I love this picture. It was drawn by a friend who was inspired by my shock, rage, indignation, horror and disappointment on hearing about the L'Oreal takeover of Bodyshop this summer. But for me, this picture illustrates much more than that particular transaction. It shows the entire cosmetics industry for what it is. A huge marketing campaign, perfectly honed to exploit the consumer using one of the most powerful weapons available - vanity - and existing not to make us more beautiful, desirable, or sexy (therefore fulfilling our wildest fantasies), but to do nothing more than make money. That's all. Plain and simple.
The Body Shop, though it blazed a trail for the ethical consumer, was no exception.
I have an example of how we fall for the ruthless advertising that we are subjected to every day by this industry. Their biggest money spinner, and fastest growing niche, worth an estimated £14billion per year, is the sale of “anti-ageing” products. As humans, we live and we get old. The dastardly truth is that we start to age when we are teenagers, and by the time we’ve lived a little, the degenerative influence of sunshine, pollution, and stress along with good and bad living, gives us wrinkles sooner or later and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it. It is a process which is as inevitable as dying, and the idea that we can prevent or reverse the outward signs of ageing with the contents of a pot of cream is as preposterous as the idea that we can bargain against death with the Grim Reaper himself. I personally think that the secret of eternal youth is living a frugal, solitary existence in a dark, lonely cave, high up a mountain, on the edge of the world, with nothing to sustain us but spring water, fresh air, and super-fruit. However, some people believe it's no further away than their local department store. My mother is such a person, and her three favourite things to do in life are: drink (a lot), sunbathe (as much as possible), and smoke (when she can) - well, she is French. She absolves her ageing guilt by making regular visits to the Estee Lauder counter in Debenhams. I'm sure they see her coming. The sales girls have a secret stock of extra expensive lotions and potions just for her, that they quickly arrange over the counter in time for such occasions. My mother delights in each new product, and, as some people believe in The Holy Grail, my mother believes in "liposome delivery systems", "sugar-derived refinishers" and "exclusive, air-light polymers with innovative optical elements". The counter girls meanwhile, like the company they work for, are laughing all the way to the bank, and could probably live quite comfortably for a year on the commission my mother affords them from just one shopping trip. I, forever exasperated, throw my hands in the air and say "Mum! there's only one way to slow down the wrinkles - stop sunbathing, stop smoking and stop drinking" .. She laughs as if I'm a halfwit, and re-arranges her dressing table full of tiny (you only use one drop at a time) but obscenely expensive bottles of highly perfumed serums, oils, and balms. She swears that in conjunction with her electronic facial muscle "stimulator" (don't ask), they miraculously, and contrary to all proven scientific evidence, allow her to continue her “lifestyle” with no consequences. I swear that, despite the fact that my mother normally isn’t stupid, it’s not me that’s the halfwit.…
I'm not saying we should stop living well, enjoying the sunshine, or even that we shouldn't use cosmetic products to help us look and feel our best, after all, we humans have been doing it almost since time began - look at Cleopatra and her bathing habits. The idea I would like to put forward is that perhaps we should be more aware of what we are buying and more importantly why? Just as we make relationship with the food we eat, the land we tend, and the herbs we use, so should we think about the origins of what we're pasting onto ourselves in the name of "beauty". Where does it come from? What does it do? Why do we need it? What’s in it? What are the consequences? How was it tested? What IS an "air-light polymer with innovative optical element" ? Does it really work? Does this product really need to come wrapped in three ever decreasing plastic boxes and six layers of cardboard? Do I really want a tall, dark, handsome stranger to accost me on the street with a bunch of flowers and a promise of undying adoration if I use this body spray? Exactly WHO is benefiting from this product? Me or the company who made it?
First on most peoples list of ethical considerations is the question of animal testing. Information on current legislation for animal testing is readily available, but there is little or no legislation on the use of animal ingredients. Although on the surface, manufacturers appear to be taking note of public opinion and consumer demand in this field, they are still reluctant to stop their animal testing practices. Laws against animal testing do not come into force until 2009 and in the meantime, too many cosmetic companies are hiding behind the statement that their “finished products are not tested on animals”. This doesn’t mean to say that the ingredients haven’t’ been. One of the problems is that to keep making as much money as possible, the cosmetics industry has to be self perpetuating which is why there's always a new product around the corner and this is why the research and testing on animals continues. If each new product that comes on the market is as good as they keep telling us, why are companies tripping over themselves to find new and better ingredients and formulas? Why do we need yet another miracle product? Why, in this day and age, is it still necessary to test on animals or use animal derived ingredients? In 2004, L'Oreal, the worlds largest user of animal tested ingredients, who openly oppose a ban against animal testing, applied for 586 patents for newly developed formulas.
There is even less legislation on the environmental impact of the manufacturing process and the amount and type of packaging used. It is a well known fact that excessive and expensive packaging, lends credibility to the “worth” of a product. Outrageously, some cosmetics firms have been known to package the same product (ie: a cleansing cream) in two different types of packaging. One for the lower, cheap end of the market, and another for the high, expensive end of the market. Another way to do this, is to brand certain products to a particular retailer. For example, when Marks and Spencers first started selling own brand cosmetics, the products were made by Estee Lauder. The packaging was plain, though still the corporate colour of Estee Lauder, and the products cost a fraction of the price of their more expensive (and identical) counterparts.
But, what is actually IN those brightly coloured and temptingly packaged vases and phials??
Did you know that:
Collagen, a popular “firming” ingredient, is a fibrous protein derived from animal cartilage and often extracted from the skin of calves.
Amniotic fluid from pregnant cows is used in facial and body moisturisers due to its neutral PH of 7.
Thymus Extract is nothing to do with the herb Thyme, but is a substance extracted from the thymus glands of animals and used in skin cream to help the immune system and improve cell function.
Hyaluronic Acid is an extremely popular ingredient and you will find it in almost every “super” moisturiser or skin preparation which claims to “hydrate” skin or fight dehydration. Originally, it came from Cocks Combs, and although there is now a similar plant based alternative, both types are widely used.
Kalaya Oil is a recent addition to the cosmetics armoury and is used as a skin softner and anti imflamatory ingredient in moisturising cream, shower cream, shampoo and soap. Though it sounds as if it comes from an exotic plant or nut, it is actually extracted from the fat of specially farmed emus.
Elastin is an animal derived protein used in cream for dry skin. It is similar to collagen, extracted from bovine neck ligaments and used for mature skins as the molecules are smaller and more easily absorbed than collagen.
Embryo extract from foetal calves is used for hormones in anti-aging creams.
The following ingredients are commonly used as “fixatives” in perfume. Chanel, Dior, Yves st Laurant, Guerlain and Lancome to name a few, are the worst offenders:
Musk: A secretion from the gland of the male musk deer which is only available from dead animals. This deer is now in danger of extinction.
Civet: Less commonly used these days, but this fixative is from cats who are captured and then tormented to increase the secretions
Castor: Not from beans, but from Beavers sex glands. Freshly killed, dead beavers.
In summary, the cosmetics trade is one of the most unethical industries in existence. Big brand companies not only produce their products after testing them on animals, but often, these so called beauty “treatments” contain rare ingredients which have been harvested after the torture or death of animals, and have caused the near extinction of some species. Many manufacturing processes are detrimental to the environment, packaging often outweighs the cost and amount of the product and after all that, to save money, these lotions, potions and sprays often contain harmful chemicals and toxins which are bad for us, and bad for the environment. In addition, most of the claims of the manufacturers about their products are scandalous lies. The formulas of cosmetic products including creams, shampoos, conditioners, waxes, balms and lotions of all types for hair and body, are all basically the same - creams are emulsions made from oil and water, shampoos and are little more than washing up liquid. What differs from brand to brand is the addition of various extracts from animals, plants and minerals which are given ridiculous names especially designed to bamboozle the consumer, and marketed as the next best thing in the quest for beauty, sparkle and wellbeing. Some products work, and some of them don't - that is more to do with your genetic make-up than anything else.
Sometimes the act of treating ourselves to something expensive, luxurious and smelly, to pamper ourselves with is enough to make us feel good. But why choose a product containing emu fat or cow cartilage, when a cream made with natural plant oils is just as, if not more, effective. How can our spirit connect with something which has caused the suffering, or even the death of an animal - for the sole purpose of keeping us beautiful? Before we buy anything, we need to be able to see through the cynical marketing ploys which feed our vanity and strip our wallets, and shun the almost robotic use of those mass produced products – most of which we simply do not need, whether or not they are endorsed by celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Kate Moss or Posh Spice. If we can’t connect with the product then we have to put it back on the shelf and say to ourselves ”It’s not worth it”.
Julia Bremble
November 2006
