A new program from the shaving company will help make disposable razors less environmentally damaging.

Gillette has just launched a recycling program with waste management company TerraCycle to collect all sorts of disposable razors, including cartridge units and the plastic packaging encasing razors. The Gillette Razor Recycling Program will let consumers send back recyclable razor material -- of any brand -- to the company. In addition, businesses, colleges and community organizations are being invited to set up drop-off spaces for the Gillette program. The company and TerraCycle will supply a recycling bin that can be folded close and sent back via UPS when it’s full. Organizations who participate can earn money or gifts for every 15 pounds of old razor material they send in, through TerraCycle’s Sponsored Waste Recycling Program. Every shipment that size earns points that can be used for charity gifts. The collected packaging will be recycled to become brand-new items like dog bowls, park benches, bike racks and more. Subscribers to the Gillette On Demand service can also use its functions  to send back plastic material. TerraCycle CEO and founder Tom Szaky called the recycling effort  “an innovative, first of-a-kind program. “ “This is an important first step toward sustainable solutions for shaving products,” said Gillette CEO Gary Coombe. The company is  also working on plans to extend the program to other countries “very soon,” he said. But Gillette is not discontinuing its own plastic disposable lines. Gillette’s website extols the “use and toss” convenience of the throwaways.  A spokeswoman said the company serves shavers at all price points and tries to “encourage” shavers to “trade up to our premium systems” which make up 80% of Gillette’s razor sales. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away 2 billion plastic razors  every year, an awesome figure — but just a drop in the bucket compared to the total problem.  For example, the EPA says every year, roughly 102.1 billion plastic bags are used and discarded by Americans. All told, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced in the world so far, and 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste, according to the journal Science Advances. Only 9% has been recycled. Gillette is a unit of Procter & Gamble, which like other major CPG companies, has recently gotten more serious about environmental issues. In January, for example, P&G partnered with Loop, an e-commerce program started by TerraCycle, to introduce “circular” recycling solutions. Via the Loop program, consumers can buy and then use aluminum containers over and over again, refilling them with major brands from participating companies like Pantene, Tide, Cascade and Oral-B.

The recycling bin is often a catch-all for items you know will be taken in the curbside pickup, then you toss in something you think might be acceptable. Experts say if you want to recycle household plastics correctly and efficiently, conduct a little research first to become familiar with what your local recycling program can actually process. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) estimates at least 5 million tons of post-industrial and post-consumer plastics were recycled in the United States in 2016.   “Recycling saves energy and helps preserve the environment,” said Mark Carpenter, assistant vice president of communications, media and marketing for ISRI. “The one thing we stress is to make sure you are recycling right. Check to make sure what is recycled and what is not in your community.”     Recycle this   While there are always exceptions, plastics with resin identification codes #1 PET (polyethelene terephthalate) and #2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) are common forms of plastic and will likely be accepted in a curbside collection program. This includes water and cola bottles, laundry detergent bottles and milk jugs, among others.   Don't recycle that   The following plastics are rarely, if ever, recycled in curbside pickup:   · Softer plastics with resin identification code #3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride) · Takeout containers, to-go cups, plastic utensils and “Styrofoam” with code #6 PS (polystyrene) · Other plastics, such as BPA or polycarbonate, with the code #7 OTHER   “Never put any items that have been contaminated with human fluids such as an IV drip tube or items made out of PVC, such as plastic pipe,” Carpenter said. “Garden hoses, plastic rope, twine and other ‘tanglers’ should also never be placed in a recycle bin.”   Wish-cycling   Wish-cycling, the act of putting something in the recycling bin with the hope that it is recyclable when unsure, can actually cause more harm than good, according to ISRI experts.   After unrecyclable items arrive at recycling centers, they can cause costly damage to the equipment, according to a fact sheet from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This also can create additional work – more sorting and sending to landfills – which raises costs.   So if you have questions about chip and cereal bags, food containers or toys, for example, it’s best to ask your local recycling facility. And keep in mind: items smaller than 2 inches are often not recyclable because the machinery used to sort the materials can’t capture items that small (like lip balm tubes, for example) even if the plastic is technically recyclable, Carpenter told AccuWeather.   A plan for plastic bags   Plastic bags, with resin identification code #4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene), are often not accepted at curbside pickup but can be brought to supermarkets or big box stores.   “Residential recycling programs typically use a series of conveyors, belts and other equipment in which plastic bags can get tangled. The bags can jam the gears and belts, breaking the equipment,” Carpenter said. “Stores that collect plastic bags can send them directly to recyclers who have equipment designed to handle that material.”   Tips of the trade   If a plastic is not accepted by a local curbside recycling program, it does not mean it is not recyclable. Many communities have collection points or special events for such materials. There are also resources, such as Earth911, where you can look up local collectors that recycle various materials, and TerraCycle, which offers recycling programs, funded by companies, for hard-to-recycle waste.   “It is important for people not to think of their recycling bin as a substitute for their trash bin,” said Carpenter. “Recycling can bring many benefits to the economy and environment, but we need the public to view it as a public duty and take care with what they put in the recycling bin.”

Herbal Essences and TerraCycle are joining forces to celebrate World Water Day. Together, the companies have created recyclable shampoo and conditioner bottles that are made of 25% beach plastic. “Plastic floating in our oceans and rivers has been a recent topic for discussion, and unless people work to find solutions, it stays just that — a discussion,” Tom Szaky, TerraCycle’s CEO said. “By incorporating beach plastic into their bottles, Herbal Essences is showing that they are committed to doing something and leading by example. I look forward to our continued work together to raise awareness and make a bigger difference.” The beauty brand, part of the Procter & Gamble portfolio, is looking to make a difference in driving awareness about ocean plastic and how it positively impacts its footprint, the company said. The initiative featues three products from Herbal Essences’ bio:renew collection — white grapefruit & mosa mint, argan oil, and coconut milk — will be available in the limited-edition Beach Plastic bottles, which can be found on store shelves from March to June. “Businesses can play an important role in driving and inspiring change in the world,” Ilaria Resta, North America general manager at P&G Hair Care, said. “My team and I are very passionate about driving responsible consumption. Actions like incorporating ocean plastic into our bottles is just one way we are bringing innovative solutions that have a reduced impact on the environment. This is a step towards our long-term vision of using 100% renewable and recycled materials in our products and packaging.” In addition, the beauty brand and TerraCycle will partner on a nationwide take-back program that will help ensure every Herbal Essences bottle can be recycled and not end up in the ocean. The program will begin in time for World Ocean Day on June 8.

SUNY Oswego students and faculty have started collecting exhausted writing utensils — markers, pens and even mechanical pencils — and sending them to a recycling company in the latest of many efforts the campus community has taken to go green.   Six students in a technology class of Daniel Tryon launched the effort, manufacturing 212 wooden collection boxes last semester from old Swetman Gymnasium bleachers.   “Each box has a laser-engraved finish to add design details on the top, inside and front panels,” said Erika Wallace, a senior in technology education who helped manufacture the boxes. The boxes are “designed to be easy to use, light weight and magnetic to fit right into the school environment.”   Sustainability advocate Kate Spector, mathematics specialist with the Office of Learning Services, plans to work with students to continue distributing the boxes. They will mount the boxes on magnetic whiteboards in classrooms and other likely spaces around campus — the Tutoring Center, Penfield Library and others — where empty dry erase markers and other writing implements routinely have been tossed in the trash. The wooden boxes, fronted with a slotted acrylic panel, hold 15 to 20 dry erase markers each, more for smaller implements.   After routine collection, students will empty the utensils into a well-labeled green cardboard recycling box — TerraCycle refers to it as a “zero waste box” — just outside the College Store on the mezzanine level of Marano Campus Center. The larger box holds about 5,000 depleted implements.   Eliminating waste   Spector believes the presence of the boxes and the recycling effort will add one more action item for students and faculty in the college’s effort to promote sustainability. All campus members are encouraged to use the TerraCycle central collection box for their worn-out writing utensils.   “The primary goal of this project is to re-direct a segment of our waste stream, giving a second life to these materials,” Spector said. “In a larger sense, this project aims to spark conversations about shifting from a throwaway culture toward one that creates zero waste.”   TerraCycle, a private U.S. recycling business headquartered in Trenton, N.J., operates on the slogan, “Eliminating the Idea of Waste.” Besides the national effort to collect used writing utensils, the company runs a volunteer-based curbside collection program to gather heretofore non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, and then partners with corporate donors to turn it into raw material to be used in new products.   “The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into metals, fibers, and plastics,” TerraCycle says on its website. “Metals are smelted so they may be recycled. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.”   Materials accepted in Oswego’s TerraCycle project include pens, pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers, marker caps, permanent markers and permanent marker caps, according to the company.   SUNY Oswego’s sustainability efforts are reflective of a pledge college President Deborah F. Stanley signed in 2007, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, to demonstrate both regional and national sustainability leadership by modeling the campus as an example of ways society can reduce its carbon footprint.   Under the leadership of the Office of Sustainability, SUNY Oswego’s students and employees have helped drive initiatives that move the sustainability needle in ways large and small: Save the Trees to reduce paper use, substituting paper straws for plastic ones in campus dining halls and other locations, the Perk Up program to utilize reusable cups, Tap In to promote reusable water bottles, Bike Share to invest in a green way of transportation and the student-programmed Bus Share web application to encourage use of mass transit on and around campus.   Wallace said she wanted to leave her mark for future students, much like the ones she teaches locally. The recycling project served as her capstone for the technology course, her senior project under Tryon’s mentorship. “In the future, I want students, like my own, to be able to utilize energy more efficiently,” Wallace said.   Being a part of the marker recycling project serves as a positive reminder to Wallace. “Do something special, so that in 10 years you can look back and say, ‘I made a difference.’”   For more information, contact the Office of Sustainability at oswego.edu/sustainability, call 315-312-6601 or email sustainability@oswego.edu.

SUNY Oswego students and faculty have started collecting exhausted writing utensils — markers, pens and even mechanical pencils — and sending them to a recycling company in the latest of many efforts the campus community has taken to go green.   Six students in a technology class of Daniel Tryon launched the effort, manufacturing 212 wooden collection boxes last semester from old Swetman Gymnasium bleachers.   “Each box has a laser-engraved finish to add design details on the top, inside and front panels,” said Erika Wallace, a senior in technology education who helped manufacture the boxes. The boxes are “designed to be easy to use, light weight and magnetic to fit right into the school environment.”   Sustainability advocate Kate Spector, mathematics specialist with the Office of Learning Services, plans to work with students to continue distributing the boxes. They will mount the boxes on magnetic whiteboards in classrooms and other likely spaces around campus — the Tutoring Center, Penfield Library and others — where empty dry erase markers and other writing implements routinely have been tossed in the trash. The wooden boxes, fronted with a slotted acrylic panel, hold 15 to 20 dry erase markers each, more for smaller implements.   After routine collection, students will empty the utensils into a well-labeled green cardboard recycling box — TerraCycle refers to it as a “zero waste box” — just outside the College Store on the mezzanine level of Marano Campus Center. The larger box holds about 5,000 depleted implements.   Eliminating waste   Spector believes the presence of the boxes and the recycling effort will add one more action item for students and faculty in the college’s effort to promote sustainability. All campus members are encouraged to use the TerraCycle central collection box for their worn-out writing utensils.   “The primary goal of this project is to re-direct a segment of our waste stream, giving a second life to these materials,” Spector said. “In a larger sense, this project aims to spark conversations about shifting from a throwaway culture toward one that creates zero waste.”   TerraCycle, a private U.S. recycling business headquartered in Trenton, N.J., operates on the slogan, “Eliminating the Idea of Waste.” Besides the national effort to collect used writing utensils, the company runs a volunteer-based curbside collection program to gather heretofore non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, and then partners with corporate donors to turn it into raw material to be used in new products.   “The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into metals, fibers, and plastics,” TerraCycle says on its website. “Metals are smelted so they may be recycled. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.”   Materials accepted in Oswego’s TerraCycle project include pens, pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers, marker caps, permanent markers and permanent marker caps, according to the company.   SUNY Oswego’s sustainability efforts are reflective of a pledge college President Deborah F. Stanley signed in 2007, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, to demonstrate both regional and national sustainability leadership by modeling the campus as an example of ways society can reduce its carbon footprint.   Under the leadership of the Office of Sustainability, SUNY Oswego’s students and employees have helped drive initiatives that move the sustainability needle in ways large and small: Save the Trees to reduce paper use, substituting paper straws for plastic ones in campus dining halls and other locations, the Perk Up program to utilize reusable cups, Tap In to promote reusable water bottles, Bike Share to invest in a green way of transportation and the student-programmed Bus Share web application to encourage use of mass transit on and around campus.   Wallace said she wanted to leave her mark for future students, much like the ones she teaches locally. The recycling project served as her capstone for the technology course, her senior project under Tryon’s mentorship. “In the future, I want students, like my own, to be able to utilize energy more efficiently,” Wallace said.   Being a part of the marker recycling project serves as a positive reminder to Wallace. “Do something special, so that in 10 years you can look back and say, ‘I made a difference.’”   For more information, contact the Office of Sustainability at oswego.edu/sustainability, call 315-312-6601 or email sustainability@oswego.edu.

 

More than half of Americans admit they throw away beauty products. Keep your out of the landfill with these simple changes. Many companies are making the switch to eco-friendly packaging and incorporating more plant-based ingredients into their products. But there's also another side of green beauty, and it has to do with keeping unwanted purchases and used-up packaging from piling up on our planet. Here are five ways to shop smarter and give back to Mother Earth in the process.

Use Every Last Drop

Can’t reach the serum in the bottom of the jar? If a cotton swab doesn’t get it, consider a tool designed to keep products from going to waste. One to try: Recoup Beautiscoop, a wand with two spatulas that fit through the neck of small bottles. But don’t try to thin out the formula. “Water seriously impacts a product’s efficacy,” says Annie Jackson, cofounder of clean beauty brand retailer Credothis link opens in a new tab. Better to turn a bottle over, give it a shake, then let gravity do the rest Buy It: Recoup Beautiscoop, $11this link opens in a new tab

Recycle Your Empties

Plastic bottles with an imprint of the number 1, 2, or 5 within a triangle are typically recyclable. Their caps, however, may not be. “Cosmetic packaging with mixed materials like metal and plastic are notoriously difficult to recycle,” says Ashlee Piperthis link opens in a new tab, an ecolifestyle expert. Happily, stores like Origins and Credo will recycle caps, empty tubes, and compacts—no purchase necessary. Some brands (like Burt’s Bees, L’Occitane, and Eos) have free recycling programs through TerraCyclethis link opens in a new tab, a company that creates new products from old packaging.

Give Away Old Products

Contact a local shelter to see if it will accept unopened or gently used products. Or send them to Project Beauty Sharethis link opens in a new tab, which will distribute lightly used products (depending on the kind) to marginalized women. Piper recommends disinfecting anything that has been in contact with your skin with a mist or two of rubbing alcohol. (Put it in a spray bottle for mess-free cleaning.)

Reconsider the Packaging

Avoid hard-to-recycle materials by looking for items with minimal packaging, such as bar soaps that often come wrapped in recyclable paper. Lush sells solid bars of skin-care staples like cleansers, toners, facial oils, and serums. If you’re stuck with nonrecyclable packaging, repurpose it. A small plastic tub that held eye cream, for instance, could hold jewelry, other tiny items, or even beauty products when you travel. “I clean small containers and fill them with my face cream when I’m traveling instead of going out and buying travel-size containers,” Piper says.

Learn the Beauty Aisle Lingo

Knowing the meaning of the words on product packaging can help you make better-informed shopping decisions. Here's a guide.

• Organic: Products labeled “organic” contain at least 95 percent organic agricultural ingredients. Those claiming “made with organic ingredients” must have at least 70 percent.

• Clean: There’s no regulated definition, but it most often means the formula is free of controversial ingredients, including parabens (a common preservative), sulfates (a cleansing agent), and phthalates (often found in synthetic fragrances).

• Vegan: No animal by-products, such as honey and lanolin, are in vegan products.

• Cruelty-Free: This indicates that the formulas and ingredients weren’t tested on animals. The gold standard is the Leaping Bunny Programthis link opens in a new tab, which audits brands’ supply chains. PETA’s cruelty-free seal requires a written statement affirming the company doesn’t test on animals.

O Parque Ecológico de São Carlos “Dr. Antônio Teixeira Vianna”, realizou na tarde desta terça-feira, 12, no auditório do Paço Municipal, a premiação das escolas com o maior índice de coleta de esponjas de limpeza (dupla face) dentro do Projeto Elimine a Ideia de Lixo – Conservação do Meio Ambiente – Brigada de Esponjas Scotch Brite. Também foi premiada a escola que mais usou as redes sociais para divulgar o projeto e a mais criativa para aumentar a coleta.

You want to look great while respecting the planet, right? April Long Mar 15, 2019       Beauty products can have some ugly effects on the environment, choking landfills with trash and polluting our waterways. Thankfully, companies large and small are stepping up their sustainability game, prioritizing the responsible sourcing of ingredients, implementing earth-friendly manufacturing processes, and experimenting with inventive recycling programs. But we all have a role to play. Even the tiniest gestures make an impact, right down to the number of styling products we use in our hair. Here, how you can help.  

The issue: squandering our resources.

  The way plant ingredients in your creams and shampoos are farmed affects local communities and ecosystems—and a product’s overall carbon footprint. One of the most egregious examples is palm oil, whose derivatives appear in a whopping 70 percent of cosmetics. Indiscriminate building of palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia has decimated rainforests, and research indicates that deforestation releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. Also, most personal care products use water in manufacturing and as a main ingredient—and the availability of clean, drinkable water is expected to nose-dive by 2050, thanks to climate change, pollution, and increased demand.  

What’s being done?

  Mega-companies are making major changes. L’Oréal, which has committed to being deforestation-free by 2020, and Estée Lauder are working closely with the global nonprofit Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to ensure that their cultivation methods and sourcing have minimal negative environmental impact.   So is Unilever—the parent company of Dove, St. Ives, and Pond’s—which released its entire supply chain to the public, promising to source all its palm oil sustainably. That’s a big deal, given that Unilever brands go through more than a million metric tons of the stuff per year. In addition, Unilever and L’Oréal are putting resource efficiency front and center, devising innovative ways to use less water in production and with products themselves (low-water-use shampoo, fast-rinse conditioners).   One of the most exciting developments, though, is brought to us by biotechnology, which companies are using to create environmentally responsible ingredients. The skincare line Biossance makes its squalane, a naturally occurring oil traditionally derived from shark livers or olives, from renewable sugarcane, and the brand Algenist’s key anti-agers, alguronic acid and microalgae oil, come from sustainable algae.  

What can you do?

  At home is start by being mindful of your water use. Turn off the shower while shaving, and skip a shampoo occasionally. If you want to go full-on farm-to-face, choose green beauty standouts like Jurlique, Juice Beauty, Dr. Hauschka, and Tata Harper—they all grow botanicals on their own farms. Otherwise, look for labels such as Ecocert, which guarantees the use of renewable ingredients.           Seed Phytonutrients founder Shane Wolf, who worked to develop the first-ever shower-friendly paper bottles, made from 100 percent recycled material and used for the brand’s shampoo, conditioners, cleansers, and hand wash. More than 60 percent of paper is recycled, while less than 10 percent of plastic is, “Any move away from plastic toward paper is a move in the right direction,” says Wolf. And hidden inside each bottle is a packet of seeds, which can be planted to grow heirloom herbs.    

The issue: emissions and pollution.

  Global fossil fuel–related emissions of carbon dioxide reached an estimated record high of 37.1 billion metric tons in 2018, which is putting us on course for a very hot and smoggy planet. Consumers—that’s us!—are calling for accountability and action, and brands are responding.  

What’s being done?

  The big guys are effecting big change. Several items in Garnier’s SkinActive linehave earned Cradle to Cradle certification, which measures environmental impact over the life of a product, and parent company L’Oréal USA has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality for its plants and distribution centers this year by switching to renewable energy. (Fun fact: The Maybelline Great Lash mascaras sold in America are made with 100 percent renewable electricity.)   And remember those plastic microbeads from face scrubs and cleansers that were turning up in lakes and oceans (and fish bellies) a few years ago? They’ve been banned from rinse-off personal care products in the U.S. Small brands are making a difference, too. Most of Tata Harper’s packaging is made from easily recyclable glass (more than one ton of natural resources, like sand or limestone, is saved for every ton of glass recycled), and the plastic used for its tubes is derived from corn rather than petroleum.  

What can you do?

  Try an eco-audit of your own daily beauty regimen, assessing the number of products you buy and how much waste is produced as a result. The Nature Conservatory’s carbon calculator (nature.org) helps you determine your footprint, then offers tips on what you can do to decrease it. One thing you shouldn’t do: Clean your face with a non-biodegradable wet wipe—and you really shouldn’t flush it down the toilet. Why? Just Google “fatberg.”   Former fragrance exec Marcella Cacci launched the skincare line One Ocean Beauty in 2018 with a simple mission: to help protect the health of the oceans. The brand harnesses “blue biotechnology,” which involves reproducing marine extracts from algae, kelp, and seaweed in the lab rather than harvesting them from the sea. This means there’s no impact on the ocean’s natural bounty. “We never hurt the biodiversity,” says Cacci, who adds that the brand has also donated $250,000 to Oceana, the largest global nonprofit focused solely on ocean conservation.  

The issue: waste.

  A staggering eight million metric tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every year, with countless pieces of bottle caps and straws in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is actually two large masses between Japan and the U.S. West Coast. If current trends continue, it’s predicted that by 2050, plastic will outweigh fish in our oceans, and 12 billion metric tons of it will sit in landfills. The beauty industry, which produces billions of plastic packaging units annually, has a lot to answer for.  

What’s being done?

  Plenty! Unilever and L’Oréal have committed to using 100 percent recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025; Procter & Gamble, the übercompany behind Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and Herbal Essences, has pledged the same by 2030. Beginning this year, haircare brand Kevin Murphy is going all in, sourcing its packaging from reclaimed ocean plastic, a move that will save more than 360 tons of new plastic annually. Since 2011, Garnier has partnered with TerraCycle to tackle previously unrecyclable beauty packaging, diverting approximately 11.2 million empties from landfills. And at the World Economic Forum in January, a consortium of brands, including REN Clean Skincare and the Body Shop, announced participation in Loop, a shopping program that will offer products in durable packaging that can be returned, sanitized, and reused (like old-school milk bottles). It’s set to launch in the New York City area and France this spring.  

What can you do?

  Excuse us for shouting, but...RECYCLE! According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling just ten plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours. Since products used in the bathroom tend to have a low recycling rate (people typically keep their bins in the kitchen), make it easier for yourself by keeping a ready receptacle next to the shower. Need more incentive? Kiehl’s, Lush, and MAC offer freebies when you bring in empties, and others, including Origins and Tenoverten (with nail salons in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin), will accept containers from other brands as well. When shopping, gravitate toward items without excess packaging (or none at all—Lush’s new Naked concept stores offer bath products, haircare in bar form, and facial soaps with no packaging whatsoever), or look for a label that specifies 100 percent recycled content.   Since its inception in 2013, Beautycounter has become one of America’s most trusted sources for cleaner skincare and makeup. Founder Gregg Renfrew’s top goal is ingredient safety (the company’s do-not-use list includes approximately 1,500 chemicals), and she views sustainability as intrinsically linked to that mission. “We’re committed to making decisions that are based on scientific research, but given the large data gaps around safety and sustainability, it’s extremely complicated,” Renfrew says.   To help close those gaps, Beautycounter partners with researchers and universities, and has screened more than 1,000 ingredients for their effects on our health and the environment. Meanwhile, Renfrew is advocating for increased federal oversight to help clean up cosmetics: She and her team have met repeatedly with D.C. lawmakers to lobby for legislation like the Personal Care Products Safety Act, which would give the FDA the power to, among other things, regulate potentially harmful ingredients.  

The issue: animal testing.

  This practice may not be directly related to the environment, but should concern anyone who cares about our fellow living creatures. While the U.S. is inching toward a ban (California will prohibit the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals starting next year, and New York and Hawaii have introduced similar legislation), many companies have implemented their own prohibitions on testing. The EU has forbidden it outright, but it’s actually still required for foreign products sold in China. For an international corporation that wants to do business there, this is a problem.  

What’s being done?

  Multinationals and smaller brands alike are pushing for change in China and countries that still permit animal testing; in 2018, the Body Shop and Cruelty Free International (CFI) brought a petition with 8.3 million signatures they’d gathered worldwide to the UN, calling for a global ban.  

What can you do?

  Check labels for a little rabbit; it signifies that CFI’s Leaping Bunny program has certified a product as cruelty-free. If in doubt, check Leaping Bunny’s website or head to PETA to find the rigorously vetted Beauty Without Bunnies list, which ensures that neither brands nor their ingredient suppliers are spritzing hairspray in any animal’s eyes.