Research The Story of Cosmetics

So this website"the story of stuff has been a great starting point for this project. The small video on the story of cosmetics gave me some great things to look into, the ugly truth of toxics in and toxics out. Annie Leaonard brings to my attention the use of toxic chemicals in cosmetics that can lead to cancer, learning disabilities, asthma and damaged sperm. Chemicals like

• Sodium Laureth Sulphate
• Tetrasodium EDTA
• Methylisthiazolinoe

This evoked the frustration in me that I get when I turn a product over to check out the list of ingredients.

Less than 10% of chemicals are assessed before they get put into products that we use on a daily basis on our faces, in our hair and even in our mouth. Carcinogens (ingredients that cause cancer), neurotoxins and reproductive toxins (ingredients that mess up brain development and the reproduction of animals) are all put into our everyday products. Our bodies are polluted with

• lead
• triclosan
• flame retardants
• mercury

which means babies are being born pre polluted, they dont get a choice in the matter.

Another slight glitch in the system is the fact that companies can use words like 'herbal', 'natural' and 'organic' where you will find that the product is far from it. There is no legal definition for these words.

So like any good site I am then given a few tips on how I can make a difference not only for myself and my family but also in society. There are great websites that have done some intense research into thousands of products and given them a rating on how 'green' they are. Theres even a free app for smartphones.. I'm so there! These websites could be the direction that I lead my audience to. Some resources to get my audience clued up on the matter.

There is another matter I may have to pull out of the bag. Something called 'pinkwashing' this is where companies are getting in on the action by saying that they support breast cancer by donating a percentage of sales to the cancer society. At the same time they are using ingredients in their products that are directly related to CANCER! Theses companies include Estee Lauder, Avon and Revlon, all large corporations.

There is endless information on the web on this matter I am definatly not short on resources. Its so awesome to see how many people (and high profile too!) are getting in on it to make everyone aware of this unethical stuff. The more people that know and take action will force scientists and cosmetic creators to come up with natural products that are safe for everyone.

Next I'm going to add a few links so that theses helpful resources are there at a click of a button and then I will do an update on where my design process is up to.