EP 27 - The 7 Sins of Greenwashing! How To Be A Conscious Personal Care Consumer

This week we are putting an end to greenwashing in cosmetics! (If only it was that easy)  Welcome to Beauty by the Beaker, the podcast where Sciences Gets a Hot New Makeover! We're two cosmetic chemists who want to reveal what really goes into your favorite products, and we aren't afraid to bust some myths while doing it. Whether you’re a skincare enthusiast, a curious consumer, or just tired of being told coconut oil cures everything, you’re in the right place. Let's gossip about all things beauty together! Pull up a chair, your appointment's about to start CHAPTERS 00:00: Catching up about being the luckiest girls in the world 05.59: Greenwashing! What is it? Who is doing it? Who does it affect? Breaking down some of the sneaky marketing tricks that companies use to make their cosmetic products seem better for the environment than they actually are. We are going over the 7 sins. 09:40: Sin 1, the Sin of The Hidden Trade Off. The company might be making small efforts that appear to be sustainable - is this a positive solution, or a distraction to a larger problem?   13:59: Sin 2, the Sin of No Proof. Companies who make claims about their sustainability efforts, but don’t have the receipts. Discussing future washing, and one very big example of greenwashing: reef safe sunscreen. We hate to break it to you, but switching to mineral sunscreen isn’t going to save our coral.  19:32: Sin 3, the Sin of Vagueness. You have probably heard of ‘clean beauty’ but what does clean even mean? Turns out, companies have found a lot of wording loopholes to market their products, and if you can’t define something you can’t deny it either. This strategy relies on consumer confusion, and allows companies to benefit from association without actually doing anything. Boo 24:04: Sin 4, the Sin of Irrelevance. This is kind of like companies giving themselves participation awards and we see it all the time. Paraben Free? Good for you! So is everyone else (mostly, and unfortunately)!  So this is when a brand will say things just to say them, does it have anything to do with their product? No.  27:31: Sin 5, the Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils. Some things are just inherently bad. Luckily you guys are smart, so this strategy isn’t very successful.  29:24: Sin 6, the Sin of Fibbing. This one is illegal. So it's also not common, especially in the states, because we like to sue.    30:27: Bonus Sin 7, the Sin of Worshiping False Labels. Everything looks great from the packaging, but that's as deep as it gets. 32:17: Brownwashing, or Greenhushing. These strategies aren’t new, and consumers are already recognizing them. If they spot ‘greenwashing’ this can cause distrust in the brand. Have you ever questioned the motives behind a ‘kind’ act? This added layer of confusion doesn’t make finding environmentally conscious brands any easier.  39:32 Combating Greenwashing: We talk about how consumers can challenge greenwashing, and have a positive impact on the earth. Micro vs macro impact, which is really important to recognize if we ever want to make a difference. Buying new things is a net negative, so the best we can do is learn to be conscious consumers! Everyone has a small improvement they can make, and a small effort from a large group of people will go a long way.  We are leaving you with an extremely helpful source to learn more - Greenwash Action Lab:  www.greenwashaction.com Read the 2007 article on the sins of greenwashing:  https://www.ul.com/insights/sins-greenwashing Listen to the EcoWell Podcast for great information on sustainability:  https://www.theecowell.com/podcast/wren-montgomery Visit our website to read more about this episode and check out our blog post with sources. www.beautyxbeaker.com Join us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube! @beautyxbeaker @natbxb @sadiebxb Contact us at info@beautyxbeaker.com Special thanks to Flip Twogood for our photos and Hailey Romero for our branding.