Greenwashing, also called “green sheen”, is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization’s products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly and healthy for us humans.
In 2009, over 2,219 products made green claims and 98% were guilty of greenwashing. Studies show that indoor cleaning products (surface sprays, bathroom disinfectants, dish soap, etc.) are the worst offenders when it comes to making baseless claims of health and sustainability.
One product from who call themselves ”… Organics” (l don’t want to name them as l may get sued) and they produce many products one of which are Sensitive skin wipes.
These wipes contain, among a long list (see below)
METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE:
Known human immune toxicant or allergen European SCCS
Human skin toxicant or allergen – strong evidence Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE:
Banned for use in Europe and restricted for use in China and USA
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) – use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions – Japan – concentration limit in some types of cosmetics when combined with certain other ingredient(s) Japan’s Standards for Cosmetics
Other HIGH concerns: Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs); Other LOW concerns: Ecotoxicology
Ingredient list of sensitive wipes:
Water
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate Sodium Chloride
Parfum (Fragrance)
Glycerin
Citric Acid
Tetrasodium EDTA
Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) Hydrolysed Wheat Protein
Extracts (apple, orange, grapefruit) Methylchloroisothiazolinone Methylisothiazolinone
Dyes (CI 19140, CI 42090)
Another company is well known for their room deodorizers/fragrances, that often dispense automatically into closed quarters, and are used in aged care facilities. They advertise that their room fragrances are infused with essential oils… and look what else
Popular Room fragrance ingredients:
(z)-3-hexenyl salicylate; 1,2,3,4,4.alpha.,7,8,8.alpha.-octahydro-2,4.alpha.,5,8.alpha.-tetramethyl-1-naphthyl formate; 2,6-dimethyl-7-octen-2-ol; 3-(o-ethylphenyl)-2,2-dimethylpropionaldehyde; 3,7-dimethyloct-6-enenitrile; 3.alpha.,4,5,6,7,7.alpha.-hexahydro-4,7-methano-1h-indenyl propionate; 3a,4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-1h-4,7-methanoinden-1-yl acetate; 4-(4-hydroxy-4-methylpentyl)cyclohex-3-ene-1-carbaldehyde; 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate; acetyl hexamethyl tetralin; amyl cinnamal; benzyl acetate; butylphenyl methylpropional; citral; dipropylene glycol; ethyl trimethylcyclopentene butenol; geraniol; hexamethylindanopyran; hexyl cinnamal; hexyl salicylate; ionone; linalool; linalyl acetate; methyl anthranilate; methyl ionones; methylbenzyl acetate; methyldihydrojasmonate; pentadecalactone; tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes*; tricyclo(5.2.1.02,6)dec-4-en-8-yl acetate
Please read the ingredients list before purchasing your products. A lot of these products are designed to look “Earthy”, with brown or green graphic elements on their packaging and use the word “organic” or “contains essential oils”. But it’s important to see what else it contains.
A fabulous website to research ingredients is…
https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
source1: Wikipedia
source2:
https://www.cogencyteam.com/news/2017/11/greenwashing-consumer-beware/
