I know I’m technically a day late, but here’s a little Mother’s Day gift for all you natural-product loving mamas. While I was flipping through the latest InStyle, I saw that Cetaphil was voted the best cleanser for all skin types across the board. I wondered what made it so magical, and so I googled its ingredients. What I found was a great article from Well + Good NYC about why the popular cleanser is not so great, since all of its ingredients are chemically manufactured and three of them are on the Dirty Dozen. (The Dirty Dozen is a list of 12 chemicals in common daily use products, like shampoo or lotion, that should be avoided if you’re not into carcinogens.) Good to know, no?
Now, as if all of that isn’t fun enough — there’s a lot of interesting tips and info on Well + Good, browse a bit — it led me to Spirit Beauty Lounge, a Co-op America Approved Web site where you can “shop safe” since they only carry products that are organic and sustainable, from environmentally-minded companies. While a lot of the products are expensive, you can get custom samples to try before you buy. Now go clean out your bathroom cabinets!
Green Living Tip of the Week:
If you’re a coffee drinker, try to buy “shade-grown” beans. This means that the coffee was grown in the traditional way, under trees, and so did not require the clearing of any rain forest. The Arbor Day Foundation says that each cup of shade-grown coffee preserves two square feet of rain forest — if you drink coffee like me, that adds up! These rain forests are where many American songbirds spend their winters. Bread Alone (in Rhinebeck, Boiceville, and Woodstock) carries Counter Culture coffee, which is organic, fair-trade, and bird friendly (i.e.: shade-grown).
» Visit Well + Good NYC’s Web site
» Read about Cetaphil’s ingredients
» Read about the Dirty Dozen list of chemicals in common beauty products
» Find local beauty stores in the Hudson Valley
» Find local coffee shops in the Hudson Valley
