The Dirty Dozen & Clean 15
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released their annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticide in Produce, which ranks pesticide contamination of 48 popular fruits and vegetables. The guide is based on results of more than 35,200 samples of produce tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. Samples are tested for pesticides after they’ve been thoroughly washed (and peeled, if appropriate). Here are the results of this year’s report.
Dirty 12: Strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, celery, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers and potatoes.
Clean 15: Sweet corn, avocados, pineapples, cabbage, onions, sweet peas (frozen), papayas, asparagus, mangos, eggplant , honeydew melon, kiwi, cantaloupe, cauliflower and grapefruit.
EWG is committed to consumers’ rights to live healthier lives. Their first report in 1993, played a key role in Congress passing the Food Quality Protection Act two years later. Conventional agriculture continues to use large quantities of toxic pesticides, which is why EWG updates their shopper’s guide each year.
ewg.org
The Best Sunscreens for Summer
When summer arrives in California, it’s time to slather on sunscreen. But which ones do the best job at protecting your skin?
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released their annual sunscreen guide to get industries, as well as the Food and Drug Administration to make and market more effective products. The EWG provides alphabetical lists of the best beach and sport sunscreens, best moisturizers with SPF, the best and worst scoring kids sunscreens, as well as lots more useful information.
Here are some of the picks from their “best beach and sport sunscreen” list.
• Adorable Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30+
• Jersey Shore Cosmetics Anti-Aging Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 35
• True Natural Ultra Protect 50 Antioxidant Sunscreen, Natural Coconut, SPF 50
• All Good Kid’s Sunscreen, SPF 33
• Tropical Sands Sunscreen, SPF 50
The EWG is an American environmental organization that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of toxic chemicals, agricultural subsidies, public lands, and corporate accountability. Each year the EWG releases a list of the best sunscreens for you, while also noting that sunscreen should still be a last resort. Check out their website to find which sunscreen is the best fit for you this summer, and remember not to rely on sunscreen alone.
EO Products, Helping Everyone
Brad Black and Susan Griffin-Black started a business in their San Francisco garage in 1995 that eventually became their company EO Products, makers of EO and Everyone personal care products. Over the next 20 years, their company transformed into hundreds of products now researched, developed, manufactured, and shipped from their facility in Marin County to millions of people across the world.
EO stands for Essential Oils, named after their first products and to capture the spirit of everything they wanted to create. The company states on their website, “We think what we put on our bodies is as important as what we put in our bodies. We learned that the only way to ensure that the quality inside every bottle was up to our standards was to make it ourselves.”
The company makes products for the bath, body, hands, face, hair and more. They’re dedicated to making personal care products that “nurture the people who use them, respect people who make them, and honor the planet we all share.” As a result, all products are organic, non-GMO, synthetic fragrance free, cruelty free, gluten free, PCR and B Corp Certified.
In 2012, the company launched a line of products designed for young people and large families who had little or no choice for quality, botanical body products. With a 32-ounce bottle of soap, priced at $10, the Everyone personal care products were priced for every budget.
www.eoproducts.com
