A while ago we published a link to a site that rates Personal Care Products. We had some requests from readers who were interested in finding the report, so here is an update.
The EWG has also published the most comprehensive study on chemical contaminants found in humans. Blood and urine from nine people was tested for 210 chemicals that occur in consumer products and industrial pollution. See the report here: Body Burden.
The Environmental Working Group has produced a list of the Best and Worst Personal Care Products. They have a huge Searchable Product Guide of harmful chemicals found in personal care products.
The report is extensive and very well organized. You can search by ingredient, product
name or product category.
Read more! Related stories:
- A Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides
- Anti-Metaefficient: PBDE: A Poison That Is Now Everywhere
- Pangaya: Sustainable Women’s Fashion
- Not Very Meta-Efficient: Plastics
- Best and Worst: Personal Care Products
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
There is an incredible amount of deceptive advertising out there, perpetuated by the cosmetics industry. Companies claim their products are “green”, “natural”, and even “organic”, despite the fact that they include toxic chemicals in their formulations. You can’t rely on shopping in Whole Foods as a guide to safe products either, as most of their personal care products contain potentially harmful chemical ingredients as well.
The Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database is the best resource in finding the safest products, but it is incredibly time consuming. I spent hours screening my current products and weeding them out. Then I spent weeks recording and tracking down the safest products, ordering them piecemeal from a dozen different websites, just to find out that they were horrible and I hated them.
There are some reputable web retailers, such as Hibiscus Naturals (www.hibiscusnaturals.com) that screen their products for safety as well as effectiveness. They take some of the legwork out of finding safe products.
They screen their products through the Cosmetic Safety Database, and test each product for usability and effectiveness. They only carry products from environmentally responsible companies that are committed to product safety, and their products must be effective . They may be brand names or products you haven’t heard of–yet. But they are sure to become more popular as the public becomes more savvy about the “greenwashing” in mainstream personal care products.
There is an incredible amount of deceptive advertising out there, perpetuated by the cosmetics industry. Companies claim their products are “green”, “natural”, and even “organic”, despite the fact that they include toxic chemicals in their formulations. You can’t rely on shopping in Whole Foods as a guide to safe products either, as most of their personal care products contain potentially harmful chemical ingredients as well.
The Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database is the best resource in finding the safest products, but it is incredibly time consuming. I spent hours screening my current products and weeding them out. Then I spent weeks recording and tracking down the safest products, ordering them piecemeal from a dozen different websites, just to find out that they were horrible and I hated them.
There are some reputable web retailers, such as Hibiscus Naturals (http://www.hibiscusnaturals.com) that screen their products for safety as well as effectiveness. They take some of the legwork out of finding safe products.
They screen their products through the Cosmetic Safety Database, and test each product for usability and effectiveness. They only carry products from environmentally responsible companies that are committed to product safety, and their products must be effective . They may be brand names or products you haven’t heard of–yet. But they are sure to become more popular as the public becomes more savvy about the “greenwashing” in mainstream personal care products.