Wool Blanket

Market Overview

Textile and Apparel industry has a great contribution to the Turkish economy. The industry has been denominated as the locomotive of the Turkish Economy for years. Turkey’s textile and apparel exports continued rising recently after began falling in January, with elimination of EU and US quotas.

The industrialisation efforts of the 60’s and 70’s gave birth to the modern textile industry in Turkey. At the beginning, this sector was operating as small workshops. But the sector showed rapid development and during the 1970’s began exporting. Today, Turkey is one of the important textile and clothing producers and exporters in the world.

Turkey’s textile and clothing manufacturers began relocating production in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In the last three years, Turkish textile and apparel companies faced raising difficulties, after having substantially succeeded in the eighties and the first part of the nineties.

Chinese textile exports after a decades-old quota system limits ends on January 1, 2005 and the World Trade Organization believes that within three years the Asian giant could be producing over half of the world s textiles, up from 17% in 2003.

The end of the quota regime has spawned fears of widespread job losses around the world, including in Turkey, whose own textiles and apparel exports stand at around $20 billion a year.

Thus, it is necessary to understand the Turkish textile and apparel sector, the weakness and the strength it has in the World market.

Current scenario of Textiles and Apparels in Turkey

The textile and apparel sector has been the backbone of the Turkish economy with a vital role to play in the industrialisation process and market orientation of the economy in the last two decades. In the 1980s, it was the leading sector related to the global economy and the export revenues of this hard currency earning sector contributed substantially to the overall economy. The textile sector continued to be one of the major contributors to the Turkish economy, being one of the fastest growing sectors in the 1990s with an average 12.2% annual growth, while the Turkish economy had an average growth of 5.2% per year. Total investment in the sector exceeded US$ 150 billion, of which more than US$ 50 billion was invested in the last 5-10 years.

Textile industry started out in the 1960s in small workshops, have rapidly developed and transformed Turkey into a global competitor.

The total number of firms in the sector, dominated (95%) by the private sector, number around 44,000 and 25% of them are active exporters. The apparel industry is constituted mainly (80%) of small and medium sized firms whereas the technology-intensive textile production has been undertaken by large-scale companies. Today, around 20% of Turkey’s 500 largest companies are involved in the textiles and apparel sector.

Low labor costs, a qualified workforce, relatively cheap raw materials have played an important role in the significant growth of the sector; as well as a liberalized economic environment and export-led policies in the last two decades.

The production value of the sector is over US$ 20 billion. Employment in the sector is estimated to be about 4 million people (2.5 million employed directly and a further 1.5 million indirectly through the sub-sectors). Official statistics also reveals that around 500,000 employees in the sector due to unregistered labor force.

The apparel sector exports approximately 60% of its production. Capacity utilization rates are approximately 75% especially among exporting manufacturers.

Turkey ranks also among the top ten global producers of wool cloth, carpets, synthetic filament and fiber, polyester and polyamide filament. While Europe’s 3rd largest polyester producer is a Turkish-US joint venture, Turkey’s synthetics production mounts to 15% of Western Europe’s capacity.

Economic Contribution

Textile and clothing industry has a great contribution to the Turkish economy. For example, textile and clothing industry accounts for:

. 10% in GNP

. 40 % in industrial production

. 30% manufacturing labor force

. 35% of exports earning

The textile and apparel sector contributes over 20 billion USD to the Gross National Product. The sector is mostly important for its export earnings; its share in the country’s total exports has been between 33-39% since 1990.

The major export market for Turkish textile and apparel goods is the EU countries, which account for about 65% of total textile and apparel exports. Turkey ranks 2nd in apparel and textile imports to the EU having an 8.2% and 4.8% share in the EU’s total textile and apparel imports respectively as of 2003.

Export scenario

Textile and apparel exports increased by 14.6% on average per year during 1980-2003. Especially until the second half of 1990s, the sector’s exports increased at a rate above the increase in total exports of Turkey as well as the increase in global textile and apparel exports. In 2003, the sector’s exports totaled US$ 15.1 billion, having a share of 32.6% of the total exports. Exports rose to 23% in 2003, terms of value to 2002. The increasing share of apparels in exports since 1986 signifies the efforts to produce more value added products.

After the EU, the USA is a big and impending market. Turkey is the 19th apparel supplier and ninth textile supplier of USA with a 1.9% and 2.9% share respectively. Beside the EU and the US market, new markets are North African countries namely, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria; Middle East countries namely Syria, Israel and Saudi Arabia; Eastern European countries namely Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary; and CIS countries. The sector faces quotas only in the USA and Canada. The Russian Federation was also a big market for the Turkish textile and apparel sector till the financial crisis of August 1998. It was the 3rd biggest market for apparel and 9th for textile products in 1997. Russia is still a promising market for textile and apparel sectors with its high consumption potential that will come out in the following years especially after developments towards better integration to the world economy and WTO membership prospects.

Cotton market

Turkey is a very important cotton country, which is an advantage in raw materials, for the clothing industry. Turkey is a traditional cotton producer and uses this advantage in the textile and apparel sector. Turkey ranks 1st in Europe and 6th in the world cotton production with an average production of 800,000-900,000 tons per

year. Moreover, with the completion of irrigation projects within Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP), Turkey’s most comprehensive development program, current cotton production is expected to double by the year 2005.

During 2003-04 season Turkey produced 893,000 tons of cotton. About 30% of the cotton production is high quality long staple cotton and the rest is of medium quality. The cotton industry provides a competitive edge to the textiles industry, which utilizes cotton as its essential raw material.

Cotton Market Trends

Main destinations for cotton yarn exports are Italy, Portugal, Greece and Belgium and for cotton fabric the UK, Italy, USA and Belgium. Whilst Turkey used to be a net exporter of cotton, the trade balance reversed in 1992 and since then Turkey has been a net importer of cotton since domestic demand has persistently exceeded available stocks. Beside cotton, Turkey has a strong standing in synthetic fiber, wool and mohair productions. Turkey ranks ninth in synthetic fiber, eighth in wool and third in mohair production in the world.

Home Textile Industry

Besides the Turkish textile industry Turkish home textile industry has also shown a growth in terms of production and exports. In recent years the production of home textiles has shown a stable increase due to the rise in domestic and external demand for home textiles. Turkish home textile industry has recorded growth in terms of production and exports in recent years. Almost all kinds of home textiles are produced in Turkey. These may be listed as follows in order of their export values: bed linens, bedspreads, table linens, towels, bathrobes, voiles, curtains, lace, interior blinds, curtain or bed valances, blankets, cushions, pillows, quilts, eiderdowns.

In home textile sector, besides large scale firms there are many small and medium sized firms scattered all around the country. As a division of the textile industry, the home textiles sector accounts for 3.2% share in Turkey’s total exports and have been an important sub-sector for the Turkish economy. European countries are the most important markets for Turkey s home textile exports. At present Germany, the UK, France, the USA, Netherlands and Russian Federation are the major markets for Turkey s home textile exports. New markets such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and CIS countries are gaining more and more importance.

Foreign Investments in the Sector

The products of the Turkish textile and apparel sector have a good reputation in foreign markets as a result of the availability of high quality cotton in Turkey, wide usage of CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) and the increase in the number of qualified personnel.

Conclusion

The sector is aware of the trend in international markets towards increasing demand for healthier and more environmentally friendly products and tries to adapt itself to these developments by legal and technical regulations.

Nevertheless, it is hard to keep its competitive position in the world market full of emerging players. Thus, manufacturers have shifted their operations to value-added products and creation of brand names. Currently, 30% of Turkish manufacturers have their own designs and brands in international markets.

As current studies reveal, developed countries will have a decreasing share in global textile production while the developing countries will increase their manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing demands. It is also estimated that by 2005, the developing countries will increase their self-sufficiency in textile production. The US with an estimate of 200% increase in textile consumption is also estimated to have a 32% decrease in self-sufficiency by the year 2005.

Turkey, with its adaptability to European standards and regulations related to environment, health, quality, and safety is aiming to move into the production of more and more value added products, into an era in which the Turkish textile industry will be known for its quality trademarks and will be pricing a product for the Made in Turkey sign.

Calgary

If you are like most expectant mothers you want to create, design, and decorate a special place for your new baby, a place that speaks from your heart, is safe, and comfortable.

However, your good intentions could be endangering your new born. What most new mom’s don’t know is that redecorating means exposing your unborn child to toxic chemicals through; brand new paint, new carpet, washable vinyl, wallpaper, new crib with synthetic mattress, new no iron sheets, new easy care synthetic clothing, disinfectants, scented baby lotions, powders, synthetic fiber stuffed animals, plastic rattles all of which are made with toxic chemicals and are potential health risks to your new baby’s health.

Children and babies are more susceptible than adults to the adverse health affects of toxins because pound for pound since they are growing their little bodies are metabolizing faster than adults, they breath faster, their blood brain barrier that protects adults from toxins, is not yet fully developed, their detox system, the liver and kidneys are still developing which means that their bodies have a difficult time eliminating toxins so the toxins are stored in their fatty tissue.

Furthermore, babies and small children play and crawl on the floor and ground where many toxins are found. They put their hands and toys into their mouths which increases their exposure to toxic elements in the home. They don’t know what is toxic and what is safe.

Think about it. At no other time in history have there been more toxic chemicals in our environment. The most toxic environments are indoors where humans spend 65% of their time. New mom’s and babies are at greater risk of long term exposure to toxic chemicals in the home because they spend 95% of their time in the home. That is why it is important to start now protecting yourself and your newborn baby. The best place to start is in the nursery.

I’m going to start with the crib because in the beginning your baby spends 90% of the time in the crib thus being exposed to toxic chemicals for prolonged periods. Some chemicals used to make synthetic mattresses are phthalates and PBDE – flame retardants, polyurethane, foam, polyester, plastic, formaldehyde. They all emit dangerous toxins that your baby breathes in or absorbs through the skin when in the crib.

Some examples of the dangerous chemicals mentioned above and the adverse health risks:

* Phthalates. Studies show they have been linked to damage of the liver, kidney and lungs, harmful to the reproductive system, and developing testicles. They are absorbed through the skin and by inhalation. Phthalates are found in plastics, flooring, cosmetics, nail polish, perfume, hair spray, to name a few.

* PBDE, fire retardant, has been linked to brain development and thyroid problems in lab rats. PBDE is found in most furniture fabrics and woods, cabinets, beds and in children’s pajamas.

* According to the EPA the health effects of formaldehyde include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing, fatigue, skin rash, severe allergic reactions and may cause cancer. In asthma suffers formaldehyde has been known to cause asthma attacks. Formaldehyde is used in many stains and other synthetic materials.

However, don’t worry there are many solutions for a safe crib. Look for mattresses made of natural cotton or wool. Find blankets, sheets, clothing, and toys that are made of natural or organic cottons and wools. When buying natural buy organic, when possible.

If you can’t find a natural mattress for baby then use a piece of thick cotton material to put over the synthetic mattress and under the fitted sheet. Thus, the fitted sheet for baby’s mattress will go over the thick cotton fabric and the mattress. If possible use organic cotton. If you can’t find organic cotton wash the thick cotton cloth several times so that you can wash out any toxins and pesticides.

Furthermore, when buying the crib be sure to buy something with a safe non-toxic finish. Maple is said to be the least toxic wood. See if you can find a crib made of maple with a non-toxic finish.

Do not ever paint the room yourself. Breathing in the toxic fumes from the paint can harm your unborn child even if the paint is no or low VOC (volatile organic compounds).

Sanding and scraping the walls while your pregnant may expose you to lead dust which can be extremely dangerous to your unborn child since their brains and central nervous system aren’t yet fully developed. In addition, your unborn child may store the lead in their fatty tissue because their liver and kidney’s aren’t yet fully developed and able to eliminate it. Even children under the age of 6 are vulnerable to lead poisoning because their organs aren’t yet fully developed. Exposure to low levels of lead have produced adverse health affects like low IQ, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, stunted growth, attention deficit disorder (ADD), impaired hearing, and kidney damage. High levels of lead exposure have contributed to mental retardation, a coma and even death.

Get someone else to paint and sand the room for you. Make sure they use water based, low or no VOC (volatile organic compound) paint. Similarly, due to increased environmental regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency paint and stain companies have been forced to reduce the VOC’s in their products. However, the VOC levels are still dangerous in conventional paints so make sure that you ask for low or no VOC paint or stain. Most paint companies now have a line of no or low VOC paints.

What are VOC’s? For years conventional paints needed VOC’s to perform. These VOC’s are toxic and have contributed to indoor air pollution. Paints with high VOC’s emit low levels of VOC’s into the air for many years to come. Moreover, VOC’s have been linked to nausea, cancer, damage to liver and kidney, headaches, nose and throat irritation to name a few. For more information go to the Environmental Protection Agency, at http://www.epa.gov.

Be sure that you finish painting at least one month before baby is born. To dry paint use a room space heater. By drying the paint you will help the paint to harden so it doesn’t release toxins into the air.

Absolutely stay away from new carpet and flooring, keep what is already in your home. New carpet is among the most toxic material in your home, it is treated with many different chemicals. If you absolutely have to put down new flooring use pre-finished hardwood, re-claimed wood, natural linoleum, bamboo all with water based non-toxic finishes. The best finish is water based as it is less toxic than oil based finishes. When you are shopping ask the manufacture if the finish is water or oil based.

Toys are difficult because you want to give your child everything. However, most toys are made with plastics which can be toxic. The best bet is to do what Toucan Sam says, “Follow your nose.” If the toy smells weird or toxic don’t buy it. The best toys are wood or made of natural fibers like cotton or wool.

Diapers. Beware of disposable diapers. They are made of plastics and synthetic fibers. Some companies add unknown deodorizing chemicals that can be irritating to your baby’s skin.

Common health problems linked to disposable diapers are diaper rash; chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, and babies pull diapers apart and put them into their mouths and noses. The synthetic, plastic materials don’t allow babies skin to breath and thus contribute to diaper rash. Because disposable diapers feel dryer than cloth to parents, many parents postpone changing the diaper longer which means the bacteria from the urine remains in contact with baby’s delicate skin longer. This also contributes to increased cases of diaper rash.

Since disposable diapers don’t breathe and provide proper circulation of air to baby’s skin, ammonia from the bacterial breakdown of urine is unable to escape causing further irritation to your baby’s delicate skin. In addition, disposable diapers that have been bleached are known to have dioxins. Studies show that dioxins can cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and immune system suppression. Moreover, once dioxins enter the body they are stored in the fatty tissue where they stay, because they aren’t able to breakdown and dissolve in fats, they are a “rock solid” stable chemical according to the World Health Organization.

On the other hand diapers made from natural materials breathe and give proper circulation to baby’s skin and parents change them more often so they contribute to your baby’s health and comfort. Furthermore, the natural fabric is soft and comfortable against baby’s fragile skin.

Avoid toxic nail polish, perfumes, hair spray and deodorant while pregnant. I would avoid them altogether even after your pregnant, but particularly while you are pregnant. Conventional nail polishes and perfumes contain phthalates that can be absorbed by inhaling, through the skin, and ingested when they contaminate food. Phthalates are banned from nail polish in Europe. Phthalates have been linked to liver and kidney damage, damage of the lungs and the reproductive system, especially the developing testes.

Stay away from conventional hair sprays, hair gels and deodorants they contain toxic chemicals that can harm your baby. A rule of thumb I follow is if it smells toxic it probably is. Avoid it.

Steer clear of conventional cleaning and laundry products all have toxic chemicals. The most toxic conventional household cleaning products are: air fresheners, stain removers for clothing, anything that says anti bacterial, as it contains pesticides which are intended to be toxic and kill, chlorine bleach, ammonia and anything that smells toxic and strong. Again “follow your nose” and if it smells toxic, it probably is.

Simple solutions:

Instead of air freshener open a window or find where the odor is coming from and eliminate the source. Put a few drops (about 5 to 10) of pure, organic essential oil in a spray bottle of distilled water and use it as air freshener. Another trick for freshening air is put a few drops of essential oil on a light bulb that is going to be turned on. For stains on clothing, use clear liquid non-toxic soap on the stain as soon as you notice it. Simply poor the soap right on the stain, rub it in and put it into the laundry basket until laundry time. Most times the stain comes right out when you wash it. Stains become stains when they stay on the fabric untreated not because you aren’t using toxic stain remover.

To rid your home of bacteria and viruses use simple warm water and soap, if it is good enough for hospitals to kill germs it is good enough for your home. Instead of chlorine bleach try non-chlorine bleach it works great without the toxic odor.

Many people say to me, ya, ya but families have been using toxic chemicals in their homes to clean for generations and they are fine. I say to them that it might seem like they are fine, but that doesn’t explain why asthma in children has increased 40% since the 80’s and it is being linked to environmental toxins and dioxins. There has been a rise in non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (a type of cancer that is unpredictable), and it can be linked to toxins in the environment.

Moreover, there has been a measured increase in the presence of pesticides in human blood. Remember this is dangerous because pesticides are created to kill anything living which includes plants, animals and humans. Every 2 to 5 years levels of PBDE’s, fire retardants in humans have been doubling. In North America the levels are 40 times higher than on other continents. As mentioned above PBDE’s are linked to brain and thyroid problems in lab rats and are stored in fatty tissue. Furthermore, babies are being born with toxins already in their bodies and each generation is more toxic than the previous generation.

It isn’t necessary to use toxic chemicals in your home when there are healthy safe alternatives, especially in a home with a baby and children. Your health is all you have and protecting yourself and your new born from toxic chemicals in your home is an added layer of health insurance as well as added peace of mind.

“Think and go green,”

TheGreenQueen

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Micro Pigs make fantastic pets if looked after well, you should always be sure this is the pet for you. You can never ask too many questions. They are intelligent, friendly and can even be taught tricks like dogs.

Micro pigs should be bought in pairs, unless you have a dog or other animal living in your home, a micro pig will be miserable if alone without a mate (must be another pet if not buying a pair). This is not us trying to sell more than one pig as we do not need to, demand is so high for them, it is genuinely in the best interest of the pig to be kept in pairs. Remember they are not pets for children they will be friendly with children but like any animal bought into the home if you have young children that may want to climb all over the pig it could cause the pig to get grumpy, so adult supervision is a must.

You need a carrier with straw in the bottom, if you prefer you can put a blanket in the bottom of the carrier. If it’s a long journey home provide water for your micro pig, your baby will not need food until you get home. Remember your new baby will be tiny.

You should confine your new micro pig/pigs to a smallish area whilst they get used to new surroundings and people, gradually you can allow them more roaming (normally 2-3 days).

You should ensure that your baby pig is kept warm and has no draughts, plenty of straw this is including if your baby is going in an outside shed etc, a snuggle safe might be an idea (it heats in the microwave and stays warm for about 8 hours)

We feed all our micro pigs and piglets on sow nuts for pigs, these contain all the essential vitamins and minerals to keep your new baby healthy, they are also non-fattening, we will of course be providing you with a 25 kilo bag this will see you through around 3-4 weeks. Ask your breeder to recommend places to buy sow nuts. They will last around 3-4 weeks so you will need to keep them fresh.

To start with a handful of sow nuts will be sufficient a baby micro pig does not need a lot of food, as he/she grows older they will eat around half a dog bowl of the sow nuts, they only need feeding once per day and morning is best. You can give your pig small treats but don’t overdo it and try and stick to low fat treats. Do not feed your pig any meat products, anything with high salt content. For example you can give your new piglet fruit, bread, and vegetables. Pigs like dogs will respond well to food given as a reward. Please do not over feed your baby micro pig, they will get fat!

Your new micro piglet should have fresh water available to him/her at all times. We are currently using automatic water feeders and they work very well for our micro piggies.

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If your dog licks excessively, you can easily stop this behavior once you understand the root cause of his excessive licking.

In order to get to the bottom of this mysterious and compulsive dog behavior you will want to look at two root causes of excessive licking

Medical- A dog that is excessively licking may be doing this because of a medical condition such as a skin allergy, dry skin, irritation to the pads on his paws as a result of contact with ice, snow or the salt on a road. He may be having an allergic reaction to cleaning fluids, a sensitivity to certain soaps or be in discomfort due to a more serious condition such as canine arthritis, common in senior dogs.

It’s a good idea to take a visit with your dog to the veterinarian to rule out any medical reason for his excessive licking. If there is a medical condition, your vet will likely prescribe a simple remedy that will provide relief to your dog and stop your dog’s excessive licking.

Behavioral- Non medical causes for excessive licking in dogs are most likely behaviorally based. Many dog trainers feel that the cause is anxiety. Your dog may lick excessively so that someone will notice him, as a show of affection, or to give you a message. That message in dog language can mean a number of things, such as , I want to go for a walk, I love you, I want to play, I want food, I feel anxious, or I miss you and want you to come back. This last one manifests itself as separation anxiety when you are not at home.

2 Ways to Stop Your Dog’s Excessive Licking Today

Once you identify the specific root cause of your dog’s excessive licking you can take steps to stop it. Let’s use separation anxiety as an example. If you conclude that your dog licks excessively when you leave the house, you can easily correct this behavior.

Start leaving he house for short intervals without making a fuss when you leave. No announcements or good byes. Just leave and come back without fanfare in 5 minutes. Then repeat the process and extends it to 10 minutes. Do it again, this time for 20 minutes, then again for an hour. Before long you will be able to leave the house and return a few hours to several hours later without your dog reacting by excessive licking.

Another simple technique you can use to stop your dog’s excessive licking is to divert his attention. When he starts to lick his paws, your face, the floor or anything at all, catch his attention and throw a ball for him to fetch. He’ll soon forget about licking because he’s having more fun playing ball !.

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One of the things that you may notice about toys for very small people, such as babies and toddlers, is that they all seem to include a variety of different materials and textures. They are likely to also include a range of bright colours, and also to make a variety of sounds. It is clearly important that small children are stimulated as much as possible, and it seems that a full on assault on their senses is the best way to do this!

Children’s brains are hard wired to learn, but that’s about all there is wired into their brains to begin with. All of the senses are working, but the brain has not yet had the chance to learn what they all mean. Being born is a bit like being sat in a quiet, dimly lit room one minute, and then suddenly having every wall of the room lit up as an array of dozens of television sets, all broadcasting a different channel, and all at full volume. The senses are suddenly overwhelmed, and the brain has to rapidly accept all this new information and learnt o block out as much as possible, to allow the focus on what is important, and to then identify the different senses and ‘tune’ them so that they work most effectively.

A child’s sense of touch exists, of course, but they don’t actually understand what it means. The nerve endings are all in place, and sensations are sent to the brain, but since the brain has not had any former knowledge of what these messages mean, it is a bit like tuning a radio in to a foreign station, when you have no idea what language it is. It takes time to make sense of the noise and identify it as words, then to identify patterns, then to refine your understanding of those patterns, and eventually to begin attributing meaning to those patterns. The same is true of a baby learning to use its senses, and touch is a case in point.

Providing rough and smooth surfaces, silky and patterned and so forth, you provide your child with a wider range of patterns and examples, which helps the brain break down the torrent of information into familiar, recognisable concepts and ideas, such as rough, smooth, patterned, lined etc.

Many baby’s toys provide this stimulation, and it is a good idea to look out for these, and provide as many examples of different textures as you can. Even finding teddy bears and stuffed animals that have a variety of textures, or at least contrasting textures, can be helpful. So that cotton, wool, nylon and other different materials provide them with constant stimulation.

Of course, it’s also possible to make your own examples, by sewing together a blanket of patches from old clothes. Rather than binning old clothes, cut squares from them, and sew these together, if you are able, into a small ‘feely’ blanket. Textures such as a cotton shirt, denim, a woolly square and so on will give your child familiar textures to experiment with, that may also remind them of you.

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The importance of Imaginative play in child’s development cannot be stressed enough. In our modern overly technological society a child’s imagination is often paralyzed with fast-moving pictures of a television set or brightly colored 3-D worlds of computer games. Often, parents concentrate on getting their preschoolers school-ready by paying a lot of attention to learning the alphabet and numbers but forgetting how important it is to nurture their child’s imagination. A number of psychological studies have shown that pretend play prepares children for life in the real world because during play children learn important life skills like taking turns, sharing responsibility, empathy and many others. So let’s see what games we can come up with to foster our children’s imagination.

House/Cave/Camping Tent

To set up this game you will need two chairs, one big blanket and a flashlight. You can also use a table instead of the chairs.

If you are in a “Cave” or a “Tent” gather some food supplies and water and prepare for an adventure. Turn off all the lights in the room and leave the flashlight on, search the dark room with the flashlight, can you see any wild animals lurking in the woods? What can you hear? Can you hear the birds and that waterfall nearby? You can even make a pretend fire and toast some real marshmallows over it, yum!!

If you are in a “House” you can invite some friends over (furry animals, dolls), put some pillows and blankets on the floor and have a slumber party!

Car

Cut out the wheel from a cardboard box or use anything round you might find around the house. You can sit on a chair (wind the windows down, take down the roof – it’s a convertible after all!) or “drive” around on foot. You can even have a race! Ask mum if she wants a ride!

Family

This game is wonderful as it allows the child to swap places with the parent and become mummy or daddy for a short while. You can play it with a doll or mum and dad can play the role of the child for a change. Notice how your child behaves during this game, it will be fascinating to hear what they say and see what they do, how they discipline or reward you – it will be like looking at yourself in the mirror because they, of course, will be mimicking what you do and how you behave on a daily basis. Great for building self-esteem and awareness of self and others.

Boat/Ship

Anything in the house can become a boat or a ship with a little bit of imagination. You can turn two chairs pushed together, a couch or even a bed into a boat or a ship. Get all the passengers on board (do they all have their tickets?) and don’t forget your supplies. Take some fishing rods and a bucket with you so you can do some fishing (make fishing rods out of thin tree branches and some rope or wool thread).

If you want something different on your next trip, a boat can become a train or even an airplane.

Doctor’s Office

Those toy doctor’s kits are excellent for pretend play but even if you don’t have one you can collect some household objects to play this game. For example, a pen and pad to write out prescriptions, a plastic syringe to administer medicine or even give those ouchy shots, a small jar of jelly beans in case a patient has a headache or a belly ache and needs a pill, stretchy bandages to tape those serious wounds and band-aids for small cuts. In the absence of a toy stethoscope you can make one out of a simple empty toilet roll by cutting one open, rolling it into a thinner tube and gluing it back together – you can use it as a stethoscope or to check out the ears and the throat.

Shopping

You will need a shopping bag, a wallet with some coins in it, groceries, like a bag of pasta shapes, some apples and bananas, a can of peas and a box of cookies and a cash register made out of a shoe box or any other useful box you can find around the house. Take turns being a shopkeeper and a shopper. If you want your child to learn some math and counting along the way, you can make some pretend paper money out of paper, make sure the numbers on your pretend paper bills are large and clear. Make price labels on all the groceries in the shop and try to pay correct money for everything and give the right change. Make a shopping list so you can check things off the list when you put them in your shopping bag.

Cooking

For this fun and exciting game you will need pots, pans and other cooking utensils. Other things that might help are grains like rice, lentils or dry beans, pasta shapes and even cereal like cheerios. Put the ingredients into the pot, add salt and pepper, stir. When the meal is ready, get some plates out and invite friends for dinner.

Helping mum or dad with real cooking is also lots of fun, like beating the eggs for an omelette or tearing up lettuce for a salad.

Dress-up

Lots of old clothes is, of course, what’s needed for this game – anything from skirts and shoes to hats and bags. But the best way to play is to pick a theme and dress accordingly. “Kings and Queens” is a fun theme to dress up for but you will need to make your own crowns and capes. The best thing about this game is that you can use as much dress jewellery as you have lying around the house.

Birthday Party

A pretend Birthday cake and party food can be made from play-doh and you can even use real candles with it. Invite all the stuffed furry animals and all the dolls that live at your house to your party, perhaps even some real friends can come if they are visiting at the time. To make the party more fun you can have a disco afterwards – turn some music on and dance together.

In the park

The park provides so many opportunities to play creatively and imaginatively. Use anything you might find – sticks, stones, dry leaves. You can make little houses out of everything you find, you can even play the shopping or the cooking game – sticks, dry leaves, grass and little flowers make perfect ingredients for a yummy soup.

There are as many of these games as there are objects around you and situations you encounter every day. Eventually, when your child knows that you are free and open to pretend and be anything they like they will suggest their own ideas, like pretending to be butterflies or horses, for example. Don’t be shy, spread your wings and fly, stretch your legs and gallop away!

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Antique wood stoves provide decoration and can still be used for heating and cooking. Stoves from as long ago as the 1870’s are available for purchase in antique stores and over the Internet. Antique wood stoves are collector’s items that are very valuable to some people. They are also great additions to restored homes, hotels, or museums.

There are many different types of antique wood stoves available. Some of the most popular types are Victorian models and pot bellied stoves.

Victorian wood stoves are made of cast iron and feature a wood-burning oven. They were often used for cooking and were usually kept in the kitchen. They are often large and rectangular; some have shelves and ledges above the oven that are used for storage. Victorian wood stoves are often elaborately decorated, with silver and gold inlays complimenting the iron body.

Pot belly wood stoves are shorter, squatter and smaller, and can be distinguished by their barrel-shaped body. Pot belly stoves have a round oven in the center of the body. These stoves are usually less elaborate than Victorian stoves, but they are still decorated with engravings and designs.

Many antique wood stoves are still in working order. People often use these stoves to cook food or heat their homes. The basic designs of most types of wood stoves have not been changed much over the last century, so people who use antique wood stoves are not giving up any type of modern convenience.

Antique wood stoves look great in hotels with a historic décor. Many tourist attractions such as museums and old restored homes have antique wood stoves on display.

Antique wood stoves are valuable for several reasons. They are rare, making them collector’s items. Most of them are still functional and they can add authenticity to historically themed hotels and tourist spots.

Ruth Chris

Modern life is ‘plasticized,’ conveying enormous benefits to our lives in hygiene, convenience and colour. Plastics are everywhere within the home, in food packaging, cooking utensils, children’s toys, building materials and household equipment. Plastics result from the petrochemical industry (non-sustainable and environmentally disastrous) and are environmentally hazardous throughout their lifecycle; starting with their production which involves large-scale pollution, releasing potent chemicals such as dioxins, phthalates and toxic metals into our environment; and affecting human, animal, plant and aquatic life. Plastic is given different qualities through treatment with a cocktail of other terrifying chemicals, all of which can leach out of the individual products and into air (you know that new plastic smell?), water or something in close proximity to the plastic. And then what do we do?

We wrap our food up in it! Most supermarket food is placed on polystyrene trays, packed and smothered in cling film, displayed in glossy punnets, or preserved in tins lined with plastics. Next we eat the food (and possibly the leached plastic chemicals) and chuck the packaging into the bin. From here the plastics stay with us forever, being largely un-biodegradable. Tiny fragments of plastics are accumulating in the Pacific Ocean and wreaking havoc throughout the food chain. If the plastics are burnt, then they release a stream of unpronounceable and highly toxic chemicals into the environment (posing a huge risk to the health of fire-fighters, and possibly proving fatal to occupants of burning buildings who inhale PVC fumes). Plastics are quite literally a problem that will not go away.

They appear to be so useful and hygienic, but can seep dangerous chemicals into the foods which they come into contact with, possibly exacerbated by heat (think oven-safe and microwaveable packaging). Recent studies across America (including the University of Rochester and the National Centre for Environmental Health) have suggested that phthalates (chemicals found in plastics such as Clingfilm, vinyl and plastic bags) can cross the placenta, damaging the sexual development of male children (this is also recognised in other mammals) resulting in physical and possibly behavioural problems. A team of Swedish researchers have linked the household use of plastics to an increase in eczema, asthma and other allergies, and there is concern that the immature bodies of children and babies are at increased risk of toxic damage and build up of plastic chemicals, found in food packaging, toys and drinking bottles. (Several types of plastics have been phased out of use for toys of young children due to their health-risk). Further research has indicated a link between the use of plastics around food and the development of certain cancers such as breast cancer, immune problems, and even infertility.

So what can you do to reduce the amount of plastic in your life?

1) Ditch plastic bags, and always carry cloth bags and baskets; for fairly traded organic cotton bags try http://www.bishopstontrading.co.uk Keep bags in your car, and fold cotton bags up small in your handbag.

2) Chuck out the cling film and use unbleached brown paper and grease-proof paper or recycled aluminium foil to pack sandwiches and store foods in the fridge. Buy unbleached paper bags at http://www.soilassociation.org The paper bags can be reused several times and eventually composted or recycled with your newspapers.

3) Have your vegetables delivered to you to cut down on supermarket packaging; http://www.riverford.co.uk mostly use unbleached paper bags, cardboard punnets and boxes, cutting out a vast amount of packaging and waste. Ask your supermarket to provide unbleached paper bags, or take your own; my local shops are quite used to my strange behaviour by now! Try using local markets, fruit and veg shops or your farmers market and take your own baskets and bags; I get sellers to tip stuff straight into my bag if they do not have paper bags. A further bonus is that less stuff ends up in your bin, and you don’t spend an hour unpacking everything.

4) Drink tap water in stead of mineral water, and send kids to school with a drink in a metal sports container rather than plastic bottles. If you can’t bear the tap water, then buy the larger 5 litre mineral water bottles, or buy a water filter.

5) Go shabby Chic; spring-clean all of the plastic stuff out of the kitchen and invest in wooden spoons and chopping boards (both of which draw bacteria into the wood and kill it), have some fun choosing ceramic mixing bowls and other kitchen stuff. Look on Ebay for old-fashioned stoneware jelly moulds, and other traditional kitchen things. Don’t forget, Christmas is coming, so you can ask for some new things as presents.

6) Sometimes, having children seems to involve surrounding yourself with mountains of multi-coloured plastic, but with some careful buying you can choose safer products for your family and friends, especially for tiny vulnerable new babies. Look out for traditional rag dolls, and knitted woollen teddies, or visit http://www.naturalnursery.co.uk Buy young children wooden toys (www.borndirect.co.uk ) which can be safely chewed and sucked, discourage use of dummies (I know it isn’t that easy, I have been there) and source PVC-free, and glass baby bottles from http://www.greenbabyco.com Also you may wish to avoid chemical ‘fleece’ blankets and go for natural fibres http://www.borndirect.co.uk

7) Choose natural fibres in general. ‘Fleece’ materials may be extremely cheap, but are made of plastic derivatives (some are made of recycled plastic bottles). Synthetic clothes are an environmental nightmare because not only do they release dangerous chemicals during their processing, but they are almost indestructible, do not biodegrade and burn to release noxious chemicals back into the environment. In fact clothing is another area which you may wish to think about. It is worth considering that school clothes are thought to be some of the most chemically toxic items of clothing which you can buy. I know it is expensive, but go for real cotton, wool, linen and other natural fibres where possible.

Cutting down of the amount of plastic in your life will help you to eat more healthily (lots of local fruit and veg), give you a great excuse for a clear-out and a shopping spree, and help you work toward a more sustainable, and healthful lifestyle. There has been so much concern in recent years about the negative impact of ‘plastic living’ on our health, that there is plenty of choice when looking for alternatives.

Until next time, happy shopping!

Text Service

It’s not always possible to remove kool aid stains from carpet. All “red stains” are difficult to get out. Red coloring used in pop, candy, and other foods generally doesn’t flush out with water. However, if you try the methods used by professional carpet cleaners, you may get that stain out.

First, use a shop-vac to suck some of the kool aid out, if you can get to the stain quickly. This can stop the spill from entering the carpet fibers. Getting out some or all of the remaining stain takes time.

Start with Dawn dishwashing detergent – the original blue type. Add five or six drops to two cups of warm water. Dampen a white cotton cloth with this solution and lay it over the stain. Then place a clothes iron on top of it, set on “low”.

Let this sit for fifteen minutes, and don’t press down. The red stain will start to wick up into the cloth. You should see red on the cloth. Fold it to use a clean part or apply a new cloth, and repeat the process.

It takes patience to get red stains out of carpet, but even year-old Kool Aid stains have been removed using this method. Repeat the process again and again until there is no more transfer of the red stain to the cloth. Rinse the spot with water, blot it up, and dry it quickly. Quick drying prevents any stain deeper down from wicking up to the surface.

To summarize: use clean white cotton cloth (several), low heat, and don’t press or rub. Let the color wick up into the cloth at its own rate, then rinse and dry the area quickly. You can, at the very least, lighten Kool Aid stains and other red stains in carpet using this technique.

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Have you wanted to start a small farm? Interested in organic farming? Want to start a country Bed & Breakfast? Would you like to produce a nature-related home business income stream and make money from your garden? Any or all of these are more attainable now than ever.

Their size can range from an urban rooftop to a small town backyard to small acreage in the country. It’s wonderful to have the sunlight and birdsong be your “office surroundings,” and to tend the earth’s life force while high class restaurants, world travelers, or your local community eagerly pay premium prices for your organic, heirloom and sustainable products.

You can grow many crops: Vintage cutting or edible flowers, rare ethnic and culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, heirloom and gourmet vegetables. There’s a growing trend among those from urbanites to small town dwellers to those with small rural acreage (or in the process of buying it), who are starting sustainable home businesses that are earth and family friendly, or living the country life as real farmers again with rural traditions and the sound of birds and crickets from their porches. The huge demand for local, sustainable, and heirloom and gourmet foods, plus the growing demand for hand-made artisan foods and sustainably produced unique flowers and other unusual ornamentals is fueling this trend.

Farm examples include one who grows the crop used to make brooms, and sells hand-made ornamental or vintage brooms from his own crop. Or the spa mini-farmer who grows fresh ingredients for the facials for her local spas and estheticians, such as lavender, cucumber, and even pumpkin now proven to benefit the skin. Or the couple who raise tiny Shetland sheep that produce wool in many natural colors, and make hand-woven blankets sold for high prices online and to tourists who visit their area.

Whether you’re planning to start a small farm, begin organic farming, start a country Bed & Breakfast, or earn money from your garden, to begin making this dream come true, start with the concept of the “Micro Eco-Farm” that brings them all together. It’s the 21st century version of sustainably producing from the land in larger quantities in smaller space than anytime in history, because with technology and world travel, humans have now discovered and blended the best growing techniques that combine ancient discoveries (such as Chinese or French intensive growing methods) with cutting edge research on creating living soils and sustainable food supplies in smaller spaces than ever before understood.

To start a small farm, use micro eco-farming techniques to begin from as small as a half acre, and even stop there, or grow into a few more acres if you have the land. Start in your spare time until your business has built up enough to let you quit your office job. Micro eco-farming involves organic farming techniques, but adds beyond organics to make your mini-farm more productive than any farm in humankind’s history.

To start a country Bed & Breakfast, plan your B&B’s breakfast menus first, then design the small farm to grow the menu’s products, the organic farm that will wrap around your B&B from the information gleaned from your menu. You may want to raise laying hens, blueberries, strawberries, a few antique apple and pear trees, an herbal tea garden, and a couple dairy goats. Your B&B customers will love this small farming demonstration and setting, and it all “synergizes.” The goats and hens will provide organic fertilizer along with ingredients for breakfast omelets and yogurt, the chickens and goats can eat prunings from the plant crops, which will provide your customers with freshly baked blueberry muffins, strawberry jam and pear butter (which can also be sold as a product to your customers) and spicy apple bread and apple cider.

To make money from your garden, the possibilities are endless. You can grow a cutting garden with a flower stand out front to earn money from your garden, or sell the flower bouquets to in-town B&Bs that don’t grow their own, or to restaurants and hotels; sell high priced rare gourmet food crops to nearby five star restaurants, such as rare edible flowers or fresh ethnic food crops.

Whether you plan to start a small farm, earn money in organic farming, make money from your garden, or open a country Bed & Breakfast, your livelihood will be helping restore the planet by maintaining green life and living soil to your outdoor “office.”

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