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Apply. Lick. Repeat.
Before meeting, after eating and, dangerously, while driving, we
women spend a lot of time applying lipstick or lip gloss to our lips.
And according to the Environmental Working Group, all that licking
means the average woman eats about nine pounds of the stuff over her
lifetime.
Nine. Pounds.
All grossness aside, this fact wouldn’t be so alarming if it weren’t for another: In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a division of the EWG, found that two-third of lipsticks contained lead, a known neurotoxin that has been linked to brain damage and miscarriages, among other horrors.
Nine. Pounds. Containing. Lead.
That’s enough to make you sit up, take notice, and dump the contents
of your makeup bag into the trash (fearful all the time that you should
be disposing of the stuff as hazardous waste). How is something this
ridiculously egregious even possible? Because–Newsflash!–the beauty industry is completely unregulated:
• Companies are not required to test products or ingredients for
safety before they’re sold, manufacturers can use whatever chemicals
they want in their products, and are not required to disclose their
ingredients.
• The Toxic Substances Control Act was passed over 30 years ago and
takes as its premise that chemicals are safe until they have been
proven unsafe.
• An industry-funded panel of scientists makes up the self-policing
Cosmetic Ingredient Review. According to a recent article, it has
looked at only 11% of all ingredients in cosmetic products, and has
ignored studies linking ingredients to cancer, birth defects and
hormonal disruption.
Moral of the story: It’s hard to prove an ingredient is unsafe when your review board is paid by the companies that use it.
But we digress. The news has gotten better: This year, Canada banned
lead in lipstick. In August of 2008, a single vote in the State
Assembly barred a similar ban in California. With a new introduction of
the bill on deck for 2009, the geniuses at Teens Turning Green
launched a clever “Lips Against Lead” petition, in which people are
encouraged to apply lead-free lipstick and kiss an organic cotton
petition, that will then be sent to the Assembly when the teens show up
to shame them into passing it.
Last month, Sarah Jane Morris (“Brothers and Sisters”), Katie Gill
(“Drillbit Taylor,” featured in the pic below), Kristen Renton (“Days
of Our Lives”), Carolyn Hennesy (“General Hospital”) and eco-lifestyle
expert and author Anna Getty slicked up with organic, paraben-free
Terra Firma Longevity Lip Stain in gorgeous, berry-red Rosalie to “sign” the petition at our second-annual EcoStiletto Green Girl’s Night Out at Intuition for Dress for Success.
Other heavy-metal free favorites for petition kissing include the
dark berry Lipstick #19 from German export Lavera Naturkosmetik (a
favorite of Eva Mendes, according to a recent tab), Suki Cream Stain
for Lip & Cheek in Vermillion, organically fortified with omega
oils and Jane Iredale‘s Sugar & Butter Lip Exfoliator/Plumper, followed by a serious slathering of PureMoist SPF 18 LipColours in Kate.
Not ready for red? Try a slick of Physician’s Formula Superfruit Lip
Gloss. With more than 30% EcoCert Certified Organic and 100% natural
ingredients like acai and pomegranate extracts, it’s the perfect blend
of light color and shine.
So you can apply, lick, repeat and smile.
Through the end of April, get 25% off Terra Firma’s already ridiculously low-priced organic cosmetics when you read up on this week's Beauty section! Then lick away!
Want a smaller carbon footprint? EcoStiletto.com is giving
away a free pair of eco-friendly shoes worth $500 or more every
month! Get the lowdown on shrinking your carbon footprint from an
Ugg boot to a Manolo with daily green fashion, beauty, lifestyle,
parenting, celebrity and eco-events nationwide and change the
world, one small step at a time. Stiletto-size
me!