It's been about a year since I began the process of switching over to organic, natural and environmentally sound beauty products so I figured an update was in order. While I am not 100% natural at this point I have managed to find a more natural alternative to most products. I've listed some links below to companies and products that I've come across in this process and have enjoyed.
Jason - I use their Body Wash.
100% Pure - All of their stuff is awesome and smells amazing.
Tom's of Maine - I can no longer use regular toothpaste - tastes sweet compared to the more natural stuff.
Whole Foods - I use their store brand shampoo and conditioners. They work well and are very inexpensive in comparison to some other natural hair care products.
Kiss My Face and Trader Joe's make great body lotion.
I use Seventh Generation and NatraCare feminine products.
Makeup has been the biggest struggle for me in this process. Not only is it harder to find products they sometimes just don't work as well. The Body Shop is one of the places I've found that is pretty good. They have a ton of not only natural beauty products they also have great awareness initiatives going for numerous causes and work for fair pay for the workers in the regions that produce the ingredients used in their products. I'm still on the hunt for a great foundation so I need to do more research on that topic. My favorite website in this has been GoodGuide - they rank products and companies on their healthfulness, environmental impact, work environment and other important factors. It's a great place to look up products you are considering to get a little additional info. Though sites like GoodGuide have been amazingly helpful and I definitely recommend it, nothing can replace educating yourself about what you are putting on (not only in) your body. Being responsible and educated about what you buy can't always be achieved by a website or an app.
This brings me to another element of what I have discovered since I started focusing on natural products. Things are not what they seem. This article from AlterNet is a good introduction. Part of what draws a lot of people to natural products is the thought that they are manufactured by smaller companies (this was something that appealed to me as well), companies that focus more on quality than quantity (aka profits). As the AlterNet article (and research) shows this is not the case. If you can find it at CVS or Target that natural product is probably owned by a major conglomerate. Though most brands started out small their success has lead to them being purchased by large companies. The desire to support a smaller company with a conscience is something that I really connect to. So like the author of that article I was also upset to hear about many of the buy-outs that have taken place. I love Tom's toothpaste but hearing that they are now owned by Colgate is disheartening. It's a true dilemma. A company starts small with the best of ethical intention and it does well. People like their product and support it. It starts with the hippies (let's be honest) but once it catches on and large companies start to take notice there is a good chance of that company being bought out or merging with a large, less ethical company. So as the consumer we are in a somewhat damned if you do / damned if you don't situation. Support a company you like and that support might just turn it into a company you like a little less or don't support it at all.
Another important issue the article brings up is summed up well by this quote from Roger Cowe, a financial commentator "If you want to change what people consume on a grand scale, you have to penetrate mass markets. And you can't do that if you're a small, specialist brand stuck in the organic or whole-food niche, even if that means you are on supermarket shelves. It is a familiar dilemma: stay pure and have a big impact on a small scale, or compromise and have a small impact on a grand scale." I think the benefits of natural products are something everyone should embrace and making that market selective to just a few is limiting the good it can do. We should be striving for a balance.
I clearly have no answers. It's tangled, complicated issue if this is something you care about. I still use Tom's and shop at The Body Shop (even though it's owned by L'Oreal). Though for me it is important to read the labels, don't just buy something that has 'natural' or 'organic' plastered across the front. Even if I don't get it right all the time or go as far as I could in regards to seeking out and finding the small company with the 100% organic ingredients I think taking that step is important. While I keep looking for the best alternatives it's a process, and I think it's better to start than to let all the negative news about mergers keep you from finding products that might be an improvement - even if just a little bit.
