The Story of Cosmetics... and the toxins within many of them

The Story of Cosmetics video has just been released, and it shares information on the ugly truth about cosmetics and personal care products.

Have you read the ingredient label on your favorite mascara, shampoo or deodorant? Seriously, you need a degree in chemistry to figure out just what's in there!
Now to be fair, just because an ingredient sounds scary, doesn't mean it is, but some common ingredients in personal care products ARE linked to asthma, cancer, learning disabilities and male infertility. How can this be?

And how can a product marketed with the PINK RIBBON logo to fight breast cancer, contain ingredients LINKED to breast cancer? Because nobody, not even the FDA regulates ingredients in personal care products. In fact, since 1938, the FDA has banned only eight ingredients from being in them!

The video is enlightening, and after you watch it, I encourage you to purchase products from responsible companies who market products that are truly safe, that really work and that are actually green!

Oh, and please sign the petition asking Congress to pass the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010. Isn't it time for all products to be safe?

Shopping GMO free

GMO, three little letters that truly frighten me.

They stand for Genetically Modified Organisms or more specifically, genetically modified food.

I've written before about the GMO process and I've recommended some books on the topic so that you can form your own opinion. For me, I've made up my mind that I DON"T want to feed GMOs to my family!

So just how does one avoid GMO foods. Well it's not all that easy unless you can buy everything organic, but there are steps you can take. First, whenever possible, shop local. That means shopping at your local farmers market. Not sure where to find one, visit the Consumer Supported Agriculture site.

If you can buy organic, always look for the USDA Organic label, that means it's "certified organic". If you can't buy organic, and lets face it, not everything is available as organic, the next best is to choose foods with "Non-GMO" labels. Also avoid most packaged foods which are loaded with GMO ingredients.

And last but surely not least, avoid the most common GMO foods, which are corn (including frozen and canned), soy, sugar beets (and sugar made from sugar beets), canola oil, cottonseed oil, and soybean oil. Obviously this means reading labels as many of these common GMO foods are in packaged ingredients, like those corn tortillas you bought for dinner.

Eating green, clean food takes a little effort, and yes, it does cost a bit more, but the flavor and aroma of organic and foods grown locally are so worth it!

Toxic Chemicals video from Healthy Stuff.org

Bisphenol-A in baby bottles, water bottles, and food cans.
Formaldehyde in furniture.
Phthalates in air fresheners, soft plastics, and fragrances.

According to research by the Environmental Working Group Body Burden study, these chemicals and many others can be found in babies (and adults alike). It's time industry put public health first!



And to avoid these toxins, chose truly green cleaners that are safe for you, your home AND especially your family!

The Story of Cosmetics... coming soon

I recently read that Annie Leonard, who put together "The Story of Stuff" will be doing a new video called "The Story of Cosmetics." I can't wait. Many cosmetics are loaded with some very scary ingredients...