While cruising the deodorant aisle of a drug store, a label boldly proclaiming “No Aluminum Chlorohydrate” and proudly displaying the pink ribbon used in the fight against breast cancer stopped me in my tracks.
“What the…,” I thought to myself. “Why am I seeing such a marketing play? Could it even be possible that other deodorants contained cancer-causing ingredients?” It made me realize how “comfortably numb” I had become, just as Pink Floyd so eloquently put it in their song by the same name.
It made me wonder what else is in our so-called trusted products we use on a daily basis. Do they do what they say they’ll do, and do they cause no harm in the doing? Well, it didn’t take long before I found out just how much I didn’t know. Thankfully, there are reputable places to seek answers.
Like EWG’s Skin Deep® cosmetics database developed to help consumers protect themselves and their families from everyday exposure to chemicals. Launched way back in 2004, the Environmental Working Group says their aim in creating this database was to fill in where industry and government left off. As a result of EWG’s work, a few clicks of the keyboard will bring up an online profile of over 60,000 personal care products, from hair care and make-up, to nail polish, toothpaste, and baby products. Take a look for yourself and see if your shampoo contains phthalates, pronounced THAL-ates, which, according to the Breast Cancer Fund are used to “soften plastics and known to disrupt the body’s hormones.”
Another good place to become aware of marketing claims that may not be all they are cracked up to be is Pink Ribbon International. Their Think Pink! consumer awareness initiative “calls for transparency and accountability on the part of companies involved in breast cancer fundraising, and encourages consumers to be critical about pink ribbon promotions.”
Or, maybe you’d just rather not know what’s lurking in your cupboards? It wouldn’t be surprising if this was the course you chose to take. After all, knowledge has the ability to change us, including our behavior and world view.
When I was first awakened to things like this it was like my whole life immediately turned upside down. It wasn’t a good feeling at all: I felt stupid, I felt duped, I felt betrayed, I felt angry, I felt hopeless. I think feeling hopeless was worst of all.
Then I figured out that hopeless didn’t have to mean helpless. That’s when life started to feel good again; I didn’t have to be a victim after all. Instead, I could vote with my wallet by making consumer choices, which matched my values and level of awareness. I think a whole lot of other people figured this out, too. Today, it’s a whole lot easier to access and afford healthier, kinder, and eco-friendly products and services. For example, I remember a time when it was really difficult and far more expensive to get business cards printed on recycled card stock. Now, thanks to increased demand for recycled paper by enlightened consumers, this is now easy and inexpensive to do.
When it comes to personal care products, today I find eco-friendly options much easier to access except for their typically higher prices. However, as I am able to make a little go a long way, I don’t find that I am really paying that much more, if any. Like recycled paper, if demand for eco-friendly personal care products continues to rise, I’m sure we’ll all stand to benefit by lower prices and increased supply.
Fighting the tendency to be comfortably numb—now that’s in our best interest.
For more in your best interest, follow Sheelagh @sheesays or visit www.ideagarden.net.
