Clean Beauty & Greenwashing | Cruelty Free Skincare – The Natural Africa

Clean Beauty & Greenwashing

Clean Beauty & Greenwashing
Clean, organic, cruelty-free—when it comes to beauty products, there is little regulation around how brands can use these words. Definitions are subjective and often change from company to company, package to package, making it difficult to navigate—or decipher—the truth from greenwashing. Here, we break down the most common buzzwords for some much-needed clarity.

What does clean mean?
Safe for people and the planet, clean means that a beauty product should have considered human and environmental health, using a non-toxic element as a baseline and plant-based ingredients for active results. Much like eating clean rejects the idea of processed foods and focuses on nourishing, plant-based produce that delivers all the vitamins and antioxidants needed for a healthy immune and digestive system, the same is true for clean skin care.

What does green mean?
The word green should mean that the product does no harm to the environment. For instance, a reef-safe sunscreen with biodegradable packaging would be labelled green. However, this is a wishy-washy term with no true definition and is usually used as an umbrella for any product that claims to protect the planet’s resources.

What does organic mean?
Personal care products that are certified to be at least 95 percent organic can bear an official USDA Organic, SOIL or COSMOS Seal. Being certified by these standards guarantee that certified organic ingredients are used, no genetically modified (GMO) ingredients are used, product labelling is clear and honest, ingredients are environmentally friendly (biodegradable) and mini processing takes place. In an effort to avoid pesticides, the clean beauty industry has begun to use organic, plant-based ingredients in products wherever possible. However, the certification is expensive, so many smaller brands will independently label ingredients that are organic on packaging, despite not carrying an official seal.

What does non-toxic mean?
Water and oxygen can be toxic in the wrong dose. So, when a beauty product is labeled nontoxic, it likely means that the ingredients have not been shown to cause adverse health effects at the levels found inside the formula and for the intended use. In the clean beauty space, nontoxic means that a product shouldn’t include any ingredient that’s been deemed toxic at any dose by a third-party resource like the European Union or Environmental Working Group.

What does sustainable mean?
Sustainable goes hand in hand with green. It means that the ingredients on the inside of the package—including how those ingredients were sourced—and the packaging itself should not be harmful to the planet. When you use any product, the ingredients go down the drain and into the water system, which, thanks to exfoliating microbeads and preservatives like BHA, is causing a marine environment health crisis. Likewise, many conventional beauty products are made from petroleum jelly and are packaged in plastic, both created from the oil industry. Truly sustainable ingredients are those that are ethically sourced and proven to be safe for the environment, with sustainable or no-waste packaging being defined as glass packaging, biodegradable packaging, post-consumer recycled packaging, or the ability to recycle empty bottles appropriately.

What does vegan mean?
A beauty product is vegan if it doesn’t contain any animal by-products or ingredients sourced from animals. Common non-vegan ingredients found in clean beauty products include beeswax, honey, lanolin, and tallow.
Many people associate vegan with clean, but this is not the case. A product can be vegan and still contain chemical ingredients of concern.

What does cruelty-free mean?
A beauty product is cruelty-free if it has not been tested on animals anywhere along the manufacturing line or before being sold. It can also mean that any animal-derived ingredients were not extracted at the expense of an animal’s welfare (like natural-fibre makeup brushes). A beauty product can be cruelty-free but not vegan, and vice versa.

The good news is that there are dozens of beauty brands leading the charge, with enlightened pharmacists and chemists crafting effective products made from 100 percent clean and organic ingredients for your skin.

The Natural Africa™ is focused on delivering pure, effective, organic formulas - safe enough for the whole family. Shop The Natural Africa™ products here (link to shop).


Adapted from: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/skin-care/a28352553/clean-beauty/
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