I remember when there were very few natural products. Now, almost all products on the shelves are all natural, all organic. I mean thing are changing; people want more and more safe natural skin care and organic cosmetics. I might make us feel that the beauty industry is taking care of us. However, the truth is that these all-natural, organic claims on packages can be misleading. And what you are experiencing is just a pure and simple case of greenwashing.
Simply put, greenwashing is when a brand states that their products are all organic, green, or natural but, in fact, they are not that safe or natural for us or even environmentally friendly. The truth is that some of these products still include dozens of harmful chemicals. However, and somehow, beauty companies hold back this fact from us. In my Swap It Out - Facial Mist and Toner, I share a case of greenwashing for the Garnier facial mist that claims 99% Naturally derived.
One of the things that you may not know is that claims such as "natural", “organic”, "all green" or similar aren't even regulated by the government. Only products that have the USDA Organic Seal have been certified organic. The Eco Cert seal is issued by the European Union. So, ultimately, beauty companies are not committing any crime by misleading us.
When it comes to skin care, you need to be extra careful about what you put on your body. While everyone knows that a balanced diet is healthier, the same is applied to beauty products. According to more than 40 years of American dermatological research, what you put on your body is as important as what you ingest. And this is one of the main reasons why greenwashing is such a big deal and why more and more people are looking for organic skin care products.
So, how can you fight greenwashing in the beauty industry? How can you be sure that you're using a natural or organic product?
The truth is that when you see the organic or natural label on a product, you expect it to be petrochemical-free, mineral oil-free, paraben-free, silicone-free, fragrance-free, alcohol-free, and no animal testing, but you have to read all the ingredients on your product labels to ensure it. Download my list of dirty 10 ingredients that are toxic and should not be in your products. Don’t just assume that a product is natural and organic because the front of the product claims it. Two apps you might want to download: the EWG Skin Deep and Think Dirty apps. Both apps have a database of many natural skin care products and organic cosmetic brands products that have been evaluated for level of toxicity.
Below are brands that I love for their commitment about formulating or selling products that are authentically safe and clean.
100% Pure : This is one of my top favorite brands. They formula many products from skin care to makeup. 100% pure products are vegan and fruit pigmented.
Credo Beauty: All the products are carefully curated to ensure that they are clean and safe to use.
Safe and Chic: I love that you can shop 100s of organic and natural products without leaving their website. That’s a lot of savings in shipping costs. Save 10% Off with the code CHIC.
Vapour Organic Beauty – Love their makeup! It is a little pricey but they make high performing natural makeup products.
CLOVE + HALLOW is clean makeup brand that has affordable non-toxic cosmetics.
Beauty companies aren't interested in spending so much money when they can sell more by showing an attractive package with the organic and natural tags. There are even cases of beauty products stating that they are organic when they are only including a drop of one organic essential oil in their formula.