It’s the latest in the series of videos from The Story of Stuff Project and Free Range Studios, in association with the US Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. In this latest excursion Annie Leonard takes aim at the toxic cosmetic industry, ruffling the feathers of big industry and even takes a swipe at ‘pink-washing’ – highlighting Estee Lauder and its pink ribbon breast cancer fundraising with an image of an Estee Lauder product with a pink ribbon on the package:
Annie says, "Ooh, here's Estee Lauder offering me a chance to help find a cure for breast cancer. That's nice, but wait... they're also using chemicals linked to cancer! Don't you think the best way for Estee Lauder to fight cancer is to stop using those chemicals in the first place?"
Since when is oil a herb?
Then it takes on ‘herbal-green-washing’ – the video takes direct aim at Herbal Essences shampoo from Proctor & Gamble, saying, "This is Proctor & Gamble. They're the ones offering me Herbal Essences, the number two shampoo in the country. It contains toxic petrochemicals made from oil. Since when is oil an herb?"
Annie also says, "Pantene contains a chemical linked to cancer. And lots of other products in my bathroom, from sunscreen to lipstick and even baby shampoo, also contain chemicals linked to cancer or other problems like learning disabilities, asthma and even damaged sperm."
The animation goes on to talk about the cumulative toxic burden of personal care products on the lives of everyday consumers: "It's like a giant experiment… We're using all these mystery chemicals and just waiting to see what happens... The FDA doesn't even assess the safety of personal care products or their ingredients... they don't even require that all the ingredients be listed on the label!"But it’s just a little bit, right?
The answer to that question can be found in an excerpt from The Story of Cosmetics: Frequently Asked Questions:
The companies argue that each product contains only low levels of toxic chemicals – it’s just a little carcinogen in the baby shampoo, and a little more in the bubble bath, body wash, diaper cream, toys, food, water, air … yikes! If this sounds a little crazy, that’s because it is. There are a few things wrong with the industry’s “low toxic doses are OK” argument. First, low doses are adding up; the average woman is exposed to over a hundred cosmetic chemicals a day, and many of these toxic exposures have similar mechanisms of action in the body (i.e., dozens of chemicals that act like oestrogen). Secondly, low doses do matter: even the tiniest amounts of some substances can cause harm (think lead paint chips); and some chemicals are more problematic at lower doses than higher ones. For example, small doses of hormone-disrupting chemicals basically act like a key in a lock, turning hormone signals on and off – yes, the same signals that direct important bodily functions such as reproductive capacity. Third, chemical risk assessments typically study just one chemical at a time, rather than considering the potential for enhanced toxicity of chemical mixtures – even though evidence suggests that some chemicals can exponentially increase each other’s health impacts.
The video: The Story of Cosmetics
The video takes around eight minutes to watch.
Resources:
If you’re interested in the other "The Story of" videos see our previous articles:
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Written by Suze Chalmers
All images courtesy of The Story of Stuff Project.
