For those of you who don’t know (and many don’t), there is a new bill in Congress called the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010. It sounds benign enough – helpful, even, right? Who doesn’t want safe cosmetics? Who wouldn’t like to see the products on the store shelves healthier and devoid of nasty chemicals?
That would be nice. It really would.
But the Safe Cosmetics Act is not going to do this for us.
There are dozens of reasons why I oppose this act, and you can read a few here: Like how it will increase animal testing or how it will unduly burden small business owners and you can even read an overview of the impact it will have to small businesses (who are traditionally more caring and safe in the way they formulate their cosmetics) here at the Indie Beauty Network.
I don’t want to talk about any of that, though. I want to talk about the one thing no one else seems to touch on. Maybe it’s base. Maybe it’s understood. But this is why I oppose the SCA.
Look at the state of our country. Just look at it. Seriously. Ashambles. Half of you can argue that it’s government’s fault, and half of you can argue that it’s the free market’s fault, but I’m here to tell you right now: It’s our fault.
It’s our fault because we allowed government to do what it did for decades. It’s our fault because we didn’t take personal responsibility for the things we bought and the way we “voted” with our dollars. We bought into ideas and lies, because it was easier than finding the truth for ourselves.
We are responsible.
We are!
We always have been. But because we were responsible, we always had the power to change it. And we still do.
Our health and wellness does not depend on government making choices for us, babysitting our decisions, policing our actions. We need no more oversight and laws and policing. We are, as a whole and at our core, caring, rational, thoughtful people. We change the world every day – for the better – without the government telling us we have to.
Technology has opened up a new world of information to all of us, with which we can make sound, thoughtful decisions. The government needn’t do that for us. We can research, we can communicate, we can get to know the people we buy our products from, and we can understand the ingredients in those products (knowing, always, that the closer to nature you go, the healthier you will be).
Consider the stellar documentary, Food, Inc. Towards the end, what happened at WalMart? A company known and widely reviled for their unsavory business practices started offering organic foods. Many organic foods. Why? Because that’s what consumers wanted to buy. Period.
Every single purchase we make is a vote on how we want to see the world run. We have the power to change things. It’s by making well-informed, conscious purchases, making the products we can, and talking to each other about why we’re doing what we’re doing.
That is one very powerful and significant way to change the world.
Not handing over more control to the (inept and oft misguided) government. We are responsible. We’re not children. We are rational, critically thinking adults who can make products appear and disappear JUST BY DESIRING THEM.
The reason I get riled up about this is because I’m a giant champion of personal responsibility. It’s not a scary thing – it’s a freedom thing. The moment you take personal responsibility for your own situation and your own health is the moment you’re truly free. Relying on someone else to make your decisions for you – whether it be government, businesses, or even your spouse – is the moment you slip into victim mentality. Hand over your responsibility, and you’re no longer accountable for what happens to you.
I oppose the SCA for many reasons, but the biggest, and most important, is that I’M TIRED OF PEOPLE TELLING ME I SHOULD FEEL LIKE A VICTIM.
There is an organic cosmetics and skincare shop here in Manitou Springs called Salus. The owners are two of the most kind and genuine people you could ever meet. They’ve overcome a lot of really heavy stuff in their lifetimes – and they have a very personal reason for creating safe, healthy cosmetics. I trust them. I trust their products. I would put my life in their hands – these people I’ve grown to genuinely care about – far sooner than I’d put it in a corporation’s hands.
This bill, this legislation, could potentially put them out of business.
Why should we risk that? Eradicating the Saluses of the world, to put the power of choice into the hands of the government? They don’t know me. They don’t know Elissa and Jerell Klaver of Salus. They don’t know you. And they sure don’t know what’s best for all of us.
Only we know that.
Because we’re powerful. We’re smart. And we’re perfectly capable of making our own choices, decisions, and purchases.
We can vote – with our dollars. We can talk to each other. We can share ideas and knowledge. And that way, we will change the world.
Starting with the cosmetics industry.
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If, after finding out more about the SCA, you would like to oppose it, please click here to sign the petition.
If you would like to read more on the SCA and why you might support it, you can read this website.
You might also note that at the above website is the video I posted some time ago called The Story of Cosmetics. I still applaud the video, because it raises awareness, even if others call it “scare tactics”. However, after watching it several times, I realized one very important thing. Through the majority of the video, they trash-talked the government and its handling of corporate interest. Yet, at the end of the video, they encourage you to hand over more control to the government. Backwards thinking, at best.
What are your thoughts? Are you ready to take personal responsibility for the purchases you make, based on the ingredients in products? Or do you feel like you need the government to regulate your choices for you?
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I am SO with you on this. Great post…so thought provoking and very well expressed. The proposed law is definitely one of those that needs more time on the drawing-board. It sounds a lot like one they tried last year for lead in childrens products. Like a Monet, it looked great from far away, but up close it was a real mess.
“Voting with your dollars” is an easy but important stand everyone can make on a daily basis. I currently don’t have a lot of dollars to vote with, but that’s all the more reason to make as many count as I can. If people stop buying the garbage, they’ll stop making the garbage.
I totally agree with you! I don’t think the government can be trusted to tell us what is safe AT ALL. Their bottom line is $$ because they are funded by corporate America, especially drug companies. I don’t think they care if I’m healthy, they just want me to spend money to “boost the economy”. We need to be responsible for our own choices, not let the government decide what’s best for us. They don’t have a clue IMO.
Very provocative post.
And…I would think that whether or not people *agree* with you, they will not HATE you for saying what you think and feel on your blog, especially when so well thought out and respectfully expressed.
Those people you wouldn’t need reading anyway.
I agree in theory and I definitely use my money to vote, so to speak. I am also big into personal responsibility. However, I also agree with Holyoke Home, that it’s a little classist. I consider myself upper middle class, highly educated, and I’m just starting to become aware of this issue. There are a lot of people in this country that don’t even know there’s anything to be educated about, let alone have the ability to seek out the information, or have the money to vote with. I think that’s government’s role, to make decisions for people that are unable to be educated for whatever reason and who maybe can’t buy the more expensive, green products. It goes to the idea that we are all equal in this country. Class shouldn’t decide weather your cosmetics are safe and free of carcinogens. They just should be.
I agree, Jessica. They SHOULD just be.
However, if we ran around banning everything we don’t agree with, it would hardly be freedom, wouldn’t it?
And I now understand the feeling that what I’m saying is classist. I still have to disagree. In the spirit of frankness, I would consider myself, at this moment, to be lower middle class. If not even lower than that. Paycheck to meager paycheck is the norm around here these days, and those paychecks barely pay the rent, let alone green products. So what do I do? I make my own. And it’s cheaper than anything else. Everyone can do this. Everyone who can afford to buy a product at the store – even a CHEAP one – can do this.
If you want to change things, raise awareness. The answer, in my mind, isn’t restricting freedom. It’s empowering and educating the people.
And if it’s price you’re worried about – if it’s concern that more lower class folks won’t have access to green products – the SCA isn’t going to help there, either.
It’s going to make it exponentially MORE expensive to create products, and the people who will pay for that will be us, at the cash register.
Not to mention the price the small, organic cosmetics companies will pay … with their business, more likely than not.
Ahh, raising awareness is the key. I agree wholeheartedly. But I’m also cynical and don’t think it actually works. I guess that’s the crux of my disagreement with your post. When I first read it, I was nodding along in agreement. I try to use my money to promote what I believe in. The problem is, I don’t think most people do or care enough to make a conscious effort to do it.
I look at the issue of obesity in this country as an example. It has not been regulated by banning the use of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, or requiring healthy foods at schools, for example. I think there has been good attempts to raise awareness, encourage people to read labels, and get some exercise. In fact, it’s less expensive to make your own, healthy food than by processed junk in the store or eating out, but people just don’t do it. Raising awareness is great in concept, but it just doesn’t work, in my opinion.
Does it suck that big companies care only about their profit margin and won’t act unless forced? Yup. Does it more than suck that little companies that we all know are good and do the right thing from the get go get screwed in the process? Of course. I agree, it’s a poorly written law, as most are. Good intent, poor execution.
It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing what I do, educating the people around me, and patronizing stores and companies I believe in. It just means I think most people could use a little more help than a grassroots type movement can provide.
A girl after my own heart! You so perfectly wrote exactly what I’ve been thinking. Right down to the “Story of Cosmetics” and the blatantly missing call for personal responsibility. Bravo!
I made a crucial error in blogging when I first posted that video. I watched it, thought “Yes! No more chemicals in cosmetics!” and ran on to the next thing I was doing (which was having a very crazy visit at my sister’s).
If I’d have thought about it critically and with perspective, I would have noticed immediately the lack of call to personal responsibility.
I’m glad YOU noticed! Together – little by little – we can change this, because we are responsible, and we do care, and we don’t need anyone else to make our decisions for us.
Go girls!
Great post! I agree we have the knowledge inside ourselves to make healthy choices in our lives. I just wrote an article about how you have to be selfish to take care of yourself…selfish because only you can ultimately make choices for yourself – whether it comes to food, cosmetics and any other products you choose to use inside your home and in your yard and even with your children. Good for you and now I’m off to read more – thanks for giving us something to think about and the potential to feel empowered.
I’m going to link to that article right here for everyone to see. I think it’s important and a great starting point for many people in this day and age!
Everyone – read this. And be selfish:
http://bellapetite.com/sincerely-nia-you-have-to-be-selfish-to-take-care-of-you.html
This was written so eloquently. And it’s a subject I wouldn’t(ashamed to admit) have educated myself about.
I agree that we vote with our dollars and that we drive change. I’m going to check out your other lengths now. Thanks for giving me something to chew on! You’re a smart lady!
I hope you did check them ALL out! One thing I failed to mention, and really wanted to add in at the bottom, is that I want everyone to learn everything they can – trust the people they’re inclined to trust (whether that be small organic businesses or governmental agencies), and make a decision on their own about how they feel.
This is just my opinion, and while I feel very strongly about it, I understand it’s not the only one, nor would I want it to be.
But, anyway, I’m SO happy to have shared now.
And you’re a ray of light.
YAY! My friend!!!!!!!!!!
When I was writing this, I thought, “Man. Everyone’s going to hate me now … except Kim.” Hehehe.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I (very) respectfully disagree about the role of Government. I think it IS the Government’s job (the federal government) to help keep us safe, and I empower them to do things on my behalf like requiring that we wear seat belts, setting air quality standards, testing our water for bacteria, banning lead paint, limiting the amount of pollution power plants can spew into the air, randomly checking meat for e-coli and on and on. While the government rarely gets it perfectly right on its first try, it is classist to say that folks should ’empower themselves’ with the information they need to make good decisions. I mean how much does the layperson know about smog particles anyway? I sure don’t know much.
I would further offer this thought: if we are close to ‘ashambles’ as you put it? It’s not because we put our country’s future in the hands of an unsteady and greedy government, it is because Congress DE-regulated the financial industry.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!
And I, too, very much respect your point of view. Heck, I held it for years! However, I am VERY much a proponent of freedom, now that I’ve really given what “freedom” means thought.
That includes the freedom to choose between healthy and unhealthy things.
Once you start mandating choices, they no longer become choices. And it no longer constitutes freedom.
I could get into a discussion about the good things and the bad things that government does; and no doubt, it has done good things in its history. It has also done some very, very bad things.
My viewpoint is that heavy government control is not necessary; it only is if you’re living in a fear-based world. If you stop being afraid, you no longer need someone to fix your problems for you.
And not to get too far off-base, but I truly, with all my heart and soul, believe that society as a whole has reached a tipping point – but tipping towards conscious living, healthy decisions, and social responsibility.
Because of that, we don’t need the government to decide what is right and wrong. We have more power and ability than we think.
We don’t need someone making our decisions for us. We’re past that now.
I’m not sure how any of that is classist – how empowering people to face their own personal responsibility is anything BUT uplifting.
You can argue that there’s no way we can know what’s healthy without the government telling us, but I respectfully disagree. You know what’s healthy. We all do. Really. Honestly. It’s innate, if we’re really conscious about it.
This is where personal responsibility comes in. If there’s a factory that produces a lot of smog, or pollution, or what have you, don’t buy their stuff. Don’t support people who DO buy their stuff.
Our marketplace is full of healthy, ecoconscious options now. And guess why? It’s not because the government made it be that way. No. It’s because consumers wanted it that way. The businesses had to follow suit.
And, finally, in terms of deregulation being the reason why we’re having problems now, I have to disagree with that, too. It wasn’t deregulation. It was a societal mindset of greed and general unconsciousness when it comes to decisions and desires. Again, the idea that it was the government’s fault or the corporations’ fault is victim thinking.
It was our “fault.” (I’m not fond of that word and wish I’d stop using it.) It was our responsibility – as a whole – to create a society not based on greed and materialism. We participated in it. We are not victims. To me, though, that’s good news. Because that means we can participate in and be responsible for a whole new world that’s based on more substantial and thoughtful ideals. And hopefully on true freedom.