Your busy day probably doesn’t include reading up on potential ingredients of concern in your shampoo. We get it. What if you could rely on one independent database to identify the best body care products for yourself and your family? Introducing EWG’s Skin Deep® cosmetic ingredients database.
Many make the resolution to identify and eliminate worrying substances from their daily lives. But where to begin? One place you may overlook is your bathroom cabinet. Over the years, it accumulates a multitude of body and cosmetic products of all kinds, and taking a look at the ingredient list wouldn't hurt.
Why is it so difficult to find information you can trust?
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there. Before you begin cleaning out your bathroom cabinet, it’s critical to find a reliable source of information that lists clean cosmetics brands.
There’s a lot of greenwashing out there. But what does it mean? It's a term used to describe marketing strategies where false or misleading information is communicated to make it seem like an activity or product is more environmentally friendly than it actually is [1].
What’s more, US and Canadian regulations require manufacturers to list ingredients, but not contaminants, on their product labels. Cosmetic products may contain traces of concerning ingredients — residues, impurities and substances generated during the manufacturing process. Because they are not deliberately added during manufacturing, they do not have to be listed as ingredients on the label*.
Where do you go to find clear, unbiased information about the ingredients in our everyday cosmetics and body care products? Lists and databases exist online. Which one can you trust? To find a reliable database on the composition of cosmetic products, it's essential to consult research from independent sources. You want research that goes deep, uncovering those ingredients of concern hiding behind the ingredients on every label.
The EWG: helping consumers in making more informed choices
There is an organization you can trust to carry out cosmetic ingredient analysis and inform you about what’s really in your cosmetic and body care products. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the human health from concerning substances in personal care products. Driven by their mandate to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment, the EWG lobbies the US government to reform policies around ingredients of concern in consumer products. And they seek out and publish information on the ingredients that make up your favorite cosmetics and body care products. All information is readily available on the Environmental Working Group website, and accessible via easy-to-use mobile apps.
Find beauty products free of concerning ingredients through the EWG's Skin Deep® database
The EWG’s Skin Deep database was created to help consumers choose personal care products free of concerning ingredients. Relying on EWG research, the Skin Deep database enables you to search more than 100,000 commercially available products online to know how they rate in respected toxicity and regulatory databases.
How does the Skin Deep database get its information?
To build its Skin Deep database, the EWG has gathered detailed information from retailers, manufacturers, product packaging, as well as toxicity, regulatory and research databases. All data is standardized and searchable. This enables consumers to enter a product or brand name and learn what’s in a product, and which of these ingredients are of concern.
When you search on a product, the database brings up its EWG beauty product health rating, which ranks a product’s safety level from one to ten. It also lists the risks ingredients of concern pose to consumers, and outlines which individual ingredients are considered potentially hazardous to human health in the long term.
The EWG has also created an app for cosmetic ingredients, powered by its Skin Deep and Food Scores databases. The EWG’s Healthy Living App enables consumers to easily scan any product to find out whether it contains ingredients of concern. While shopping, you can simply scan or search for a specific product to review its safety rating. The app sorts cosmetics based on their potential risks to human health, making it easier for anyone to shop worry-free.
Through the EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database, you now have the information you need to begin sorting through your bathroom cabinet, product by product.
You should not have to worry about the products you use every day. There are many products on the market — toothpaste, sunscreen, shampoo, soap, bubble bath and more — that are free of concerning ingredients. It is ATTITUDE’S mission to get best products into everyone’s hands. We encourage consumers to rely on the Skin Deep database to help them make make informed decisions about the cosmetics and personal care products they use every day.
* Based on EWG criteria
1: https://www.cqde.org/fr/sinformer-nouvelle/lecoblanchiment-cest-quoi/ (in French only)