Posts Tagged ‘greenwashing’

Posted on August 21, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Holistic Mom Power!

Bringing a new face into the world makes it a whole lot brighter…but a lot more worrisome too.

What’s in that bubble bath? Is that burger grass fed? Is that car seat in correctly? Is he/she eating/drinking/sleeping/smiling enough?

Mamma mia is right!

Holistic Moms to the Rescue!

Holistic Moms Network is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization connecting parents who are interested in holistic health and green living. (Dads are welcome too by the way!).

For $45 a year, you gain access to a Holistic Moms Network chapter meeting near you. This network of like-minded people beats at the heart of your membership. Membership includes a slew of benefits, but I particularly like the FREE digital subscriptions to Mothering and Organic Spa Magazines in addition to the Wise-E Mom E-Magazine that HMN publishes. The HealthE Mama News is free to all.

What is Holistic?

Here’s how HMN puts it:

Holistic living is the art of living in balance with ourselves and our environment. Understanding and respecting that all things are interconnected is at the heart of a holistic lifestyle.

Holistic living is about taking responsibility for our actions and choices in the knowledge that these choices have consequences for all living things on the planet.

If that sounds good to you, consider the Holistic Moms Network. And as always, we welcome your ideas and comments on living life naturally, organically and happily right here!

Read More: Baby Love: Keeping Toxins at Bay

Posted on August 7, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

How to Buy ‘Cradle to Grave’ Green!

Labels, certifications and stamps of approval…oh my!

It’s tough to navigate the growing forest of green standards and to know what’s real – or what’s greenwashed.

BuyGreen is a great resource. It comes recommended by Tom Szaky of TerraCycle, a cool company that makes affordable, eco-friendly products from different non-recyclable waste materials that you can find in places big box stores like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target and more.

The company’s set of standards addresses the total ‘lifecycle’ of a product in a way that’s both simple yet comprehensive. Whether you shop on their site or not, their lifecycle definitions are a handy guide to understanding what makes something truly green. Assessing a product in this manner is also known as ‘cradle to grave.’

Use the following as a screener before blindly buying green:

• Source Material:  What is the product made from? Are there toxins evident? What raw materials does it hail from (natural, organic, sustainable, recycled?)

• Manufacturing:  How is the product manufactured? Animal testing, resource and energy consumption, pollution, packaging…these are all aspects to consider.

• Use:  How is the product used and what is its effect on the environment? If it reduces or eliminates any of the following, it’s a good thing: material consumption, trash production, energy consumption or toxicants (as in Napa Valley’s natural and organic lavender-based personal care products)

• Disposal:  How is is disposed of and what is its impact?  Is it bio-degradable or recyclable?

Read BuyGreen’s Standards more closely here.

And if you’re interested in learning more about greenwashing, check out the 2009 7 Sins of Greenwashing by another ‘terra’ – TerraChoice, an environmental marketing firm.

Posted on July 1, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Get Wise to Angel Dusting

Angel dusting is a practice I was unfamiliar with until I read about it in Julie Gabriel’s fantastic ode to green personal care The Green Beauty Guide.

Although it conjures up images of the dangerous drug PCP, angel dusting has nothing to do with illegal street drugs. But for unsuspecting consumers, it offers its own brand of unappealing side-effects.

Angel Dusting: Not So Sweet

Angel dusting is the misleading marketing practice of including a miniscule amount of an active ingredient in a product, from cosmetics to dietary supplements, to food.  The traces of whatever trendy ingredient the product boasts are so tiny that it’s touted benefits are 100% ineffective.

The FDA doesn’t regulate non-medical, purely cosmetic claims. So how can you tell what’s window dressing and what’s reality? Here’s some top tips:

• Know the numbers: According to Gabriel, reputable companies always list the concentration of the active ingredient. Look for percentages and numbers on the label.

• Buy from trust-worthy brands: Napa Valley Bath and many other organic and all-natural bath and beauty companies are all about full disclosure. A little homework goes a long way.

• Be Curious: The Internet makes it incredibly easy to ask any and all questions to manufacturers directly. You have the right to know what percentage of magical elixir is in the product you are buying – especially since these high-value ingredients tend to make the product expensive. If you don’t like the reply (or worse, don’t get one at all), don’t buy it!

• Turn to Experts: Sites like this one and others – like Truth in Aging and the Environmental Working Group, are here to help you make sense of it all. Use them!

Have you experienced angel dusting first-hand? Tell us all about it, right here!

Posted on April 10, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Faux Organics: A Legal Complaint Against “Cheater” Brand

Personal care companies who falsely claim organic status are facing some very real, very legal complaints.

Who are the companies being accused?  Sadly, they may be familiar to you…

• The Hain Celestial Group
• Kiss My Face Corp
• YSL Beaute
• Giovanni Cosmetics
• Cosway Company
• Country Life
• Szep Elet (makers of the boldly named brand Organic Skin Care)
• Eminence Organic Skin Care
• Physicians’ Formula Holdings
• Surya Nature
• Organic Bath Company, Freeman Beauty Division of pH Beauty Labs, Inc. (makes of Freeman Goodstuff Organics)

The Organic Consumers Association, alongside several certified organic personal care brands, filed a complaint with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) requesting an investigation into the widespread and blatantly deceptive labeling practices of leading ‘organic’ personal care brands, in violation of USDA NOP regulations.

The Organic Expectation

Consumers paying a premium for organic products expect that the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients in a product labeled ‘organic’ are:

1. Made from certified organic agricultural material produced on organic farms
2. NOT from petrochemicals or pesticide and herbicide-intensive conventional farming

Filed on behalf of 50 million consumers of organic products, the complaint argues that products such as liquid soaps, body washes, facial cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizing lotions, lip balms, make-up and other cosmetic products produced by these twelve companies have been advertised, labeled and marketed as ‘organic’ when they are simply, not.

Obama-Nation to the Rescue?

Organic rules and regulations surrounding personal care products are simply not being held as accountable as organic food.

Hopefully, the current administration will help…consider this quote:

“Unfortunately, the hands-off regulatory approach by the USDA’s National Organic Program during the Bush years failed to protect consumers from deceptive labeling in the personal care marketplace.  While the USDA enforces strict standards for the labeling of organic food, the NOP has not enforced the organic regulations in regards to personal care. “Given the increased resources and staffing at the National Organic Program under Obama, we’re optimistic that the situation will be rectified before too much more damage is done.”

–Ronnie Cummins,  Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association.

Read more in the Organic Consumer Association’s Coming Clean Campaign where you can take action easily by signing a petition to the USDA. Keep buying bonafide organic Napa Valley’s organic bath and beauty products. And as always, let us know what you think, here!

Posted on October 15, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Keep Truly Clean with 100% Organic

Last time, we profiled several synthetic ingredients found in ‘conventional’ bar and liquid soap including 1,4 Dioxane, Diethanolamine (DEA), Parabens: this is the stuff that’s supposed to keep us clean?

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Not me! I use ‘organic’ beauty care products!’

It’s time to face the myth of organic when it comes to personal care products thanks to an unfortunate technique known as ‘greenwashing.’

Greenwashing is Just Plain Dirty

Slapping the word ‘organic’ onto a product is an addiction for big beauty manufacturers.

The sad truth is, it’s misused, abused and often completely wrong. The abuse is so egregious that the researchers the Environmental Working have created a special database to help consumers get a grip on what’s really green and healthy – and what’s not.

Using one drop of organic essential oil in a beauty product is one of the most common greenwashing techniques in the cosmetic industry.  Companies regularly get away with declaring their products organic as a whole, when in truth, only a small percentage is.

Other popular greenwashing terms that often come in tandem with ‘natural’ style packaging – include:

• Made with organic essential oils
• Contains organic ingredients
• Made with nontoxic ingredients
• 100% natural
• Essentially nontoxic
• Earth-friendly
• Environmentally Safer

Look closely at the ingredients list, be a vigilant shopper, and treat yourself to organic products that you can trust.

What is Organic, Really?

We know – it gets confusing. Here’s a simplified guide:

• The farmer or producer must avoid synthetic chemical additives, including fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms and sewage sludge

• Farmland must be free of chemicals for more than three years, depending on the country

• All the production stages must be transparent, open for audit and take part in frequent inspections

Next time we’ll give you an amazing recipe for a nutrient rich hair butter using two of our favorite organic ingredients: organic virgin olive oil and organic lavender essential oil!  After all, if you make it yourself, there’s no doubt what’s in it!