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.
If you haven't heard of Misfits Market, it's a subscription service for groceries. They reroute items rejected by grocery stores for whatever reason – this might be a potato that's smaller than ideal or an apple that's a funny shape. Nothing wrong with them, but stores only want the most perfect specimens.
When I started with Misfits a few years ago, it was strictly organic produce, but it has expanded to include all kinds of groceries now, including meat, dairy, snacks, and pantry items.
I got produce boxes every other week for about six months before I had to cancel it. Long story short, I lived in South Dakota (where they didn't deliver to at the time) and worked in Minnesota (where they did), so I had boxes sent to the office. But delivery started becoming erratic, and I wasn't in the office every day, so I cancelled the service in spring of 2021. I was very sad!
Fast forward to last week. I really only go to the grocery store every 3-4 weeks, but I would run out of produce between trips. I checked to see if Misfits had started delivery to South Dakota yet, and they had!
So I ordered a box of all organic produce, especially items that are more difficult to find organic here in the dead of winter in northeastern South Dakota. I focused on some items included on the "Dirty Dozen" list of produce with the most pesticide residue – like strawberries, apples, and bell peppers that I want to be sure to buy organic.
My Produce Box
My box arrived right on schedule, and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. The produce I got back in 2021 would often be obviously "imperfect" in some way – nothing inedible, just funny-looking.
This box, though, was nearly perfect. I got:
- 1 nice big pineapple
- 2 avocados that are still green and a few days from ripe
- 2 mangoes – maybe smaller than "normal" mangoes
- 3 bulbs of garlic
- A bag of Honeycrisp apples with no imperfections
- A bunch (three stalks) of perfect broccoli
- 1 big cauliflower that had only the most minimal brown spots
- A bag of perfect carrots
- 3 perfect romaine hearts
- A package of almost perfect strawberries – just a few a little underripe
- A bag of mini sweet peppers - a couple small ones and a couple curvy ones
All that near-perfect organic produce was around $60, counting shipping.
How I'm Using It
Now, if you're like me and want to use a produce box to make healthier food choices, here's where Misfits is great.
First, I wash it (I wash all produce I eat the skin of, even if I grew it in my own garden), and then, I peel/chop/cut everything that will keep that way.
So I left the pineapple, mangoes, avocados, and apples alone, but I cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets. I cut the ends off the carrots and peeled them. I shredded the lettuce into bite-sized pieces, and I topped and cut the strawberries into quarters.
Taking the time to do this means I have everything ready to use when throwing together a meal, and most important (for me at least), I'm only getting the cutting board, knife, and peeler dirty once.
To use it, my goal is simply to use something from the box in each meal. This gets me constantly thinking about how to incorporate veggies and fruits into meals.
The day after I got the box, I had an apple with peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch, I made a salad with romaine, cauliflower, and carrots and topped it with some leftover chicken-bacon-ranch mixture from our wraps the evening before. I snacked on strawberries. And for supper, I roasted broccoli, peppers, carrots, cauliflower, and cabbage (which I already had) and tossed it all into some mac and cheese.
Voila! I went from hardly eating any fruits and veggies the previous several days to getting all those great nutrients.
Can You Benefit from Misfits Market?
If you're in the same boat as me and need a little inspiration to eat more fresh produce or if you have limited access to organic produce in your area, Misfits Market might be a good fit for you.
If you're ready to give Misfits Market a try, feel free to use my code: COOKWME-VF3YHB – it will get you and me both $10 off.
Questions You May Have
Since I have found the Misfits Market website to be incredibly frustrating, I'm going to answer a few of the questions I had and save you the digging around I had to do.
What kind of produce do they have?
This was one of my biggest concerns. I didn't want to sign up and find out they had a very limited selection, but I was surprised. I have gotten all the vegetables common to a small town in the upper Midwest, plus other items that are a bit more "exotic" or seasonal, depending on where you live – like mangoes, bok choy, multi-colored carrots, and more.
They won't have all items all the time, but there has always been an ample selection for me to choose from. No complaints on that score.
What does the subscription cost?
As of this writing, in March 2023, there are two subscription plans – $35-40 a week and $40-45 a week. It appears that for both of them, you must order a minimum of $49 per box.
I can't explain that. It makes no sense to me, but that's what I'm seeing. I'm only vouching for their produce. Their website has never impressed me.
There are taxes and shipping charges, too. My first box ended up being $66.00.
Can I skip weeks?
Yes, it's easy to skip weeks. In fact, all you have to do is not fill your cart up to the $49 minimum.
Be careful with this since they do automatically add some items to your cart. For my second box, it was about $10 short of that $49, but I can't guarantee that there wouldn't be enough to reach your minimum and process. You're probably safer to go in and request to skip a box.
Am I guaranteed to get everything I order?
No, items go out of stock and get removed from your box. I had zucchini on my order, but when the box shipped, I received a notification that the zucchini wasn't included, and I was not charged for it.
This doesn't bother me, but if you're absolutely counting on receiving an item, it could be inconvenient.
Is Misfits Market really cheaper than buying at the store?
I don't have access to a lot of organic produce, and I don't pay all that much attention to produce prices at the store, but I paid $5.53 for 2 pounds of Misfits Honeycrisp apples, and I think they're $7+ for organic at my store. I also paid $1.37 for a pound of carrots, and I believe conventional carrots are around 99 cents a pound at the store. These savings are offset by the shipping charges, but then, the convenience of having it delivered to your door is worth something, too.
Overall, if you're accustomed to buying conventional produce, you're not going to save money, and there may not even be a huge difference on organic once you factor in shipping, but if you're like me, expanding your choices for organic produce and having it delivered adds value beyond the price.
If you have a question I haven't answered, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer.
And if you're ready to order your first Misfits Market box, check out my code up above to get a discount.
I got a sun lamp last month, and I noticed a couple changes.
Sun Lamps and SAD
A sun lamp mimics natural light from the sun. Unlike the typical indoor lighting, which is heavy on blue light, a sun lamp incorporates more of the entire spectrum of sunlight. These lamps are also called SAD lamps because they have become pretty commonly recommended in dealing with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
SAD typically occurs in the winter months in colder climates. The days are shorter, the sun is less powerful, and people are outside less to catch what sunlight there is. The result is a chemical imbalance in the brain, specifically affecting two hormones:
- Melatonin, a sleep-related hormone
- Serotonin, a mood-related hormone
The symptoms can include depression, anxiety, apathy, mood swings, irritability, social isolation, excessive sleepiness, or sleep deprivation.
Using a Sun Lamp
I'm still learning about sun lamps myself, but since I got it in early January, I've committed to sitting in front of it for 15 minutes each morning.
You should sit within 24 inches of it and allow the light to hit your eyes without looking straight into it. I found this a bit awkward at first. Where can I sit within 2 feet of a light for 15 minutes? I ended up setting it next to the music on my piano, and I just commit to playing piano for 15 minutes each morning. Combining sun lamp and music therapy!
Benefits I Experienced
But anyway, you want to know what I experienced, right?
The main thing I noticed is that my sleep is much better since I started using the sun lamp. I had been having trouble sleeping since we moved last September because our bedroom is so much brighter than I'm used to (still need to make some good curtains!). I would wake up a lot during the night and sometimes not be able to fall back asleep.
However, in the last several weeks, I have noticed that I wake up less most nights. And even though I have been staying up too late a lot of nights, I feel as rested on seven hours of sleep as I usually do on eight hours. That is proof that my sleep quality is better.
The other effect I hadn't even realized until I sat down to write this. I usually do experience SAD during the winter. Not all winter usually and not too severe, but it pokes its ugly head up for a check in now and then.
This winter, so far, no SAD.
At first, I thought that meant I couldn't speak about how I benefited from the sun lamp with SAD. And then, I realized, I got it shortly after Christmas, and usually, I don't experience SAD around Christmastime.
So I can't say for sure, but I could argue that the daily sun lamp use kept the SAD symptoms at bay this winter. I have not had any sadness, my mood has been good, and I've had very little anxiety (which is, for me, generally a year-round on-and-off thing, not necessarily related to SAD).
So that's it – my experience after about a month of daily sun lamp use. I will definitely continue and consider it well worth the small price. And I would recommend it to people with sleep difficulties or SAD.
My Sun Lamp
If you'd like to try a sun lamp for yourself, I got this one because I thought it was prettier than most. But do your own research and choose the best one for you.
(That link is an affiliate link, which just means part of the purchase goes to me, rather than Amazon. You don't pay any extra, but you support my small business.)
Do you have difficulty sleeping or experience SAD? Have you tried a sun lamp?
Are you going to try one now? I'd love to hear your experiences!
Several years ago, I became aware of what the products I was using on my body were doing to my health, and I didn’t like it.
I wanted to make a change, but I didn’t know where to begin.
There were just so many ingredients in products, and I didn’t know what 90% of the items on the ingredient labels were.
Did I really need to research every single one? Spend hours standing in the aisle at the store, looking up ingredients on my phone?
It had to be easier than that!
Then, I realized there was one ingredient that was common in almost all products which contained other toxic ingredients.
And I knew that if I eliminated that one ingredient, I would also avoid a lot of other toxins.
What is that ingredient?
Fragrance – sometimes labeled as “parfum.”
So what about fragrance makes it something to be avoided?
It is a cover word for thousands of ingredients, most of which are petroleum-based and, therefore, toxic. Because specific fragrance blends are considered proprietary information, companies are not required to disclose which ingredients they use in their own fragrance blends. It could be one natural ingredient, or, more likely, it could be 100 petroleum-based ingredients.
With this knowledge, I set out on a course that took me a full year to complete – making my home free of synthetic fragrances.
I began by replacing the items I ran out of with fragrance-free alternatives or ones scented with natural substances.
My deodorant happened to be the first thing that ran out, and my husband’s deodorant happened to be the last. In between, I replaced our shampoo, household cleaners, dish soap, laundry soap, skin care, and much more.
I ditched candles and air fresheners altogether and learned to make many things myself from pure ingredients, including foaming hand soap and perfumes.
I didn’t notice it at first, but over time, I realized that I wasn’t getting headaches anymore. More time passed, and I noticed that I hadn’t had any sinus issues in quite some time. In fact, I felt really good more often than not.
I won’t claim it’s easy to switch out nearly all products in your home, but like with most anything, take it one step, one product, one day at a time.
Small changes over time will get you much further than standing still because you’re overwhelmed at the thought of doing it all at once.
If you’d like to learn more about living a life free from fragrance and
other toxins, I welcome you to join me in my Facebook group.
Cleanses are all the rage, especially at the beginning of a new year when many people are focused on their health and losing weight.
I learned about cleansing and fasting in my health coaching course this past week, and one thing stood out to me.
Cleanses and fasting allow your body to release toxins they have been holding on to. And the important part was that if your body isn't able to eliminate those toxins, they stay in your body. And now that they're free, they can basically float all over and make you sick.
So here it is, the one thing to know about cleanses:
If you're cleansing, you need to have your avenues of elimination open.
Your body has five primary avenues of eliminating waste and toxins. In the naturopathic world, we refer to them as BULLS:
B - Bowels
U - Urinary
L - Lungs
L - Lymphatic
S - Skin
So to effectively cleanse your body, you need to be sure these avenues are working their best.
Bowels - Yes, you really should have a bowel movement every day. In truth, the ideal is 6-8 hours after every meal.
Urinary - Stay hydrated to flush those newly freed toxins out of your body. Aim for half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
Lungs - Practice deep breathing to release more toxins when you exhale. Most of us only use a small percentage of our lung capacity with each breath. Breathe with your belly rather than your chest and rib cage.
Lymphatic - This is a system you might not know much about, and I'm not going in depth here. But the best way to get your lymphatic system working is to move. Walking, jogging, even jumping on a mini trampoline are effective.
Skin - Don't load your skin up with a lot of toxic products. Leave it free to breathe and yes, sweat.
When those avenues are open, your body can get rid of all those toxins you're working so hard to cleanse your body from.
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Want more practical tips on improving your health? I've got a free Facebook group where I share more tidbits to help you out. Check it out here.
