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Aubrey Organics Article: Support the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics from Healthy Living by David Steinman
Take Action with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Aubrey Organics is an original member of a newly formed ad-hoc work group created to talk about how to implement and create accountability with regard to the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics."
One way to have your voice heard is to take action with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Visit their Internet site at www.safecosmetics.org and be sure to sign their petition to let cosmetic companies know you want safe products.
There are some really good reasons why Aubrey Organics cosmetics and personal care products are products of choice in our home. They work and they feel great. And they're totally safe.
Most consumers don't know that cosmetics and personal care products are almost completely unregulated. As I noted in my book Safe Shopper's Bible, no pre-market safety testing of products is required by the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. Because of this lack of federal regulation and the minimally self-regulated industry standards, products are frequently sold with ingredients and contaminants that cause cancer, birth defects, allergies and skin sensitization without a label warning or their presence in the product even being disclosed.
The Hair Dye Scandal
For example, it is widely thought by scientists at the National Cancer Institute and other prestigious institutions that permanent and semi-permanent hair dyes with coal tar colors probably cause lymphoma and bladder cancer in men and women who use them, and among hairdressers. However, no state or federal laws require warnings, and the cosmetic lobby in Washington is so powerful, it is unlikely Congress, in the absence of enough public pressure, will ever amend the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act to require such warnings.
Hair dyes are not the only products with a sordid toxic history. Take shampoos, body washes, liquid soaps and skin lotions. For years, major cosmetic companies have been selling these products with ingredients that are contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, a highly volatile and quickly absorbed fossil fuel toxin that is not even listed on the labels. That is because 1,4-dioxane, as dangerous as it is, contaminates other ingredients, and, by federal law, dangerous chemicals known to be present as contaminants of another ingredient are not themselves required to be listed.
But do this: Look on the label of your product. If you see polyethylene glycol or PEG compounds, sodium laureth sulfate or other ingredients ending in -eth (as in sodium ceteareth), then you should suspect that product also contains traces of 1,4-dioxane. That is because these compounds have been ethoxylated and have had ethylene, a fossil fuel derivative, added to them to make them less harsh.
These days we depend on fossil fuel for everything, even our cosmetics. As a result of this dependency, we produce such poisons as 1,4-dioxane, a by-product that is officially listed as a "probable human carcinogen," according to the Environmental Protection Agency, yet is not even listed on product labels.
This is a scandal that deserves public action. Until we can develop the grass roots support for pressuring our public officials to at least require full label disclosure and for companies to forgo using dangerous ingredients, most consumers are going to be exposed to these chemicals.
In the meantime, the human price is high. Take cosmetic and personal products that contain paraben preservatives and phthalates. The parabens are usually listed on labels as a preservative, such as methyl paraben or butyl paraben.
Phthalates are not listed on labels but are often present in products with "fragrance" listed as an ingredient. The phthalates help extend the longevity of product fragrances and soften a product's texture.
Unfortunately, these foreign chemicals behave like estrogen once in the human body. Test tube studies show that these chemicals preferentially stimulate reproductive tissues (see also our report on uterine fibroids, page 32). Indeed, any woman suffering from uterine fibroids should strongly consider using Aubrey Organics cosmetics and personal care products, which are free from harmful xenoestrogens.
Both parabens and phthalates are absorbed through the skin or inhaled into the body, where they float in the bloodstream until they latch on to estrogen receptors on reproductive cell tissue and unlock the tumblers that turn on cell reactions. Some studies suggest that these chemical xenoestrogens cause human reproductive defects and breast cancer. One recent clinical study we reported on in Healthy Living found extremely high levels of parabens in cancerous breast tissue when compared to noncancerous tissues. According to a report from the Environmental Working Group, published on their website at www.ewg.org, here is another example of the cost of dangerous cosmetics:
"When Olivia James gave birth to her son Darren seven years ago, she learned he had bright eyes and a dimple on his right cheek. She also learned he had hypospadia, a birth defect in which the urethra fails to extend the whole length of the penis. Repeated surgeries have corrected Darren's problem.
"But his mother, now 40 and living in Princeton, New Jersey, still can't shake the horror she felt when she learned about phthalates and realized her son's condition could be linked to the chemicals in the makeup and hair products she used during her 15 years as a professional model.
"Every day of her career, James slathered on foundation, eye shadow, lipstick and mascara containing phthalates. In addition to wearing heavy makeup, James also had her hair straightened once a month. Like many hair products aimed at African Americans, the straightener she used contained a high concentration of phthalates."
This is only part of the chemical horror show being played out by irresponsible companies that continue to expose millions of people and future generations to these potential reproductive toxins. I don't want to be part of that and I don't think you do, either. That's why Aubrey Organics plays such an important role in our health.
Finding a Good Company
When I was finishing The Safe Shopper's Bible I was having an extremely difficult time finding any cosmetic companies that had any idea about producing safe and healthy products. Even some of the so-called natural brands who approached me about being in the book had chemicals that we were discovering were dangerous to human health, and I had to politely turn them down. I was desperate, though, and going everywhere-to upscale supermarkets, department stores, hair salons, everywhere-to find one good product. And that one product, along with many others, was made by Aubrey Organics, a company whose products are sold at natural products retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada.
At a time when the overwhelming number of cosmetic and personal care products in America were formulated with synthetic and fossil fuel-derived plasticizers, coloring agents, foaming substances and other by-products of petroleum distilling, Aubrey Organics looked to nature for its inspiration. I found out that everything Aubrey Organics made was not only natural but also completely safe (and often made with many certified organic ingredients).
Today, the company continues to hand make cosmetic and personal care products that are entirely natural and free from hazardous contaminants so commonly found in run-of-the-mill companies. Their packaging is also 100 percent recyclable. I know when I buy Aubrey products, my shopping dollars are going to support sustainable agriculture throughout the world, promote fair wages, and reflect an overall approach to health and business that corresponds with my personal values.
How Aubrey Did It
To understand why Aubrey Organics went in this direction, you have to know about Aubrey Hampton, the company's founder.
He grew up in Indiana. His father was a farmer and activist and his mother was an herbalist who taught him from a very young age that the herbs they gathered held powerful healing properties. Early on, he worked as a cosmetic chemist for Faberge, helping to formulate the company's products. At Faberge he learned from an insider's perspective that chemical toxicity issues were being largely swept under the rug.
He eventually left Faberge (on good terms) and went on to do something remarkable. In 1967 he created Aubrey Organics, the first company in America committed to the manufacturing of cosmetic and personal care products made with 100 percent natural ingredients.
Today, Aubrey Organics is about the enter its fourth decade, and the privately held company continues to be a global leader in cosmetic safety and sustainability, with more than 200 natural products and a business approach that clearly reflects this vision.
January 2006
Back to Aubrey Organics
(Resources: the above information was taken from the www.aubrey-organics.com website)
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