I've been a true loyalist to Origins, Aveda and The Body Shop for the better part of ten to fifteen years.  I admit, I walk into a store and I fall hook, line and sinker for the scents they pump through their stores.  The Body Shop was one of the first companies that tauted no testing on animals.  And being the animal lover that I am, this appealed to me greatly.  Whether it be a mouse or a dog, if it has fur and four legs, I'm pretty much in love.  Aveda was one of the first shampoos that I bought that went beyond the cheapo brands.  And well, Origins has had an image of being pure and natural from the get-go.  Let's chalk up all of this to great brand imaging and strategy:  If you have ever come face to face with these companies' marketing campaigns you can't help but conjur up thoughts and images of nature, fresh, organic, healthy products that are going to make you look and feel great...naturally. 

After working with Shelly Ballestero on our recent article of 'The Detriments of Cosmetics', I started to tune in and do some homework around these products I've come to love.  When I checked up on these three manufacturers on 'Skin Deep,' a Cosmetic Safety Database, I was left somewhat surprised and disappointed:  All three of them have a good number (the majority) of products that are poorly ranked when it comes to the level of hazardous ingredients they include.  Not so natural or fresh...is it? 

Luckily, awareness is growing.  A coalition of public health, educational, environmental, and consumer groups, amongst others, make up The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which works directly with cosmetic manufacturers to encourage reformulations and safer ingredients. Over 500 companies have voluntarily signed a pledge called the campaign's "Compact for Safe Cosmetics," a pledge to formulate products that do not use ingredients that are known or suspected to cause certain health harms within three years of signing.  Get this...only The Body Shop (owned by L'Oreal) has signed this pledge.  Aveda and Origins (both owned by Estee Lauder) have not.