Greenwashing

I am going to deviate a bit from Nutrition for a minute here, and talk about Greenwashing.

Natural Products are often geared towards people who eat well, since it's become a lifestyle for a lot of people.  One of my many jobs is working for a wonderful all natural laundry detergent company... and in doing so I have become more educated... and more angry about the so-called "Natural" product industry.

Greenwashing is when a company tells you their product is All Natural, or Green, but it still has harmful chemicals.

There is a very popular company in Canada (it's actually an international company) that likes to market their products as All Natural, Vegetarian, Ethical and environmentally-friendly.  I once got into an argument with a girl at said company because I politely declined to try one of their products.  When asked why, I (still polite at this point!) said it contained Parabens.  She replied by saying "Oh you're allergic to them?" in a slightly condescending way. When I went on to explain that I was against the use of Parabens in cosmetics because they are Xenoestrogens, she continued (much more condescending at this point) to say "Oh like blueberries".  I went on (at this point no longer polite and used a tone even more condescending than hers) to say "Uhh no, those are PHYTOestrogens, not Xenoestrogens).  The fact that she is trying to compare something that is potentially harmful to the body with something that is beneficial to the body, in order to sell a product pisses me of.

So lets talk about Xenoestrogens for a minute.   Xenoestrogens are foreign estrogens, usually industrial in nature.  Parabens, Phthalates (being phased out in Canada), BPA (Now banned in Canada), PCBs (Mostly banned due to their Toxicity classification and endocrine disruption).

Parabens are used as a preservative in cosmetics and beauty products.  They do a great job at preserving!  There are inconclusive studies about the effects Parabens on the reproductive system.  There are studies proving that Parabens have a estrogen activity, but whether or not they can be linked to things like cancer and endometriosis have not been proven... they also haven't been disproved either.  Women with reproductive cancers are typically told to avoid parabens and other xenoestrogens to be safe... To. Be. Safe.  So why isn't everyone avoiding them as a precaution?  A recent study in Texas showed paraben traces inside of breast tumours.  This study has launched additional research into what the link is between the two.

Health Canada says "Phthalates are a family of chemicals commonly used as plasticizers that have a large number of industrial and commercial applications."  and that "Research shows that phthalates may adversely affect reproduction and development.".  Health Canada is working to restrict CERTAIN phthalates.  Check out: Health Canada's Fact Sheet on Phthalates to see which ones they have declared health risks (then check your cosmetics, some of them are used in perfumes, nail polish, lipsticks etc.)

SLS/SLES:  sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Sodium laureth sulfate/sodium lauryl ether sulfate( SLES).  There are studies going on about it's health risks.  Neither are currently classified as a carcinogenic.  Both are known irritants (So why would you put them on your skin... or in your mouth?)  SLS has also been shown to alter taste perception and cause Aphthous ulcers (Canker sores).   SLES is not classified as a carcinogenic but products with SLES are also shown to contain 1,4-Dioxane which is classified as a "Probable human carcinogenic".

So these all sound like chemical ingredients that should have no place in a NATURAL product right?

Parabens can apparently be found in natural sources... the internet gives me a list of various plants that contain minute amounts of parabens... none of them are sites I would call reputable and I can't find any studies on pubmed so I am not going to list any.  I will say blueberries come up on this list, so maybe the girl was right(ish) to compare xenoestrogens to blueberries.  Regardless of if the parabens are "natural" or synthetic, they are still parabens, and are obviously concentrated enough to call them parabens. Part of the reason blueberries are good for you are that it's low levels of natural estrogens,  Xenoestrogens are higher levels that your body can't deal with properly. If you take all those low levels and make them into a high level, you're going to give your body a rough time.

However, if you extract a phytochemical from a natural source and concentrate it to use in your product, you can apparently call it natural. (Why isn't Bayer marketing Asprin as natural if that's the case?  ASA was originally developed from willow bark.  Pharmaceuticals have better regulations, that's why).

SLS can be derived from coconut oil (you may also see coconut derived surfactants... that typically means SLS.... and even though it's from a natural source, it's still SLS with all it's health risks).

Just because it's natural, doesn't always mean it's healthy... Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy) is natural, I'm not about to bathe in it though.

Greenwashing is trying to market something as good for you, even though it contains products that are not good for you, just because those products may be derived from natural sources.

Do your research and make your own decisions.  I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I avoid as many potentially bad things as possible.

I still don't get why there are freaking skin irritants in beauty products... I don't care if they are cheap... they're freaking irritants.

Stay Healthy,