P’lovers the Environmental Store (Port Perry)

-Image Care of the Mirriam Webster Visual Dictionary

Travel with me today.

I am making a change in life.

I am picking out a new shampoo and conditioner.

Currently I am using a generic brand shampoo, picked from the grocery store as the only one touting biodegrable-ness. I bought a massive bottle of it. The ingredients list was long and it was highly scented. Mass produced in some far off land..I knew it wasn’t the most ethical choice, but it certainly was the least offensive with what I was faced with at the grocery store.

So today is the day. I washed my hair with it one last time, and noticed that the only conditioner I have left is a groddy kind that smells like nasty.

Before purchasing my shampoo and conditioner today, I’ll reflect on my values and ethics (see my last blog) And I ask myself, how can I ensure my personal values/ethics are upheld in the simplicity of my shampoo purchase.

I know I seek a solution that has the following values:

• biodegradable to leave the smallest footprint in our local water: I figure Lake Scugog can take all the chemical breaks it CAN..especially our fishie friends
• recycled/recycle-able packing, minimal packaging
• small business, Canadian business, family business. That there was sincere Intention behind launching the product
• something reasonably healthy, not filled with synthetic fragrances/artificial colors, Sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates, Formaldehyde donors (e.g., diazolidinyl urea), Known carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens, parabens (all the things generic shampoos have)  So that I feel safe to use it on my Baby: therefore eliminating my feeling of need of mutiple products within the shower. A product that won’t throw my skin and bodies balance off i.e. my pH, etc etc.

Now vanity does play a role here, I like a scented shampoo. Not from Port Perry originally and only here of recent, I am notorious for complaining that I smell Port water on EVERYTHING. I need something that smells pretty to help mask the alleged stink that is Port Water.

So I am left examining my choices from the P’lovers Inventory.

My contenders are: Green Beaver, Earth Safe, Burts Bees, Avalon Organics, Desert Essense

Conclusions:
Reflecting on my above criteria, CLEARLY my first choices are Earth Safe and Green Beaver. They both pass all of my preferences with FLYING colors. Now to select my scent….

I DO have strong suspicion I will be going home with the Earth Safe hair products today…

-Colleen