A Wee Bit O' the Greenwash

I'm still wading through vegan products I received at various shows. The most recent one I tried is a "cruelty free and vegan" body wash, Papaya, by Nature's Gate. I'm strictly a Dr. Bronner's bar soap kind of gal, but I thought I would branch out to give this a try. Why not?

Nature's Gate Papaya Velvet Moisture Body Wash says it Brightens Dull Skin, is Paraben Free, and has 7 Natural Moisture Boosters. OK. I open the sample and wonder how much I really need on my sponge. Hmm. Soapy. It smells WONDERFUL. Good so far. Turns our I used way too much, but that happens. I feel pretty silky. But then, it doesn't rinse off my skin as well as my Dr. Bronner's. That bothers me because I feel I am using more water than I would like. Then there is my sponge. It takes forever to get it all out of my poor little natural sponge (use not approved by hard-line vegans). There goes more wasted water than usual.

OK, so good smell but too much water. Let's look a little deeper. The company itself is a really good one... concerned about sustainable products, trying to be all responsible with the packaging, supporting clean water initiatives... they say this product is, besides paraben free, also sulfate free, phthalate free, and biodegradable with no EDTA. Let's look into this. Paraben: bad. So we have to make a big deal of that, I get it. Phthalates and sufates, also bad. EDTA is a "persistent organic pollutant." OK, also bad, let's stick that on the label. What does it actually have in it? Is it all-natural in its vegan-ness? I have to say no, as the first "natural" ingredient, papaya, doesn't actually appear until #8. In fact, it has lots of big chemical names that I cannot pronounce without a few good tries. I gotta copy this right from Wikipedia because, well, otherwise that's a lot of typing. Hah. The first ingredient after water: Cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (CAHS) is a synthetic amphoteric surfactant from the hydroxysultaine group. It is found in many personal care products (soaps, shampoos, lotions etc.). It has uses as a foam booster, viscosity builder, and an antistatic agent. It is a cheap and very effective foaming agent. Um. That's not very natural. I won't bore you with the rest of the dozen or so other unpronounceables interspersed with natural oils. Suffice it to say that this product is more laboratory than Nature. My Dr. Bronner's? More Nature than lab. Also cruelty-free. Perfectly safe for grey-water systems. No fancy labels.

Oh, you know what else? My Dr. Bronner's soap comes in a paper wrapping. These products come in plastic bottles. They say, of course, that they are recyclable, of course, and post-consumer content, or course, but, of course, it's still plastic, as I, of course, always say.

Nature's Gate: you are a nice enough company, I am sure you mean well, but I have to pass. Your labels aren't fooling me. I think you greenwash vegans with your labels. Thanks for the samples, but it's a no-go for me. Lemme know when you have fewer chemicals in your life. And less plastic. I stick to my castille soap, thanks. Maybe someday, people will stop falling for half-truths on labels, quit seeing what they want to see and hearing what they want to hear.

Oh, but then, about whatever shall I rant??? :)

Nature Made or Man Made?

Sea sponges are really cool. I've always liked them. They are kinda weird. I looked them up: "The Sea Sponge is not a coral, and is not a plant, rather it is classified as an animal which has neither brain nor central nervous system. Sea Sponges live on the ocean floor, they attach themselves permanently to a solid location under the water and they do not move around." Cool, right? They reproduce by budding or breaking off or just catching errant free-flowing sperm from one another! They fascinate me. And sponges are everywhere in our lives, but mostly the fake kind, not the real "animals".

Someone gave me a real natural sea sponge for use in the shower. I'd been using a synthetic one that was also given to me. I've used a loofah before too, but those can be really scratchy. But I like them because they are natural. As, of course, are sea sponges. I really hadn't used one before, I guess, because after trying it, I had to wonder why I don't always use them. It's the perfect blend of soft and scratchy. Mother Nature provides. But, then I got to thinking. I think a lot in the shower. Good ideas come up in there.

Sea sponges are animals. Does that mean vegans are against them? I brought the question to social media, as I have lots of vegan acquaintances. Hazard of the trade. (Little joke there.) I mean, if using worms for composting is a no-no because you are "enslaving" worms by doing that, then surely being so bold as to use a dead animal to exfoliate is a giant oops. The discussion was pretty... enlightening. I thought I would share.

It would seem loofahs are preferable because they are plants and sponges are animals and animals are a "no" even though they really have no brains or awareness... just basic functions. About as alive as a plant, right? So where's the line? Is wool a no? That comes from an animal. But no animal is killed for it. Someone said, no, sea sponges are taken from the ocean and are over-harvested. (Isn't everything?) Another respected friend said, why not use a cloth? Well... there's a sticky wicket. How eco-friendly is cotton? Not very. MASSIVE amounts of pesticide there. Organic cotton? Well, better, but... Bamboo? All these things still require processing which takes chemicals and energy. Sea sponges require... harvesting and drying. They are insanely regenerative, and if harvested responsibly and properly, they are fine. Plus, I would think, an added bonus is the desire to keep the water where they live and breed clean and free from pollutants. So, that's a good thing, right? You don't genetically modify them, you don't pump them full of chemicals or growth hormone, you just let them grow. You let them grow in a healthy ocean environment. To me, that's better than producing cotton. There is incentive to keep their home pristine. That's pretty high up there in my book.

And did I mention that they are the perfect blend of soft and scratchy?

None of the points against really washed for me. (Small pun intended.) Cloth instead? No, manufacturing cloth is probably bigger harm in the long run. Over-harvested? Not if done properly and sustainable, which is easy to do. Animal? I wear leather, I eat meat, so that's not really there for me as an argument. Loofah instead? Maybe sometimes. To me, it boils down to this: Man manufactures, but Mother Nature provides. Why not take care of her so she can continue to do so? Awareness, people. There it is.

I shall continue to use my sea sponge with my Dr. Bronner's soap. And I will thank the Mother every time. (And Dr. Bronner too, I guess.) Will I run out and buy another when this one has finished? Maybe. I'll find a place that harvests them responsibly, of course. Synthetic sponge? Nope. Natural? Yes. Do I need them for dishes, for make-up? No. There are other good things for that. But for this, Nature provides, and I'm good with that.

Good info found on: http://www.seasponges.com.au/information/sea-sponge-facts

Big Oil and Big Corp Out of My Life

Big oil is all over our lives in ways we rarely realize. Petroleum products abound in the most subversive places. Just look in your shower: petroleum in your shampoo bottles AND your shampoo. Big corporations that care nothing for the environment make your liquid soap in more plastic bottles. Disposable razors. Scrubbie poufs of plastic. That little tiny area in your bathroom is full of the worst of it, when you stop to think about it. Forget the rest of that room; the shower has enough horrors. Right down to the toxic chemical cleaners you use to clean it, the detergents on your towels, the frequency with which you wash said towels... (Seriously, anyone who uses a towel ONCE and puts it in the wash needs to leave the planet. Seriously. If you know someone like this, please feel free to push them off during the next rotation.)

I feel pretty good about my shower area. I've done away with shampoo and conditioner, having replaced them with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, neither of which come in plastic containers. I will NOT use liquid bath soap. I'm not sure why this particular product is so incredibly popular.  (Please tell me if you know!) Full of petroleum products and other chemicals. And fake fragrances. I've thought about it, and really I can't see why bar soap is not just plain good enough. It's surely cheaper. We do pay a little more for ours, because we just love Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap in bar form, especially in tea tree or peppermint. We are OK paying a little more for this all-natural soap because, frankly, we are saving so much not buying shampoo that it's basically a wash. (HAH! No pun intended.)  I make sure to use a razor that only replaces the head. I use them forever, and I've had the same handle for, I think, 4 years now. That comes out to be cheaper than the disposables, too. I use a natural loofah instead of a scrubbie-pouf. Those bug me. They work great with liquid soap, I suppose, but, see above. And I've done away with moisturizers in plastic containers with suspect ingredients: I have a little container in my shower with a bit of olive oil. I put some on my face after washing it, and the remaining time in the shower lets it sink in SO nicely. Turns out I really don't need to spend $20+ on something that only sort of works. Thank you, Mother Nature. Hugs.

So, I feel pretty good. I am not giving money to companies like SC Johnson and Dow; instead supporting the smaller companies. I am not throwing away countless plastic bottles every year. And I am not using petroleum on my hair and body. What can you do?

It's the little victories. And they add up.

***Aside anecdote: I have a few little hotel bottles on the sill of my shower window for just-in-case times. (And because I prefer to eventually slowly use them than throw them out!) I recently had surgery, and one of those very same just-in-case times came up: I dropped the soap, and could not bend over to pick it up! Ack! No worries - I used the liquid soap from the little sill-bottle. HOLY CRAP did that stuff dry out my never-dry skin. I love being given irrefutable evidence that I am doing the right thing. Nice reinforcement. But luckily I can bend over again, in case I drop my Dr. Bronners again. Shew.