#365zerowastechallenge WEEK 8 | PolyquaWHAAAT?!?!?

A couple of years ago I did a promotion job for a huge cosmetics company and of course I took some of the products home. When my dear friend Aphrodite, a studied ecotoxicologist came over on day she showed me the ToxFox-App. The App was developed by the 'Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND) - Friends of the Earth Germany'. According to the environmental organisation GLOBAL 2000 around 1/3 of our cosmetics contain hormonally active substances, like cancer-causing substances or substances that can cause infertility. With the app you can check if your cosmetic products contain them as well. 

How does ToxFox work? 
ToxFox works really easy. After downloading the app you just scan the barcode of the product (in my case it was creams, face masks, shampoos, … etc.) and see right away if the product contains contaminants. After scanning the product a red or green symbol will tell you wether the product contains hormonally active substances or not.   ​

What was the result? 
So of course we tried the app and even tho it was a lot of fun to scan all the products, the results where catastrophic! I ended up throwing away most of the products.
It's not just that I don't want to use any products which contain contaminants. I also don't want to use any products where I don't even understand what's inside, like who knows what 'Sodium Methylparabene' or 'Polyquaternium-10' is? (except maybe you are a chemist) or which makes my skin look even worse than it actually is. I prefer natural products for my body. The ToxFox-App was a great way to start cleaning out my bathroom and make it plastic free. Ever since then I only use natural products for my skin like oils.