It’s not easy being green.
With so many companies embracing the “green” movement, sometimes it’s not easy to figure out what’s behind all the claims.
The cosmetics industry is largely unregulated when compared to other industries like the food and drug sector. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) does not require the FDA to approve every single ingredient that a cosmetic company uses, except in the case of colors additives. It is possible to use the words “natural” and “organic” on a label without all the ingredients being so.
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An exception to this rule includes products bearing the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) Organic Certification label. These products are required to contain 70-94% organic ingredients. These guidelines were established since October 21, 2002 to let consumers know the exact organic content of the beauty products they buy.
There are advocates of synthetic compounds who argue that not all natural and organic products are good for you. “Organic or natural products aren’t necessarily better than synthetic ones,” says Dr. Rajani Katta, associate professor of dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine. “In fact, there are no studies to show that organic beauty products are better for your skin.”
“Cyanide and arsenic are natural and are poisonous, of course,” says Liz Earle, founder of her eponymous organic company.
The jury is also out on the case against synthetic preservatives. There was a regulatory body that reviews the safety of parabens in 1984 and found they were safe to use in cosmetics up to the level of 25% (most of the creams and lotions contain 0.01 -.03%). But a study published in 2004 detected the presence of parabens in breast tumors (which is a correlation, not a cause).
Don’t assume that all preservatives are bad for products. Liz Earle adds that non-preserved products can really grow some nasty bugs and become more harmful than those containing synthetic preservatives. “I have bought non-preserved products in the past only to find they have grown some pretty nasty bugs. I bought one ‘natural’ skin cream only to find that a couple of months after opening it grew asperillus niger, a green toxic mold that causes the deadly farmer’s lung disease.”
If a component is water (aqua), realize there will be a preservative (synthetic or not). Water-based products are impossible to preserve on a standalone basis, without a preservative.
People who want completely natural and organic products may be interested in those products that are sulfate free (lauryl and laureth). These are synthetic oleochemical and petrochemicals. Some products with sodium lauryl sulfates are thought to contain 1,4-Dioxane, a potential carcinogen.
If you can’t pronounce or understand half the ingredients on the bottle, it’s probably not organic. Any ingredient that is identified by the prefix, word, or syllables “PEG,” “Polyethylene,” “Polyethylene glycol,” “Polyoxyethylene,” “-eth-,” or “oxynol” is synthetic.
There are several “eco-friendly” labels in addition to the previously mentioned USDA Certified Organic Label:
- The standards and requirements for each country are quite different–it comes down to how each government believes products should be labeled. In the USA, the umbrella body is the Organic Trade Association, a body that grew out of the organic food movement.
- Internationally, there are various certifying bodies, including the Soil Association in the U.K., and BDIH in Germany
- The French Ecocert label signifies that 100% of the ingredients are of natural origin. It is the only organic certification for color cosmetics. That is not to say only products sold in France bear the Ecocert label. Products that are sold in the US can also carry this label.
- If a product is 100% organic, it can bear the USDA Organic seal. If a product contains 70-94% organic ingredients, it can bear the words “Made with organic [up to three organic ingredients]” on the front panel.
- NaTrue is a new label and is more rigid than most others. Details can be found at www.natrue-label.de or in English at www.natrue-label.com. See an interview and article
The case against parabens is based mainly on a deeply flawed study that many (mostly non-scientific) people believe demonstrated the presence of parabens in breast tumours. However, parabens were also found at (statistically)the same concentrations in the "blank" controls in this study, and it is not possible to draw any conclusions as to whether or not parabens can be found in these tissues. Indeed, it is unlikely that they would be present.
Too many people are fooled into thinking that natural is inherently safe and, conversely, that synthetic chemicals are inherently not safe – evidenced by the extremely common prefacing of the word "chemical" by "toxic" or "nasty". This is far too simplistic. What is needed in cosmetics is a safe, effective formulation, irrespective of the origin of the raw materials. After all, ultimately, everything comes from nature originally. If all cosmetics contained only "natural", or "organic" ingredients, many many (hundreds of?)thousands of square miles would be required for cultivation of the crops needed – reducing the area available for food crops. Biodiesel requirements are already causing problems in some areas – this would be exacerbated if all cosmetics were totally organic.
As with most things in life, some balance is required, in the case between "natural" and "synthetic" ingredients – they need not be mutually exclusive.
Thanks for your input Dene – I agree with you. It can be hard to separate marketing claims from science since most scientists don't have PR and marketing departments!
Hi there,
https://www.mybeautybunny.com – da best. Keep it going!
Great article, and many thanks for taking the effort to publish it; really opened my eyes for some new perspectives that I hadn't thought of before.