Congratulations to E.S. reader Sarah for winning our February commenting contest!

Sarah won for leaving this thoughtful response to our post on PETA’s boycott of wool:

I would much rather buy wool and cotton than synthetic materials that could be manufactured in some sort of sweat shop. Probably the best thing would be to buy locally made wool that way you would see and know that sheep are not being mistreated. However there are more benefits to buying natural materials than synthetic ones. You can’t always put animals first. People and the survival of the planet come first.

Stay tuned for our March commenting contest — details coming soon!

Pacific Northwest-based Terra Firma Cosmetics is known for its awesome organic ingredients and chemical-free beauty products, but we think it’s about to be known for its irreverent marketing as well.

A new product, the High Performance Natural Mascara, boasts that “this ain’t your mama’s natural mascara.” Unfortunately, my mama doesn’t use natural mascara because it’s a.) hard to find, and b.) usually a gummy, smudgy mess, but Terra Firma gets it right with its paraben- and silicone-free formula.

This flake-free mascara volumnizes as well as any other chemical-laden product but you can pronounce everything on the ingredient list. Not to mention each batch is made by hand and it costs less than the natural mascaras available at Sephora (one of the only other places we’ve seen carry them).

Plus it comes in a sapphire blue as well as black and black-brown so you can try out the colored lashes trend painlessly.

High Performance Natural Mascara, $12.99 at TerraFirmaCosmetics.com.

We LOVE to hear from our readers — we read every comment and email and are always blown away by how thoughtful you are about fashion’s ethical issues.

So we want to reward you for your fashion thinking.

Post a comment on any Behind the Seams blog post during the month of February and you could be randomly selected to win a Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream ($12.50), courtesy of Weleda!

And yes — the more comments you leave, the more opportunities you have to win this little pick-me-up.

Weleda’s antioxidant-packed skin soother smells amazing and is made from totally natural and organic emollients like pomegranate seed oil and shea butter sustainably grown in West Africa.

Rewarding our readers with prizes simply for being awesome? That’s just how we roll.

No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win sweepstakes. A purchase will not improve chances of winning. Promotions begin on February 1, 2010, and end on February 28, 2010. One potential winner will be selected by random drawing on March 2, 2010, and notified via email. For the list of winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to EthicalStyle.com, P.O. Box 46808, West Hollywood, Calif. 90046.

If you are going to be in San Francisco the weekend of March 12, we have great news for you. Kate from SenSpa just passed along the details of the grand opening of the spa’s Wellness Apothecary.

The deets:

• Workshops on skincare, stress management, aromatherapy, makeup, and more.
• Free mini-makeovers performed by a Becca makeup artist (SenSpa is the only full service Becca Cosmetics station in San Francisco.)
• Wellness Pass (which offers guests 15% off wellness products purchased that weekend and 10% off of these products on an on-going basis.)
• A buy one custom-blended body scrub and receive a travel-size of the same blend free deal.
• Champagne, tea, and snacks!

Be there or be square (or at the very least, a lot less relaxed).

SenSpa, 1161 Gorgas Avenue, The Presidio, San Francisco, Calif. (415) 441-1777.

Got the late-winter doldrums? A case of the Mondays? We’ve got the cure: Pharmacopia’s zesty Ginger Organic Body Wash.

This gentle foaming body cleanser will perk you up in your morning shower with a pallet of organic ingredients. Certified organic aloe vera combines with organic extracts of comfrey root, marshmallow root, and chamomile flowers to soothe and softly scent your skin.

Bonus: The wash also makes a great mild shampoo!

None of Pharmacopia body washes contain parabens or sulfates, and there are other delicious scents to choose from, like citrus, lavender, and rosemary.

Ginger Organic Body Wash, $15.50 at Pharmacopia.net.

Just a reminder that our February commenting contest still has two weeks left!

Write a comment on any story on Behind the Seams and you could be randomly selected to win a Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream (a $12.50 value).

Got strong feelings over the Johnny Weir fur controversy? Or feel like Aeropostale is unfairly being criticized for its Haiti charity effort? We know you’ve got opinions — let’s hear them!

(And yes — the more comments you leave, the better your chances of winning. So simple.)

Cosmetics superstar Bobbi Brown has partnered with The Heart Truth, the charity arm of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to raise awareness of heart disease in women.

This $40 limited edition Bronze Shimmerbrick and Blender Brush set benefits The Heart Truth and its programs to get more women tested and teach healthy habits to prevent heart disease. (However, it hasn’t been disclosed how much of the proceeds will go to charity.)

And a reminder that the Red Dress Fashion Show — the big event sponsored by The Heart Truth — kicks off New York Fashion Week on Thursday night in the main tent in Bryant Park! More details here.

Seeking supersoft skin in time for Valentine’s Day this weekend? RealSimple.com just reminded us of how much we love the Chilean Red Clover ultra rich body moisturizer by Pangea Organics.

With soothing emollients like sustainably grown organic sweet almond and coconut oils combined with organic cocoa and shea butters, even your ashy elbows and knees will be feeling loved up by this penetrating cream. Extracts of red clover, geranium, and grapefruit claim to calm, tone, and detoxify your skin, but even if they didn’t, we’d still love the deliciously fruity-floral scent.

Chilean Red Clover With Geranium & Grapefruit Body Lotion, $18 at PangeaOrganics.com.

P.S.: If you’re looking for something heavy duty for your hands this winter, don’t forget about our February contest to win a Pomegranate Hand Cream from Weleda!

We LOVE to hear from our readers — we read every comment and email and are always blown away by how thoughtful you are about fashion’s ethical issues.

So we want to reward you for your fashion thinking.

Post a comment on any Behind the Seams blog post during the month of February and you could be randomly selected to win a Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream ($12.50), courtesy of Weleda!

This antioxidant-packed skin soother smells amazing and is made from totally natural and organic emollients like pomegranate seed oil and shea butter sustainably grown in West Africa.

Rewarding our readers with prizes simply for being awesome? That’s just how we roll.

Sign me up for any skin-care product that promises soft, smooth, hydrated skin in the winter. My legs always get crazy itchy! Like, for example, the sugar scrub by natural beauty line Simple Sugars. And not only does it make good on its claims, but it’s totally organic and vegan too.

What makes the sugar vegan? It uses raw sugar (like the stuff you get in the brown packet):

The only difference is the crystal size of the vegan sugar is a little larger, so it’s a bit more coarse than the regular formulation. It’s also a little darker in color due to the tan shade of the organic vegan sugar. If you have really sensitive skin, we recommend going with the original formulation which uses the refined sugar ( on purpose!) for its smaller crystal size and lower melting point which makes it a more gentle exfoliant.

Best of all, the scrub comes in five yummy flavors: almond, coconut, chocolate, raspberry, and rose (if foodie scents aren’t your thing). But don’t limit yourself to just one: In the sampler below, you get two scrubs, a facial exfoliant, and a foot treatment in addition to loofahs, microfiber facial cloths, a foot scrubber, and more. Would make a great Valentine’s Day present for sure!

Super Smooth Basket, $68 at SimpleSugars.com.