Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA!

Eco-friendly USA One-Stop Shop

2024 UPDATE: AFTER A DECADE OF OFFERING 2-4 OF THESE/YEAR, THEY ARE ON HIATUS AT THE VERY LEAST. I NEED A BREAK FOR THIS YEAR AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE I’LL OFFER THEM AGAIN IN THE FUTURE? KEEPING THIS PAGE HERE AS A REMINDER OF THE FANTASTIC VENDORS I WAS WORKING WITH!!!

This marks the 10 year anniversary of the 1st ever order wayyyyy back in Sep of 2013!!!!!

SEPTEMBER DEADLINE EXTENSION: Wednesday 9/13 @8am CENTRAL time.

The potential is always there that this could be the last ever order. If there’s not sufficient demand, I don’t need to continue to offer this opportunity. IF there is another order, it would be MARCH of 2024, so stock up!!

EMAIL YOUR ORDER TO: ecofriendlyusabuyingclub@gmail.com

****I reserve the right to cancel any items on your list from vendors that didn’t receive enough orders to meet the minimums, or close to it. If I need to order a case of 12 of something, and only 2 are ordered via the club I will have to cancel that offering. I do always reach out to the group to try to collect a few more orders when needed.

SUBMIT YOUR ORDER TO ME AT: ECOFRIENDLYUSABUYINGCLUB@GMAIL.COM

SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR  ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS, FAQ’s & REVIEW LINKS

I wanted to share this, to give you an idea of the cost savings you can take advantage of by using the buying club. Her order totaled $139.00. She ordered from 6 of the 20 vendors available, paid no sales tax (unless you’re in my state of WI, sorry neighbors), and paid $8.15 for shipping. I would say this is an average order, some are smaller, some are much, much larger. Also, many vendors offer exclusive sales and items just to the buying club. 1st time customer:  “I finally placed my first Buying Club order this round and am SO thrilled with everything! Everything arrived safely and quickly! I took a few minutes to see how much I saved on shipping/tax and it came out to an amazing $35!!! Love this process for buying small/local and will definitely be placing another order in the fall! A million thanks to Jessica Brandt and all you do for this group! ” Below is her order.

And another super awesome cost savings comparison from Anne: Just want to add my recent savings through the buying club. I ordered from 9 vendors. Shipping would have been $74.66 if I had purchased separately. $17.10 for ONE priority box from Jess. And as a disclaimer, I wouldn’t have purchased one item from Mountain Rose Herbs and paid $8.28 shipping, but through the club, I can get just one item!! I can’t thank you enough, Jess! Your time and dedication to the buying club is invaluable to me! 

SEPTEMBER 2023 VENDORS – QUICK LOOK

A Remedy for That- tallow balm, elderberry syrup & kits to make your own, magic elixir and more! See below for details on a free sample offer as part of your order!

Eco-friendly USA (that’s me)- homemade deodorant, toothpaste & body scrub.

Farmacology- formerly Poofy CBD. 

Frontier coop- Organic herbs, spices, tea. Simply Organic brand also available.

Luffa Gardens- Luffas grown in CA. 

LuSa Organics – personal care, specializing in bar soap, lotion bars, shampoo bars.

Mama Suds-  Home & personal care products. 

Mountain Rose Herbs- industry leader in supplying certified organic essential oils, herbs & spices, teas, and so much more.

Poofy Organics – A HUGE selection of largely USDA certified organic personal care & home essentials.  See note below for Labor Day sale info.

Preserve Products- Toothbrushes only offered via buying club order. Made from recycled plastic.

Pure Play Kids- Made in USA, battery-free, screen-free, hands-on, DIY FUN for all ages! 

Rada- Awesome kitchen utensils and gadgets, made in Iowa!

Simply Rustic- handmade skin care products using fair trade, organic, raw & wildcrafted ingredients. 

Tangie- Waste-free laundry and other home products, and personal care. 

• A Remedy for That- https://www.etsy.com/shop/ARemedyForThat  FREE: 2 oz tallow sugar scrub with every order $35+! NEW: First Aid Balm.  HEADS UP: She only has 3x 32oz bottles left in stock, for either Magic Elixir (fire cider) or Elderberry. They are $49, and she will direct ship them for free as part of your buying club order. Once those are claimed, she’s no longer offering that size (they just take up too much room). Melissa’s products have become very popular via the buying club. Her tallow balm is especially helpful for super dry winter skin. I absolutely LOVE her magic elixir (fire cider). Her elderberry syrup kits make creating a batch of syrup super easy and delicious, or buy it premade! Here’s an update from her that she wanted us all to know: I just want to give an update. I have officially run out of the tallow I had been using from a farm in PA. Now that we are in GA, I am able to source suet from a farmer nearby. I am rendering the suet down myself. I have also added organic calendula flowers. I am infusing all of the tallow base with the flowers for an added benefit. Also this latest round of Magic Elixir is made from all locally sourced ingredients, not using Whole Foods at all. That being said these farms aren’t certified organic, although I felt locally sourcing the ingredients was more important than an official certification which many small farmers can’t afford. (wanting to have full disclosure). My review of a few of her products: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2022/04/15/review-of-a-remedy-for-that-products/

• Eco-friendly USA (that’s me)—. I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU WANT IT WITH OR WITHOUT CALCIUM. Handmade toothpaste in 4 oz jars ($8), deodorant($8).  8 oz wide-mouth jars are available exclusively to the club for $17. Toothpaste note with ingredients & details: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2015/12/13/jess-homemade-remineralization-toothpaste-info/ . Samples available for $2.50 ea. Toothpaste flavor options: spearmint (add $2, price quadrupled for the flavor oil), peppermint, grape, strawberry, blueberry, vanilla, cinnamon (sweet, not spicy), bubblegum, cherry, orange! Cherry/van=yummmmy! Deo scent options: orange, lavender, peppermint, patchouli, cedarwood, rose geranium or any combo (or/lav or or/lav/pepp are very popular). Deo note with ingredients, etc: https://ecofriendlyusa.wordpress.com/donations-now-accepted/homemade-deodorant-body-scrub-info/.

• Farmacology- https://ecofriendlymamausa.farmacology.com/# Poofy CBD has changed names with the changing of Poofy ownership. Kristina (Poofy’s former owner) kept the CBD line.  NEW OFFERINGS: Intimacy Oil, Sunblock SPF 30, and the beloved Soothing Muscle Freeze Gel is back!! Shipping used to be free on all orders, now it’s $6.95, so snagging your items via your buying club order will help negate that cost for you as it’ll come as part of the rest of your order for 1 shipping fee!

• Frontier Coop: https://www.coopmarket.com/   They truly have a TON of stuff!! Much like Mountain Rose Herbs, TONS of organic herbs, spices, teas. Also non-organic offerings (I hope you’ll choose organic, but won’t tell you what to do). Also many personal care brands I have on my greenwashers/not recommended list, but I assume you’ve done your homework and won’t say you can’t order what you want. I really enjoy the Simply Organic brand. I love their simmer pouches, coconut curry is my fave!

• Luffa Gardens- https://luffagardens.com/  I love these luffas. I keep them on hand for hand dishwashing mostly. They last forever! You can but them in various lengths pre-cut, or buy a large one and cut it to whatever size you’d like. NOTE: I do not recommend their soap, they use artificial color and fragrance, among other less than ideal ingredients. 

• LuSa Organics – http://www.lusaorganics.com/. Huge selection of personal care products, but her specialty is bar soap. The scratch & dent packs are not available via your club order, she usually just has 1-2. Prices as marked on website. Local to me here in SW WI!

• Rada- https://radakitchenstore.com/. Awesome, huge selection of utensils, proudly made in Iowa! Most of my kitchen is Rada items, and I always add a few items with each order. Note: their dip/baking mixes have what I consider icky ingredients, just a heads up. I stick with utensils. Please include the SKU# with your list of items, most items come in stainless or black, so I need to know which option you want. Only offered once/year.

• Simply Rustic- https://simplyrustic2011.weebly.com/  (her site was hacked recently, so this is a temporary url until that gets straightened out)  No sale or clearance items available. Her lip balm is my all-time favorite! NEW: roll-on oil blends. Also offering: body butter, healing balm, body scrub, a facial care line, body + massage oil, bath tea, a little ones line!
  · 100% from Nature Ingredients
  · Fair Trade, Raw and Organic Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Mango Butter
  · Ethically Wildcrafted and Certified Organic Ingredients
  · Unrefined, Organic Butters and Oils – This keeps all the vitamins, minerals and other natural properties of the butters and oils intact, making them very beneficial. The color of the product comes from the unrefined butters and oils.
• Tangie– https://wastefreeproducts.com/  All products are concentrated bars that you dissolve in water to make things such as laundry soap, hand soap, etc and they’re plastic-free!! I really, really like her laundry bars, it’s all I’ve used for my laundry for a few years now. However, I’m not a big fan of the shampoo bars which contain sodium cocoa sulfate as the 1st ingredient. She does offer a sulfate-free shampoo bar, in a couple scents. My review: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2017/11/06/review-of-tangie-laundry-paste
• Next March vendors: Life and Balance, salonsolids
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

*WHY DO AN ECO-FRIENDLY BUYING CLUB? I’ve been doing reviews for many years to find the safest products on the market for my family & yours. I have discovered several fabulous lines of products! It is discouraging to find out how much shipping is just to try a few products. The idea is to place large orders with each company as a group. Get your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors to go in on an order with you!

*HOW DO I ORDER? Email orders to me at ecofriendlyusabuyingclub@gmail.com. INCLUDE your mailing address & a list of your items. Include: name of the company, names and quantities of the products you want, size (if there is more than one option for that product…2 oz, 4 oz, etc), and the price of the item so I don’t have to look it up.

*HOW OFTEN DO YOU DO THIS? 2 times/year: March & September as of 2022. Delivery is a couple weeks after the deadline, as soon as I have everything in my hands I start filling orders in the order received. I send your final invoice with shipping as soon as I know that amount, you pay, I ship.

*WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF ORDERING AS A GROUP? Consolidated shipping costs! My homemade deodorant is a good example of how expensive it is to ship. I ask $8 for a jar, and it costs $7.45 to ship via the USPS. Now, you can purchase a jar of my deodorant, dish soap from Poofy Organics, toothpaste from Earthpaste,  a bottle of castile soap from MamaSuds, laundry powder from Molly’s Suds, a body scrub from Simply Rustic (random example) & you’ll only pay one shipping fee and receive it all in one box from me to you! The idea is that you can order as much as you want, from whichever companies you want, and the more the better to fill up a flat rate box!

*WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM ME? Patience. Realize that this is a slow process, but hopefully one that will get products in your hands that you’ve been waiting to try. If you need something immediately, please order it yourself.

*HOW DO I PAY FOR MY ORDER? You have 2 options: PayPal or personal check (many have gone to e-checking, which is fine too). You will be sent a final invoice once your order is ready to ship (I’ll send you a QuickBooks invoice with the total amount). As soon as I receive payment your order will be on the way!

*WHERE DO YOU SHIP AND IS IT INSURED? I ship anywhere in the US & territories, and to any APO. I use USPS Priority flat & regional rate boxes, which includes $50 in insurance and free tracking. Additional insurance is optional. Your final invoice will include the quote for full coverage; if you choose not to purchase it subtract it from your total when paying. Out of ~500 packages shipped/year, I’ve only ever made a handful of claims for leaking or damaged goods, all under $50. But, if your $300 package gets lost or completely damaged, and you did not purchase the additional insurance, all we’ll be able to recover is $50.

THE FINE PRINT: I can’t be responsible for anything once the package leaves my hands. All sales are final. I will fix any errors I make, but if you order the wrong product, or aren’t happy with it, you’re stuck with it.

REVIEWS:

Cold Bee Gone –  https://www.facebook.com/397517646930548/photos/a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548/749887745026868/?type=3&theater

Earth Paint –  https://www.facebook.com/397517646930548/photos/a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548/704581892890787/?type=3&theater

Glass Dharma –  https://www.facebook.com/397517646930548/photos/a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548/603887482960229/?type=1

Life & Balance- https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2017/08/23/life-and-balance-deodorant-review/

Lusa Organics – My review (I especially LOVE the shampoo bar!): https://ecofriendlyusa.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/lusa-organics-review/

Mama Suds – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=660935610588749&set=a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548&type=3&theater

Poofy Organics –https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153489486074297&set=o.1507106652868450&type=3&theater. My review of a few products, and the line in general: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=657087054306938&set=a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548&type=3&theater. Jolene’s Poofy make-up review: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.763749273640715.1073741834.397517646930548&type=3

Salonsolids– https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2016/12/10/salonsolids-review/

Simply Rustic -https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2017/09/08/updated-simply-rustic-review/. Simply Rustic’s lip balms are just amazing, with flavors like pomegranate/vanilla/coconut (my fave), chocolate covered strawberry, raspberry lemonade & several more!!

Tangie- https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2017/11/06/review-of-tangie-laundry-paste/

The WashCloth Shop-  https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2018/05/24/the-washcloth-shop-product-highlights/

Vejibag- https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2018/12/25/vejibags-review/

****A great blog post from someone who has participated in several orders about what she loves from/about the buying club: http://www.thefreerangehomemaker.com/2014/08/eco-friendly-usa-mama-buying-club.html

A thread with comments from a few who have participated thus far: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=804574999558142&id=397517646930548