{"id":44826,"date":"2018-02-14T11:58:50","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T16:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-well.ca\/?p=44826"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:15:00","slug":"ewg-verified-empowering-you-to-make-healthy-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/well.ca\/blog\/ewg-verified-empowering-you-to-make-healthy-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"EWG VERIFIED: Empowering You to Make Healthy Buying Choices"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Your already extremely busy day probably doesn\u2019t include reading up on potential concerning ingredients in your shampoo or body wash (or toothpaste or floor cleaner or furniture polish\u2026)\u2014ours certainly didn\u2019t. We have enough on our plate with kids, work, pickups, pets, telephone calls, bills, school forms, lunches, dinners, vacations, PD Days, childcare and all of the other minute decisions we make in between.<\/p>\n

BUT. Sometimes, late at night or while we\u2019re commuting to or from one of the various places we have to be in a day, or even when we\u2019re yelling at a child to PLEASE, BRUSH YOUR TEETH…the thoughts creep in. \u201c<\/em>Are there really toxic chemical filters in my sunscreen?<\/em>\u201d or, \u201cWhat makes my toothpaste minty green?\u201d <\/em>or even, \u201cWhat will my baby ingest if he licks my just-cleaned floor?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Why is it so difficult to find information you can trust?<\/h4>\n

Where do we get the answers to these questions that nag at us? We don\u2019t dare go down the rabbit hole of misinformation that lives on the web…we\u2019ve done that enough times to know we don\u2019t have the stomach for it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of conflicting information out there. Before you begin clearing out your cabinets, you need a reliable source of information that lists safe cosmetics and other products. There\u2019s a lot of greenwashing out there: many products claim to be safe or natural, when they\u2019re just not.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, regulations require manufacturers to list ingredients, but not contaminants, on their product labels. Many products can contain ingredients of concern\u2014residues, impurities and by-products of the manufacturing process. But, because they are not deliberately added, they do not have to be listed as ingredients on the label.<\/p>\n

The Environmental Working Group can help you cut through the waste!<\/h4>\n

Luckily, there\u2019s an organization that carries out ingredient analysis and informs us about what\u2019s really in our products. The Environmental Working Group (EWG)<\/a> is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting us (and our family) from toxic chemicals in personal care products.<\/p>\n

Driven by their mandate to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment, the EWG lobbies the US government to reform policies around ingredients of concern in consumer products. And they seek out and publish information on what\u2019s really in the products you use every day. One of the best things about the EWG is that its information is free and accessible online, searchable and easy to understand\u2014you don\u2019t have to be a scientist to understand it because it\u2019s intended for everyday consumers (like you and me!).<\/p>\n

What does the EWG do?<\/h4>\n

As an organization dedicated to consumer safety, the EWG works in two ways. It puts pressure on the US government to regulate and ban harmful chemicals. And it carries out state-of-the-art research to help consumers know which products are safe, and which products are harmful to our health.<\/p>\n

The EWG publishes consumer guides that analyze ingredients in hundreds of thousands of consumer food items, cleaning supplies and care products. Whether you\u2019re looking for a safe shampoo list, the safest sunscreens<\/a> or a list of non-toxic beauty brands or non-toxic household cleaners<\/a>, EWG databases and articles analyse and rate almost every product that is commercially available in the US.<\/p>\n

Which products should you start greening?<\/h4>\n

Through the EWG\u2019s Skin Deep<\/a> cosmetics database, you have the information you need to begin sorting through your body and beauty products. Consider starting with the products identified by the EWG to contain more ingredients of concern:<\/p>\n