We are knee deep in the heat, here in New York City. The hot, steamy days of August are upon us, therefore so is the looming Fall. Are you asking youself the same question we are: “Where did Summer go?!?” It seems like just yesterday was the First Day of Summer and we were embracing the warm weather. We have had a jam-packed Summer of excitement around here. PeaceKeeper just came back from a super successful trip to Las Vegas for the Cosmo Prof Trade Show. We made many great new friends and enjoyed spending the weekend with some of our grand ol’ buddies. It was delightful and rejuvinating, getting to meld minds with some of the great geniuses in the field and we are very excited about upcoming PeaceKeeper news! We can’t share too much just yet, but make sure you keep one eye on us and both of them peeled for new and wonderful things coming soon from your friends at PeaceKeeper!
We are a very blessed little company. PeaceKeeper is so grateful everytime someone raves about our products.
cybelesays is a not your average beauty blog. Her philosophy is short and sweet, “We feature products we’ve tried, loved, and like a good girl, want to share with you; our friends. From big companies or small ones, we don’t care as long as they are good. Because we are just like you, an everyday girl who just happens to love learning and trying out new products.”
Sounds just like PeaceKeeper! We love the earth and we love beauty. Keep it simple! Let’s squish them together and make something magical. Let’s try to save Mother Earth while saving mothers, sisters, nieces, aunts, and grandmothers all across the world.
www.cybelesays.com reviewed our Perfect As Is Lip Balm as a must-have new product for this summer. Thank you, Cybel!! We feel that you have the must-read blog for the summer!
In March, our friend Jamie Ervin at Eco Child’s Play, a website geared toward “Green Parenting for Non-Toxic, Healthy Homes”, was kind enough to blog about our Eco-Easy Nail Polish Remover. We are proud to say that it got rave reviews! According to Jamie, “Finding a less toxic (less odorific) polish has been a huge challenge in our house…I’m very excited to have found this line of Cause-Metics, now I can feel even better about having pretty fingers and toes.”
We LOVE hearing that moms are enjoying our “cause-metics” while keeping their little beauties toxic-free. We feel that it’s important to not only spread the message of love to our young lovelies, but to teach them to be socially conscious about their beauty choices. According to market research firm Experian, 43 percent of 6 to 9 year olds are already using lipstick or lip gloss; 38 percent use hairstyling products, and 12 percent use other cosmetics. This statistic is astounding and it means that we have many chances to educate girls to think about where their lipsticks, lip glosses, and nail polish come from and how they can benefit others.
While talking about role models, it’s also important that girls and women realize their self-worth. Recently, author and doctor, Cheryl Saban was featured on “The View” and “The Today Show,” talking about her new book, What is Your Self-Worth; A Women’s Guide to Validation.In the words of Dr. Saban, “My mission is to make a difference in women’s lives. To inspire women to understand, grasp, actualize, and vocalize their worth; negotiate a better deal for themselves; take more responsibility for themselves; and to spread this message to our youth.” We could not agree more with Dr. Saban and hope that women around the world can identify their core of self-worth and help spread the message of Peace and Love to everyone in their lives.
The five part film En el Mundo a Cado Rato (which translates to Every Second in the World) provides a glimpse into the truths of daily lives for many children around the world. Five Spanish directors partnered with UNICEF to film five vignettes that explore topics like HIV/AIDS, malaria, poverty, domestic abuse, child labor and girls’ education.
This movie was screened at my university as part of a film series on forced migration put on by the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs. I didn’t quite know what to expect when the film started. It was unclear how much of the film was story telling, although all based on reality. As I expected, I cried. I’m a big ball of emotions when it comes to kids. What I didn’t expect, however, was to laugh. One segment titled “Hijas de belen” focused in on young girls selling goods in a market place. It’s hard not to laugh at the strangeness of a girl who can’t be older than 10 talking about the fluctuations of the market prices of eggs, or two friends on break planning a weekend get together on what little time they have off. It reminded me of conversations I’ve had with my compatriots: griping about the economy, planning happy hour rendezvous. But the difference is that I am 22. These girls haven’t even hit puberty. And yet in some senses they are more adult than I am. And that is heartbreaking. Without an education, this is where these girls will stay for as long as they live. UNICEF is dedicated to addressing these issues that burden our youngest and most precious resources.
Watch the trailer here, and click here to find out more information on UNICEF.
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Fair Wages – Peacekeepers believes in fair pay for fair work. No matter where the workers are. The company does not employee children, nor do business with any other company that exploits workers. This commitment is monitored by leading agencies in the field.
Ethical – Truth is power, and Peacekeepers always speaks the truth about its company, products, and the standards they commit to.
Click here to read more lists and advice from our compatriot of consumer compassion.
As a college-aged female, I admit that I may or may not check celebrity gossip sites obsessively. It’s embarrassing, especially since 99% of the stuff is promoting unhealthy body images and promote celebrity worship– and that’s definitely not what I’m about. But every once and awhile you’ll find some tidbit that is actually important, that praises stars for things other than pairing together sweet kicks and an “it” bag.
For instance, Ms. Star Wars-V for Vendetta Natalie Portman is stepping up to be a role model ( although she’s said otherwise…. the link here isn’t for young’uns!) and using her star power for good. She’s slated up to speak on a panel for the film A POWERFUL NOISE, along sides with such famous females like Madeleine K. Albright, Christy Turlington Burns and other notables in the women’s rights community.
The film documents three young women, one in Vietnam, one in Bosnia, the other in Mali, and their struggles with issues like HIV, war conflicts and slum life that are everyday occurrences for many women around the world. The release of this film as well as the guest panel is coordinated to start the discussions for International Women’s Day.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, with the theme of “Women and Men united to end violence against women and girls.” Click here for more information on the history of this date, as well as the cause.
The United States government through the Federal Bureau of Investigation had a major victory against child prostitution in the past week. Dubbed Operation Cross Country III, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies on the state and local level combined forces to arrest upwards of 570 people, including 73 pimps involved with child prostitution. The sting resulted in the rescue of nearly 50 child prostitutes in cities around the U.S. This type of operation is a part of the Innocence Lost Initiative that works to combat the domestic child sex industry that has already removed 576 children from prostitution to date.
I am very glad to see news stories like this all over the web and in the newspaper because it challenges a lot of people’s perspectives on child prostitution. The child sex industry isn’t limited to far-away foreign places in South East Asia or Eastern Europe– it happens every day in our own country. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a great deal of information on the facts as well as ways you can help. PeaceKeeper sends our prayers and hopes to the young children freed during this operation and all the others who still await help.
From living in New York City for the past three and a half years, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Bronx is quite possibly the last unexplored borough. That is, of course, taking into account that no one considers Staten Island a “real” borough. It’s kind of sad, really. The Bronx has had a hand in making history throughout the years. Within a ten minute walk I can visit the home of Edgar Allen Poe, the former “Champs Élysée” of New York that is the Grand Concourse as well as house where hip hop and rap was born.
I was introducing my boyfriend to the rap group Jurassic Five the other day when he noted how the intellectual and social commentary that permeated the lyrics gave the group a rather dated sound, in the same way that hearing a grunge band is associated with the early 1990s. Today I stumbled upon a rap artist named Mr. J. Medeiros who continues to use rap as a platform for awareness. His bio is pretty interesting:
Mr. J has always had a passion to help people, and has devoted years of his life serving in AmeriCorps (the Presidentially honored service organization), volunteering for Habitat For Humanity, and caring for people with mental disabilities. “In working with people with developmental disabilities, I really started to understand the shallow ways that we as society communicate and interact, begins the MC, “So many people live their lives in corners because they either cant or won’t subscribe to the ideals of materialism and superficial beauty, and it truly hurts. These experiences helped Medeiros find his calling to share this reality to others.
Medeiros has made himself an ally to many causes through his music. He reveals his passion for women’s issues, with songs like “Constance, which tells the story of a girl trapped in the taboo world of child pornography and human trafficking. The song’s lyrics are aggressive and bold, “It’s not illegal to use raping as a cash crop / As long as it says she’s 18 on your laptop. Medeiros knows he’s going against the grain. “A large part of hip-hop’s identity has been formed through a consistent disregard to a women’s civil rights.” declares J. This altruistic attitude in Medeiros’ music touches on many other concerns from alcoholism to autism to self-esteem issues. “There aren’t a lot of traditional themes that I talk about. I try to make music in a form to where people can take it as their own, instead of just talking about my experiences, says the thoughtful artist. “As soon as it leaves my mouth, it’s no longer my music.”
His message and video for the song “Constance” is linked here, but please note that it is dealing with a very serious subject matter that could be upsetting to some. I really like his honesty in his lyrics– sexual exploitation is inherently ugly and ghastly, and there is no way to sugar-coat it without devaluing the suffering of victims and survivors. The internet has opened up new channels for sexual exploitation to flourish by easy access. Medeiros makes an excellent point that people who buy into the child pornography industry are just as responsible for the sexual trafficking of young boys and girls as the people who take them from their homes in the first place. Supply and demand, in that sense is the untamed beast that justifies such inhumane actions.
You can find more songs and videos for Mr. J. Medeiros on his website here.
