The Clean Living Podcast: Recent Episodes
Shannon Lohr
What’s really in the products we use and buy every day? Is it possible to change our own health by becoming more thoughtful consumers?
I’m your host Shannon Lohr and I’m an entrepreneur, mother and clean living advocate who thinks a lot about what I buy -- especially when it comes to home, food and beauty.
For most people, it’s overwhelming to sift through research about parabens and sulfates when you’re just trying to make it through the day, put dinner on the table and get the kids to bed.
But there is so much that we don’t know about the products we use daily. We don’t know who to trust, which ingredients to avoid, what to switch to and which companies are greenwashing a lie.
With mini episodes under 10 minutes, The Clean Living Podcast explores how to live a more sustainable life without guilt, shame or overwhelm. I truly believe that taking charge of the wellness in our own homes is a huge step in changing the world.
Ready to get started? Click play.
Learn more at http://cleanlivingpodcast.com
This is not the episode that I thought I would be writing when I restarted this podcast back in August. I told you in the Season 02 teaser that I had big plans for what I would share, what we would learn and how we would better our lives with small changes in our homes. But what do they say about the best laid plans?
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/season-02-finale/
Here’s a picture I never thought I’d paint for you: Imagine you’re in Ancient Rome. You’re a wealthy citizen of the city so you have access to running water and public baths – the first of their kind. You’re bathing – washing your skin and hair – and on the other side of the city someone else, with less wealth and lower on the hierarchy than you, is cleaning dirty wool and newly-picked cotton to weave them into cloth. Which of these people, do you think, is using soap?
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: https://cleanlivingpodcast.com/soap/
‘Tis the season… to talk about candy. With Halloween less than a week away, I wanted to use this episode to share some alternative, better-for-you candy brands and to give you the heads-up on some others that you may want to swap out. I don’t know what the Halloween equivalent of a scrooge is, but I’m not it – I’m just here to clean up the holiday one M&M at a time…
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: https://cleanlivingpodcast.com/candy/
This episode started with an Instagram DM from a friend. Her message linked to an article with a note that said: “This would be a good topic for the podcast.” To which I replied, “Do you think? I feel like people already know this…” It was her response back that really blew me away. So in this episode, we’re talking about plastic.PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: https://cleanlivingpodcast.com/plastic/
Let me tell you about one of the biggest pain points within my family… it’s the thing that causes the most screaming (by my kids), the most avoiding (by my husband) and the most nagging (by me). It also happens to be an extremely expensive habit (file it under preventative health care, I guess) and is just, well, a general necessary nuisance of my existence. It’s the daily application of sunscreen — and that’s what I’m diving into in this episode.
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: https://cleanlivingpodcast.com/sunscreen/
Raise your hand if you saw the title of this week’s podcast episode and low-key panicked that I was going to tell you to stop drinking coffee. No, no, no, no… Don’t worry… I’m not here to destroy lives – there are just a few things I want you to consider the next time you buy a new bag of beans or box of tea.
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/coffee-tea
Let’s face it, we’re all talking about... And if you’re not talking about it, then you’re wondering about it. And if you’re not wondering about it, and you’re over the age of 35, then you’re just a very evolved human. Botox: Who’s getting it? Who’s gotten too much of it? And you, thinking you have crow’s feet and elevens and want to start getting it, let’s discuss…
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/botox
HAVE AN IDEA FOR A FUTURE EPISODE? Tell me here:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G9HM7Z3
This was the most requested topic after last season, so I wanted to get it right. But to be honest, the research left me with more questions than answers (I know, how can something like moisturizer be so puzzling?) Let’s break it down, shall we?
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: https://cleanlivingpodcast.com/moisturizer/
I was recently at my annual dermatology appointment – I come from a long line of skin cancer history, so I get a full body scan once a year to make sure there aren’t any unusual marks – and at the end of the appointment, the doctor asked if I have any questions.
So I asked the thing that’s on every mid-thirties, closer to 40-year-old, woman… In this first episode of Season 2, we’re talking about… skincare.
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/skincare
In this teaser episode for Season 02, I want to illustrate a bigger point. And it’s one that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the two years since pausing this podcast, since having a second baby and since having conversations with friends. And it’s what I call “The Wellness Burden.”
PRODUCT RECS & SOURCES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/teaser
What brand of sunscreen should you buy? Is flavored yogurt actually toxic? What’s the deal with seed oils? Should you really wash rice multiple times before cooking? There are questions you’ve been wondering about and there are questions you’ve never thought to ask – and that’s why, after a two and a half year hiatus, I’m so excited to finally bring back The Clean Living Podcast for Season 02.
If you haven’t listened to Season 01 yet, you have two weeks to go back and catch up before Season 02 starts on September 13th!
To learn more about The Clean Living Podcast, go to: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com
To piggyback onto the other encore episode I did on sustainable fashion, in this episode I want to talk about kids clothing specifically. What do you do when you want to buy sustainable clothing for your kids but you also know how fast they grow out of everything? Let’s explore, shall we…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/kidsclothing
How often do you think about the clothing you buy? Where it comes from, where it was made, what it’s made from? When you think about all of the other things in the world to care about, why should fashion be one of them? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/sustainablefashion
Yes, you read that right -- this is the final episode of season one of The Clean Living Podcast! In three and a half months, I’ve released 35 episodes and it has been a whirlwind. To close out the first season, I’m sharing some general musings and what to expect from the podcast moving forward.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/seasonone
How do you manage friends and relatives with different views? How do you make things ‘okay’ without surrendering your values? This is an unconventional episode with some personal stories about the challenges and rewards of “livin’ that eco life.”
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/you
At the time of recording this episode, we are still at the height of a global pandemic. The repeated mantra is: stay 6 feet apart, wear a mask and wash your hands. It’s no surprise then that a bottle of hand sanitizer has become a mainstay in every house, school, bag and car. So, in this episode, I want to explore what’s actually in the average hand sanitizer and why we need to be more careful about the brands we use.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/handsanitizer
The other day I ate a Reese’s Cup and instantly regretted it. It tasted nothing like the peanut buttery goodness of my youth. In fact, it tasted nothing like peanut butter. And that’s when everything I’ve learned about food additives and sugar and other food chemicals came rushing back to my brain, and I instantly knew why the taste was so different. And that’s what we’re talking about in this episode, nut butter.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/nutbutter
Ironically it wasn’t until several years into my career in sustainable fashion, and learning about eco-friendly fabrics, that I even thought about the fabric and materials used for bedding. We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping and yet most of us don’t think about our sheets or pillowcases beyond how soft they are -- or maybe what the thread count is. So in this episode, we’re talking about how to ensure non-toxic sleep…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/bedding
Mascara is the second most used cosmetic in the United States. But what are the ingredients actually used in our favorite mascara brands? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/mascara
In the years leading up to the “Got Milk” campaign in the 1990s and early 2000s, U.S. milk consumption was at an all time low. The American dairy lobby knew they needed to do something to stay relevant and survive, so with enough persistence (ahem, money) it convinced the federal government to step in. Here’s what happened…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/milk
Ladies, we have got to stop putting bleach up our hoo-hahs. “Bleach? I don’t put bleach up there…” you may be thinking. But if you use conventional tampons, you are absolutely putting bleach (among other things) into your vagina 4-7 days per month…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/tampons
It’s the first episode of the new year and today’s topic was requested by a listener -- she wanted to know what my weekly grocery list looks like and some of the food brands I recommend. So, for today’s episode, here is my grocery list…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/grocery
So many of us are cooking clean, organic, healthy food and yet, we’re not thinking about the cookware we’re using every day. So in this episode, I’m going to share all of the research I’ve done about this topic so you can start detoxing your pots and pans.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/cookware
You may recall from the episode I did on organic food that the Environmental Working Group ranks grapes as #3 on the dirty dozen list due to high levels of pesticide residue found on conventionally grown grapes. Grapes are also, obviously, the main ingredient in wine. So that begs the question, do you need to be drinking organic wine, too?
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/wine
I understand that organic food is more expensive, less accessible in so-called “food deserts” and sadly, it has the reputation of being only for the privileged. But I hope to convey in this episode why it’s so important to start to transition into buying partly organic if you’re not buying any right now. And how small steps are better than none at all.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/organicfood
There is a common ingredient in our food (often associated with sugar) that I think is worth tackling this holiday season -- especially since it’s avoidable once you recognize it. So, in this episode we’re talking about food dyes.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/dyes
After visiting a friend and her newborn, I went down a rabbit hole of laundry detergent research -- starting with a popular brand marketed for babies. In this episode, I’m recommending that you toss the Tide (and others) and switch to these clean detergents instead.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/laundry
There are many reasons to keep bleach out of your house -- from accidental poisoning of kids and pets to highly reactive toxicity when combined with other chemicals -- but for the purpose of this episode, I want to talk about what it does to our overall health and wellness.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/bleach
It’s that time of the year when we’re getting all cozied up, maybe lighting the fireplace, pouring a cup of tea and lighting our favorite candle… the smell of petroleum sludge is just the perfect scent for the holidays. Wait what? Before you strike that match, listen to this episode.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/candles
When I first found out that our Brita water filter wasn’t removing nearly as many contaminants as I thought it was, I went down a deep rabbit hole to find the best water filter at an affordable price. Turns out, the research wasn’t nearly as straightforward as I was hoping it would be. So in this episode, I’m going to share what I’ve learned about tap water with some suggestions for the best filters…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/water
In my mind, hummus is the perfect snack -- it’s filling, can be spread or dipped onto any number of foods and it’s a great source of protein. So when I saw a study released by the Environmental Working Group about glyphosate levels in hummus and chickpeas, my throat dropped into my stomach.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/hummus
I’ve become a little obsessed with natural ways of boosting my immune system. To be honest, it hadn’t really dawned on me before the pandemic hit how important it is to be preventive and not just reactive about getting sick. So today, I’m going to share one little food hack that is as simple as squeezing a lemon.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/lemon
Back in September, I attended CleanCon -- a virtual conference hosted by the Environmental Working Group -- that was focused on clean beauty and personal care products. Throughout the five hour event, there was one overarching message that I kept hearing over and over from clean beauty advocates, scientists, CEOs and small business owners…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/psa
When my son was an infant I worried like most new moms do. Was he getting enough calories? Was he sleeping enough? Would he ever eat solids? But unlike most new moms, I worried about one thing in particular. In this episode, we’re talking about synthetic fragrances.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/fragrance
Depending on where you are in the world, winter has arrived… which means it’s more important than ever to strengthen our immune systems. In this episode, I’m going to share three cheap and easy foods to add into your cooking that will naturally boost the immune system of you and your family.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/immune-boosters
I was thinking that maybe this topic is outdated, no longer relevant and I could skip it, but then I Googled: “Is glyphosate still used on grass?” And I saw the first search result to appear on my screen…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/grass
I’ve got something uplifting and helpful for you today, especially if you’re trying to convince your partner to get a dog. If you’re already a puppy owner, give that pooch a big kiss on the mouth because this episode is for you.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/dogs
When it comes to clean living, there are people who are purists. They don’t stray or slip up or treat themselves every once in a while. And that’s great, kudos to them. I admire their dedication. But for most of us, it’s far more realistic to know from the beginning that we’re not going to do everything perfectly…
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/80-20
Did you know that the oil you use to cook with can impact your long-term health? And it’s not so simple as just switching to olive oil. In this episode, I’m sharing the cooking oils to avoid, the oils to use on low heat and the oils that are safe to use on medium to high heat.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/cookingoil
As a vegetarian, my family pretty much lives off of beans, lentils and vegetables. So when I found out that legumes can actually cause tooth decay, I panicked. But with a little more research and some advanced planning, I discovered the key to beans and lentils that are easy to digest, more nutritious and safe for your teeth.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/beans
Personal care is one of the most toxic categories of household products. Shampoo is no exception. What are you actually lathering into your hair every time you shower and why should you be extra careful about the shampoo you use? In this episode, I’m sharing the top reasons to switch to a clean, paraben-free, formaldehyde-free hair care routine.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/shampoo
Did you know there are ingredients in some of our most popular toothpastes that are actually banned in Europe? Associated with hormone disruption, organ toxicity and cancer, common household toothpaste could be doing more harm than good. In this episode, I’m sharing the reasons I switched up the oral care of my entire family and the toothpastes I recommend.
LINK TO SHOW NOTES: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/toothpaste
When I found out one of my favorite cosmetic products contains neurotoxic lead, I was so tempted to turn a blind eye. But then I researched more and found clean beauty products that could replace the ones with lead in it. In the episode, I’m sharing my research and the brands I can personally recommend.
Get my product recommendations & source list here: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/lipstick
Have you ever thought about the ingredients in your household cleaning products? You may be surprised to learn that some of the most popular cleaning supplies can actually cause respiratory problems, cancer, neurotoxicity, asthma and a whole slew of health problems. In the episode, I’m sharing some of the top reasons to switch to non-toxic cleaners and the ones I recommend.
Get my product recommendations & source list here: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/cleaning
What’s one common item in your home that could be causing allergies and making you sick? In this episode, I’m sharing one simple change that will make a big difference in the air quality of your house.
Get my product recommendations & source list here: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/trash
Eco-fashion was my first introduction to eco-living. In this episode, I’m sharing the first change I made to my shopping habits and one easy way to create a more sustainable wardrobe -- without breaking the bank.
Get my product recommendations & source list here: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/clothing
Deodorant is a staple in most people’s daily routine. But have you ever thought about the ingredients in your choice of anti-perspirant? In this episode of The Clean Living Podcast, I’m sharing the reasons to switch your stick ASAP with suggestions for cleaner alternatives.
Get my product recommendations & source list here: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com/deodorant
Before we start talking about toxins, parabens, formaldehyde and other anxiety-provoking topics, there’s one very important thing I want all of my listeners to know… Click play on this episode before you listen to anything else!
I’m Shannon Lohr and I’ve been an entrepreneur in the sustainable fashion industry since 2010. What started as an interest in eco-friendly fashion has evolved over the years into somewhat of an obsession… with eco-living.
When I became a mom in 2018 that obsession reached a whole new level, then a pandemic hit in 2020 and I realized it was time to share the research I’ve been doing over the past decade.
And so, The Clean Living Podcast was born. This is a show that helps busy women live more sustainably in the areas of food, home and beauty. Click the subscribe button and we’ll let you know as soon as we launch on October 21st. I’m so glad you’re here.