Watch The Story of Cosmetics

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Instead of documenting my green domestic adventures, today we're taking a field trip to the movies.

I invite you to watch The Story of Cosmetics. I'm sharing this 8 minute animated video because I think it does an excellent job of explaining:

• what toxic chemicals are in most conventional personal care products
• how these chemicals affect our health and the environment
• how most of these chemicals are undisclosed in the ingredient labels on packages
• how horribly unpoliced these chemicals are by the government
• reforms that need to happen to protect consumers

Three things that stood out to me:

• Since 1938 the government has only banned 8 of 12,000 new ingredients used in personal care products.
• Only 20% of the chemicals used in personal care products on store shelves have been assessed for safety. This testing is done by an industry safety panel, this means the industry polices themselves. Yikes!
• Terms like "herbal", "natural", and "organic" are unregulated when used on cosmetic products. These words mean nothing. I guess that explains how there exists such "natural" products as "organic" hair relaxer. (WTF! I'm glad someone else on the internet is giving them the side eye!)

What do you think of the documentary? Did anything surprise you? Can you recommend any other educational films on the issue? 

Connect with The Story of Stuff Project: YouTube // storyofstuff.org //  Facebook // Twitter // Also visit: SafeCosmetics.org

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