Bad hair days

Supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of different shampoos but what burden do these products present for our health and environment? Ruth Rosselson investigates.

A look down the hair care aisle in any major chemist or supermarket can be a confusing experience. You can buy shampoo for dry or greasy hair, thin or thick hair, coloured, permed, blonde, dark, red or greying hair, or for straight, curly, afro hair. Yet despite proclamations of natural ingredients, most of the branded shampoos also contain an array of potentially harmful chemicals. In 2003, 10 of the 12 ingredients listed in Clairol's Herbal Essences shampoo (owned by Procter & Gamble) had been linked to health problems.(1) Meanwhile a survey last year found phthalates in its Pantene Pro-V shampoo, although this chemical was not listed on the bottle. (2) Phthalates have been linked to cancer and birth defects.(2)

Most of the major environmental campaign groups including Friends of the Earth (FOE), Greenpeace, WWF and the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) are running campaigns about these issues. According to WEN, around "300 synthetic chemicals made since 1945 have been detected in human body tissues and secretions, including breast milk".(3) Globally, we produce 1,000 new chemicals and manufacture about 400 million tonnes of synthetic chemicals each year.(3)

Most concern is focused on the synthetic chemicals which are thought to be hormone disrupting and bioaccumulative. These are found in a range of cosmetic products, including shampoos. Bioaccumulative chemicals cannot be broken down adequately by the body and accumulate in body tissues. The long-term effects of using these chemicals are unknown. They could be harmful for our health and for the environment.(3)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
WEN have produced a useful leaflet with a rundown of the problem ingredients. Specific ones to watch out for in shampoo are parabens, alkylphenol ethoxylates and parfum, which campaigners argue could mean any one of a number of potentially damaging chemicals including artificial musks. Parabens are thought to be oestrogen mimics and the long-term effect of using them is not known.(3) Our survey found parabens in the following brands on the table: Aussie, Body Shop, Boots own-brands, Elvive, Fructis, Neutrogena, VO5, Original Source and Lush's liquid shampoos (but not the shampoo bars).(4) Alkylphenol ethoxylates are used to help a product foam more effectively. They are "nonylphenol or octylphenol" and are thought to be hormone disruptors, toxic to fish and bioaccumulative. (3)

You won't find either parabens or aklylphenol ethoxylates in Organic Blue, Green People, Neal's Yard Remedies and Weleda shampoos. Lush's solid shampoos are also free from these ingredients while the Body Shop products are only free of alkylphenols.(5) The retailer Boots has a comprehensive section in its environmental report on chemicals. It has already removed alkylphenols from its own brand products and plans to remove artificial musks by 2005. Although it was still using parabens in its products, it has said that it will continue to monitor scientific developments and public concerns and readdress the issue in July 2005.(6)

NATURAL INGREDIENTS
It is positive to see companies pledging to minimise synthetic chemicals and a number of companies have also made commitments to source organic ingredients wherever possible. Brands in this report containing some certified organic ingredients are: Organic Blue, Green People, Neal's Yard Remedies and Weleda.

SUITABLE FOR...
All of Organic Blue, Green People, Lush, Neal's Yard Remedies and Weleda shampoos are suitable for vegetarians. All Organic Blue, some Green People, Lush, Neal's Yard and Weleda are also suitable for vegans. As well as the guarantee of being free of animal-derived ingredients, these symbols also mean that the product and its ingredients have not been tested on animals. This is unlikely to be the case for most major branded shampoos. Procter & Gamble and Unilever are both the subject of boycott calls for their involvement in animal testing.

PACKAGING
Unfortunately most packaging used for shampoo is usually made from plastic, and sometimes from PVC, one of the most problematic plastics. Although it is possible to recycle some plastics, the reality is that most plastic bottles will end up in landfill, putting a burden on our environment. Buy bigger bottles wherever you can and recycle bottles where possible. Neal's Yard is the only company offering shampoos in glass bottles. It also will recycle your empties. The Body Shop also has a plastic bottle recycling scheme. The advantage of Lush's solid shampoo bar is the lack of packaging. As Lush points out, "we have calculated that by selling solid shampoo, we have saved over 1.5 million plastic bottles being made and thrown away each year".(7)

References
1 Ecologist, October 2003
2 Press Release from Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, July 20th 2004.
3 Women's Environmental Network campaign factsheet, June 2003 "Chemicals Under the Spotlight".
4 Ethical Consumer shop survey March 2005
5 Body Shop statement on Cosmetics
6 Boots environmental report and statement on chemicals downloaded in March 2005
7 email from Lush 8th February 2005
8 Corporate Watch, February 2005
9 Earth Matters spring 2002
10 PETA website, July 2003
11 Food Magazine, January 2004, Baby Milk Action, January 2005
12 Henkel sustainability report 2003
13 ENDS, April 2003/ENDS
14 PETA website, www.caringconsumer.com July 2004
15 Henkel website, November 2004
16 The Ecologist December 2004
17 Inminds email 3rd February 2005
18 Inminds website, December 2004.
19 www.peta.org 20 Corporate Watch, February 2005