Annie Leonard

Can I tell you, I love my Pantene Pro V. Of the dozen or so personal care products I use everyday, it’s the one I can’t live without. Says it gives my dull hair “the ultimate cool shine.”  How does it do that?

I was wondering that, while I was lathering it into my hair one day, so I read the ingredients right here: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methyl–iso–thiazo–linone… What is this stuff?

I took this list to some scientists who know how to read it. Turns out my 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. Like most parents, I try to keep my family safe but now I find out my bathroom is a minefield of toxins. What are we supposed to do?

So begins Annie Leonard’s newest film, The Story of Cosmetics. Like its viral-hit predecessor, The Story of Stuff, it promises to illuminate a few minds – this time on the subject of the need for regulation of the $50 billion beauty industry.

Last week we caught up with Annie Leonard’s collaborator and Berkeley neighbor, Stacy Malkan. She’s the communications leader for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. Stacy told us more about the film, the passion behind it, the potential for improving the nation’s regulations on the stuff we put on our bodies, hair, and faces – and how she became interested in make-up in the first place.

Stacy Malkan

I grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, half a mile from the biggest incinerator in the state. I was crazy about make-up. We never thought about chemicals in cosmetics or pollution in the environment. Yet many of the kids in my high school class were developing health issues. Some of them had cancer. Later, others had infertility problems. But we didn’t talk about it in those days.

When I graduated from college I worked for a newspaper and covered a controversy about pesticides that were being sprayed on fields and bike paths that were heavily used by kids and pets. I began to realize the negative health effects of chemicals, and the fact that often we use chemicals without thinking of the consequences. The government officials I interviewed for the story had no idea about the health effects of the chemicals they were spraying in public spaces.

Later, I worked for the non-profit Health Care Without Harm, where I learned about harmful chemical exposures in the hospital setting. We worked a lot on phthalates. Weird word, I know. Scientists have known about the toxicity of phthalates for decades – hundreds of animal studies have shown defects to the male reproductive system, especially when animals are exposed to phthalates in the womb. Turns out most hospitals were using phthalates in the plastic of IV bags and tubing. It leeches right out of the bag and into the patient. Many hospitals have made progress since then switching to non-vinyl plastics that don’t leach phthalates.

In 2000 the CDC conducted a large bio-monitoring study of blood and urine and found phthalates in every single person they tested. Women of childbearing age had the highest levels. Why? Because they were in cosmetics. We tested a bunch of body-care products at a lab and found phthalates in more than 70% of them, but the chemicals weren’t listed on labels. After that, we formed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and began testing cosmetics for other dangerous ingredients. At this time, Jane Houlihan initiated Skin Deep at the Environmental Working Group. This is the best source for cosmetic safety reviews in the world, with 60,000 products and data about chemical hazards gathered from the leading government and academic databases in the world.

With the launch of The Story of Cosmetics on July 21, Congress announced the Safe Cosmetics Act legislation [on July 20]. This is a real chance to overhaul completely outdated regulations that affect so many people. Johnson & Johnson recently celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their famous baby shampoo and they said, ‘We’re using the same chemical formulation we used fifty years ago!’ I saw that and I said, ‘That is not a plus! How many huge scientific discoveries have been made on chemicals in the past half century? Why are we still putting carcinogens into baby shampoo?’

Interested in knowing more? Click here to watch The Story of Cosmetics (free, 7 mins.). Afterwards, you might feel like making a change or two in the personal-care products you and your family use. Practically Green can help you figure it out! You’ll find clear suggestions on what to do and why it’s important, from switching to a safe and effective sunscreen to using all-natural floss – and just about everything in between. We have thirty-three personal-care actions for you to consider – and yes, switching to all-natural baby shampoo is one of them.