The Real Deal on “Greenwashing”
I myself started my journey into safer products when I had to stop using the acne regime I had used for years and years. My doctor told me that it was not safe to use during pregnancy because it could affect my unborn child. This blew my mind and opened up so many doors to a new lifestyle.
I immediately went out and started buying all things “organic” and “all natural” only to learn that I was being exploited by those companies selling their products with those labels. They used those terms merely to get people to buy their products, like me, who wanted safer. To this day, the topic of greenwashing really makes me upset. I see so many people being told to use “free and clear,” “eczema relief,” or “sensitive skin” type products. And they totally believe that these products are safe and going to clear up their issues because that’s what the label says. I was one of those people and when I found out, I had been lied too, it made me furious.
“Green washing” is a term that means a company is claiming to be something that they are not. Right now, the FDA has no control over what can be said to describe a product. It’s up the company that manufactures it to do the right thing and tell the truth. Those companies aren’t doing that, they are lying to make profits. The items that they sell are actually causing the very issues they claim to fix. Until Congress decides to step in and change the laws, there is nothing we can do but stop supporting those companies and be our own resource on switching to safer products.
Anytime I have a question about an ingredient in a product, I refer to http://www.ewg.org/skindeep. This is a database for anyone to use and see what ingredients are in their personal care products and what they are linked too. I strongly urge you to go visit this site and use it until you feel confident at flipping over the bottle and scanning to see what ingredients are in each that you like/don’t like.
- just because it has “eco” branding doesn’t mean it’s safe or green
- look up products/ingredients on Environmental Working Group Skin Deep database
- terms like “natural” and “clean” are not regulated and are widely misused
- most unregulated and misleading terms are chemical-free (everything is a chemical), heavy metal free/100% lead free (not possible), preservative-free (whether it’s natural or synthetic, you want preservatives in your products to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria.
I’ve had such a large influx of questions about what laundry detergent is safe, baby wash, etc.. and I am going to link them below. I have blogged about these several times so feel free to click through to the blog to read more about each!
- Laundry detergent – Molly Suds. Hands down the best bang for your buck in the non toxic laundry world and husband approved. You can read more about why we love this brand and why it’s important to use a non toxic laundry detergent by clicking here or here.
- Wool dryer balls – NO MORE DRYER SHEETS. I’ve had my wool dryer balls for 6 years and they still work perfectly. Add a little essential oils to them and make your own dryer sheet smell. Sharing why this is important by clicking here.
- A water filter – when you go to EWG there is a place you can look at the ingredients in your tap water. I urge you to do this. Anytime I wash in regular tap water verses using my water filter my skin becomes super itchy and my psoriasis flares up. I buy Crystal Quest water filters from their website. I love the shower filters and bath filters if you don’t want to invest in an entire home filtration system. You can read more about their filters here. Use code: littlesouthernwife10 for 10% off.
- Safer beauty products – What you wash your body with, your hair with, your children’s body with can all cause eczema or psoriasis to flare up. We use Beautycounter for this reason! I’m linking my favorite hair products here and baby products here. I love how high performing they are. My hair products last me about 4 months and my baby products last me 6 months to a year!
The only other thing I can think of that ya’ll have asked me about is what diapers we use. We go back and forth between Seventh Generation and Parasol. I will link why we only use those brands here.
If you ever have any questions about switching to safer and what to do, just let me know! I would love to help you!
