The Green Revolution has brought about tons of new words: “Green”, “Eco-friendly”, “Natural”, “All Natural” and sometimes its hard to decipher between what’s Green and what’s… well… “Green.” There’s nothing worse than using a product that you THINK its great for the environment only to find out that it’s not. So we’re hear to help you with some of the green beauty words you’ll find out there in the consumer landscape.

What is All Natural?

All natural can mean many things, but it’s safe to say if a company is saying this then you have a true product. These products have different meanings such as:

• Plant Based
• Cold Processed
• Not Chemically Refined or Bleached
• Fragranced only with essential oils or CO2 extracts.
• The products themselves with the lowerst possible heat if any to perserve the botanical properties of each component.

Why is All Natural a good thing?

All Natural is a good thing because you’re not exposing your body to as many damaging chemicals and toxins. After awhile these toxins can cause you serious health issues.

What’s the downfall of an All Natural Product?

There are some negatives to using an all natural product. First, they have a shorter shelf life. Secondly, they might not be as “all natural” as you would expect. A good rule of thumb is if you don’t understand what the ingredients are then you probably shouldn’t use it!

What can you take from this?

If you’re ingesting something or using it externally you should educate yourself about what is in all the products you regularly use. If you don’t like what you see, then try your hand at the green beauty products available in your local market.

Stay Beautiful..

Tiffany & Amalia

Ever wondering what that leaping bunny is on your cosmetic packages? Well, it’s a cruelty-free standard developed by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC). If you find the leaping bunny you can be rest assured that there was no animal testing used in any phase of product development by the company, labs, or suppliers.

What’s so wrong about animal testing?

You hear the media bashing the idea and cosmetic companies like Avon and Body Shop refusing to take part — but what is animal testing?

There are two kinds of testing primarily done on animals: product testing and lethal dosage testing. Product testing is used to measure skin irritants, eye tissue damage and toxicity caused by the various chemicals and substances in the cosmetics you use every day. If that isn’t gross sounding enough — imagine the draize test, a test where caustic substances are placed in the eyes of conscious rabbits to evaluate the damage on sensitive eyes. These tests can sometimes cause the rabbit so much pain they die from neck or back breaks trying to struggle free.

The Lethal Dosage test isn’t much better. It’s tests used to determine the amount of substances that can be used before killing an animal. Some tests, the LD50 test in particular entail giving poisonous substances to animals until half of them die. The sad thing about this, is in no way can this really be used to evaluate the actual lethal dosage of a human being.

The International Humane Cosmetics Standard symbol or Leaping Bunny will let you know that the company no longer tests its cosmetics or other products on Animals.

Should you Beware of “Not Tested on animals” label?

Yes! Sometimes products claim to be “cruelty-free” or “not tested on animals,” but that may only mean to the finished product. Most of the testing, (and perhaps the worst kind) occurs at the ingredient level.  Also, a company may say they don’t test on aniamls but actually contract another company to do so.  So still with the Leaping Bunny, and you are safe!

For more information and to find a list of cosemtic companies that are participating in the program check out: www.leapingbunny.org

Until next time.. Happy Planning!

Tiffany & Amalia

With everyone trying to jump on the sustainable lifestyle bandwagon, it is so easy to get caught up in all of the different terminology. As we are embarking on understanding what this lifestyle entails, we thought we would do a series on the different eco-labels we have come across and what they really mean.

“Certified Organic”

Produce that is not fertilized by synthetic fertlizers, pestcides and sewage sludge. Produce that is not genetically modified using organisms or irradiation. It employs proper soil and manure  management.
Where these products are produce goes under strict inspections, detailed record keeping and the testing of the soil and water that is used to grow the produce.

“Natural”

Are products that contain no preservatives, artifical colours or ingredients, unlike organic products which are regulated under strict rules, natural products can have some of the things that organic products don’t; like genetically altered hormones and can be minimally processed.

“Vegan”

Simple defintion of vegan is  a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind. We recently did a full blog on what is vegan — Check it out!

“Cruelty-Free”

Cruelty-Free is a label that is commonly used by the cosmetic industry to indicate products that were made with out the using of animal testing in it’s creation. This label is a voluntary label and currently there is no inspection or auditing.

“Biodegradable”

Is a product that can dissolve and breakdown easily into the environment without destroying nature.

As we come across more labels well be adding them to this series.. so stay tuned and of course..

Happy Shopping!

Tiffany and Amalia

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. We love Green Beaver!! And it was especially wonderful when we opened up this month’s Chatelaine magazine to find out that they do too!!

Who is Green Beaver?

If you’ve never heard of Green Beaver before, now is the PERFECT time to jump the bandwagon. Created after the owners Karen Clark and Alain Menard welcomed their son Joshua into the world, Green Beaver was started with him in mind. Before long, a slew of healthy all natural personal care products were born. Awwww.. Don’t you just love those gushy heart warming stories?

Located in Hawkesbury Ontario on the Ottawa River, their products are made in Canada. While none have been tested on animals they are also aluminum-free, and contain no artificial fragrances or many other harsh chemicals found in most personal care products. Beyond that, all of the products are packaged by recyclable materials.

The Media Frenzy

It was their eye remover that captured Chatelaine’s eye in the 2007 November issue:

“We use makeup to enhance our beauty, but when we take it off, wouldn’t it be nice to use something that enhances the environment’s beauty, too? Enter The Green Beaver with an eye makeup remover that’s free of harsh chemicals and biodegradable, made by eco-friendly Canadians for eco-friendly Canadians.”

Beyond their great eye remover you can also find gentle facial care, natural deodorants, Blemish mousse, oral care, winter skin care and baby care.

Head over to your local store and check out Green Beaver for yourself, you’ll love it!

Cheers,
Tiffany