How to choose real natural skin care and avoid 'greenwashed' cosmetics

21 April, 2009. Tags: Why Natural

Greenwashing is a new term that perfectly describes those cosmetic companies who jump on the marketing bandwagon and claim to be making natural skin care products when in fact they are about as eco-friendly as Chernobyl!

'Organic' and 'natural' skin care are hot words in the cosmetic business. There are many ways that manufacturers can legally place the word 'organic' on their labels when their products contain non-organic ingredients heavily diluted with chemicals.

An example of this is 'totally organic experience' - a slogan used by Herbal Essences in the USA for products that contain sodium lauryl and laureth sulphates, cocamide MEA, synthetic fragrance and coal tar derived dyes.

Marketing tricks

Using a drop of organic essential oil is a common trick to justify the word 'organic' on the label. Beauty greenwashers may promote themselves as eco-friendly or green rather than putting resources towards formulating toxin-free, environmentally-sound natural skin care products.

They can do this by simple means, such as putting a picture of a leaf or a green meadow on the bottle, or showing a baby playing on a green lawn on a packet of chemical-packed baby wipes. Or incorporating the word 'organic' or 'natural' into their logo or trademark which means that it is part of the design and doesn't have to be backed up by fact. Unfortunately, we're trusting types and easily fooled!

Look out for these terms:

Made with organic essential oils
Contains organic ingredients
Made with nontoxic ingredients
100 percent natural
Essentially nontoxic
Earth-friendly
Environmentally safer

Note that none of these claims ensures that the product is a genuinely safe and pure natural skin care product. Annoyed? You should be!

It can be incredibly frustrating to try and make positive changes, only to find that the product you purchased in good faith is actually jam-packed with chemicals.

Don't be a chump - beat the greenwash!

1. Look at the ingredients list

Most reputable natural skin care companies will state the percentage of organic ingredients on the label, or indicate which ingredients are organic with an asterix next to each one. Remember that some ingredients, such as water, can't be organic and this should be reflected on the product label.

Look for any of the ingredients on our Shopping Hit List and if you spot any, don't buy the product, no matter how green it claims to be. You know better!

2. Are the green claims relevant?

A beauty brand may promote the fact that it powers its facilities with renewable energy or donates to a green charity, which are clearly good things to do. However, this doesn't make the product itself any greener. Again, check the ingredients!

3. Does the packaging back up its claims?

Try to look beyond the natural-looking design of the package. If it states on the package that it is made of recycled glass or plastic, you are on the right track. If it looks as if it could be natural because the box is brown and the paper is rough, don't assume that it is.

4. Check that the benefits outweigh the negatives

Let's face it, nobody's perfect. And doing something good is better than doing nothing, right? Right. However, if a company uses organic aloe vera but packs the product with chemicals as well, the benefits don't outweigh the costs. You guessed it - ditch it!

Green goddesses battle greenwashing

Sad but true - us gorgeously green eco-queens are out there doing our bit for the planet and our health and those pesky greenwashers are taking advantage of us. Don't let them - get to know what goes into your 'natural' skin care products, onto your skin, and ultimately into your body (or, just shop at Ikigai!).