Living Like Ed (34 page)

So what are quality vegan shoes made from? In a lot of cases, they’re made from hemp, which can look like leather, canvas, even suede. You can also find shoes made from other plant materials, like rubber and jute and cotton. Some vegan shoes even have rubber soles made from recycled car tires. So you can make environmentally friendly choices when it comes to footwear, too.

Dry Cleaning Your Clothes

We covered the benefits of washing your clothes with environmentally friendly detergents in Chapter 1. But what about the stuff that has to be dry cleaned?

The chemical most commonly used in the dry-cleaning process is a solvent called perchloroethylene, or perc. It’s considered a toxic air contaminant, and studies have identified it as a carcinogen. It’s nasty stuff. Exposure to perc can cause dizziness, headaches, irritation of the eyes and nose and throat, even liver and kidney damage.

Experts will tell you that there’s not enough perc on clothing after it’s dry cleaned to pose any real danger to you—assuming that the clothing has been aired out properly. It’s mostly considered a problem for the people who work in the dry-cleaning industry. On the other hand, do you really want to risk having those chemicals against your skin? And do you really want to encourage the use of this toxic chemical?

I’ve never liked the smell of clothing that has been dry cleaned. I used to think, “So air it out and it’ll be fine.” But it’s not fine. Perc is a mighty bad toxin and you’ll have remnants of it against your skin for ten, maybe twenty hours. Years ago, a town near Boston was found to have a much higher rate of cancer, and it was attributed to the residents’ affluent lifestyle, including dry cleaning. They had the money to be exposed to more chemicals.

Fortunately, you can choose where you take your dry cleaning and to give your business to a nontoxic dry cleaner. Some of these cleaners use the practice of
professional wet cleaning,
which is far more environmentally friendly than using perc (and there are other nontoxic options now, too).

I am lucky enough to have one of these nontoxic cleaners within walking distance of my house, and you may, too. It’s easy to find out. I’m sure a quick Internet search for your area will turn up choices. For instance, the South Coast Air Quality Management District provides on its website a list of non-toxic dry cleaners in Southern California.

Traditional Skin Care and Hair Care

What you wear isn’t the only thing that matters. What you put on your skin and in your hair is important, too.

When you learn what goes into skin- and hair-care products, it’s really frightening. So many of the products on the market today—the vast majority of products out there—are full of parabens. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

I look for quality, natural, paraben-free products.

“Parabens are the most widely used preservatives in cosmetic products. Chemically, parabens are esters of phydroxybenzoic acid. The most common parabens used in cosmetic products are methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. Typically, more than one paraben is used in a product, and they are often used in combination with other types of preservatives to provide preservation against a broad range of microorganisms.”

There’s some controversy over parabens. The FDA will tell you the levels used today are safe, but groups like Physicians for Social Responsibility disagree. Parabens mimic estrogen and they’ve been found—undiluted—in breast cancer tumors. That means these parabens are being absorbed through the skin, because when you eat them, they actually get diluted in your digestive system.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to risk it. I don’t want to use hair- and skin-care products that are full of parabens if I can help it. So many people in my life have been affected by breast cancer, some in their thirties and forties and fifties. It’s on the rise, and there’s a reason for that.

And parabens are in almost everything on the market. They’re in most kinds of shampoo, conditioner, soap, bath gel, facial cleanser and toner, makeup, eye makeup remover, lotion, sun-screen, tanning lotion, and baby lotion, as well as in many other products.

Beyond that, there’s all the petroleum in stuff we use. If you wear lipstick every single day of your life, you eat a pound of petroleum products right there. Petrochemicals are in all sorts of things, from baby oil and Vaseline to anything that says it has paraffin wax as an ingredient.

The more I learn about this stuff, the more I want to learn. You’ve gotta learn it—and then you’ve gotta be willing to make changes in your life, because the exposure to these kinds of harmful chemicals is overwhelming, especially in the beauty world.

Organic Skin Care and Hair Care

Rachelle and I have become really attuned to concerns about skin- and hair-care products. We use the best plant-based, natural products that we can. That word
natural
doesn’t always have much meaning, but what
I
mean by that is products made with the healthiest materials, products that don’t have parabens. Parabens come mostly from fragrances, so I avoid fragrances.

You can find quality, natural, paraben-free products in health food stores. Most hair salons also now offer a complete range of wonderful, natural hair-care products.

Try to stay away from sulfates in hair-care products, too. Sulfates dry your hair out, big-time. Companies add sulfates because they cause sudsing. But suds don’t clean hair, and neither do detergents. My hairstylist, Derek Collins, says the best thing you can do is brush your hair with a boar’s-bristle brush every day. This stimulates the scalp and moves the oils away from your scalp and down the hair shaft, where they need to be. It also exfoliates. (Note: If you have hair extensions, I wouldn’t suggest this.)

Natural Cosmetics

I love makeup. Eye shadow, mascara, lipstick—all of it. I think putting on makeup is an art form. It can be more dramatic than any outfit you wear. I love trying different products and creating new looks.

Unfortunately, it’s been very hard for the natural makeup lines to compete with the premium brands we all swoon over at the department stores. There is not, as yet, sufficient demand for them to hold their own in Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, where I usually buy my cosmetics. But I’m putting the extra energy into expanding my shopping expeditions beyond the mall because I’d rather be putting minerals on my skin, as opposed to petroleum-based products. You can find lots of really nice stuff at spas and at stores like Sephora.

Companies are coming out with mineral makeup that offers good sun protection and in colors that Rachelle assures me are appealing and fashionable. Some cosmetics companies have a complete mineral line with everything you’d want, from foundation to eyeliner. Many of these mineral makeup lines are endorsed by doctors—dermatologists and plastic surgeons. That’s because this mineral makeup, for the most part, is

• Hypoallergenic.
It’s good for people with sensitive skin, and it tends not to trigger allergic reactions.

• Breathable.
It feels lighter than traditional base or foundation and it lets your skin breathe. It doesn’t clog your pores. Rachelle also says most won’t gather in lines and creases and make you look older, either, so there’s a real plus!