Honestly, it’s getting close to the Festive Season…..so I am going to quit going on about the Fibbing, Green Sheen, Greenwashing, etc. Or, at least I was going to. Then, was I surprised??? Not! Someone alerted me to an interesting article in the Oct 2009 Flare magazine. An article called, “The Great Pretenders” by Wing Sze Tang, what a lovely name!
Wing Sze went thru all the claims:
1. “Natural” on the label means it’s all-natural inside. ” “False,” she says.
2. “Natural does not always equal Earth-Friendly.” True.
3. “Natural ingredients are safer than synthetics.” False. (or, not always!)
4. “Natural Ingredients are more nourishing for Your skin. ” “Sometimes,” she says.
Basically, she covered all the ground I’ve been ‘harping’ on for several months now. And, I felt kind of exonerated for being what I sometimes felt was a little negative. But, I thought, the whole green idea is such a good one, and I feel that most people really want to do the right thing…if they know what it is.
Sometimes, I read or hear something that makes me a little more green in some area…i.e. properly inflating my tires uses up less fossil-fuel. People that know more than I do about these things have educated me to their benefits…so, perhaps because I’ve been studying and researching natural body care for over 30 years, I could share some of that knowledge…which is that we learn to separate the real thing from the ‘hype’ and the greenwashing so prevalent today.
If it’s appearing in Flare….it means they think people are interested, and want to read and learn about “The Great Pretenders.” If mainstream media is harping about it, it makes me think the blogs these last few months were not in vain…….and that people are waking up to the ‘Green Sheen’ on lots of products.
Now, I promise…no more harping…and soon….news about some really great new products that are both clean and green!
Linda Quiring
Founder,
Saltspring Soapworks
