Not Just a Pretty Face

The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry

Not Just a Pretty Face on Flickr
Not Just a Pretty Face – by Stacy Malkan – chronicles the quest that led a group of health and environmental activists to the world’s largest cosmetics companies to ask some tough questions.

by Stacy Malkan

  • Lead in lipstick?
  • 1,4 dioxane in baby soap?
  • Coal tar in shampoo?
  • How is this possible?

Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful that they have kept themselves unregulated for decades.

  • Why do companies market themselves as pink ribbon leaders in the fight against breast cancer, yet use hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals that may contribute to that very disease?
  • Why do products used by men and women of childbearing age contain chemicals linked to birth defects and infertility?

As doors slammed in their faces and the beauty myth peeled away, the industry’s toxic secrets began to emerge. This scathing investigation peels away less-than-lovely layers to expose an industry in dire need of an extreme makeover. The good news is that while the major multinational companies fight for their right to use hazardous chemicals, entrepreneurs are developing safer non-toxic technologies and building businesses on the values of health, justice and personal empowerment.

All our posts about BPA – Cancer – Endocrine Disruptors – Phthalates.

On Flickr®