Video link http://video.nbc6.net/player/?id=171700 

By NBC 6's Patricia Andreu  

At "Simply Organic" in Ft. Lauderdale employees work at an assembly line with a twist. "When my son was 5 years old he was diagnosed with leukemia," said founder Gene Martignetti . "So, I got into the concept of natural based, foods, natural based products and organic thinking." And, that's how, years later, "Simply Organic" was born. Martignetti showed us around his South Florida lab where they're constantly mixing and testing new lotions, shampoos and more. "In our product line you're going to find ingredients like olive oil, olive leaf extract, essential oils."

After decades in the beauty industry, Martignetti's mission now is to make his products as chemical free as can be. To prove his point, he swallowed some anti-frizz spray. I was incredulous. "It's good for you," Martignetti exclaimed. "No bad chemicals. I promise! I think the most important thing people have to understand is they have to take responsibility themselves for their own health, wellness and beauty."

"Simply Organic" products range in price from $16-32. "Natural and organic health is here to stay. It's a revolution. it's not going away and you're going to see more and more companies getting involved in it."

In fact, on the other side of Ft. Lauderdale is the headquarters of BeeCeuticals. The main ingredient in this line is honey. "Honeys are used for their medicinal qualities," explained founder Richie Gerber. "We use special honeys that are rare and hard to get."

From Bee-yond Body Balm (which won the Best New Product for Health and Beauty at the 2007 Natural Products Expo East), which seels for $16.95 to their shampoos for $9.99, candles, lotions and more, Richie and his wife Julie take extra care in selecting their ingredients. Said Julie, "They're very pure. We don't use a lot of water or empty fillers." Richie added, "We want to support products that are produced organically. That means less pesticides, less insecticides, less fungicide."

That's especially important to the former organic farmers who sold their organic food business "Bread of Life" to Whole Foods a decade ago. "At that time it was: oh, they're so strange, what are they doing?" recalled Julie. "Now, I can see what was strange has become mainstream."

Even their packaging, like a box made entirely from corn, is biodegradable, recyclable and printed with vegetable dyes. "Everything that we do is done with a lot of consciousness and a lot of thought because it's more than just the product. It's who we are."

Protecting bees is very important to Bee-Ceuticals. The Gerber's hope is to plant a million pollinator-friendly trees worldwide. Bee-Ceuticals products can be bought online or at places like Whole Foods. "Simply Organic" can be purchased at select salons and spas as well as online.