Raise your hand if you've been greenwashed before? Well, I certainly have. I have a story to share about a conversation that I had with a friend about a product that she was wondering was safe or not. She's really my most conscious friend who really has been paying attention to toxins for a long time. It just reminded me how easy it is to get tricked and be greenwashed.
Greenwashed Again! Even the most conscious, healthy, green, non-toxic friends can get tricked by marketing.
So my girlfriend texted me and she said, “Hey, do you think this is toxin- free? I found this at Whole Foods.” Of course I was curious. It was a reed diffuser and immediately, I thought, huh, reed diffuser probably has fragrance in it. I doubt that it’s healthy.
So I asked her for a little bit more information, I asked for a picture of the label. She sent me a picture of the label and her text said “It's weird. It doesn't list the ingredients anywhere.” Isn't that so crazy that you can buy a product that you have in your home, around your family, around your little kids and there's no ingredients on the label. I want to remind you that this is something that she bought at Whole Foods. So I'm looking at the photo she sent me right now, it does have a caution sticker on it. And it says keep out of reach of children and pets, but it does not have any ingredients on it. It does say it contains PPG2 methyl ether acetate and fragrance. So it doesn't have an ingredient label but it does say it includes those two things.
Now, if you are not familiar with all of the US regulations around products, they are very, very loose. And for certain products, like cleaning products, companies aren’t required to put an ingredient label on those types of products, they only have to list ingredients that are on the “known concern” list. My guess is that these two ingredients PPG2 methyl ether acetate and fragrance are on the “chemicals of known concern list”. That right there is a red flag. Also, just the fact that there is no ingredient list - that's also a red flag personally for me.
My friend couldn't believe that it had those chemicals it it because she got it at Whole Foods. I told her a store may have a lot of toxin-free products, but you can't necessarily guarantee that all of their products are safe unless you really read every ingredient on the label. There are several natural markets out there, and they are a great resource for finding toxin-free products and food. But sometimes these stores still carry products that have harmful ingredients in them. Just because it's sold at a certain store doesn't mean that you can trust that it's safe. You really have to read the ingredient label.
I also mentioned to her that a lot of people think that if something is in an expensive boutique store, that it's going to be safe. And that's just not true. A lot of people think that if a product costs more money, it's safe. But again, that's really just not true, unfortunately.
Here's one of my most conscious friends. My healthiest, greenest, friend, the one that pays the most attention to it and really cares about it almost as much as I do, and she even got tricked into buying this product. It just goes to show that you really have to pay attention and read ingredient labels.
I know how hard it is. That is why I'm here and that's why I have my store. I created my store as a one stop shop. You can just go shopping and not worry about it because I have vetted and tested everything in my store. Plus, I love sharing tips on how to best use toxin-free products and just live a greener, healthier lifestyle.
Please tell me, have you been greenwashed like this before? What was the product and what store did you get it at?
