You've likely heard of greenwashing – when a company claims to be eco-friendly but actually isn't.
Unfortunately, a similar phenomenon is becoming common in the wellness and beauty industries. I don't know that there is a separate term for this, so I'm going to call it "cleanwashing."
What is "Cleanwashing"?
Like greenwashing, cleanwashing is when a company makes false claims in an attempt to appeal to customers who hold a certain value – in this case, being ingredient-conscious and interested in non-toxic products.
There are no regulations stopping companies from claiming to be "non-toxic," "natural," or "clean." They can put any of those words on their labels in an effort to get health-conscious buyers to select their product.
All too often, these companies don't have any concern with being truly clean or natural, and their products reflect that. The front label makes them sound great, but the ingredients tell a different story.
Why Should You Worry About Cleanwashing?
Using non-toxic ingredients is so important. If you're here reading this, you probably already know that, but if you want to learn more, feel free to look around this blog a bit more or join my Facebook community.
Once you're aware of how some of these common ingredients affect your body, you choose to avoid them. However, that can be difficult when all the labels on the products at the store claim to be "clean." It's completely natural to see that label and believe you are getting a non-toxic, safe product. In reality, it may not be at all. And that disturbs me so much!
How Do You Avoid Cleanwashing?
There's really only two ways to avoid cleanwashing.
1 - Become ingredient savvy and always read the labels. This can be very difficult since some common-looking words are toxic ingredients, and some chemical-looking words are safe. The simplest recommendation I can make is to avoid fragrance/parfum. Usually (not always), companies that make the effort to avoid fragrance will also avoid other toxins. It's not foolproof, but it's better than nothing.
2 - Find companies you trust implicitly to only use pure, safe ingredients. This can take a little time and effort and research, but it's so comforting once you know you've found one.
What are Some Examples of Cleanwashing Companies?
I generally avoid mentioning specific companies and prefer that people do their own research. However, this is what people always ask for, so I'm mentioning a few to help you out. These are some of the most common companies I see people claiming are "clean":
1 - Melaleuca – uses fragrance (and tries to pass it off as somehow safer than other fragrances) and fluoride. Honestly, the shady marketing of this company creeps me out – you never hear its name mentioned, only "wellness boxes."
2 - Seventh Generation – uses sodium lauryl sulfate (another recognizable one I look for) and is owned by Unilever, which produces highly toxic products, indicating they don't value clean products beyond the profit
3 - Method – uses fragrance and artificial colors and is owned by S.C. Johnson
4 - Mrs. Meyers – uses sodium lauryl sulfate and polysorbate 80 (a third recognizable one I look for) and is also owned by S.C. Johnson
Choosing Safe Products
I mostly had cleaning products in mind when I wrote this, but there are other companies specializing in personal care or nutrition products that are also cleanwashing. Maybe I'll talk about them another day.
In the meantime, you can read how to not get overwhelmed learning ingredients. Hopefully, it will make the process a little less daunting.
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