Do You Buy Cruelty Free?

What does it mean to buy cruelty free? 
Buying cruelty free is the buying of products that have not been tested by non-human animals.


When buying soaps, shampoos and conditioners, check the label to make sure the product has not been tested on animals.


What do you mean by 'testing on animals'?
Many manufacturers use animals, especially rabbits and mice, to test the irritability of the product. They rub the product into the animal's eyes to see what reaction they get, or they feed large amounts of the soap to the animal before returning them to their cold cages.


So, next time you go shopping, buy products that have not been tested on animals.
Check the label if you are not sure.


For more information visit http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/default.aspx
This site included lots of information, including a list of cruelty-free companies.

Twenty

This post marks the twentieth post on this blog. To celebrate, I am including this list of 20 things you can do to change the world. Inspired by the list at http://www.lyved.com/life/20-ways-to-change-the-world/ 

20 Ways to Change the World

1 – Adopt – Adopt someone. Why? It shows that there are people out there who truly care, and it will change your life as well as the adopted. You don't have to adopt a baby - adopt a child, a teenager... don't just make their day, make their life!

2 – Just Be Nice – It sounds easy and simple and it is. However, it makes a huge difference in the world, so just let go - smile, laugh, open doors for people and let your compliments fly! What goes around comes around, so be nice and it will improve everyone's lives - including yours.

3 – Donate – You can donate so much. Time, money, food, blood... To donate time, visit http://www.landcareonline.com.au/ . To donate money, visit http://www.caritas.org.au  or http://www.oxfam.org.au/. To donate food, visit your local St. Vincent De Paul store or play the free quiz game at http://freerice.com/ - for every answer you get right, FreeRice donates 10 grains of rice to charity. 

4 – Be Positive – Smile! There is a silver lining on every cloud - you just have to look. Find it and bring some positivity into the world!

5 – Listen – Listening can heal heartache almost as well as chocolate! Listening teaches people a lot, and being listened to can make a world of difference to your self esteem. So listen. Even if it is your maths teacher explaining how to divide fractions (flip the second fraction and multiply denominators together and numerators together).

6 – Start a Business – Yes, it makes money. And yes, you could be famous. But you could do more than that. Employ the people that society ignores, donate proceeds, or some of them, to charity. Make a difference!

7 – Create Art – Write. Draw. Sing. Act. Paint. Make the world a brighter, more interesting place to live. Arts provoke positivity - so paint the world!

8 – Get Vocal – Speak out! It can be as big as holding a rally or leading a protest, or as small as writing letters to your local newspaper editor or sending letters. For a start, email the link of this blog to ten friends and tell them to pass it on - raise awareness and change the world, guys! Silence doesn't help anything except a sleeping baby.

9 – Be a Great Parent – Teach your children about the world and about how they can change it. Teach them to love, to listen, to understand and to speak out for justice.

10 - Pick Up Trash – Saving the world, one packet of Cheese and Bacon Balls at a time. Or are we destroying the world? For no one seems to pick up rubbish or put it in the bin in the first place. Come on guys! We can do this! We can fix the mess we have made and regain our pride. And our future.

11 – Talk – Talk small talk. 'Hello. My name is Emma. Nice day, isn't it. Oh, that breeze is chilly. Cute dog you have there.' Or talk big talk. Talk about yourself, your life, your beliefs. Then listen in return, as they did for you.

12 – Be an Inspiration – Live on the edge guys! Inspire others - write a book or paint a picture, turn the three somersaults in a row someone said you never would. Then blog about it and inspire even more!

13 – Become a Teacher – You don't have to have a Bachelor of Education. You can teach your kids, or your friends, or your neighbours... teach about life, from life, for life. Of course, becoming a certified school teacher is an amazing ambition - it changes to so many lives. Not old enough to be a school teacher? Then appreciate the ones that teach you.

14 – Become a Surrogate Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Whatever – There are children out there who are alone. No mother, no father. Abandoned. You can help. Fill the gap and be that someone they never had - visit http://www.bbbs.org for more information.

15 – Vote – Vote in your local elections and national elections. Vote for justice and a candidate that will follow through. Vote knowing that some change is for the better.

16 – Don’t Be Judgmental- Come on guys! We have all done it. We have all judged the book by it's cover - seen the girl with glasses (me) and immediately thought "nerd". Don't do it! It makes people feel awful, and it can lead to circumstances as serious as suicide. So get to know people before you judge them.

17 – Travel the World – Travel around the world and experience new places. Help other cultures and experience other worlds... change your life and be inspired. There are also so many different ways to travel. By foot with a swag and a tent; by caravan; by motor-home; by plane; by boat or by car. Life is there to be lived guys!


18 – Dream & Do: Dream of a better world then go out there and create it. Dreams become reality with enough work and determination.

19 – Focus – Think it, and do it - you can if you just FOCUS. Breathe, concentrate, and change the world.

20 – Do Something With Your Life! – Like I said before - life is there to be lived. So go out there, have fun and change the world while you do it. Go do that thing! Go chase that dream!

Some of these numbers will have a great impact on your life - for example numbers 1 and 6 - but some will only have a small impact on you, for example number 3. The only impact to you, apart from a small sacrifice, will be a pleasant feeling of achievement, pride and satisfaction - because you have truly changed someone's life.

Say Again?

I am re-posting one of my earlier posts, now that I have more viewers.

The Statistics That Shouldn't Be

Statistics show that almost 1 in 7 people go hungry in the world. However, statistics also show that, despite a 70% increase in the world's population since the 1980s, we produce enough food to feed the entire population of the world. Statistics also show that over a quarter of the world's population live below the international poverty line. Those people live on less than $1.25 per day.
In Australia, with $1.25, we could buy the following things:

• One litre of milk
• One box of pasta
• One navel orange
• One packet of chewing gum
• A disgusting cup of coffee
• One chocolate bar
• Two potatoes
• Two stamps
• One onion
• Two potatoes
• One serve of yoghurt
• One apple

This is disgusting and totally wrong. Not only can't these people afford medication, education and proper housing, they can't even afford a box of tissues (Kleenex - $3).

Do your bit today. Donate at one of these websites.

http://www.caritas.org.au/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home1

https://www.plan.org.au/rpp/donate?gclid=CKG5qoHhkasCFaJV4godxigBtA

http://www.oxfam.org.au/

Change is just a click away.

Let's Change It...

This is your life. And, tomorrow, this will be your life too, unless you change it today.


I don't know when I first scribbled that in my journal - ages ago, I think. It made me realise, though, that it all starts with me.
You.
If no one changes anything, it will never happen.
So take the plunge. 
Dream it, Plan it, Blog it, Change it...
We can change the world.


It all starts with you.

Almost Finished...

There is 100 days left of 2011. To recognize this, I am creating an acrostic poem for things you can do before the end of 2011. Be the Change!

Offer to do something for someone - mow the lawn for a neighbour, clean your sister's cupboard.

Notice something nice about everybody you see - and tell them the nice things you see.

Eat as a family - everybody at the same time, at the same table. We need family.

Hug someone you love.

Understand somebody's problems and try to help them.

Notes - send an email, a letter or just a scribbled message to someone and make their day.

Drop by on someone you haven't seen for a while and say hello.

Read something to someone - a story, poem, song, or your favourite post on this blog! :)

End an argument before it can begin - be kind, compassionate and understanding.

Dare to be different - say hello to someone who is ignored, wear something unique.

Dance with someone - whether a crazy, jumping dance, a waltz or the chicken dance - just have fun!

Ask someone if they want to hang out with you.

Yummy - bake or cook something and sell it in a bake stall, with all proceeds going to a charity.

Say "I Love You" to someone you love.

100 days to go. The countdown begins now.

Ready.... Set... BE THE CHANGE!

The Life Of A Battery Hen

I am a battery hen, and this is my story.

I was born just after my siblings - my two brothers, and my sister. We loved each other - we were a family, after all. But then our life was ripped apart.

My brothers were taken away. They were put in strange creatures with large 'wheels' and taken away, never to be seen again.

Then I grew up. My sister and I soon got separated from our mother, but we managed to survive. Each chicken - there were thousands in our factory - had a cage the size of an A4 piece of paper to live in.

The cage was hot and uncomfortable. There was no clean straw, and I was forced to stand up, twenty four hours, seven days a week. It was a hard life - no sleep, only eating small amounts of grain, drinking stale water and laying eggs. Eat, drink, lay, repeat. Eat, drink, lay, repeat...

My mother disappeared one day. I asked the chicken in the cage next door about it.
She answered sadly, "Your mother has grown old, little one. She is too old to lay any more eggs, so she must go."
I was relieved. "So - she's retired?" I pictured a retirement home like the humans talked about - pretty cottages with clean straw and open space.
The hen shook her head. "You don't understand, pet. She's gone."
"To the retirement home?" I persisted.
The hen hesitated before answering. "No, little one. To the abbatoir. To be turned into - into meat, pet."
I was shocked. My mother - my own mother! - who had slaved for these humans for all those years, and in return they kill her? For food? For them?
It was the hardest news I have ever had to understand. All our lives, we slave away in poor conditions, with no room to lie down, riddled with broken bones and diseases, laying eggs for our keepers - and what happens when we can't lay anymore? They send us off to our deaths, to our last minutes - which are spent hanging upside down on a conveyor belt.
I also realised that something else bad was happening. The people who bought the eggs we were forced to lay - they supported this cruel program!
Let us be free. Let us live.
Buy free range eggs, and support our rights. Don't support animal cruelty!
Or millions of other tiny chicks will grow up to live their life like me - in a cage, unable to see the sky...

Are You Depressed?

 It is Mental Health Week, as you will know from my last post. Mental Health Week celebrates the importance of good mental awareness, and raises awareness for those who suffer from mental illnesses.
One of the biggest problems in our peer-pressure run world today is depression. There is normal depression, which almost everyone suffers from every now and again, and there is clinical depression. Normal depression, which I find can usually be cured with a bite of chocolate, is not generally very serious, but clinical depression is very serious.
The following definitions were found at http://dictionary.reference.com
What is depression?
A condition of general emotional dejection andwithdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than thatwarranted by any objective reason.
What is clinical depression?
A depression so severe as to be considered abnormal,either because of no obvious environmental causes, or because the reaction to unfortunate life circumstances is more intense or prolonged than would generally be expected.
Depression is serious. It provokes an unhappy attitude towards life, and that in turn could cause suicide.
It could be your mother or father next. Or your brother or sister.
It could be your best friend.
Or it could be you.
Save time, stress, and lives: click the following link to complete a free, quick, anonymous test and find out if you could suffer from clinical depression.
http://www.findingstone.com/services/tests/depressiontest.htm
If your answers show that you could be suffering from depression, confide in a trusted adult.
As hard as this could be, it could save your life.
Be brave, take control of your life and confide in a parent, aunty, uncle, grandparent, friend or councillor.
They are there to help you. And, remember, it could save your life.
NOTE: The attached depression test does not take the place of an appointment with a therapist, councillor or doctor.
For more information about depression, visit www.beyondblue.org.au/

Welcome To Mental Health Week!

This week is Mental Health Week. Celebrate Mental Health by:

• Introducing yourself to a stranger
• Giving someone a hug
• Going for a walk with your family or friends
• Making someone laugh: send them a nice text or email, show them a funny video or photo or tell them a joke.

Here's a video - hope it makes you laugh. It doesn't? Oh. Email me your funniest video at emma.pocketsize@gmail.com - make me laugh!

To find out more about the 2011 Mental Health Week and how you can get involved, visit http://www.mentalhealthvic.org.au/index.php?id=8

NOTE: This link will take you to the Victorian Mental Health page - for a different state, Google 'Mental Health Week' and your state.

Time for a Spring Clean?

Spring has sprung, and the best way to celebrate is to make a difference in the world. This month, make an effort to clear out your wardrobe. The stuff that's too small? Pass it down or, better still, donate it to your local charity, where people less fortunate than you will get to keep them.
Don't know where to donate? Check out http://www.vinnies.org.au/home-vic or Google the name of your town and the word charities.
Out with the old, in with the new! If you are running out of clothes that fit you, go shopping!
Check out these ethical, fairtrade websites for gorgeous clothing options.

• http://3fish.com.au/index.php? main_page=page&chapter=0&id=2&gclid=CLeOh7CnpqsCFaFLpgodQQLnRQ - a beautiful, award-winning website that sells so much more than clothes.
• http://www.bambooinstyle.com.au/?gclid=CNzcw_anpqsCFYVV4godNXIK6Q - an ethical website specializing in ethical bamboo products. Bamboo is really comfortable!
• http://www.junoandjove.com/? o=xls_view_searchresults&search=colletto&startrange=0&endrange=0&searchtype=keyword&gclid=CO629YSopqsCFc0F4godvCr7zA - when I saw this, I just stared. It is a fully FairTrade website selling designer label outfits! Definitely worth a look.
• http://www.everylittlegirl.com/  - looking for that perfect gift? This is a website that makes ethical clothes for children.
• http://www.daksha.com.au/ - the most beautiful clothes can be found here. Check it out!

It is that time of year again. Make a difference, look fabulous and be the change!

Do You Have to Change for Change?

Do you have to change for change? In some ways, yes. We all need to change a bit - get a grip on ourselves, go solar, stop stereotyping... the list goes on and on.
But can we still do what we love to do - and make a difference in the world?
The answer is: Yes. You can do what you love to do, and make a difference in the world.
I'll give you an example:
There is a New Zealand Chocolate Company called Bull Rush Chocolates. And, recently, they made a difference, just by doing their job.
It all started with the Guiness Book of World Records, which I think we have all heard of. If you haven't, check out this link:http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
Anyway, Bull Rush set out to beat the world record for the longest bar of chocolate in the world. They succeeded with a 180kg bar of dark chocolate that stretched for over 15 metres! It was worth over $6000, and the Bull Rush Chocolate Company sold it in slabs.
How did this make a difference? Well, Bull Rush Chocolates donated the entire proceeds from the sale of the chocolate bar to the Christchurch Foundation, to help with the rebuilding of earthquake-struck areas.
This made a difference in the world.
And it proves that, yes, you can do what you love and still make a difference.


For fantastic deals and more touching information, check out http://www.bullrushchocolate.co.nz/.

Save The Turtles!

Right now, turtles are dying in the hundreds, thousands.
Why? For two reasons:

• The feeding grounds of the turtles have been destroyed from the flood-waters and drastic weather changes
• A deadly disease is going around - the fibropapilloma virus (FP).This disease is especially dangerous to baby turtles.

As the people at the World Wildlife Fund say - "these turtles are falling sick and dying to a killer they cannot see, understand or avoid."

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) however, can help. Unfortunately, the cures needed to save these adorable animals are expensive. Want to help? Visit http://www.wwf.org.au/ and donate to a good cause!

DOB - Dob on Bullies

Dob on a bully today. It will improve lots of lives, and you won't feel guilty in ten years time. 

Don't get caught in the crowd - do what you think is right.

R U OK?

This Thurday, the 15th of September, is R U OK? Day. This day is designed for everyone, everywhere, to get in touch with thier peers and make sure they are alright. 
So ask someone this Thursday whether they are OK. It could be as important as saving them from suicide or helping them cope with depression.
R U OK DAY - 15th SEPTEMBER


Make a difference in your community. Find out more at http://www.ruokday.com.au/content/home.aspx

Primates Helping Primates

Orangutans are in trouble of extinction. 
Why? 
Because of the increase in the palm oil trade - palm oil  is oil used in food, and to get it manufacturers cut down African oil palm trees - the home of orangutans.
How Can I Help?
There are many ways you can help support the orangutans. For example:

• Adopt and sponsor an orangutan
• Buy palm oil free products when possible
• Support BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival)

All these can be done at the following website: http://www.orangutans.com.au/Default.aspx

This site includes a sponsor-an-orangutan page, a page about the rare sun bears, a page about helping orangutans through your school, an online shop, a list of palm-oil free products, and much, much more stuff!

Help the orangutans - primates helping primates.

Also see http://www.wwf.org.au/ - a site dedicated to the well being of animals. Definitely worth a look!

Buy Locally - Change Globally

You can change lives on the other side of the world when you go grocery shopping. It's as simple as purchasing FairTrade certified products. Look for the image (on the right hand coloumn of this blog) on packaging whenever you shop.
For FairTrade shops near you, click this link:
http://www.fairlylocal.com.au/

Shop locally and change the world.

How To Be A FairTrade Chocoholic

Is it possible to eat FairTrade chocolate without spending lots of money on special brands?

Yes, it is. In 2010, Australia's most popular chocolate company went FairTrade. Cadbury now does not use slaves making Dairy Milk Chocolate, and the company guarantees a better deal for Third World producers.

So - support Cadbury, support Third World producers.

I guess eating chocolate really can make the world a better place.

Go crazy at http://www.cadbury.com.au/

Open The Door

Flick on the TV. Go on, do it. You may see the latest episode of Glee, Bones or Rush, but you could see the news - thin, starved faces of impoverished countries, needing help.
Well, guess what? It's not just in other places - the Phillipenes, Africa - it's here. In Australia. In every state. Every city.
Poverty is on your doorstep.
Open the door today.






Donate online (see related links).

Looking For a FairTrade Gift?

Make a difference next time you shop for gifts. Do it online, using the following link:

http://perufairtrading.com/

This link will take you to a fully FairTrade branch of eBay, with the most beautiful handmade gifts, straight from Peru.

Shop 'til you drop - the FairTrade way.

For A FairTrade Future

What is FairTrade?
FairTrade companies are businesses that support Third World Producers. If you buy FairTrade, you are helping those producers - all over the world.


Buy FairTrade - for a better future.
Check out this FairTrade Directory - for companies, businesses, and even specific products.
http://fairtradedirectoryaustralia.com/directory/

The Statistics That Shouldn't Be

Statistics show that almost 1 in 7 people go hungry in the world. However, statistics also show that, despite a 70% increase in the world's population since the 1980s, we produce enough food to feed the entire population of the world. Statistics also show that over a quarter of the world's population live below the international poverty line. Those people live on less than $1.25 per day.
In Australia, with $1.25, we could buy the following things:

• One litre of milk
• One box of pasta
• One navel orange
• One packet of chewing gum
• A disgusting cup of coffee
• One chocolate bar
• Two potatoes
• Two stamps
• One onion
• Two potatoes
• One serve of yoghurt
• One apple

This is disgusting and totally wrong. Not only can't these people afford medication, education and proper housing, they can't even afford a box of tissues (Kleenex - $3).

Do your bit today. Donate at one of these websites.

http://www.caritas.org.au/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home1

https://www.plan.org.au/rpp/donate?gclid=CKG5qoHhkasCFaJV4godxigBtA

http://www.oxfam.org.au/

Change is just a click away.

Be The Change You Wish To See In The World

We don't live in a fair world. People in our world are bought and sold as slaves. People in our world are abused for the colour of their skin, the country they're born in. People in our world don't have the rights they deserve. People in this world abuse animals. People in this world abuse animal rights.


People in this world don't believe in justice. In equality. In fairness for all.
Don't be one of those people. Be a believer. Make a difference. Be the change you want to see in the world. Change tomorrow. Today.


Subscribe to do your bit for a fairer future.