Friday, February 18, 2011
Why Shop at Natural Parenting?
(1) Prizes! Prizes! Prizes!
Every month we will be offering up a prize to a random shoppers, simply spend more than $50 in our online shop and you go into the draw to win.  It's that simple.  You don't need to guess a number, fill out any forms, just shop, and you are in the running.  Our first prize is an Ergo Baby Carrier!
(2) Shopping Rewards
Every time you shop at Natural Parenting, you earn shopper points... points that you can amounts to dollars in savings when you choose to return and use them down the track.
(3) You won't pay more.
EcoChild stocks our shop with their huge range of natural baby, children's and parenting products....but they stock us as the same prices they sell in their own store.  We don't add a premium, there is not markups, not extra fees..... you won't pay more to shop on the Natural Parenting Store
 
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POSTED 10:33 am
Friday, December 02, 2011
Top Ten Benefits of Bamboo Clothing
To explain why bamboo has become such a popular fabric for clothing, we have listed the 'Top 10 Benefits of Bamboo Clothing' - select a link to read more:

1.   Eco-Friendly
2.   Softness
3.   Sensitive Skin
4.   Easy Care
5.   Moisture Wicking
6.   Biodegradable
7.   UV Protection
8.   Breathability
9.   Insulating
10. Antibacterial


Eco-friendly: Bamboo clothing is synonymous with eco-fashion. Bamboo fibre is considered to be eco-friendly for a number of reasons, however the main reason bamboo clothing is considered eco friendly and organic is because of the raw material – bamboo plants. Bamboo is a very hardy crop. It requires no irrigation and no fertilisers or pesticides to grow. Within 3-4 years it is ready for harvesting and can be continually reharvested. Crops of bamboo yield significantly more than both wool or cotton crops. All of these factors contribute to bamboo fibre being considered a sustainable, versatile and eco-friendly resource for clothing. You can read a more extensive review of bamboo and the manufacturing process in our bamboo fibre page, or read about organic clothing.

Softness: Bamboo fibre is exceptionally soft so it feels great against your skin. While the plant itself may not seem like it would make for soft clothing, the process of extracting bamboo cellulose and converting it into fibre results in a very smooth and soft yarn. This yarn is weaved into the fabric used for bamboo clothing. You can buy bamboo clothing from our secure online store.

Sensitive Skin: Many people with sensitive skin report that clothes made from bamboo are far less irritating to the skin than other traditional fabrics. The smooth rounded fibres of bamboo viscose significantly reduce irritation, making it a good choice for those who suffer from allergies, in particular eczema. Bamboo fabric doesn’t require any chemical treatments to give it its antibacterial characteristics and this is one factor that is attributed to its popularity among people with sensitive skin. All our products are certified with the Okeo-Tex 100 Standard ensuring that no residual chemicals or harmful elements are present in the fabric used for manufacturing our garments.

Easy Care: O2wear bamboo clothing is both colour fast and machine washable. A gentle tumble dry or cool iron can also be used if necessary but you should find that the bamboo fabric is relatively quick drying and wrinkle resistant. Read more on our product care page. 

Moisture Wicking: Bamboo fibre is very popular because of its moisture wicking properties. With almost twice the moisture transfer rate of cotton, it is an ideal fabric for clothing worn directly against the skin. The use of bamboo fibre in sportswear, yoga clothing and high performance active wear has also increased due to this unique property.   

Biodegrad­able: As a natural product derived from plants, bamboo fibre is biodegradable. Having reached their useful life, products made from bamboo can be composted and disposed of in an organic and eco-friendly manner. Synthetic fibres such as nylon or rayon remain in landfill for a significantly longer time. Read more on our organic clothing page.     
 
UV Protection: Bamboo clothing is proven to have superior UV protecting qualities. While some studies have questioned the extent to which bamboo clothing is UV resistant, a recent study by Deakin University found bamboo fabric is 60% better than cotton at protecting the wearer from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Find links to the Deakin University study, and read more at our links & resources page. 

Breathability: Because it is derived from plant fibres, bamboo clothing is significantly more breathable than traditional fibres and synthetics. Clothing made from bamboo is naturally temperature regulating, meaning it is cool to wear in summer, and a warm underlayer for winter. Check out our online store where you can buy bamboo clothing.

Insulating: Bamboo is a naturally insulating fibre. When woven into fabric, bamboo clothing helps to trap a small layer of air against the skin. This layer acts as insulation, helping to keep the wearer cool in the hot weather, and warm during winter. Bamboo is nature’s solution to comfort in any season. You can read more about organic and environmentally friendly clothing from our bamboo links & resources page. 

Antibacterial: Many manufacturers report that bamboo clothing is antibacterial and antifungal. This claim stems from the bamboo plant itself. As bamboo grows organically, without the need for pesticides or fertilisers due to its inherent antibacterial characteristics, by extension bamboo clothing is thought to possess these same characteristics. Tests however haven’t substantiated these claims conclusively. Read more on our organic clothing page. Bamboo fibre may not be any more antibacterial than other fabrics, however there is a suggestion that bamboo clothing is particularly suited to adults and babies with sensitive skin and this may be in part due to superior antibacterial properties – so the jury is still out!
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POSTED 2:05 am
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Recent Changes to the Business Directory
Since introducing the changes to the business directory in October last year, we've fields a few suggestion from members on how we can make the directory better, and the business listings more valuable. The suggestion and what we did, are listing below

Suggestion (1)
The links on your business directory pages are not visible to search engines…. Can you change this?

OK  Before when all listings were free, we were not able to check each listing and could not thus guarantee to Google the sites met out terms of service. Now we can, so we have no problem making the link search from the paid business listings visible to search engines.

We hope they help your website rankings!

Suggestion (2)
It seems unfair free listing owners can list hundreds of products for sale with images, whilst I had to pay to add images to my business listing.

OK, fair point, listing of products now limited to paid listings. There is no limit to how many products you can add to the classifieds section but its only open to Paid Listing owners.

Suggestion 3.
OK, super featured listings get to have an advertisement on all pages of the forum... but they aren't very big... can you make them a bit more prominent?

OK, no problem. The forum features are now much larger and more visible as are the links to the listing detail page.

Suggestion 4
I'm a yoga teacher and there seems no category that's really relevant for me..... can you add a new business category?

OK - a new Yoga / Pilates / Exercise category now added. If you think YOUR business needs a more specific category, let us know by emailing webmaster@naturalparenting.com.au
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POSTED 1:50 pm

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