3 must-have tools for the conscious consumer
Free tools for better shopping decisions
That skincare companies might be hiding harmful ingredients in their products in the name of profit isn’t much of a surprise. We’ve been reading about their less-than-stellar practices for years now, and there are a lot of great websites and apps devoted to exposing all the dirty little secrets of the beauty industry and helping consumers research ingredients. Some of my favourites include the below. These aren’t affiliate links, just the tools I use to make better shopping decisions for the family.
Skin Deep Database
Created by the Environmental Working Group, this site helps consumers make informed decisions about the products they buy.
The site “lists easy-to-navigate hazard ratings for nearly 70,000 products and 9,000 ingredients on the market.” Launched in 2007, its mission was to fill the knowledge gap between what consumers know about certain ingredients and what companies claim their products can do.
Based in the U.S., the EWG found that the “government doesn’t review the toxicity of products before they’re sold. Companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish without regard for how safe they are. The aim of Skin Deep is to fill in where industry and government leave off.” Indeed, no government in the world can provide the oversight of a well-informed consumer public. I’m in Canada, where US products dominate the market, so I find this database incredibly helpful.
ThinkDirty
This is a free app, available for Apple and Android, that allows you to scan the barcode of your favourite products and see a report on the toxicity of the ingredients it includes.
The aim of the app is to empower consumers to shop for cleaner alternatives to their favourite products. It’s an easy-to-use database of beauty products that gives you clear info about each product. Sometimes, a product you’re trying to scan might not be in the database, but you have the option to add it to the list and have it analyzed. I haven’t done this personally, so I’m not sure how long it takes, but I imagine that as more and more people use the app and the database grows — you’ll be less likely to find products that don’t exist in their list.
Yuka
I only just started using this one, but so far, I love it. It has similar functionality to the ThinkDirty app but also includes food products — making it a great option for the conscious consumer.
If you scan an item that the app indicates is a “bad” choice, it will recommend an alternative. The alternatives don’t always make sense, though…maybe because the app is still fairly new. The project started in 2016 and may need to do some work on building up its database before the functionality realizes its full potential. As an example, I added Bailey’s coffee creamer to my coffee, which has a “poor” rating, and as an alternative, Yuka suggested a nice loaf of organic bread. Not quite hitting the mark, but those little misses aside, it’s a great tool if you’re trying to make more informed decisions about the products you purchase.
In the modern marketplace, knowledge really is power. It’s the power to make smart shopping decisions that can help you protect yourself, your family, and the environment. Tools like these can help us vote with our wallets and create a future where with any luck, we won’t need tools like these.