Save the rainforest, one shampoo at a time

greenlagirl — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:40:03 -0500

Get clean, save the rainforest. That's the message eco personal-care company Save Your World's sending out. Buy any shampoo, lotion, soap, or other pampering product -- all paraben-free, vegan, and made with fair trade ingredients -- and you'll save at least one acre of the Guyana rainforest in South America.

Yep -- unlike the vague promises of companies that say they'll send "a percentage of the profits" to an eco-org, Save Your World's promise is concrete and transparent. Basically, each product Save Your World sells sends between 15 cents to $4.50 (depending on the price of the product) to enviro nonprofit Conservation International, which uses the money to pay annual lease fees to keep the rainforest from logging companies. Incredibly, it only costs 15 cents to preserve an acre for a year!

And also incredibly, the eco-friendly products do their job! I especially liked the shampoos, which worked refreshingly well, especially compared to some of the disastrous results I got from other eco hair products. The shampoos cleansed, the conditioners detangled and moisturized, and the body wash lathered up nicely.

Even better, Save the World products all get a "low hazard" score of 1 or 2 -- except the lotions, which get a "moderate risk" 3 -- from Environmental Working Group's cosmetic safety database, Skin Deep.

My one qualm had to do with some of the natural fragrances, which some might find too strong -- or too funky. The "oasis fruit" scented stuff smells very much like Tang, for one! And the "rainforest" scented conditioner and shower gel had a strangely sweet, medicinal scent (though oddly, the shampoo did not). I also found that the lotions seemed thinnish and took a while to absorb -- though once absorbed, my skin felt v. well moisturized.

Diane at dkMommy Spot loves the entire Save Your World line, however -- especially the hair products: " I finally have soft, manageable hair, and the fragrance of the natural essential oils–heavenly!" Truth in Aging's marta wohrle isn't convinced that the fair trade yerba mate in Save Your World's body wash is really a "powerful anti-oxidant," and says the body wash is "All in all, not a bad product, but not a stand out one" (she doesn't actually seemed to have tried the product, however).

What I really, really liked are the exfoliating bars -- soap with a little scrubby grain to them -- and am planning to make a permanent switch to them (sorry Dr. Bronner's!). Save Your World products are conveniently available at Whole Foods and The Vitamin Shoppe -- as well as online.
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BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.

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Save the rainforest, one shampoo at a time