Happy Earth Day!

We recently asked our fans on Facebook to share their suggestions for being earth-friendly:

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Tips to tread a little lighter on Mother Earth:

• Use a reusable water bottle
• Grow your own food
• Support local farms and farmers and shop at farmer’s markets
• Compost
• Recycle
• Walk to work / school
• Reuse plastic food containers for leftovers
• Pick up litter
• Reuse plastic grocery bags
• Turn off lights & appliances when not in use
• Vegetarian diet
• Buy eco-friendly and organic products
• Use cloth diapers
• Wash laundry and dishes in large loads
• Vegan diet
• Buy green eco-friendly cleaners
• Work from home
• Teach children how important the environment is
• Use reusable shopping bags
• Use a clothes line instead of dryer
• Shop at secondhand thrift stores

Earth-friendly initiatives the Soul Flower warehouse practices:

• We use Priority Mail boxes (which are post consumer recycled)
• We rarely add packaging materials into boxes, but if we do it’s all reused
• We print on recycled paper (your invoice is recycled!)
• We offset our climate footprint through Carbon Fund
• We switch off all stereos, speakers, and lights at the end of the day
• We only heat our large warehouse room while we’re in there
• We have a community fridge that encourages us to bring our lunch
• We recycle all unusable paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and glass

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Are there any tips you’d add to this list?

Do you have one of these cute wrap skirt and aren’t sure how to wear it? Are you nervous to buy one because you just aren’t sure how to tie it? Let us help show you how to tie a wrap skirt! We’ve carried quite a few wrap skirts here at Soul Flower over the years and continue every season with amazing new wrap skirts. But if you’re new to this style of skirt, figuring out how to wear it can feel a bit intimidating at first. So take a look at this quick video – our bud Brit shows us just how simple it is to tie one of these super-adjustable wrap skirts. Once you get one, you’ll be hooked! 🙂

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Her:
– Green Thumb Women’s Tee
– The Coolest Koolat Pants
– Nomadic Good Soul Rope Sandals
– Down Low Hemp Hat
– Tree of Life Hemp Necklace

Him:
– Of the Earth Tee
– Puttin’ on the Jams Pants
– Two-Tone Highland Rope Sandals
– Hey Jute Hat
– Handcrafted Peaceful Necklace

Our Soul Flower Buds (that is YOU, our awesomely cool customers) sent us the best of festival tips for making the most of this live music season. We took all of the advice & compiled the most mentioned and best ideas into this list – here it is, what to bring to make it your bestie festie yet…

Attitude – Because it’s not what you carry on your back that really matters, it’s what you carry in your head. Bring a “free mind…hugs…free spirit, positive energy…open mind, warm heart, loving arms, and ….don’t forget to smile, smile, smile.”

Let the Music Play – Ah, yes, the music, what draws most of us here in the first place…lots of tips from your buds about the music – “get there early & mark your space” and “Get a festival schedule before you go, highlight your fest, and copy it to let you friends know where you will be.” And don’t forget to “breath deep, dance lightly & feel the earth beneath your feet”. A great place to find & preplan your festivals: jambase.com.

The Essentials – Most of our buds feel like Less is More, but there are a few essentials you need to let the good times roll…a tent (or a VW bus, which it seems a few of our buds can’t fest without…), earplugs, breakfast food, camping stove, camping chair, comfy shoes, a blanket/sleeping bag, sunscreen, dry socks, ziplock bags, lip balm, a flashlight or headlamp, a towel, a poncho, wipes (or wet washcloths in ziplocks), a flowing skirt, camera, band aids, refillable water bottle (full of water), a good hat, toilet paper, power bars, tarps, trashbag, cash & your TICKETS!!! Carry a few essentials with you in a small, easy to tote bag.

Beyond the Essentials – This part of the list is tricky, as some of our buds claim these to be essential. It really just depends on you, but here is the list to take your fest up a notch & make it the best eva. Bring hula hoops, glitter, bubbles, body paint, flow toys, Frisbees, glow sticks, a sunshower, cocktails, coffee, a costume (or two), a can koozie, nag champa incense, battery powered fan, a picnic table, fresh flowers or other homegrown goods to share with new friends, a journal, instruments (including drums, guitars, and an accordion), a flag to fly, a slip & slide, duct tape, and tapestries.

Pitch Your Tent – A good tent is very important and do a little test run before you go, especially if it is new! Then find the perfect camping site – look for shade or use a series of tarps to create your own. Camp with a circle of friends and definitely get to know your neighbors. Fly your own freak flag so your friends can find you easier…

Love your Mama –Respect what mother nature gives to you, whether it be the SUN (wear sunscreen, stay hydrated & find shade), the RAIN (tarps, ponchos, dry socks), and/or the little buggers like chiggers or poison ivy (bring the bug spray, lavender oil, & first aid kit). And most definitely bring a trashbag. Most fests have a recycling plan or bags for your campsite – find out about it when you enter.

Make New Friends – and keep the old. Go to your fest with good friends you trust & look out for each other. Stay safe. But also get to know your neighbors, creating your own mini community is the best way to enjoy a festival.

And a few extra tips:

-Freeze a jug of water so you will have cold, cold water for a few days….

-Taking the Kids? Here is a great link to the best tips on taking your kids along.

-Bring enough to share…karma goes a long way in this world. So when you can give a little bit, you will get back so much more.

So there you have it buds! Enjoy your festival season and look for our very own Karma Krewe out & about handing our soul flower goodies at festivals all summer long. Peace & Love, Your Buds.

Call them what you will – funky wall hangings or hippie tapestries or even a bedspread – we officially (or as official as your Soul-Flower.com buds get) call these great pieces of vibrant, beautiful cotton fabric “Tapestries”…for as many names as they have, they have as many different uses: a tablecloth, a bedspread, a picnic cloth, a curtain, or even just for sewing fabric… However you decide to use our hippie tapestries, it seems our customers have found many uses & many ways to feel the tapestry love. Take a look at just a few (and one sweet review from our bud Sarah):

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Here is a testament to Soul Flower’s latest natural body product – The Happy Hippie Head to Toe Shampoo Bar – by Heart of Iowa Handmade Soaps. Thanks to Cam & her son Dylan for trying out the sudsy, yummy, patchouli scented goodness…

It’s getting warmer outdoors, so our family is always on the go. At the end of the day, it’s nice to just jump in the shower & have a bar at your disposal that can do the entire job of getting you squeaky clean. When I first got the Happy Hippie bar, I took it out of the package, and sat it on the tub. I came back a couple of hours later and noticed that the entire bathroom had a nice patchouli scent to it. Not overwhelming, just right. I thought about ordering several bars and hiding them throughout my house!

I was a little worried about trying a shampoo/soap bar because I have naturally curly hair that is prone to tangle. Awhile back, I went on a mission to rid my house & family of exposure to toxic chemicals, and found that an ingredient in almost every shampoo & soap, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, has been linked to several serious health concerns. Basically, this ingredient (and all the ones closely related/closely named) is NOT a healthy hippie’s friend. I was shocked that every single shampoo & soap I picked up at department stores had this ingredient listed. I decided to check out brands claiming to be ‘Natural’, and still found this sneaky little chemical hiding in the label. The organic/homemade shampoo that I did try just dried my hair completely out. It was the closest experience to dreads that I’ve ever had. My hair almost never came untangled. So, going into this new experience, I had some lingering trust issues with a shampoo bar.

I used it on the first night, and thanks be to Iowa, my hair did not dry out! SCORE! It lathered up, and got the job done without stripping my hair. And, I did not smell overly perfumed after drying off. It leaves only a light scent behind. My guys used it after me, and immediately swiped it! It has since been claimed as their own. They find it very convenient to use one bar head to toe, and they like the way it smells. I must admit, my husband now smells very earthy & hippie dude-ish, and I really like it!

If you plan to be on the go this summer, it’s great to pack just one bar to get you clean. Think of all the bag space you’ll save! If you’re into saving money, you get your soap & shampoo combined at a steal of only $6.50. And, if you’re a healthy hippie, the only ingredients in this bar are Castor Oil, Olive Oil, Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Sodium Hydroxide(lye), Jojoba, & Patchouli Essential Oil. No scary and unnatural names there!

So, buds, I give The Happy Hippie Head to Toe Shampoo Bar two squeaky clean thumbs up! Thanks Soul Flower!