Have you ever pondered the environmental impacts in your make-up bag? More and more products claim to be ‘natural’ but in many cases these products have the potential for significant impacts on both the environment and our health. Green Beings has been getting under the skin of the cosmetics business to find the true cost of ‘natural’ beauty.
Products we put on our skin can be readily absorbed into our systems. Everyone’s skin type is different so finding the right product is usually the result of trial and error. The Environmental Working Group’s ‘Skin Deep cosmetic safety database’ is a great resource. It investigates the ingredients used by hundreds of beauty products and provides information on potential associated health hazards.
There are now dozens of cosmetics companies claiming “natural” or “organic” products, grown without the use of pesticides, fertilizers and GMOs. Unfortunately, with little regulation on how the word ‘natural’ may be applied to beauty products, the term is used very liberally for products which have done little to genuinely earn the title.
Also using “natural” ingredients is not always good for the environment. The cosmetics industry uses 6-7% of the world’s palm oil*, which is the main ingredient in many soaps. The demand for palm oil has led to the clearing and burning of rainforests in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea to develop new plantations, devastating the orangutan populations.
Fortunately a number of major companies are taking this issue very seriously. In 2007 the Body Shop became the first cosmetics company to use sustainable palm oil. In 2008 Unilever committed to buying 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2015. In response to these issues, the handmade cosmetics company, Lush, developed a palm free soap base formula which is now widely used.
You can take total control of the contents of your cosmetics by creating your own. If you are game, check out http://www.makeyourcosmetics.com/ for recipes which are good enough to eat such as softening oat milk bath and whipped vanilla butter. And the best news I’ve had all day – strawberries are a natural teeth whitener (it’s the malic acid in them apparently). Perhaps not dipped in chocolate though.
*Palm oil in cosmetics is usually labeled Elaeis guineensis. For more information visit Australia’s Palm Oil Action site.
This is a great article. I checked out the cosmetic safety database.. it’s a fabulous resource if a little bit scary!