Your Shampoo Choice is Affecting the Environment
Image via US Vogue
It's true: your daily habits affect our earth's environment.
Why? How? What do you mean?
Well, the ingredients used in everyday products such as shampoo, conditioner, soaps, body washes, cleaning products, and packaged foods all come from somewhere... and if these ingredients aren't sourced ethically (or in a way that works with the earth's natural environment), then we all have a problem on our hands.
Let me explain using the case of shampoo:
Many shampoos (including Head & Shoulders, and Pantene Pro-V) are made with palm oil.
Palm oil is detrimental to environmental health. It accounts for massive amounts of deforestation for rainforests, further endangers endangered species, and contributes excessive carbon pollution to our global environment.
Don't believe it? Watch this video below.
It's such a massive problem that celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio have taken it upon themselves to speak out about the global issue—and now it's our turn as consumers to be more conscious about the way in which our choices affect our environment's health.
When you travel to Indonesia you will see the direct hazards associated with palm oil farming. These farms are being created because there is a demand caused by us for more palm oil—and it's not long before these environmental hazards spread around the world.
We are already seeing detrimental affects floating their way to countries like Australia, where the o-zone layer is non-existent and 'bush fires' are a regular occurrence.
For those of you who are not familiar with 'bush fires,' they occur because the sky offers no UV protection from the sun (the o-zone layer is depleted), and plants will erupt into bushes of fire because they can't stand up to the sun's heat.
The reason the o-zone layer in Australia is depleted is because the pollution from South East Asia is being carried down by the trade winds and has polluted the high-altitude air. This is happening in an entirely separate geographical region than where the pollution originally occurs.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that this problem won't affect you if you're living in Europe, North America, South America, and Africa.
Winds carry pollution. Rain carries pollution. Water streams carry pollution. Global pollution (if not mitigated) will find you, affect you, and harm you.
So, what can you do about it?
Take the step today by choosing brands who do not use palm oil. As you change your choices as a consumer, the demand will decrease, and the need for palm oil will drop. No new farms will need to be created, and less harm will happen to our planet at large.
For personal care products, look for brands that DO NOT use palm oil, such as: NABY Cosmetics, and Soap Cherie.
If you're unsure if the brands you currently use have palm oil in them, search this list for ingredient names to find out.