EarthGirl Meiko’s grandfather named Meiko, which means May child. “Ko” means child in Japanese, and many, if not most, traditional Japanese girl names are named with “ko” at the end. May, in Japanese, is spelled Mei. Mei is not a Japanese word, Meiko’s grandfather took May from the English language and spelled it “Mei” to work in Japanese. Meiko is our May child, mother, and EarthGirl.

All photo’s by Albert Mizuno

EarthGirl Meiko, what makes you an EarthGirl?
I love our Planet, and nature inspires me. I do everything that I can to help preserve our planet, mostly by making conscious choices in my daily activities.

When did you become aware and fall in love with our planet and what did you do next?
I was raised in an earth-conscious household, but the birth of my son was really a turning point for me. With the pregnancy, I became really conscious about everything, especially the wellbeing of my body and my surroundings. Naturally, I switched to all organic and did a lot of research on non-toxic living. I really changed my perspective on health and wellness to a lot of things that made sense.

What do you think is a simple change anyone can make to be more eco-friendly?
Recycle. Reduce, or eliminate excess waste. I think this is something anyone can do with little hassle. My family lives in Japan. I visit almost once a year and really notice the tremendous difference, from Japan to Miami, when it comes to recycling and waste. In Japan, it’s almost impossible to not recycle. Public waste baskets are always separated, the household waste is so strictly regulated. For example, you can only throw away certain things on certain days of the week, garbage bags are clear, so as a society, neighbors can keep a watch if a neighbor is sloppy with their waste disposal. The garbage men can leave a bag of waste behind with a note describing why the bag needs to be reorganized. It’s sort of like a citation, and your bag of garbage can be rejected!

People rinse and flatten milk cartons, making sure they are gathered, nice and neatly, for disposal. They also wash all other containers before putting them in appropriate bags. In Japan, one must hold their trash at home until the right date, so clean containers helps to eliminate odors.
It is a process to throw away trash…but it works there, because everyone does it as a society. I don’t see recycling done to this extent in Miami, or at least not where I live, but I think everyone can make little effort to organize their own trash. Simply follow the simple principle to be considerate.

What eco-friendly product do you use or wear regularly?
I use canvas bags for grocery shopping. All the plastic bags I’ve accumulated over the years are used to throw away my trash. I’ve never bought trash bags. I use eco-friendly household products as much as I can, especially having two young kids at home, I make sure not to have toxic chemicals around. I buy and eat organic as often as I can, and all baby products we use are organic. We have also installed a wonderful water filtration system at home, so you won’t see us with any more plastic bottles. If we ever do buy a water bottle, we will refill it and reuse as many times as possible.

Picture this, you’re trapped on an island, with a tree that only grows one product. What is it?
If it’s like a surviving scenario, I would ask for edamame or rice. Soy products and rice are essential to my daily diet.

What are your daily earth-friendly actions?
When it comes to perishable goods, I try to buy only what I need for a few days, because it just kills me to throw away food! Like veggies that go bad in the refrigerator really make me feel guilty. Aside from recycling, I also reuse a lot of things, usually until they are falling apart, then I recycle them.

Are you working on anything that we should know about that’s positively impacting our planet and its people?
Yes! I do what I can to contribute as a stay home mom. I think everything starts at home, so I raise my children with eco-friendly daily habits, so that these habits will become second nature to them as they get older.

I also have a new line of accessories called Chichi Mimi Strawberry Pink, inspired by nature and my amazing children. All my products are handcrafted with lots of love and care. Follow me on Facebook here, so that I can let you know when the official site is up. And please let me know what you think.

Make a wish!
Oooh…can I wish for five more wishes??? I wish for my family’s health, wellness and prosperity. It might sound like a simple wish, but to me, health is the core of everything.

Do EarthGirlz really have more fun?
YES!

What Kooky or interesting fun-facts should our viewers know about you?
I can’t grow out of Hello Kitty. I love cute girly things… I have a daughter, who I use as a reason to add to my Hello Kitty collection!

EarthGirlz wishes a very Happy Mother’s Day to our sacred Mother Earth, to EarthGirl Meiko, and to all mom’s out there, in our splendid Universe.

Here are two great and simple ways to show your support for EarthGirlz and EarthGirl Meiko: 1) Visit Chichi Mimi Strawberry Pink’s Facebook page and select the “like” button.
And 2) make sure to leave your sweet comments about EarthGirlz on our EarthGirlz Facebook page.

Do you know an EarthGirl? Have them submit to EarthGirlz here!