Why we do what we do...
In our blog, we want to introduce you to who we are and why we do what we do. By now, you’ve gathered that we are passionate about natural products and empowering women. In short, we develop empowering relationships with women entrepreneurs in developing countries who can earn income to support their families from sale of their natural beauty and personal care products through our company. We are committed to carrying a line of natural handcrafted personal care products that are safe for you and your family that are made by women and sourced responsibly and ethically. The pillars of our company are women and nature while our core values empowerment, uncompromising integrity, natural beauty, and conservation intersect these pillars.
In PART ONE of this post, we want to tell you in simple terms why we are passionate about natural products. In PART TWO, we will tell you about the women we have met around the world. In subsequent blogs, we will share steps you can take to educate yourself on the products you use, share natural beauty secrets, take you around the world to learn about beauty rituals, and much, much more! So stay tuned!
You probably have heard that what you don’t know can really hurt you. Well, when it comes to cosmetics products, this is a very real and personal.
Ever wondered what’s in your make up or lotion? Most products list their ingredients on the back panel but do you even know what they are? What is Sodum lauryl sulfate or BHA, anyway? And what do they do? Are they safe? And, how much these chemicals is in the product? You’ll be surprised to learn that no one (outside the companies producing them) really knows!
Cosmetic companies do NOT have to disclose the ingredients they use in their products. And they don’t have to tell us how much of any ingredient they are using. Companies do not have to disclose ingredients in their products to get approval for the market by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA can't even require that companies conduct pre-market safety testing of cosmetics products and their ingredients. The only time the FDA requires ingredient disclosure is for color additive used in products such as eye makeup, some lipsticks, and hair dyes. According to the FDA, cosmetic companies are responsible for the safety of their products but these companies are not required to report adverse health effects to the FDA or share studies they may have conducted on chronic health effects.
Next time you pick up a deodorant, lipstick, lotion, or perfume ask yourself “what’s in it?” To help you learn more about safe alternatives, we’ve complied a list of websites that can help you understand what’s in your cosmetic and personal care product. But before you do that, watch this short video on what these products are doing to our bodies, communities, and environment.
Resources for understanding ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition, a project of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (formerly the Breast Cancer Fund), works to protect the health of consumers, workers and the environment through public education and engagement, corporate accountability and sustainability campaigns and legislative advocacy designed to eliminate dangerous chemicals linked to adverse health impacts from cosmetics and personal care products.
The Environmental Working Group’s mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. EWG's Skin Deep database gives you practical solutions to protect yourself and your family from everyday exposures to chemicals. We launched Skin Deep in 2004 to create online profiles for cosmetics and personal care products and their potential hazards and health concerns. Our aim is to fill in where industry and government leave off.
This data is from the California Safe Cosmetics Program (CSCP) in the California Department of Public Health. The primary purpose of the CSCP is to collect information on hazardous and potentially hazardous ingredients in cosmetic products sold in California and to make this information available to the public. For all cosmetic products sold in California, the California Safe Cosmetics Act requires the manufacturer, packer, and/or distributor named on the product label to provide to the CSCP a list of all cosmetic products that contain any ingredients known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, or other developmental or reproductive harm.
