Therefore, such a term as “greenwashing” appeared – the sum of two English words: “green” and “whitewashing”. Its essence is that companies are simply misleading customers, unreasonably using “green” terminology on packaging, wanting to make more money.
We determine whether this product contains chemicals that are harmful to our health:
To distinguish bona fide manufacturers from those who simply want to make a profit is quite simple, following simple rules.
What to look for:
1. On the composition of the selected product. Avoid substances such as petroleum jelly (petroleum jelly, petrolatum, paraffinum liqvidim, mineral oil), isopropyl alcohol or isopropanol, methyl alcohol or methanol, butyl alcohol or butanol (butyl alcohol or butanol), sulfates (Sodium laureth / lauryl sulfates), propylene glycol (Propylene glycol) and polyethylene glycol (polyethylene glycol), as well as PEG (PEG) and PG (PG) – they can adversely affect your health.
2. On the smell and color of the selected product. Natural cosmetics usually have a subtle herbal scent and delicate colors. If you buy a purple shampoo, then know that it was not flower petals that gave it such a color at all.
3. Eco-certificate badges. Certifications from BDIH, COSMEBIO, ICEA, USDA, NPA and others are only issued to a cosmetic delirium when the product is truly natural or organic cosmetics. Finding funds with certificates on bottles on store shelves is not easy, but still real.
But be careful – some manufacturers are willing to come up with their own “eco-certificate” and put it on the packaging. If you doubt the authenticity of the icon, look for information about it on the Internet.
Tip: If the naturalness of the cosmetics that you apply to the body and face is really important to you, you can easily replace some of them with simple gifts of nature. For example, coconut oil can be used as a body cream, lip balm and hair mask, as well as an effective remedy for stretch marks. Or search the Internet for recipes for natural beauty products – many of them are quite unpretentious.
We determine whether these cosmetics are tested on animals, and whether the manufacturing company uses the resources of the planet carefully:
If it is important for you to be sure that cosmetics or its ingredients have not been tested on animals, and the brand carefully uses the resources of the planet, then the choice of mascara or shampoo will have to be taken even more carefully:
What to look for:
1. For eco-certificates: again, look for BDIH, Ecocert, Natrue, Cosmos badges on your products – in the conditions for obtaining them for the brand it is written that neither finished cosmetics nor any of its ingredients have been tested on animals, but resources planets are used sparingly.
2. On special badges (most often with the image of rabbits), symbolizing the brand’s struggle with vivisection.
3. To the lists of “black” and “white” brands on the website of the PETA and Vita foundations.
On the Internet, on various sites, there are many lists of “black” and “white” brands – sometimes very contradictory. It is better to turn to their common primary source – the PETA Foundation, or, if you are not friends with the English at all, the Russian Vita Animal Rights Foundation. It’s easy to find lists of cosmetic companies on foundation websites with similar explanations of who’s “clean” (PETA even has a Free Bunny App for mobile devices).
4. Are cosmetics sold in China
In China, animal tests for many types of skincare and color cosmetics are required by law. Therefore, if you know that the cosmetics of this brand is supplied to China, you should know that it is likely that part of the proceeds from the purchase of the cream will go to finance the torment of rabbits and cats.
By the way: Some of the products that can be called “greenwashing” were not tested by the company on animals, their manufacturers were simply carried away by chemistry. Sometimes “chemistry” is added only to shampoo, and lip balm of the same brand has a completely natural and even “edible” composition.
Oddly enough, but some cosmetic companies, included in the shameful lists of “greenwashing” and “black” lists of “PETA”, are active in charitable activities, cooperate with the Wildlife Fund.
If you decide to stop funding brands that test on animals, you may have to carefully “thin out” the shelves in the bathroom and cosmetic bag and refuse, for example, your favorite perfume. But the game is worth the candle – after all, this is another – and very big – step towards your awareness, spiritual growth and, of course, health. And a new favorite perfume can be easily found among ethical brands.