Lingo

What does that term mean?
We use many specific terms to describe our products which you may not be familiar with. Here is a partial list of terms you will find on our website. Let us know if you would like us to explain any other term we associate with green and animal-friendly products and we will add it to this page. E-mail us at info@sunriselaneproducts.com

What are free radicals ?

Many of our body care products fight damage done by free radicals. Free radicals are atoms that form when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these radicals can attack and destroy healthy cell membranes which can speed the aging process. Antioxidants found in many of our skin care products help prevent cellular damage caused by free radicals. The principal vitamin antioxidants are vitamin E and vitamin C.

Q	What is oxygen bleach?
A	Oxygen bleach is non-toxic. Oxygen bleach is sodium percarbonate. It is non-toxic, biodegradable, envionmentally-safe and leaves no harmful residue on clothes. We use it instead of toxic chlorine bleach. Many people report adverse reactions to chlorine fumes and to chlorine residues left in fabrics after laundering. Chlorine fumes also contribute to depletion of the ozone layer.

Q	Why does Bi-O-Kleen use grapefruit seed extract in almost all their products?
A	Grapefruit seed extract is safe for humans, animals and the environment and is a non-toxic and non-corrosive ingredient. GSE is a safe alternative to the chemicals commonly used in disinfectants.

Q	What are optical brighteners?
A	Optical brighteners are synthetic dyes found in nearly all commercial laundry formulas. These dyes coat your clothing and emit blue light making your clothes look brighter (brighter not cleaner!). They can be toxic and are not biodegradable. We do not use optical brighteners in our laundry products.

Q	What does it mean a product is biodegradable?
A	Active ingredients in product rapidly and fully biodegrade ( break down and decompose ) into natural and harmless substances in few days.

What is deforestation and why is it an ecological problem?

Forests, with their web of sturdy roots stretching deep into the soil, help prevent the land's erosion into a flooding river. They also slow a swelling river's advance over the surface of the land. Deforestation (the cutting down of large areas of forest) has been implicated in worsening the effects of floods and landslides worlwide. To meet the world's appetite for timber and wood products, excessive logging threatens every continent with a host of social and environmental problems; forest loss dimishes air and water quality, strips ecosystems of their biodiversity, destroys the livelihood of indigenous populations and hastens the threat of global warming. (from Co-op America Quarterly Summer 2006)

Q	Where does our shea butter come from?
A	Desert Essence shea butter is a West African treasure extracted from Shea Tree nuts grown in protected and ecologically responsible areas of the African Savannah. These protected, rare and exotic trees reach maturity only after 40 years sustained growth.

What is global warming?

Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including a rising sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes and turnados. Other consequences include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer streamflows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of diseases vectors.