A Personal Touch!

I don't know about anyone else, but to me, life today is very stressful. Why? Because we simply yearn for the personal touch.

How many time have you rung a number to make an inquiry, only to get the pre-recorded message of 'Press ! Press 2!' and so on. When  you finally get to the required operator, after what seems an eternity of pushing options, you are told that all the operators are busy, and yes, your call is important to us, but, you now have to listen to this advertising spiel while your phone bill grows increasingly bigger. Don't even get me started on those voice activated phone systems, as I have call rage long before I finally get to the operator because - 'NO I do not want to query my account!' How I long for the day when someone simply answers the phone 'How can I help you?'  I yearn to talk to a real person, who knows what they are talking about and, who actually cares.

Police Stations, Councils, Emergency Services, and just about everything known to man, have all converted to call centers that reside no-where near where you happen to call from. You are lucky if they are in the same country. So here you are, babbling on about how you are on the corner near the local shopping center, and they have absolutely no idea where your city is, let alone the shopping center. Sadly, people have actually died as a result of this very situation but, does anyone who can change this care? I think not, as it all boils down to money. Sorry, but I believe that people who ring these numbers are already facing a life or death situation in many cases, and, to have someone who actually knows where you are, goes a little way to reassuring the caller.

 I can remember someone telling me about the Soviet Union, and how poor service was, and how you had to queue everywhere. Well, I think that Australia is fast catching up. At some stores you almost develop rigor mortise because you stand so long in the queue. At the supermarket, I resisted using the self serve checkouts for as long as possible but, there are only so many magazines that you can read while waiting in the line. So now I do battle with the little person in the self serve checkout that reprimands me for unidentified item in the bagging area and so on. I tell the thing to shut up on a regular basis.

The staff in government departments are specially trained to make life as difficult as possible. Take the Department of Transport for instance. You dare not even venture in the door without taking a ticket and then - let the wait begin. Mesmerized by the monotone of the number caller you fall into a trance to be finally jolted awake by the person next to you hissing 'Are you A595?' Then, when you get to the counter you find out that you have the wrong proof of identity or some other thing that means you have to come back again. When you finally get past the power trip of the person behind the counter, you find you have to pay an arm,a leg and your first born child for whatever it was that you wanted. And, God help you if you find yourself in the admission area of a hospital emergency unit because by the time you have filled out all the paper work, it is probably best to book in with the undertaker.

As technology has developed, and we have embraced it with the fervor of religious zealots, our lives have become increasingly more complex. I love being able to pay my bills at midnight and not having to line up at the Post Office to mail off a letter as it now zooms off across the airwaves in an instant. However, it also means that the evenings are no longer ours, holidays are not really holidays and our connectedness to the outside world is 24/7. We do a lot of jobs ourselves, where once others were paid to provide the service. We put petrol in our cars, we check ourselves out of the supermarket, hardware stores etc etc, we get money out of the wall, we pay our bills online and the list goes on. Yes, much of this is convenient and, even desirable, if the alternative is dealing with some bureaucrat, but the need remains the same. We need to know that there is someone who cares, someone who knows what they are talking about and someone who will actually do something about it.

Now I know you are thinking, this is all very weird coming from someone that has an internet site that basically is impersonal, disconnected and all the other things I have been talking about but I pledge you this. At WinC we do things differently. We pride ourselves in having a social conscience and if there is anything that we can do to help you with your shopping experience with us, and to make your life a little easier in accessing things that are difficult to find, you only have to ring us or drop us an email and we will make life easier for you. We will talk to you. Our business has the personal touch. Try us, I believe you will love the experience.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get! - The White Rabbit

WinC at a Rainbow

WinC Wrap in Cotton is not only a gay-friendly business, it is proudly gay-owned and operated.

It is indeed a strange world where we need to actually tell the world this but, it is a sad fact of life, that the last bastion of discrimination concerns the very vulnerable community of LGBT people.

While 60% plus of the Australian population support gay marriage, the government on both sides of politics refuses to allow a conscience vote, or a referendum to allow same sex couples to marry. I am at a loss as to why?

At a time when everyone is absolutely disillusioned with government, and the whole focus appears to be on whose vote we can buy, this is one piece of legislation that would make an enormous number of people happy and would not cost a cent (would even raise money). It is high time that the well-being of this community was placed above political grandstanding. Tell me how this will affect the country, other than to stand proudly among the other nations of the world and say - "We have grown up!"

To those who dare to be detractors, I say - Who are your nurses, who are your soldiers, who are your doctors, dentists, pilots, architects and any other profession you care to name? These people are good enough to care for you, good enough to fight for you, good enough to pay taxes, but not good enough to get married! WHAT??? This is simply wrong! Not only should same sex couples be allowed to marry, they should be allowed to have and/or adopt children.  Just because they are not a couple in the conventional sense, does not mean that they do not have the same needs and wants as every other loving couple. Anyway, I cannot see the difference if a couple is a man and a woman, a man and a man or a woman and a woman. So long as they love each other, respect each other and love their children then they should be left in peace to just be.

Australia has come a long way in the rights of LGBT people, but the fact that there is still conversation means we have not come nearly far enough. If we discriminated against any other group and did not allow them to marry on the basis of colour, religion, disability, or mental well being there would rightfully be, a huge uproar! But, same sex couples face an uphill battle still as bigoted politicians hide behind party lines and deny them this basic human right.

It is time that we as a community stood united behind our LGBT sons and daughters, friends, mothers and fathers. We should be immensely proud of them. We will never know the challenges they have faced every day, until we walk in their shoes (and boy, don't they have some cute ones)!! I know I am enormously proud of my best friend. I love him dearly and cannot imagine my life without him being part of it. My greatest wish is for him to be able to marry if he wishes, and as I tell him - I cannot wait to be flower girl!!

I would love WinC to be Gay Central for same sex wedding paraphanalia. That would be the greatest honour in the world. 'WinC - The Essence of Loving' - I think so!!

 

Why Choose Organic?

In a world where man-made chemicals are an ever increasing part of our lives, every avenue that we can pursue to decrease our exposure, no matter how small, is an important way forward to a healthier future and a more sustainable environment. This is especially true for our babies, whose immune systems are in their formative states, in the first few years of their lives.  Chemicals play an important role in how the immune system develops or falters in both children and adults, hence, underpinning the importance of minimizing our exposure.

One way we can do this is looking at the food we eat and the shift to organically grown produce is well documented with large supermarkets now having a major shift in the products they stock to cater for the ever increasing demand in food free from pesticides and chemicals. The momentum is gathering for free range chickens, and it will not be long where the genetically modified chicken becomes a thing of the past when people realize these poor birds cannot walk at all whether they are free range or battery raised as the growth rate and breast size simply means it is impossible for these birds to stand. I hear you say that this genetic modification was based on simply growing sufficient food to feed an exponentially growing population! That may be true, but it does not take into account the basic humanity of mankind where such suffering is not acceptable.  Also, if a chicken can grow from a hatchling, to a monster bird in six weeks, what are we eating that passes down the food chain? It is food for thought!!!

The largest organ of the body is your skin.  It also makes sense that the chemicals you rub into your skin or the makeup you apply can affect your well being. This applies to the clothes you wear as well, as they lie next to your skin day in, day out. Never before in the history of man have allergies posed such a risk to man. Epipens, required to save lives in case of anaphilaxis, are reaching epidemic proportions. Why is this happening?? We do not profess to know the answers but exposure to chemicals plays a role. The chemical exposure of the veterans of the Gulf War is well known and their slide into all types of auto-immune problems is well documented. 

Aldicarb, parathion, and methamidopho, three of the most acutely hazardous insecticides to human health as determined by the World Health Organization, rank in the top ten most commonly used pesticides in cotton production. All but one of the remaining seven most commonly used pesticides used sre classified as moderately to highly hazardous (1) If these are the chemical residues, along with the preservatives used at point of manufacture, that we are placing next to our babies skin it is little wonder that our children are developing auto-immune problems in the form of allergies.

You can make a difference with this aspect of your childs life simply by choosing certified organic cotton or bamboo products for your child. This is  a simple measure that you can undertake to limit their exposure to harmful chemicals. I hear you say that with all the other chemicals that they are exposed to in life that this will make very little difference!!!! As a former laboratory technician I can assure you that the effect of chemicals is accumulative and every measure to reduce exposure is worth it.

So if you want to give your children the best start in life, give them a 'man-made chemical' free life. Reduce their chance of eczema, and other auto-immune conditions by wrapping your baby in chemical free clothes and swaddling wraps. Use bamboo linen for their bedding. Choose your mattress wisely! 

Browse through our range of bedding, swadding and clothing at WinC Wrap in Cotton for your baby. It is as beautiful as it is safe!

Blue Whale

Pink Orchid

(1) EJF. (2007). The deadly chemicals in cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network UK: London, UK. IBSN No 1-904523-10-2