Greetings, people! Is it just me or is everyone incredibly freaking busy since the year started? In any case, I’m a little late on this post to announce the winners of the last competition to write a Green Stars Review. Of course, life is not a competition and we’re all winners – just wanted to get that clear 😉 But I especially appreciate that people took the time to stop and look around (to paraphrase Ferris Bueller) and write a review. So without further ado, here are the two featured reviews for this month.

1. Miranda, who can be found on her wonderful blog, The Green Mirmaid, which deals with topics like veganism, philosophy and environmental issues. She introduced me to the term Eudaimonia, which I found very interesting:

In Greek philosophy, Eudaimonia means achieving the best conditions possible for a human being, in every sense–not only happiness, but also virtue, morality, and a meaningful life.

Miranda reviewed Magic Season Organics, a vegetable subscription service in Hong Kong. She really went all out and considered many factors, including the company, the packaging, and vegetable sourcing. The company expanded their operation by buying land in mainland China, so Miranda looked into the increased distance and the reliability of organic certification in China. Her final scores were 5/5 gold stars and 4/5 green stars. You can read her review on TrustPilot.

2. The second review was written by Willow Croft, who has a great blog that’s focused on writing and poetry. Willow’s latest post celebrates that her book, Quantum Singularity: A Poetic Voyage Through Time and Space, is now in stock at Green Apple Books in San Francisco and was also featured in the Seattle Book Review. Congrats Willow!

Willow wrote a Green Stars Review of Clear Light (The Cedar Company) in New Mexico, who make cosmetic products from cedar needles harvested from local trees. Here’s an excerpt from Willow’s review of Clear Light:

Besides the normal rating, I’m giving Clear Light 5/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, based on these reasons:
1. The lotion is made from locally harvested cedar, according to their website. The needles they harvest from the trees are a renewable resource, and the process does not affect the local ecosystem.
2. It’s great that it’s not only “wild-crafted” but also made with organic/natural ingredients.
3. In addition to being an independent New Mexico business, Clear Light Cedar Company also supports a number of local charities and charitable initiatives. 
4. After contacting the company via Facebook, they informed this reviewer that they are “…vegan produced. The only animal testing we do is on our pet pig Priscilla! She loves our stuff!”

So, congrats again to Miranda and Willow – you will receive a gift of your choice from the World Wildlife Fund (or if you don’t want a WWF gift, I will donate $55 to any charity of your choice).

So, let’s do this again now!

Write a review and let me know about it (comment below or email me jmskrb at gmail). You don’t have to have a blog to enter; it just happens that this month’s winners were both bloggers. Winners will receive a WWF gift (or a donation to a charity of your choice). I’ll announce winners at the end of March.

Cheerio!