body

Overview

“We have the power to say ‘No, I’m not going to buy your toxic products. No, I’m not going to believe your messages about how I need to be. Yes, I’m going to invest in companies that are doing the right thing, that are making safer products.’” – Stacy Malkan, Co-Founder of U.S. Right to Know and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry

We talk a lot about what goes in our bodies, and it’s equally important to talk about what goes on our bodies. Although unable to control everything we come into contact with, we can make choices about what we use in, on and around our bodies every day. 

Many products claim to keep us “healthy” and “clean”, but actually do more harm than good. Even essentials like shampoo, toothpaste, soap, deodorant and other personal care products are too often full of toxins. Ingredients have links to cancer, birth defects, reproductive harm, neurotoxicity, and serious health issues, if tested for human safety at all.

Labels on products are likely ridden with long lists of unpronounceable and untested synthetic ingredients. A simple word like ‘fragrance,’ found in 95% of body products, can contain up to 600 compounds that companies can claim as trade secrets and not disclose to consumers. Data compiled by Women’s Voices for the Earth reveals that one third of all fragrance chemicals have been flagged as potentially toxic by scientists.  

According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, people use an average between 6 to 12 personal care products each day. You could be unknowingly exposing yourself to a combination of hundreds of potentially toxic substances every single day. 

Some people are more at risk than others. Products designed for Black skin and hair have been found to contain unusually high levels of toxic compounds. The Environmental Working Group found that nearly 1 in 12 Black hair products contained highly hazardous ingredients. For example, hair relaxers can contain immune system toxins like BHA and DMDM hydantoin, which is linked to cancer. 

Even with known risks, ingredients are unfortunately still allowed to be included in body products. This is why we are so passionate about helping you to learn what is safe and how to avoid toxins wherever possible.

In the United States, no governing body tests or reviews ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products before they are put on store shelves, not even the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). In fact, no federal laws governing the cosmetics industry have been passed in the US since 1938. In comparison, Europe has banned nearly 1,400 harmful chemicals from cosmetic and personal care products, while the US has banned only 11. In California, the proposed Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act is an attempt to make information about harmful fragrance and flavor ingredients available to the public.

We must become informed consumers — because claims on product labels don’t always match the truth of what’s inside. Words like natural, herbal, pure, and organic without a third party label (certification that a product meets specific health or environmental standards) are meaningless. This is called greenwashing, when a company markets products as natural, safe, eco or ethical, yet ingredients and business practices tell an entirely different story. 

The personal care industry also contributes directly to environmental degradation and climate change. Toxic chemicals in products pollute natural resources and the environment when washed down the drain. People and animals are exposed to contaminants that enter waterways and the soil. The plastics used to produce, package, ship and store products also end up in landfills, largely not recyclable, and contribute to already enormous pollution and waste crises. All that we are learning and doing with Turning Green Classroom is interconnected! 

But we have good news: many effective, ethical brands are out there, like Acure. Acure formulates affordable, healthy products that work and are good for you and the planet — 100% vegan, no animal testing, free from harmful chemicals. Be sure to utilize great resources, like those from MadeSafe, whose mission is to verify goods with safe ingredients that avoid harm to human health. We have also compiled this list of our favorite natural and ethical products, including bath, body, and cleaning products.