients and materials in the products you're purchasing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So checking ingredients and materials if you're trying to live a low tox or toxin free, which is not possible, or a low harsh chemical lifestyle is so unbelievably important.
Speaker A:Uh, you gotta look for brands that provide the full ingredients list for personal care, household care, food products, whatever.
Speaker A:And a lot of people are really sneaky with their brands because they'll have other ingredients separate to the ingredients list.
Speaker A:I don't know how it's legal or why it's legal because then it doesn't show you because normally at the top of the ingredients list, that's what's highest in your food, clothing, whatever.
Speaker A:So it's really frustrating because when they separate it, you don't know how much of the percentage is in there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then you have to google it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Remember I sent you that photo of the potato salad.
Speaker A:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:Is all the ingredients.
Speaker B:And then below that in black small text, like really far below it says bioengineered food ingredients within this product.
Speaker A:But then you don't know where it is or how much or what it is.
Speaker A:So they're really, really sneaky about it.
Speaker A:You also want to avoid known toxins like parabens, phalates, sulfates, which will say sls or, or sles.
Speaker A:Any synthetic fragrances, formaldehyde, bpa, pfas, and of course any heavy metals.
Speaker A:Like for instance, Jeremiah did, which I loved.
Speaker A:He did a lead check on all baby bottles and nipples.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I'm already really picky on making sure our child, if he or she is going to be breastfed, which is the ideal goal, we would prefer that.
Speaker A:But if some, for some reason God doesn't allow me or bless me to be able to feed our child naturally, then.
Speaker A:Or if, you know, I just don't pump enough or whatever it is, we still have to have bottles as a backup.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And even though we only got four, we're starting with a small amount.
Speaker A:I made sure one, that the nipple was the smallest and size, I'm sorry, the widest mouth with which the smallest hole.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:With the slowest feeding measure.
Speaker A:So it's almost difficult for the babies to get it out because if it's super easy, they're not going to want to latch to you.
Speaker A:So there was that.
Speaker A:And then Jeremiah was like, well, did you check for lead?
Speaker A:And I was like, yeah, yeah, I did.
Speaker A:And then he gave me like a super in depth lead check overview which was really good.
Speaker A:And we found out the bottles that I specifically picked were safe in the United States.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Still had a little bit of lead, but it was a safe amount.
Speaker A:It was 0.003.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Which didn't bother me because this, this brand is known pigeon for specifically being like one of the best slow feeding and breast emulating bottles.
Speaker A:I know every child is different so it can be really frustrating for moms because they'll get suggestions and then they're like, that didn't work for me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Uh, but yeah.
Speaker A:So it's nice having also a spouse who's very pro, you know, making sure that our house is prepared and clean for our future son or daughter coming into her life.
Speaker A:And I do think for the women who do have partners who don't really care, the moment you have your first child, they really start to care.
Speaker B:Well, we pray.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But no, they, I mean, I'm saying like if you have a husband who already loves you and then, you know, like the moment is, there can be a shift sometimes, is what I'm saying.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where they're like, yeah, whatever you think is best, honey.
Speaker A:Like I, this child's the light of my life.
Speaker A:You should be first above the child of my life.
Speaker A:I said light.
Speaker B:Oh, sound like lead of my life.
Speaker A:Jeremiah has lit on the brain.
Speaker A:But you should be first as the wife.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So that should be spoken about later at some point.
Speaker A:But with that being said, hopefully and prayerfully, having the child and seeing the child in front of them and allowing them to be there when you give birth, that can be a significant game changer for your husband who may be like, whoa, I will do anything to protect this kid.
Speaker A:Which may mean lead free bottles.
Speaker A:The other thing I wanted to say before we moved on to the second one is using resources like environmental working groups.
Speaker A:The EWG or Think Dirty is a really great website as well.
Speaker A:So if you look at the EWG or the Think Dirty website, they will show you what is clean and isn't clean for all food, um, all harsh chemicals and all synthetic chemicals.
Speaker A:Because remember, all chemical everything in the world is made up of chemicals, even your body.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But there's natural and there's synthetic and then there's harsh.
Speaker A:So because you can have harsh natural and harsh synthetic chemicals.
Speaker A:But with that being said, let's move on to the second one.
Speaker B:So the second one you have to be aware of third party certifications and see if the product you're purchasing has a third party.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So this is really important.
Speaker A:I'm one of the mods in the Toxin Free Living group on Facebook.
Speaker A:And one of the biggest things that when we reach out and we check with companies to see whether or not they're a solid company to work with is if they have third party certifications that ensures the products are free from harmful chemicals.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:A third party certification is a non biased party who, who comes in and evaluates your product and tests your product in all different types of situations.
Speaker A:When you use a third party certification, it's also good to look up specifically what that third party is and who owns them and who pays for them.
Speaker A:So even though it's a third party testing, it's still good to do the background research on who the third party is and who owns it.
Speaker A:Because the same owner of Walmart could have a different LLC and then have a third party LLC that they use for all their third party testing.
Speaker A:Does that make sense?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:A lot of CEOs do this where they own their own third party companies that's like famously known for Blackrock and things like that.
Speaker A:So where one LLC owns 500 LLCs and with under that umbrella they're able to kind of manipulate the system.
Speaker A: party certification is like a: Speaker A:Just kind of look into it.
Speaker A:But they are supposed to check if things are USDA organic.
Speaker A:They're also supposed to do the made safe guarantee, which the product is known for.
Speaker A:No toxins or low toxins.
Speaker A:There's also a leaping bunny guarantee which ensures like cruelty safety or like.
Speaker B:I've seen that before.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know like the gluten free symbol.
Speaker A:There's that not tested on animals and stuff.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then there's also gots the global organic textile standard, so that makes it certified organic fabrics, like 100 cotton, 100 muslin, like all those things.
Speaker A:So these are supposed to be safe.
Speaker A:But I just warn people that just because there is a safety measure doesn't mean that it's always legit.
Speaker A:Whoever Trusts the government 100% has more faith than any Christian I've ever known.
Speaker A:So I'll just leave it at that in the nicest way possible because technically these are government agencies.
Speaker B:So yeah, I.
Speaker B:Have you seen that video where it's like, pick your side.
Speaker B:Start in Star wars if you're the rebellion or the Republic.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:And everyone always chooses the rebellion, but in reality everybody chooses the government.
Speaker A:Which is the Republic or which is the government?
Speaker B:The government is the Republic and the rebellion is the free people.
Speaker A:See, none of that made sense to me.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker A:I'm a girl.
Speaker A:I don't watch Star Wars.
Speaker B:It's okay.
Speaker A:Are they true?
Speaker B:Can you, you know, red pill, blue.
Speaker A:Pill, put it in Lord of the Rings terms.
Speaker B:You can't because there's actually an evil.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's more biblical than that's fantasy.
Speaker A:Make the government the evil one.
Speaker B:Well, the thing is, is no one's choosing the evil side.
Speaker A:All right, your point gets slandered.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker A:Someone probably understood that.
Speaker B:Yeah, hopefully there's a nerd out there.
Speaker A:Okay, number three.
Speaker A:So you want to review the company's transparency.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:This bothers me more than anything else.
Speaker A:I just saw a couch the other day that said like, toxin free pet sustainable couch.
Speaker A:Is it toxin free though?
Speaker A:When I went to go look up their fabrics, none of their fabrics were listed.
Speaker A:None of the spray coatings that they used.
Speaker B:Oh, was it the one that you wanted to get?
Speaker A:I didn't want to get it, but remember me complaining when I was looking it up.
Speaker A:I was like, I can't even look at the fabrics.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, we can't afford a couch right now.
Speaker A:But I just was like interested because it was a cute couch and I feel like it's kind of big on Instagram right now.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:None of the fabrics are posted and I.
Speaker A:It says recycled plastic, which means it.
Speaker A:They're saying that this couch is toxin free, but it's full of BPAs.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's why they're not posting it.
Speaker A:And that's also why it has the foam one, right?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Oh no, it's a different one.
Speaker A:It has flame retardants on it and all these things.
Speaker A:Like, I, I was pissed.
Speaker A:So I emailed them and said, hey, like, do you have third party testing?
Speaker A:What are your fabrics?
Speaker A:And they emailed back saying, we don't disclose our fabrics because then it, like it's their, you know, their secret formula or whatever.
Speaker A:And I said, legally you cannot do that.
Speaker B:Well, in certain states, no.
Speaker A:In the US legally, they are not allowed to disclose any type of company that has any ingredients for any products.
Speaker A:They are legally not allowed to withhold the ingredients of how they make their products.
Speaker A:Every single ingredient has to legally be listed and.
Speaker A:Or said if somebody asks for it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, there you go.
Speaker A:So that's.
Speaker B:Well, anyway, don't trust a blank product.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:You got to check if the company discloses where they source their materials and how their products are made.
Speaker A:Also, you have to look for brands that share the third party lab testing results.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like we spoke about before.
Speaker A:And then you have to read the ingredient glossaries on brand websites to see how they define clean, quote, un or natural or toxin free.
Speaker A:All of the keywords.
Speaker A:Because that is not equal.
Speaker A:They can claim that, but it doesn't mean it's truthful.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And for me personally, you guys know that my.
Speaker A:What I consider toxin free is a much higher level.
Speaker A:That's why my Amazon list is a toxin free only list.
Speaker A:I can't guarantee that.
Speaker A:I guess with books, I just realized I don't know what a lot of.
Speaker B:You could be talking.
Speaker B:Free books.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Everything else is technically toxin free or chemical.
Speaker A:Low chemical, which I put as caveats.
Speaker B:Anything you're putting on your body or in your body.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:Um, the next one too.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:For number four.
Speaker A:I want you guys to research brand reputation.
Speaker A:This is really, really, really important.
Speaker A:You have to read customer reviews.
Speaker A:So these are really good ones like trustpilot or Reddit.
Speaker A:Just general social media too.
Speaker A:Like for me, I commented on a few of those Videos And I was like, you guys aren't toxin free to claim that as bs.
Speaker A:So seeing, you know, comments like that.
Speaker B:Is know who you're supporting.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:Um, but also too, don't just trust those things.
Speaker A:Do your own research.
Speaker A:Look for investigative reports on brands from customer advocacy groups too.
Speaker A:So like if you want something that's animal cruelty free, look at PETA.
Speaker A:Go through PETA and see what a PETA approved couches are or whatever.
Speaker A:Even though a lot of PETA approved things, now that we're on that topic, tends not to be low tox because they have to use a lot of synthetic chemicals and materials in order to mimic natural fibers and to manipulate natural fibers.
Speaker A:So like fake leather is one of the worst things that you can wear and a lot of people who are propita wear fake leather.
Speaker A:The last thing I want to say too is green washing.
Speaker A:Please, please beware of greenwashing companies that claim to be toxin free and they don't provide any proof.
Speaker A:Like that dumb dog friendly couch that I was looking at.
Speaker A:I can't even tell you 90% of the greenwashing companies out there, they overprice all of their products.
Speaker A:They make you think that you have to have it to do well or be, you know, low tox.
Speaker A:All the things when honest to God, if you look at God's creation that does not cost very much to live off of.
Speaker A:So if they overprice crazy things, I just, I can't do it.
Speaker A:I get super mad.
Speaker A:Greenwashing is one of the things that probably makes me the most angry.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:As a holistic health practitioner, one of.
Speaker B:My top things that I do is I'll take the main photo of the product and I'll go put it in Google for their AI and see if it matches with like Teemu or any other of those other companies.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you would be surprised how much is being sold out there as a product of their own.
Speaker B:And they're just a reseller.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where they buy green.
Speaker A:Yeah, they buy it off of not Teemu.
Speaker A:But what are those like Asian Alibaba?
Speaker B:Well, no, Teemu sells wholesale.
Speaker B:Also as a, you can buy like a hundred pairs of leggings just like Alibaba.
Speaker A:But okay, so like those resale Chinese places.
Speaker A:Any of those.
Speaker A:Yeah, you can, you can look up brands and see where they actually get their fabric from, which is crazy.
Speaker A:Also that's another thing I'd like to say.
Speaker A:You can ask brands who their distributor is because they legally have to tell you again.
Speaker A:And when they give you the distributor, you can actually call the distributor and ask them specifically what they process in their factory.
Speaker A:If you really wanted to get like super into it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You can also sometimes buy directly from them and get a non labeled product.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's the exact same product if you really love it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know what I've always wanted to do that with, but it's made in the US so it's a little bit harder.
Speaker A:What do you know?
Speaker B:No idea.
Speaker A:That one table that like collapses down.
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Telescoping table.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker B:It's a tell.
Speaker B:So you know how a telescope extends when you open it?
Speaker B:Yeah, but I've never heard it called telescoping.
Speaker B:So it's a telescoping mechanic mechanism inside.
Speaker A:Well, this one doesn't.
Speaker A:No, no, no.
Speaker A:It doesn't telescope because you add pieces onto it.
Speaker B:The chassis, the metal piece inside of it.
Speaker B:It opens like a telescope and then you add layers to create the bench.
Speaker A:I thought you meant like it magically like folds out of itself.
Speaker A:Oh, I was like, that's kind of cool.
Speaker B:But no, that's more like a kaleidoscope where he's just magically making colors.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Anyway, whatever that table is.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because we have such a small house, I've always wanted to find out where they manufacture from and buy direct.
Speaker B:See if it's like.
Speaker A:But it might be trade, so it might be trademarked though.
Speaker B:It's more.
Speaker B:Well, I've seen illegal ones already being sold.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That probably have a bunch of harsh chemicals.
Speaker A:They use natural woods.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Anyway, so see, like that's what I'm saying.
Speaker A:You can think of things like that.
Speaker B:And then you want cheap.
Speaker B:You can get cheap.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But you pay for it in the long run.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Your baby.
Speaker B:Or you will end up paying for it, unfortunately.
Speaker A:But that's why also going on like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and finding real wood products or things like that used.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And paying cheaper for it.
Speaker A:Well, now people kind of.
Speaker A:They charge a lot for the stuff that they've used.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, it's dumb, but depreciation's kind of.
Speaker B:Gone in United States right now.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's making like Grandma's chair.
Speaker A:Like 50 bucks when it should be 10.
Speaker A:You know, I can see her butt cheeks imprinted on that thing.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Steam.
Speaker B:Steam that out.
Speaker B:Iron it.
Speaker A:That's gonna need more than steam.
Speaker A:Anywho, past brand reputations 0.5.
Speaker B:Use online databases to find products.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:So the EWG's Skin Deep database, for instance, for Cosmetics and skin care, The Made safe certified product list, the Think Dirty app, which we talked about before customer reports.
Speaker A:So you can go and just look up customer reviews.
Speaker A:But if you do all of this and then check out the reviews and online database, this is kind of like.
Speaker A:I don't know, I feel like this is like more of a shallow thing to do.
Speaker A:I feel like.
Speaker B:No it's not.
Speaker B:Cuz I mean would you go to a three, a two star restaurant.
Speaker A:Oh, without looking at reviews?
Speaker A:Yeah, a two star restaurant.
Speaker B:A two star restaurant.
Speaker B:I see two star products all the time.
Speaker A:I think I meant like Michelin star.
Speaker B:No, just regular Yelp, Google star.
Speaker A:Probably not.
Speaker B:Would you go to.
Speaker A:I mean it depends.
Speaker B:Our massage therapy place.
Speaker A:I wouldn't go to a two star sushi bar, but maybe I might risk like a two star Mexican place.
Speaker B:If the line is not out the door.
Speaker B:I ain't going in.
Speaker B:I've learned my lessons.
Speaker A:It's like grandma's chair.
Speaker A:Gotta clean it after.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Don't go to Taco Bell.
Speaker A:The same thing at that point.
Speaker A:That is the two star Mexican food.
Speaker B:It's not Mexican.
Speaker A:So the last thing I wanted to Talk about IS6, which is investigate packaging and sustainability.
Speaker B:So environmental awareness.
Speaker A:Well, not so much normally though if you're pa.
Speaker A:Like if you're going to order something and pay good money to.
Speaker B:Get it, what it's going to be packaged in.
Speaker A:Yeah, it should be, it should be in higher end packaging.
Speaker A:Like it should be in BPA free phthalate free, non toxic packaging.
Speaker A:Especially if it's a sustainable brand.
Speaker B:Makes sense.
Speaker B:Oils leach into material.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like cotton's very absorbent.
Speaker A:Especially if it's pvc.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Or poly.
Speaker A:How do you say it?
Speaker A:Polystyrene.
Speaker A:Polystyrene.
Speaker B:Styrofoam.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's how you say it though.
Speaker A:Polystyrene.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Styrene.
Speaker B:I'm not good at that stuff.
Speaker A:Well, and just a bunch of single use plastics too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Um, because a lot of packaging can then ruin the item that you're paying a lot for.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that kind of shows you if a brand's inconsistent like that they're probably not the most solid or reputable brand.
Speaker B:Interesting.
Speaker A:Like that's, that's kind of a good secret.
Speaker B:I almost feel like there needs to be a YouTube review on green companies that send you in their packaging and just see who's actually green all the way through.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like test their packaging.
Speaker A:Yeah, that would be gnarly.
Speaker B:Messed up.
Speaker B:That would be kind of fun.
Speaker B:Do we need to order anything we could start this.
Speaker A:Actually, I just did.
Speaker A:I ordered our, our soap for the kitchen, our bar soap.
Speaker A:But she's great.
Speaker A:It's a Christian brand.
Speaker A:And she literally sends everything in BPA free.
Speaker A:Like cardboard.
Speaker B:Used wax cardboard.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That way they're the.
Speaker A:So these wax cardboard.
Speaker A:She's insane.
Speaker A:Insanely amazing.
Speaker A:But yeah.
Speaker A:So overall, you guys avoid.
Speaker A:This is like an episode to basically explain avoid greenwashing.
Speaker A:And ultimately that means you check for specific claims.
Speaker A:You know, like you check on their claims, you use the third party verifications.
Speaker A:You really check the ingredients list.
Speaker A:Um, make sure that they're not using misleading buzzwords, make sure there's brand transparency.
Speaker A:And then also investigate parent companies, which is kind of what we talked about earlier.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then of course read reviews from trusted sources.
Speaker B:But so I have a few questions.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Why, why should I care about what is it?
Speaker B:What ingredients it's made out of?
Speaker B:Like, what will that do to my body?
Speaker A:Well, each ingredient does different things, right?
Speaker A:So the same way that minerals, vitamins and minerals help you in positive ways or even negative ways if you take them at the wrong time of day or take too much.
Speaker A:It's the same thing when you then are adding in harsh chemicals or substance, substance substances into your body that your liver and kidneys have to process.
Speaker A:And especially if you already live a highly inflammatory lifestyle and you're already playing catch up, or if you're sick or whatever it is, you have an injury and your body's already highly inflamed.
Speaker A:Stress.
Speaker A:Like imagine when you were stressed, like really stressed a few months ago.
Speaker A:If then on top of that you got sick and then I rubbed like harsh chemicals all over your body, you would.
Speaker A:How would you have felt the next day?
Speaker B:Terrible.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Don't wake me up.
Speaker A:So before you go, go.
Speaker A:Yeah, so it's more of like these things, especially over time, because small exposure can be.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A: That's why I say the: Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A: But yeah, if you're doing the: Speaker A:That adds up.
Speaker A:And that's more of a hundred percent of your day.
Speaker A:And in a feature ingredient, like, you know, I'll use citric acid for an example because it's made out of mold.
Speaker A:If your vitamins have citric acid in it in the morning, but it has like the daily amount that you can have it.
Speaker A:But four of them have the daily amount, you're already four times over that amount.
Speaker A:And then later a lot of citric acid is in like hair products, skin products, food Products, Food.
Speaker A:It's in like cleaning products.
Speaker B:Preservative.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's in everything.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's also used as a flavor additive to make things smell more lemony or citrusy.
Speaker A:You will be like 4,000% over the daily intake every day.
Speaker A:Every single day.
Speaker A:And that adds up.
Speaker A:That becomes a toxic mold allergy.
Speaker A:And then if you're exposing a child to that at a young age, that's a lifelong allergen that they could be then extremely sensitive to forever.
Speaker A:So there are definitely repercussions for especially children being exposed to it.
Speaker A:I think it's a little bit easier for adults, but at the end of the day, you know, like, if you're not just in general knowing, like, the bad, the really harsh 10.
Speaker A:And you guys, I have posted on my website the, like, toxin free list.
Speaker A:I have it also on my Instagram Things to avoid and stay away from.
Speaker A:That is a no go list that you can print out and have with you at all times or even put it in your notes or whatever.
Speaker A:If you do not at least peruse it and start to get to know things that are bad, which most of the other ingredients, if you just look at other ingredients is there, and if there's anything there, it's probably not the best for you.
Speaker A:But you just have to learn to understand that living holistically and holistically, slash, sustainably is learning to make your own things, learning to enjoy God's creation and use it for your benefit.
Speaker A:And yeah.
Speaker A:Not being afraid to not be dependent on grocery stores and all these other things.
Speaker B:Okay, that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think it's.
Speaker B:It's kind of.
Speaker B:I think one of my questions after that is like, what is that 20% for you with our child?
Speaker A:Oh, that's a good question.
Speaker A:Do you know what it is for you?
Speaker B:For me, it would more than likely be like shoes or maybe a blanket.
Speaker A:What do you mean by shoes?
Speaker B:Shoes.
Speaker B:Like, not an organic shoe.
Speaker A:Oh, like, like, not like lambskin shoes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like, there's really cute shoes out there for boys and girls.
Speaker B:And it's like, you know, I want to get the little cowboy boots for my son or daughter.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:And you know, those are not going to be organic.
Speaker B:If you're buying organic, you're spending $100 on a pair of cowboy boots.
Speaker B:That'll last 103.
Speaker A:That'd be like $1,000.
Speaker B:It'll last three months.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so I get what you're saying.
Speaker B:I want to go to ross, buy the $5 shoe, throw it on there.
Speaker B:Get my photo.
Speaker B:Throw it away.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:What would it be for you?
Speaker A:I think right now, in our lifestyle, it tends to be snacks.
Speaker A:You know, like, I am craving chips a lot, but Jeremiah gets me these, like, gnarly flavor, even though they're like their green wash chips or whatever.
Speaker A:But I actually like the healthier ones.
Speaker A:I don't like the super bad ones.
Speaker A:So I feel like it's more of a 5%, if that makes sense.
Speaker B:I'm on snack patrol.
Speaker B:My wife can't crave anything because I keep getting stuff.
Speaker A: g of, like, right now what my: Speaker A:And most of that is, like, food, because then that's what immediately affects our child the most.
Speaker A:And I wish I was, like, a hundred percent clean, but we can't afford it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I think instead of beating myself up every day and being sad that I can't eat the way that I wish I could, I'm just so thankful to have life and breath and to eat the protein that I'm able to eat.
Speaker A:And that's why I force myself to eat things I don't want to eat.
Speaker A:And because I know it's good for the baby.
Speaker A:Like, I had cod liver yesterday.
Speaker B:She's like, I don't want to eat this.
Speaker B:I'm like, you said that you're gonna eat this.
Speaker B:Your dad said it's gonna go bad in two days.
Speaker B:If you open the can.
Speaker B:You open the can.
Speaker B:So now you have to start.
Speaker A:I ate, like, more than, I think 8, 3/4 of a cod liver.
Speaker A:It was disgusting.
Speaker A:And I normally love eating it when I'm not pregnant, by the way.
Speaker A:Jeremiah knows I'll spread that on toast.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But being pregnant, it's a little different.
Speaker B:Um, you also didn't have your rosemary salt, which would have helped a lot.
Speaker A:Oh, my rosemary.
Speaker A:You mean my oil?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Blend rosemary into a paste with some olive oil.
Speaker A:It's so good.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that's what I mean.
Speaker A:Like, I suck it up to be a good mother and to provide for our child now.
Speaker A:But I honestly, like.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, I think the biggest thing, too, like, even on our registry, like, not everything's 100% organic and clean, but it's the stuff that doesn't matter as much.
Speaker A:Like the crib and the mattress and the sheets and the bedding that I won't, like, bend on because our child's gonna be on it a ton, more than half of his or her Life at that point is gonna be sleeping in those areas and on and like on our bed or wherever.
Speaker A:Like, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:So surfaces.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:That's not even a question.
Speaker A:And if I know.
Speaker A:I don't know if a surface will be clean.
Speaker A:I'll bring things with me that he or she can lay on.
Speaker A:And you know, same thing with being wrapped up.
Speaker A:Same thing with our.
Speaker A:We're doing reusable diapers.
Speaker A:Cloth diapers.
Speaker B:They're made out of reusable, not pre owned.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I don't mind if the outer shells pre owned because that doesn't matter.
Speaker A:But the alpaca, if there's a stain.
Speaker B:On it, it matters.
Speaker A:Jeremiah's a little more freaked out about reuse.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's like some, some things like bottles.
Speaker B:I don't want to reuse the tip.
Speaker B:I'll reuse the glass.
Speaker B:Well, no, or like the, the, the pump, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I told him I.
Speaker A:Because my breast pump is so expensive and he's like, oh.
Speaker A:And because I saw it at a sale like online and he was like, don't get it.
Speaker A:Let someone buy that for you.
Speaker A:So whatever.
Speaker A:I just don't care.
Speaker A:Like I'm all about that.
Speaker A:You can clean it, you know, so I'm gonna have to wash all of it with our organic soaps and stuff anyway.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So yeah, there are some things I don't.
Speaker A:That I really don't allow.
Speaker A:But yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker A:Like our kid doesn't need Vivo barefoot shoes.
Speaker B:No, definitely not.
Speaker A:They can run around barefoot like legitimately.
Speaker A:So I don't know.
Speaker A:Did that answer the question?
Speaker A:Did I kind of answer it?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I feel like I didn't give an exact thing because I don't know yet.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to be more lenient on.
Speaker B:That's okay.
Speaker A:But right now it'll be sugar.
Speaker B:It'll be donuts.
Speaker A:Geez.
Speaker A:No, it won't be.
Speaker A:He or she is not having any sugar.
Speaker A:Within their first two years of life.
Speaker B:They gotta go on daddy dates.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:But not to end the donut stores.
Speaker B:Gotta try all the gluten free donuts.
Speaker A:Anyway, I hope this episode was just so enlightening for everyone.
Speaker A:And yeah, this is the type of stuff I'll also be talking about in my ebook, but more specifically geared towards nursery.
Speaker A:A nursery.
Speaker A:And obviously prenatal and postnatal for parents just to feel like they have something to lean back on.
Speaker A:And the workbook's really nice because you can kind of answer like the way that Jeremiah asked me.
Speaker A:I'm going to have questions for you guys to be able to ask each other.
Speaker A:Or if you don't have a husband or you don't have a wife due to passing or things like that.
Speaker A:Just sad, unfee, unforeseen circumstances, then you can have these conversations with the Lord.
Speaker A:So just good, practical things and things that Jeremiah and I wish somebody sat down and gave us this information without us having to do all of it ourselves.
Speaker A:But that's okay because I'm the only one that I know that is passionate about this.
Speaker A:And all of my other friends who are super passionate about this don't live in this area.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I hope this was really informative for you guys.
Speaker A:And I will be updating on my Instagram soon when you can pre order the ebook and workbook together.
Speaker A:It's a combo deal and it won't be super expensive either.
Speaker A:It's more of a passion project and a way to be able to support us and baby, while I'm not working.
Speaker A:So I'm just trying to share all the knowledge that I'm learning.
Speaker A:And thank you again for praying for Jeremiah's work.
Speaker B:And yeah, also I just want to say, like, if you guys find any products or know of any amazing product that's in your hometown or your country.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, send it over to us so we could check it out also and possibly put it on our registry.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm all about learning.
Speaker A:I mean, if you guys follow me on Facebook and Instagram, you know, I've asked a million questions.
Speaker A:I've asked so many people what they love to do, what they don't love to do, what was a waste of money for the registry?
Speaker A:We are all about being as minimalistic as possible.
Speaker A:One, because we live in a small space, but two, we don't want to waste and have all these baby products and things bought for us and then be like, I didn't use even a quarter of these.
Speaker A:So, yeah, if you guys are interested in that, that's definitely.
Speaker A:Our registry is going to be on the ebook and explaining why we got what we got.
Speaker A:And people can kind of make judgment calls from there because we're all about that individualized, holistic health.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker B:Well, thank you, everybody.
Speaker B:Thank you, Savannah, for answering those questions and just teaching us so much.
Speaker A:That's what I'm here for.
Speaker A:But thank you guys for listening.
Speaker A:And we can't wait for next week's episode of Casting Seeds.
Speaker A:I'm not gonna say why, but, I mean, part of it is we'll be telling you the name and gender of our baby.
Speaker A:So I'm excited.
Speaker A:But we love you guys and and we can't wait to hear more of your prayer requests and updates.
Speaker A:And yes, for those of you who asked if people would like to help us and purchase things on our registry, we'd be so blessed and honored.
Speaker A:It is not a requirement, but for the people who've offered, we're very it's very, very sweet.
Speaker A:So just remember to add me on Instagram if you want anything like that or you'll be able to check it out on our website.
Speaker A:But until then, you guys, we love you and as always, keep Casting seeds.
Speaker A:We hope you enjoyed learning how to cultivate God's creation from a Biblical perspective.
Speaker A:Holistic health is to prioritize whole person wellness through Christ like and comment on what topics we're casting seeds or casting pearls.
Speaker B:If you found this information provided useful, subscribe to our podcast for future updates.
Speaker B:Leave a review to help us improve and share this episode.
Speaker B:We would like to remind you before we leave that perfect health cannot be attained in this world.
Speaker A:Only spiritual salvation through sanctification and repentance to God and turning away from sin will give you a perfect body in the kingdom come.
Speaker A:Nourish yourself in the Word, in prayer, and in Biblical fellowship daily.
Speaker B:Thank you for joining us today and a special thank you to our listeners for making this podcast possible.
Speaker A:Always praying.
Speaker B:Keep casting seeds.
