Toxins, Europe and USA

A minute ago I was reading an article on how to make shampoo from vinegar and baking soda when at the end of the paragraph, the author mentioned that her interest in this science project of a grooming ritual actually came from a cancer survivor who introduced her to the Environmental Health Group's Cosmetic Safety Database . This database gives you a rating of companies and their products on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the most toxic.

I mentioned this link to my husband along with the least toxic baby products manufacturer ( California Baby ) and he mentioned that it's a known fact that products contain toxins - fair enough - and that it is commonly known that products in the US contain more toxins because the EU has stricter standards when it comes to which ingredients can be put in consumer products. Wha? It sounded crazy to think that products bought and sold in America could be more dangerous for myself, my baby...just everyone, really.

My husband sent me this link which kind of explains why things can be more toxic in the States:

"In place of government oversight and ingredients regulations, the industry instead relies on its own self-funded Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel, which is theoretically responsible for assuring that the ingredients found in cosmetic and similar products are safe for consumer use.

In it’s almost 30 years of existence, however, that panel has reviewed just 11% of the 10,500 cosmetic ingredients listed by the FDA. According to the Environmental Working Group, the remaining unassessed 89% of ingredients are used in over 99% of all products on the market."

So basically, instead of a neutral group of scientists testing the ingredients, people hired by the cosmetic industry are the ones conducting the tests... Hmmm.

As Europe has higher standards for what is deemed safe, some companies opt to sell different versions of their products where the less toxic versions are sold in Europe and the cheaper, more dangerous variants are sold in America.

If you are in an activist kind of mood, you can visit The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website and find out more about what steps you can take to pressure better regulation of toxic substances... Ultimately your dollar does the voting, so please have a look at the Cosmetic Safety Database and don't buy poisonous products - regardless if they are on sale!! I'll keep you posted on natural options for skin and body care and hopefully natural medicinal care as I learn more about it.