Personal Care Products

The environmental loads from the production and use of hair sprays, shaving foams, deodorants, roll-ons and other personal care accessories are widespread and numerous. Traditional cosmetics and care products – such as basic toothpastes, soaps and body scrubs in simple or no packaging – have been replaced by millions of chemical-based equivalents delivered in expensive, usually excessive packaging, and all promising a cleaner, brighter and disease-free lifestyle.

Ironically, the chemical formulations epitomizing the toiletry and personal care items of today actually pose a greater threat to human health than they promise to solve. Cosmetics and personal care products consist of often toxic dyes, carcinogenic (cancer-causing) preservatives, hazardous active cleaning agents (or surfactants), anti-microbial agents, hazardous fragrances, and ozone-depleting substances (particularly in aerosol-based products).

Fortunately, many manufacturers of toiletries, cosmetics and personal care products have embraced simplicity in product design and production with significant environmental benefits in mind. Delivering an environmentally preferable cosmetic or personal care product must consider the human-health impact during the functional use or application of the product, particularly issues associated with sensitive skin and that of children; the indirect consequences, the environmental impact of via air and water emissions following product application and removal; and the fate of product packaging, particularly the excessive use of plastics and other non-recyclable materials. Environmentally preferable product of these kinds perform equally and if not better than their popular chemical-based counterparts.

Choosing and using environmentally preferable personal care product can be achieved as follows:

Consumer Behaviour Tips

• Choose products with organic ingredients – the more the better;
• Select products that have not been tested on animals;
• Opt for plastic packaging / containers displaying a resin identification code. This is an international coding system showing a triangle and number;
• Opt for products that have minimal packaging to start with;
• Recycle all waste packaging where possible;
• Choose refill cartridges and bottles etc to avoid unnecessary consumption;
• Don't be mislead – organic and environmentally preferable personal care products are not inferior to conventional products in terms of quality and performance;
• Check whether the organic ingredients and packaging is not sourced from unsustainably harvested natural resources;

For specific information view our Environmental Standard for Toiletries & Personal Care Products: www.geca.org.au/standardsregister.htm