Skin Deep

At our April environmental speakers' night, as well as at our first "Kitchen Cosmetics" workshop, we spent time discussing the chemicals that are so pervasive in cosmetics and skin care products. The cosmetics database on the website Skin Deep, a project of the Environmental Working Group, came up a few times. One of Green TEA's Board members Rosemarie DuPont wrote us about her thoughts on the these fab websites and submitted them to us below........

About two years ago I was googling for a bit of research for an article I was writing and I hit upon this website http://www.ewg.org/ . The Environmental Working Group is a well organized and informative collective that seem to have a fair amount of clout in the United States. This Group has developed a Skin Deep Database http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ that informs the public on the toxicity levels in make-up, hair products, eye care, baby care, etc. It was an eye opening experience for me and I am now very careful and at the very least aware of what I potentially purchase.

In the Health/Toxics section of this website there is a subtitle called Our Food. It is here that you will find the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. After reading all of the information about the pesticide levels and the number of pesticides that are sprayed on North American fruits and vegetables, I have switched to buying organic when I shop.

………..and if that isn’t enough information for you, here is another website that is very well written, with a whole lot of pertinent info on current products that are in the news: http://www.enviroblog.com/ There was a recent article on BPA’s that shocked me called “Thank you for buying our toxic plastic”.

I suppose there is a fine line on how much “stuff” a person can cram into their brain on what not to eat, what not to buy…….but I have come back to these sites time and again for solid insight into today’s marketplace, and am grateful that there are a lot of people out there that take the time and energy to keep the rest of us informed.

Note: Green T Environmental Awareness has launched a new program called Saving Face. The goal of the program is to help women make knowledgeable decisions about their skin care and cosmetic purchases and to teach basic skills in creating their own products with natural ingredients through our Kitchen Cosmetics workshop series. To register for an upcoming workshop contact Patti Foley at 905-951-0625 or email patti@greentcaledon.ca