I started reading the label - and I had no idea what a task I was taking on.
Certified Fair Trade. Hmmm... how so? I wondered. Who certifies Fair Trade? Google and wikipedia exposed a very active and rigorous certification process. Wikepedia states:
Fairtrade certification (Fairtrade, known as Fair Trade Certified in the United States, is a product certification system designed to allow people to identify products that meet agreed environmental, labour and developmental standards. Overseen by a standard-setting body, FLO International, and a certification body, FLO-CERT, the system involves independent auditing of producers to ensure the agreed standards are met. Companies offering products that meet the Fairtrade standards may apply for licences to use the Fairtrade Certification Mark (or, in North America, the applicable Fair Trade Certified Mark) for those products.
Then I went to the web site to see what they said about the certification process. Oh my... if you think the bottle is entertaining and takes you hours to ingest it all, try the web site. www.drbronner.com
The movie trailer is a hoot - a must see... or go to the movie web site www.magicsoapbox.com/doc
An interesting fellow this Dr. Bronner - escaped from an insane asylum, went to California (of course!) and started not only his soap company but his ABC's of how to live the moral life. One of his many sons (though he mostly abandoned his children for his mission) now runs the company. The movie is a documentary of his life. I am tempted to order it ... I wonder if Netflicks has it. Hmmm... the journey takes me deeper.
Back to the website (which is extensive) I find my way to the articles section and this one popped out as a very useful one for my inventory research of personal care products.
www.drbronner.com/pdf/organic_comparison_sheet.pdf
USDA Organic Standard is the best of them... wow ... I wonder if this is really true. But it did expose me to various certifications and it would behoove me to do more research on this... but for now I am still journeying into the beast of the Dr. Bronner web site... so I will save that for another day.
Then they link to the Organic Consumer Federation page which takes you down another whole path. Dr. Bronner's file a lawsuit with others on the organic label "cheaters" as they call them. The green wash folks. Those articles pull me in deeper. The web site is extensive for researching and following the Organic Consumers Federation lawsuits and education and lobbying to prevent the USDA from allowing fake and harmful products to be labeled organic. They even have a place on the web site where you can download and print your own stickers to put on products in stores. The sticker says "Panic - this product is not organic". Alittle guerilla activism can be done at local health food stores that sell these nasty cheaters. They give you the historical actions that have been taken and I could spend several weeks, not days, delving into all the information that is accessible on their web site. Unbelieveable. I was just researching my hippie feel good soap... I didn't know I would get all caught up in reading the remarkable work of tons of people who are fighting to keep organic meaning what it means. Yeah for Dr. Bronner's for being in the fray, supporting the efforts and educating about this. I am starting at this point to have incredible awe for this crazy man and his 70 year old son who has taken on his mission in his absence.
Liz I laughed because there is a link to a blog called Going Green with a Bronner Mom. The woman writes her blog and gives all kinds of ideas for how she cleans with Dr. Bronner's soap. I read through some of them and they are simply like our blog. Ideas, her experience, her links etc. www.lisa.drbronner.com
Then I wondered if the philosophy for Dr. Bronner that he believed so passionately about was really part of the draw for me. Though the bottle is peppered with tiny, tiny words that spew his philsophy as well as others - Thomas Paine being one of them - one section that seems to sum it up written at the top in a little larger print - Absolute cleanliness is Godliness! Teach the moral ABC that unites all mankind free. Instantly 6 Billion strong & we're ALL ONE. "Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One." It certainly does sound like the ravings of a madman. I will spend more time on the web site trying to figure if the ABC's can absolve me of my consumer sins.
Alas I will end here, though trust me the journey has only really begun, beginning with the news that discovering Dr. Bronner has so many different products - from coconut oil creame to hair conditioner - I am going to order immediately. I have been too long attached to my big plastic (now 100% post consumer produced) bottle of Peppermint Castile soap. I am ready to branch out into some new flavors and types. And lip gloss - wow - who knew? Thank you UEL blog assignment for putting me on this little educational journey. But drat ... I am going to spend money as a result. Hmmm...
Coleen,
ReplyDeleteYour post gave me a chuckle, because I have seen most of the Bronner movie on Netflix. The ravings of a madman was my impression exactly, but an interesting madman. We got on a Bronner kick for a while, during which we cleaned everything with it. The biggest mistake was putting it in our liquid soap dispensers. It clogs badly. Each time we used the dispenser, the soap shot violently across the bathroom onto the wall, onto our clothes, our faces, or even in an eye. We still use it sometimes, like when we rent a steam cleaner to clean the carpets. But we now bathe with the goat's milk soap from the farmers market, which has fewer ingredients, is local, and leaves our skin silky smooth.
I like that you are investigating what certified fair trade and organic really mean. We should remember to question periodically these types of things, as standards change, rather than taking for granted their inherent goodness. I am reminded of a story I read a year or two ago about the certified organic California blend vegetables being sold frozen at Whole Foods coming from China. Even though these foods were certified, the question arose about who was certifying them. In lieu of direct answers, it began to appear to be a case of "take our word for it." (But isn't it always?) Whole Foods has since changed this practice. Follow this link for an interesting read on this issue from WF's perspective:
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2008/06/is-organic-from-china-possible/
Yes oh yes it is so interesting. I spent an hour at the coop yesterday looking through bottles and reading their labels. The sad thing is that there is much that is toxic sold at our food coop. I will read the WF article about China. Thanks for that. Yeah - there is nothing like silky goat milk soap. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteI love that you can still use what you chose to use so long ago. And that you can relate to how I (and I assume all of us) feel when we are overwhelmed with information when just trying to do what healthy and not harmful to our planet. It is so wrong when companies lie or give misleading information, the stickers are a funny but great idea that I don't think violates any laws...I think I could do this activist activity!
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