Dying to be Beautiful

Yesterday the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics announced the release of a new informational film, "The Story of Cosmetics: The Ugly Truth of Toxins In, Toxins Out".

I thought that Annie Leonard, who talks to us in the film, spoke a little too much like she was trying to explain things to a 2-year-old.  Then again, I have been immersed in researching green products for over a year, and none of what she says is new to me at all.

It may be to the general public. After all, everyone seemed shocked at Dove's Evolution of Beauty film in 2006. Having worked in a room with graphic designers for a few years, I definitely was familiar with how their graphics skills could transform an image.  They should be called Magicians!  Or Fairy God Mothers!

Another problem I have with the film is it seemingly dumps too much BAD onto the consumer, and does not give too much GOOD in return.  This is a dangerously slippery slope, because many can now think, "Babies are being born pre-polluted; what could I possibly do to reverse this? Screw it, we're all going to hell in a hand basket, and I wanna use my carcinogenic products to live in the moment and look damn fine doing it!"

Yeah, yeah, write to your Congress person.  Sign the Environmental Working Group's petition.  Even if you do take the time to try to read the fine print of the ingredients labels, like I do, mistakes still can be made.  I was so furious when I noticed last year that my bottle of Palmer's Organic Olive Oil lotion was loaded with parabens and other toxins!  Now, I just use real organic olive oil as a body lotion (and make-up remover).  Some new shower products here in Denmark have a "0%" or "Zero" name because they do not contain parabens or coloring agents; however, they do contain fragrance, which may as well be substituted with the word "carcinogen".


Hopefully this film will galvanize enough people to take action and change the laws. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but how has the 3-month-old BP oil spill galvanized enough people to take action and change the laws?  Or even their driving habits or cars? 

I hope I'm wrong.  I hope consumers will make choices at the checkout and rally their representatives, and more companies will turn green - 100% - not halfheartedly.  As for these types of films, how about one that gives us a testimonial of folks who have stopped using the bad chemicals and changed their lives for the better?  Or make a clear list of products that are the safest?  Give consumers the tools to make better choices, and sound like you're treating them with equal status while doing it.