|
Health and Beauty |
|
Aubrey
Organics is the leader in the manufacture of
all-natural body care and cosmetic items.
Virtually every product is produced with all natural
ingredients without a single petrochemical, synthetic
chemical, or toxic ingredient. They are the only
body care company with widely available products which can make this claim. They
were the first body care company to be certified
 organic, too. Almost every item listed on the
website provides the complete ingredient list.
Aubrey specializes in products for skin care and hair
care, including shampoos, conditioners, and hair
colors, and also carries sunscreens, baby care items,
and even a few for pets. Makeup is a new
addition, and a welcome one since it was nearly
impossible to find petrochemical-free makeup in the
past. Other new additions include their Organimals line, which are 100% natural pet grooming products, and safe non-toxic household cleaning products. Note that many Aubrey Organics products are also carried by Alternative Health websites such as iHerb (best prices) and The Vitamin Shoppe as well as Drugstore.com (see below), and usually at a discount, unlike the Aubrey site which sells everything at list price. |
Drugstore.com is a very popular website to purchase all manner of
items typically found in a conventional drug store,
and usually at a discount. They also sell a wide
variety of items including pet supplies, household
items, foods like protein bars, and contact lenses. They are
 also an excellent source for a
good selection of natural household cleaning products
including those by Caldrea, Earth Friendly Products,
Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyer's, and
Bi-O-Kleen. They also sell Weleda, Tom's of
Maine, and Burt's Bee
bodycare items. Shipping is free with a $50
order and is very fast plus they have an excellent
rebate program. |
Macy's is an upscale department store known primarily for
their clothing, shoes, and accessories but they
feature a very good selection of cosmetics and
bodycare items . They are a popular merchant for
bridal registries. Pricing is at or near list
for most items but they have frequent  sales,
especially around holidays. Most people shop at
Macy's for the excellent selection. Website
design is very good and easy to navigate considering
the large number of products. Shipping costs are
based on the total cost of the order and range from $5
to $20, with 2 day shipping available for $8
more. The return policy is generous and most
product can be returned to their common brick and
mortar stores, typically found in malls. |
The Wright Stuff makes products for those who suffer from arthritis.This includes a large number of arthritis utensils like soft and large grip forks, knives, and spoons, including Melaware,  Amefa, and Soft Curve cutlery, which are angled with large handles, as well as a line of Good Gripsstraight utensils with the biggest soft handles. The Wright Stuff also sells a large number of household and gardening gadgets for arthritics and others with limited hand mobility or injury including gardening tools, door knob grippers and levers,
reachers, lamp switch enlargers, pen and pencil grips and cushions, and other household items which make life easier for those with limited mobility. |
Lens.com is one of the most popular online retailers of replacement contact lenses. As their website states, "We are a replacement contact lens company, and are a direct to consumer marketer of contact lenses. As a replacement center, we can only sell you contact lenses that have been prescribed by your eye care professional and that you are wearing  successfully. By continuing with your order you confirm that you are successfully wearing the selected lenses for which you have a valid prescription." Website design is simple and functional, after all, they only carry contact lenses. They provide a feedback forum for their products, but very few actually have feedback. They provide full disclosure of their products, including a complete description, material content, water content, and a price comparison, which lists their price versus retail. They also keep track of flexible savings account (FSA) funds for you.. Lens.com is highly recommended. |
Hock's Online Pharmacy is a large volume dealer of diabetic supplies, medical equipment, and more than 9000 health and beauty aids. They feature discount prices and a good selection of ostomy supplies, arthritis remedies, fertility monitors, baby products, diet aids, and nicotine gum,  nicotine patches, and other items to help you quit smoking. Website design is well-organized given the number of products they carry, and easy to navigate. They allow a large number of items to be shown with small thumbnail pictures in category and search displays, a good feature. The order process is excellent and they are well known for their customer service. Hock's ships to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO addresses, but otherwise they do not ship internationally. Shipping costs are quoted with various UPS and USPS Priority mail options, a good feature. |
The Biggest Loser Club is the website associated with the successful NBC television show. It features individualized and customized diet plans. The website provides an animated tour and some nice multimedia footage. Most of the benefits of the plan are in the online tracking of your  diet, suggesting the foods to eat for each meal and giving you choices while still tracking the calories consumed. And, or course, tracking your weight loss. They also provide a Biggest Loser Recipes section and, glancing at this, someone versed in alternative health might cringe since they cling to the old fashioned (but still conventional doctor recommended) low fat diet, even going so far as to make the horrible recommendation of using egg whites instead of whole eggs in recipes. For example, the ingredients in their sample recipe section includes 0g of EFAs (_essential_ fatty acids) in all the recipes combined, a sure sign of an unhealthy low-fat fad diet. |
Zone Diet at Home, also known as Zone Diet Delivery, delivers food to one's home based on the best selling Barry Sears' book The Zone. The Zone is a diet where a balanced amount of carbs, protein, and fats are consumed, a far better diet than any low-fat fad diet for long term weight loss and especially health. The Zone Diet itself is explained well in eRegimens' The Zone Diet. The Zone Diet at Home service is for those  who don't hve the time or knowledge to follow the diet and cook the food, so is very convenient. There are a number of Zone Diet delivery programs at a cost from $25 up to $40 per day. The cheapest plan, FroZone, delivers a week's worth of frozen meals plus snacks every week. The Optimum Results plan (currently $30 per day) is also a frozen line but has more gourmet quality foods. The most expensive, Zone Lifestyle, delivers non-frozen meals and snacks to your door every day. This is quite an expense at $40 per day or about $1200 per month, but for someone who was really serious about health, nutrition, and had no time to prepare these gourmet meals, it _is_ a bit cheaper than hiring a personal chef. |
|
|
Links
Epinions.com is an online ratings service of products, services, and businesses which provides a review forum for consumers. Note that people are much more motivated to find a place to vent their feelings when they are dissatisfied than when they are pleased, so the ratings can certainly be skewed towards the unfavorable, especially for the items or vendors that have the largest number of reviews, but it still provides a useful measure for comparison.
|
|
