Soap dodgers?
Dan Welch digs the dirt on soaps and shower gels...
There can be a number of reasons for soap dodging: allergies, an ethical
stance against the environmental and social cost of soap production, or
a general disregard for fellow passengers on public transport. Fortunately,
a growing number of ethical alternatives mean that principles and a wide
circle of friends are not mutually exclusive.
Here’s the ingredients list of Zaytoun’s ‘olive with lemon’
soap: olive oil, lemon, water and sodium olivate (which just means olive
oil made into soap). So why does the Body Shop’s olive oil soap also
contain:
• eight synthetic chemicals listed on the Environmental Working Group’s
(EWG) cosmetics database (see Links) as “moderately hazardous”
and four in EWG’s lower hazard category
• a synthetic detergent
• “fragrance” – (or ‘parfum’) meaning any
number of fragrance ingredients which do not have to be listed separately
The Babylonians had primitive soap as early as 2800BC, and a soap factory
dated 79AD was unearthed at Pompeii. After an interlude for the Dark Ages,
when according to J.A. Hunt’s “A Short History of Soap” “personal
hygiene was not a high priority,” soap making became commonplace in
medieval Europe. By 1192 Richard of Devises was complaining of the terrible
stink caused by Bristol’s many soap makers. From then on little changed
until Andrew Pears used glycerine to produce his famous transparent Pears
Soap in 1789. After the Second World War, however, synthetic chemicals began
to be used widely in the manufacture of soap.
Synthetic ingredients
There are questions over the safety of many of these synthetic chemicals
for human health and the environment. A recent study has shown that models
used to predict which substances are dangerous are flawed. Up to a third
of industrial chemicals, including some perfumes, are under suspicion and
the report’s authors have called for a review of safety regulations.(1)
To put Body Shop’s ingredients in context, a recent study that analysed
how major personal care firms managed “chemical risk” found the
company was one of the best.(2) Body Shop also list all product ingredients
on its website.
There is great uncertainty regarding the dangers of synthetic ingredients
and campaigners point out it is this very lack of research and firm evidence
that is of concern.
Of particular concern are ingredients with an enhanced capacity for absorption
through the skin, such as EDTA, used in most brands of soap (including
Lush and Body Shop). These “penetration enhancers” may carry both
themselves and other ingredients into the blood stream and organs. The EWG
give most forms of EDTA a “low hazard” rating, with a 75% “data
gap”. While the hazard rating reflects known hazards the data gap is
a measure of how much is unknown about an ingredient. Disodium EDTA is listed
in the higher “moderate hazard” category. Animal and cell studies
have raised concern over possible carcinogenic and toxic effects.(3) None
of the brands on the table with an ethiscore of score of 13.5 or over contain
EDTA.
Some soaps also contain parabens, compounds that mimic oestrogen
(usually found in ingredients with a prefix, such as butyl-paraben). Most
are listed as moderate to high hazards by the EWG.
Another concern is that ingredients, such as the detergent sodium laureth
sulphate (SLS), another “penetration enhancer”, may carry
contaminates that are themselves carcinogenic or hormone disruptors.(4)
Remember that ingredients may vary across a brand’s products. For
example, the Body Shop’s olive soap does not contain parabens, but
many of its other soaps do.
Under EU legislation a number of fragrance ingredients with high potential
to cause allergic reactions must now be listed separately.
All our best buys, as well as Suma and Palmoil-free, have ranges free of
synthetic ingredients.
Animal welfare issues
Vegetarians should be aware that the ingredient sodium tallowate (found
for example in Simple soaps) is derived from animal fat, as is glycerine
unless otherwise stated. Lanolin is derived from sheep’s wool.
All Caurnie, Honesty, HealthQuest (Organic Blue), Palmoil-free and Yaoh
products are vegan. Most Natural Organic Soap products are except for a
couple which contain honey.
Shower Gels
Shower gels, body washes and liquid soaps have replaced traditional bars
of soap for many. Manufactured through a different process to soap, these
products are likely to contain parabens and sodium laureth sulphate.(5)
The plastic packaging of these products also has a higher environmental
impact than normal soap packaging. Body Shop shower gels are packaged in
30% recycled plastic.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is commonly used in the manufacture of soap, and its derivatives
appear on ingredient lists as “sodium palmate” or “sodium
palm kernelate”. It is used by all the brands on our table with ethiscores
under 13, as well as by Faith in Nature (which is currently seeking sustainable
sources). The devastating consequences of its production in South East Asian
rainforests, threatening the extinction of orang-utans, is now well known
(see Ethical Consumer issue 105). Less well known is the situation in Colombia,
where in some areas rightwing paramilitaries have driven peasants off their
land to make way for plantations. The area under cultivation has doubled
in four years, largely driven by surging demand for bio-fuels that use palm
oil as feedstock.(6)
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2003 to
develop a code of conduct for sustainable production. It consists of companies
at all levels of the supply chain as well as NGOs such as Friends of the
Earth and WWF.
The organisation is not without controversy. It has been criticised for
failing to condemn brutal anti-union repression by one of its members, major
palm oil supplier Musim Mas.(7) Amnesty International has joined the campaign
to free imprisoned Musim Mas trade union leaders.
Lush told Ethical Consumer that after participating in the latest round
of RSPO talks, it had concluded that the organisation was compromised by
multinationals whose interest was in maintaining the status quo. It was
seeking alternatives for its palm oil sourcing. Body Shop recently announced
that all of the palm oil used in its soaps will be sourced from the Daabon
Group, organic producers in Colombia with a commitment to social responsibility.
Soap Box and Natural Organic also source organic palm oil from Colombia.
The RSPO aims to begin certifying palm oil by the end of the year, and
products will carry an endorsement from the organisation.
Of the major companies, only Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser and L’Oréal
are members. Ethical Consumer contacted all of the non-members asking them
to explain their sourcing policies. Only three replied. Colgate-Palmolive
stated that it was intending to join, but were not listed as applicants
on the RSPO website. Procter & Gamble replied that it supported the
RSPO’s principles through its Malaysian partner’s membership.
However the company could not produce any other public or policy statements
supporting the RSPO, nor credible sustainability guidelines. Accantia was
also keen to claim sustainable credentials without demonstrating any commitment
to seriously engage with the issues. These replies demonstrate that companies
want to claim green credentials – and pressure from ethical consumers
can help close the gap between rhetoric and reality.
LINKS
Palm Oil
- You can support the Orangutan Foundation UK by buying its Palm
Oil-free soaps (www.orangutan.org.uk
or 0207 724 2912) – produced by Little Satsuma (tel. 07730 659 002).
- Natural Collection (www.naturalcollection.com)
only stock soaps containing palm oil if it is from organic sources.
- Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil www.rspo.org
+603-6203 5969
- The International Union of Food Workers (www.iuf.org)
is campaigning against Musim Mas’ anti-union activities.
Ingredients
- Skin Deep is an online safety guide to ingredients produced by
the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org),
a US not-for-profit organisation. It pairs ingredients in nearly 25,000
products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making
it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
- Women’s Environmental Network maintain a paraben and synthetic
free list and other resources (www.wen.org.uk
tel.0207 481 9004)
- “What’s in this stuff? The essential guide to what’s
really in the products you buy” Pat Thomas, Rodale Books 2006
Animal Testing
- BUAV (www.gocrueltyfree.org)
lists companies that don’t conduct or commission animal testing.
- The Uncaged Campaign (www.uncaged.co.uk/crueltyfree.htm)
lists companies that operate a policy of not using any ingredients tested
on animals from a fixed date - widely accepted as best practice by campaigners.
References
1 Kelly, B. C. et al. Science 317, 236-238 (2007)
2 Innovest
Strategic Value Advisors, ENDS Report issue 386 (March 2007)
3 www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
viewed 20/07/07
4 Thomas, P. “What’s in this stuff?”
2006, p.167
5 ECRA shop and web surveys July 2007
6 “Massacres
and paramilitary land seizures behind the biofuel revolution” The Guardian
5/6/07
7 www.iuf.org