Greener body care products and cosmetics is such a huge issue that I’m going to have to break it down into a little series here at Growing A Green Family.
Buying safe non-toxic and earth-friendly body care and cosmetics is not easy for families. The market isn’t making it simple and that’s hyper frustrating. Some major problems right now include…
- There are very few real regulations surrounding body care products and cosmetics.
- The FDA and the USDA do not regulate the term organic as it applies to cosmetics, body care products or personal care products as they do food items. For example food items can only claim to be “Organic” if the item is 95 to 100% organic. A food item claiming, “Made with organic ingredients” means that the food product must contain 70% or more ingredients that are organic. However, if you see a shampoo that says “Organic” it could mean anything. There’s no regulation unless the body care product carries the actual USDA Organic Seal. This is very confusing to consumers and allows body care companies to get away with greenwashing galore.
- Greenwashing is very rampant. Hundreds of not so eco-friendly or safe companies are tricking consumers by using bunk words like “organic, natural, eco” and more on their products when in reality, these words, when used in association with body care and cosmetic products mean very little.
- When it comes to choosing eco-friendly and safe body care products there’s a lot to consider. For example does organic mean eco-friendly, or can you really have an eco-friendly soap that’s not organic? How do you read body care labels and what do all those words mean? What is sustainable body care? What ingredients should you be scared of? Does natural mean safe and non-toxic? Companies aren’t coming out and explaining these questions in a way that consumers can easily understand so it’s very hard to make smart choices.
This is a big deal. You and your family use body care products daily I’m guessing. You put shampoos, soaps, lotions and more on your child’s skin every single day and many of these products on the market aren’t safe – even the ones labeled “Organic.” Cosmetics that mamas and teens use are just as sketchy.
With this in mind I’ll be looking at some of these issues over the next couple of weeks. I’m hoping to cover the following topics…
- Why you should choose USDA Organic certified body care products.
- How to read body care product labels and key red flag ingredients to be leery of.
- Why organic isn’t everything – sustainable body care is much more than an organic label.
- Why natural may not mean better in terms of safety.
- How to make your own sustainable, non-toxic body care products.
Stay tuned for posts on the topics above.
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