Green Consumer Reports!

A dream come true! Bust those greenwashers with Green Consumer Reports.


The guide tells you what you should bother buying organic, including baby food, meat, eggs, milk, apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries. It also says not to bother buying organic seafood or cosmetics.

It tells you how many dollars per year you'll save by shutting off the accent lighting (up to $28.65), or unplugging cell phone chargers when not in use (as much as $5.73).

I also tells you what chemicals to avoid when purchasing personal care products.

Hempz Pomade

Made of beeswax, Cannabis sativa (Hemp) seed oil and extract, and castor oil, my new hair pomade from Hempz isn't telling you that it actually includes PARABENS!

Aaah!

What a bad, uninformed purchase on my part!

Deodorant without the Alzheimer's

Aluminum zirconium: antiperspirant.
Aluminum: linked to Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's: ugly disease.



So it doesn't smell like pretty perfume, but at least I don't smell bad - aluminum-free deodorant is possible, especially now that the weather is cooling. SustainableIsGood.com says "Trader Joe's unscented deodorant is hands down the best natural deodorant I have ever used.... This deodorant is paraben and aluminum free and is actually made with cotton fibers to fight wetness by absorbing moisture."

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Green Clothes Cleaners

So I wondered idly the other day why clothes didn't smell bad when I'd brought them home from the cleaners.



Turns out, Brookwood is an organic cleaner! That's why it's so expensive!

An article from OrganicConsumers.org says that "Regulators say the chief villain is perchloroethylene, the solvent that gives clothes that whiff of synthetic sweetness."

Well, not so on my clothes!

Green Face!

Did you know that the average daily makeup wearer absorbs 5 lbs. of cosmetic chemicals into their body each year?


Yikes!


A June article from the Daily Telegraph details the study. "Among chemicals under scrutiny are parabens (para-hydroxybenzoic acids) which are preservatives used in products including soap, shampoo, deodorant and baby lotion. Traces of parabens have been found in breast tumour samples, although its link to the development of the cancer is disputed."

So what do I do with my fresh Wednesday paycheck? I roll on over to Whole Foods, carriers of Dr. Hauschka Cosmetics, and replace my 4 year old stash with something with fewer chemicals. Greenwashing? Maybe, but it's nice to know I'm not using mascara that's a "hothouse for bacteria." I also like the way they separately refer to makeup as "Decorative Cosmetics." That's a much healthier distinction, I think. The colors look better and the cosmetics actually smell good - and I know what things on the ingredient list are! It still weirds me out that I'm putting beeswax on my eyes, but better than cytl-benzoic-laureth-lauryl-sulfatoxin I suppose.

I think Whole Foods is having an October sale on Dr. Hauschka stuff, too.