The nation’s largest green consumer living event returns to the Windy City for 7th year

WHERE: McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lakeshore Dr.
WHEN: Saturday, May 14th @ 10am-7pm & Sunday, May 15th @ 10am-6pm
COST: Weekend Pass: $15.00 & One Day Pass: $10.00
FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: visit www.greenfestival.org

The largest sustainability event in the nation celebrates 10 years, one million attendees at McCormick Place. This one-of-a-kind weekend experience offers opportunities for community members to meet their favorite authors, actors and community leaders; shop more than 300 eco-friendly exhibitors; participate in educational workshops; enjoy live music and local vegetarian cuisine; and sample organic chocolates, wine and beer.

Ten stages and pavilions will host more than 125 inspirational and educational speakers and teachers, including Amy Goodman, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Jeffrey Smith, John Perkins, Colin Beavan (No-impact Man), Dr. Devra Davis, Hunter Lovins, Bianca Alexander and Dr. Sharif Abdullah.

The Green Marketplace showcases more than 300 green and socially-responsible businesses and organizations. Attendees browse everything from non-toxic home products to organic clothing to fair trade treats and décor.

Green Festival gives back GF Bucks to individuals who purchase tickets online or at the door. GF Bucks are the local Green Festival currency and can be used the same-as-cash to shop in the Green Marketplace.

“Last fall, Green Festival stimulated the green economy by giving back $44,000 to local, regional and national sustainable businesses through the new “GF Bucks” admissions policy,” says Global Exchange and Green Festival Founder, Dr. Kevin Danaher.

Green Festival enables individuals to volunteer or donate to various local nonprofits in exchange for complimentary Green Festival admission through the “Pay it Forward, Get it Back” campaign.

Engage with Green America, Global Exchange, Gluten Free Vegans, Sierra Club Chicago and more to receive free Green Festival tickets. Also, Green America and Global Exchange members always receive free admission to Green Festival.

A joint project of Green America and Global Exchange, two leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to environmental and social justice for more than 27 years, Green Festival inspires and promotes the connection between change and sustainable progress for people, communities and businesses. Green Festivals empowers people to live healthier lives—socially, economically and environmentally.

“Whether you go to shop, learn, try new organic foods or experience art and music, Green Festival has it all, with the goal to motivate every person to think, participate and make more planet-friendly, sustainable choices in their every day lives,” says Green America and Green Festival Founder, Denise Hamler.

Thank you to Corporate Innovator Ford. Receive complimentary tickets when you visit your Chicago-area Ford Dealer. Test drive one of Ford’s new green hybrid and electric vehicles right at the Green Festival.

Thank you to Green Festival partners: Clif Bar, Clear Channel and NBC.

Engage with Green Festivals online at www.GreenFestivals.org, www.Facebook.com/GreenFestival and www.Twitter.com/GreenFestival for the latest news about the Chicago Green Festival and additional Green Festivals in 2011.

*About Green America
Green America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982, providing the economic strategies, organizing power and practicing tools for businesses and individuals to address today’s social and environmental problems. Its Green Business Network is the largest national network of businesses screened for their social and environmental responsibility. www.greenamericatoday.org

*About Global Exchange
Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change. www.globalexchange.org

*About Seven-Star, Inc.
Seven-Star, Inc. is the nation’s premier green full-service event company focusing exclusively on green events. Since 1999, Seven-Star has provided turn-key green event services for environmentally Responsible and socially Respectful (eR/sR) festivals, trade and consumer expositions, conferences and concerts. From the greening of the 2007 International Live Earth events, to the 2008 Democratic National Convention events, to producing the nation’s largest consumer Green Festivals, Seven-Star has defined itself as the company for eR/sR event production. Seven-Star is the first event company to have won the EPA’s Gold Waste Wise Award for Excellence in recognition for their proprietary system of event waste diversion, which has consistently achieved greater than 92%.www.sevenstarevents.com

It’s important that we nourish our bodies from the inside out, diet, medications, recreational drugs and poor lifestyle choices all take there toll on our well-being and health. Your skin is  far more important that just the wrapping around your  body; it is, in fact, the body’s largest organ and it plays several roles in the healthy functioning of the whole body.  The bottom line is that the skin is there to nourish and protect us, so for this reason what we put on our skin is very important, chemical laden creams put onto our face and body contain toxins that become easily stored in our fatty tissues and cause unseen damage.  So when considering what is the best cream to use it is important that we look at using organic and natural skin care products and  formulas. The movement towards green has seen many ethical companies starting to create such products that are abundant with skin loving ingredients that are locally sourced and provided by nature, that can be custom blended to suit your particular requirements and are in keeping with the organics philosophy that  beauty can be attained without cruelty.

Rubber is by far the most predominant ingredient in eco yoga mats. It has all the properties that you would want if you were doing odd poses on the floor every day.  It is also natural, biodegradable and easy to form into a mat.  Rubber comes from various types of rubber trees which are cultivated primarily in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Rubber also has a synthetic family member so be aware of this when you are shopping for what you need.

The second hit ingredient is cotton.  It is a super star in many ways giving sweat absorption, traction and a soft workable surface to perform on.  It is cultivated in India primarily and can be used in yoga rugs as well as in the scrim of rubber mats.  Cotton is guilty of a few charges, mainly over fertilization, lots of pesticide use, GM use and even depleting the soils where it is grown due to commercialization.  That is why organic cotton is highly recommended vs. regular cotton.

Jute fiber, or burlap, as we know it is in America is another popular component of eco yoga mats. It is used mostly in combination with rubber to give substance and texture to rubber mats. It is a very grounding material, an easy crop on the environment and also produced in India like cotton.  This fiber goes over well and may be something for you to look for in your mat.

These are some great materials to start with on your search for the best eco yoga mat.

This vitamin actually comes from a bacteria in the soil, meaning that you do NOT need to eat meat in order to get the benefits of vitamin b12. Herbivore animals, including our past vegan-ancestors, got this vitamin actually out of consuming UNWASHED fruits and vegetables, which contain a small but enough amount of this vitamin.

Benefits of b12 vitamin are as follows – It creates a fatty substance around your nerve cells that protects them, called Myelin. It helps the body with red blood cells formation and tissue growth, and also reduces the levels of Homocysteine in your body and replicates DNA.

More and more people everyday decide on taking vitamin b12 injections for weight loss purposes. This is not a good idea, as the only thing it’s gonna give you is a metabolism boost which will make you more likely to get a workout and lose some calories. You can get the same benefits from other sources, like food, intranasal sprays or jel, or sublingual b12 tablets.

As you can see, b12 vitamin benefits are huge and vast, and it’s more than hard to reach either a deficiency or an overdose. But for your own good, and for the sake of your knowledge, make sure you read a bit more about the symptoms of a deficiency, just for you to know how to recognize it when it appears, or more precisely – if it appears.

It’s always useful to become knowledgeable about health issues, you never know what to expect out of life. Keep up the good health fellows!