The Four Biggest Enviro-Scams
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The Four Biggest Enviro-Scams
Green claims that make us see red.
By Amy Tennery
Posted Monday, April 20, 2009 - 4:41pm
The green cosmetics trend is riding high, as Slate contributor Nina Shen Rastogi noted in a recent "Explainer" column. But behemoth makeup retailer Sephora has taken a particularly dopey approach to the trend with their "Natural Standards" initiative.
Filed under the heading "Naturally Gorgeous," Sephora's manifesto claims that products sold in their stores that bear a green seal meet "high internal standards" with "the purest, most efficacious ingredients Mother Nature has to offer." Sephora's site boasts more than 1,400 products from more than 30 different brands with the "Naturally Sephora" seal.
The Web site astutely observes that "the term ‘natural' is not regulated by the FDA," and thus they "created [their] own standards for the natural products at Sephora." You bet they did.
Turns out dozens of products Sephora considers "naturally beautiful" contain high levels of harmful chemicals and cancer-causing agents, according to the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Database, which provides information on virtually every cosmetic company in business, listing their products' ingredients and ranking them on a zero-to-10 scale, based on the health threat they pose.
While this contradiction seems particularly ham-handed, it's difficult to believe that Sephora doesn't realize that many of its "green" products are anything but. After all, a cursory search reveals the truth about these products. Tarte's Vitamin-Infused Lip Gloss in "Liquid Sunshine" shade ranks a six at the Cosmetic Database, putting it nearly at the "high hazard" level. At least 15 shades of CARGO's "PlantLove" lipstick line rank five on the hazard scale, putting them at a "moderate" level. While this score is certainly not any worse than a conventional product, shouldn't a line whose mantra is "Red Lips. Green Conscience" and whose packaging bears a promising green "natural seal" be better than conventional so-called nongreen makeup?
A Sephora spokesperson said that the company stands behind the line: "Our natural brands are committed to ensuring that their products meet all applicable guidelines as well as our internal standards. While there is no regulatory definition for ‘natural' cosmetics, the products we offer in this category are made primarily from natural ingredients."
Illustration by Natalie Matthews
Comments
Truly Natural
This is a great article - everyone, specifically in the USA, has been on this natural 'kick' for a few years now. But other countries, especially in Europe, have been aware of these issues in both cosmetics and household products for years. The truth is, chemicals are not only harmful to us even in small doses, but they are unecessary to clean and disinfect. We have created 'superbugs' with all the chemicals we use, and truly, they don't even work that well since they need to be on the surface for some time before they can kill anything. Yes, the chemicals are used in small doses, but try inhaling that in small doses for years on end, and it adds up, hence why the rate at which women who work in the home are 53% more likely to pass from cancer. It can't be a coincidence. There is a company called Norwex that I have been using for some time and eventually, started selling, they make microfiber products (clohts, mops) that contain a silver agent in them (not the cheap microfiber you buy at chain stores). All you need to do is wet the cloths with WARM WATER, and the silver agent is activated, and when you clean you are actually collecting the bacteria in the cloth, where the silver can properly kill/disinfect. Once it is in this cloth, it cannot be transferred to any other surface or your hands, etc. Anyway, the company is based in Canada (they have been o nthe clean 'kick' for much longer than us!) and their products are great. The best part is, years ago they approached Wal-Mart about carrying them, and the deal almost went through, until Wal-Mart found out the average lifespan of the cloths was 7 years - they turned the deal down because after all, they need 'consumable' products. Anyway, if you are intereted, email me, I can tell you much more and even send you the studies that have been done. They have been using these cloths in hospitals in Europe for years, it's about time we get to jump on the band wagon! It saves so much time and money, no wonder the big chains won't carry it. I feel so smart now when I go into a Target or Supermarket and walk right past the cleaning aisle, I feel like I've beat them at their own game or something! Anyway, happy cleaning! PureWithNorwex@gmail.com
ahhh, natural=safe
Oh Amy, at first I wanted to call you naive, but then it just didn't sit right. The natural activists always point to Seventh Generation, Ecover, and Greenworks, saying that their ingredients are dangerous, even if they are natural. In this article, you bring up SLS, stating it is an irritant. One can pretty much make anything unsafe or hazardous, at a high enough dosage. In fact, the majority of chemicals in the world (if not all), natural or not, are not safe at one level or another. Even water can kill, in more ways than one, so would you label water as "hazardous"? So I started thinking about this natural vs synthetic; safe vs harmful debate. Lets look at some of them. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is produced synthetically and has done much good in the world (though it can kill in the correct dosages), yet nicotine and tobacco are naturally occurring and most would say are harmful, though neither can directly kill (though they can cause cancer....but then again, so does everything else). Many sunscreens are synthetic, though they themselves can cause cancer. Venom is naturally occurring, but I think we all know it can kill. What about wine? It can be made naturally, and has been around for millennia prior to anything "synthetically" made. But it can certainly cause cancer. And I will end with mushrooms. They grow wildly, and while one can taste great in a salad, another can permanently harm you, after you have entered into a psychedelic drug state. Other mushrooms are straight out poisonous. The argument of natural and safe is just plain outrageous. Everything in moderation, including SLS. Otherwise, we would not be able to touch or eat anything!
I think I'm actually with
I think I'm actually with Clorox on this one. For a huge mainstream company they're doing a damn good job. Just because they're not %100 SUPER CRAZY GREEN doesn't mean they aren't doing the environment a significant amount of good by supplying convenient and relatively green products to a wide range of people who might not go out of their way to try some obscure, hippie-looking thing from a greener company. Anyway it's a great first step if, like they say, they're going to try and become more green in the future.
The Clorox Company's Response to "The Four Biggest Enviro-Scams"
Following is The Clorox Company's response posted by Ketchum:
Dear Mr. Ledbetter,
On behalf of The Clorox Company, I would like to respond to Amy Tennery’s article titled “The Four Biggest Enviro-Scams,” in which she criticizes the Green Works brand. It is our belief that Ms. Tennery misinterpreted key product information about Green Works Natural Cleaners, and I would like to provide the following facts to put her conclusions into context.
First of all, the Green Works brand is committed to using the highest level of natural ingredients in each product. The majority of Green Works natural products are recognized by the EPA’s Design for Environment program for using safe chemistry, and we are working with the EPA to get the remainder of our products in the program.
Since our launch, the Green Works brand has been transparent in our labeling of ingredients, our definition of natural and the percentage of natural ingredients in our formulas (95+ percent). In fact, to the best of our knowledge, no other company making natural household cleaning products lists, on label, the percentage levels of natural ingredients in their natural products. In terms of transparency, the Green Works brand not only lists all our ingredients on labels and on our web site but we have broadly communicated our belief that natural products should:
o Be made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients
o Be made with biodegradable cleaning ingredients
o Not be tested on animals
Tennery is quick to dismiss the natural profile of an ingredient, implying that it’s more important to be environmentally sustainable. We believe both are important, which is why we are confident in the ingredient choices we have made for our formulas.
Corn-based ethanol – Tennery states that the environmental community has targeted corn-based ethanol for being “neither cost effective nor eco-friendly,” but these complaints are for using corn-based ethanol as a fuel source. This has nothing to do with how we use corn-based ethanol in Green Works products. From our standpoint, we would rather use a plant-based ethanol in our products than a similar petrochemical-based ingredient.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – Only Green Works Natural Dishwashing Liquid and Green Works Natural Dilutable Cleaner contain this ingredient. SLS can be an irritant at high concentration levels -- similar to other natural ingredients, such as citric acid (lemons) or acetic acid (vinegar). As an ingredient in our dishwashing liquid and our dilutable cleaner, SLS is present at low levels and is safe for the consumer.
We are actively continuing to evolve the Green Works brand – from the formulas (as natural options become more widely available), and to packaging (going towards 100% PCR).
Finally, Tennery comments about our “perplexing” relationship with Sierra Club. From our standpoint, it’s pretty straightforward. The Green Works brand wanted to contribute to environmental conservation by supporting one of the largest, grassroots organizations in the U.S. We are proud to continue our financial support of Sierra Club today.
The Green Works brand stands for powerful cleaning done naturally and we have stayed true to that promise. Our proposition is aimed at the mainstream consumer who is interested in natural products that clean, are affordable and easily accessible. We are achieving our goal to mainstream natural cleaning and are proud of our leadership position in the Natural Cleaning Category.
Sincerely,
Jessica Buttimer
Global Domain Leader, Green Works
green scams
Give Amy a big raise.