Last month I posted a blog about Story of Cosmetics. This video has caused big waves, particularly in the US where lobby groups work hard to maintain the toxic status quo. I am please to say the ground swell against toxic ingredients in everyday products is growing. Over 200,ooo people have watched the Story of Cosmetics since its launch on July 21st. What a great response! Not only did people watch but they responded, grateful for raising this issue as a topic for debate.

Stacy Malkan from the The Huffington Post has written an update about why the video was made in the first place. You can read the full article here but to summarise the key reasons she cites are:

  1. Cancer Prevention - getting potentially toxic products out of our everyday skin care isn’t just a good idea it is essential. As quoted in Stacy’s article, “The true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated. With nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market in the United States, many of which are used by millions of Americans in their daily lives and are un- or understudied and largely unregulated, exposure to potential environmental carcinogens is widespread.” These statistics aren’t just isolated to the US. In Australia we face exposure to similar levels of potentially toxic chemicals and with similar regulatory controls (or should I say lack of regulatory control!)
  2. Getting carcinogens out of baby shampoo makes good sense – just because it is a tiny amount doesn’t mean it is ok. Babies are tiny and they don’t have the same resistance to toxic chemicals that adults do (and even then, why would you want to expose anyone to toxins). I have spoken to many mothers who say they didn’t care about using organic and natural products until their baby was born. Then it becomes essential.
  3. We believe in a better way - as Stacey writes it is possible to have a thriving cosmetics industry and use natural ingredients, or at the very least non-toxic ingredients. However, in order to achieve this, we have to change. And as consumers we have buying power which influences all business, from small to big. The other way to encourage change is through regulation. As Stacey writes, “Manufacturers are slow to embrace change — if they embrace it at all. The only answer is regulation that forces industry to consider the potential health effects of any and all ingredients used. The priority has to be our health.”

It is so heartening to see the impact the Story of Cosmetics is having and indeed the positive influence that can be had using social media. Keep it up I say! Please let me know what you think about this topic.

If you didn’t get to watch the video, here it is again:

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