Think before buying that "PINK" product

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month... and those cute little pink ribbons are on a gazillion products.

You can purchase pink appliances as well as well as sneakers and fitness equipment that support Komen for the Cure.

Also sporting the pink ribbon are sugar laden cereals, cake mixes and frostings, paraben containing makeup and personal care products, and cookies loaded with saturated fat. Now I realize the Marlboro man isn't sporting a pink ribbon but are all things "pink" really good for our health, and shouldn't they be?

For me, those pink ribbons won't change how I shop. I'll purchase the products I regularly do, virtually none of which have a pink connection. Then in honor of the month I'll gladly make a donation to one of my favorite charities, Community Cares, a non-profit that benefits young women dealing with a health crisis - usually cancer.

And of course I'll continue to educate and advocate for safer products, because GREEN really does go with everything, and perhaps safer products will lead to less cancer...

Best of Health,
Susan

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?