I had a reader ask what she should do with all of the Paraben-filled products she was cleaning out of her life. I think this is a question that leaves most of us scratching our heads. We definitely don't want to use any more of them, but what are you going to do with all this stuff?Here are a few suggestions and recommendations. While we have made our own informed decisions not to use products with Parabens, most people really don't care what is in their products.
Sell: I had several new, very nice gift sets from Bath & Body Works and The Body Shop. I sold them on Craig's List to someone who was thrilled to get them. She was happy and I used the money to buy new Paraben Free products.
Donate: The Red Cross, Homeless Shelters, Women's Shelters, etc. They are always glad to receive health and beauty products.
Swap: I wouldn't recommend donating used makeup (it will probably be thrown out), but you can trade out for what you want on Makeup Alley.
Discard: If you have an item that you can't donate or swap and it is in a bottle that can be recycled, empty out the contents into some newspaper and put in the trash. Don't put anything down the sink, the chemicals will go into drinking water and out into the ocean. Keep the impact as small as possible.
thanks for this post! good to know!
ReplyDeleteIf you're not going to throw things down the sink to keep the environment clean, then don't sell or give to other people - you're giving them the parabens you don't want. Why would they want them? Just throw it away!
ReplyDeleteI just ran across your blog....YEA! I became aware of the paraben issue a few years ago. Now, I read all the ingredients on the back of products, & I really do try my best to avoid parabens. For the most part, I am able to find products that are paraben free.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to really help me a lot! THANK YOU! I'm going to post a link to your blog on my facebook page, so that others can check it out. :)
Once I learned about parabens & all the bad things that come with them.....I raided my drawers -- I did the same thing that you suggested...I donated the products that I didn't want anymore. From my own personal experience of working in law enforcement, some of these ladies cannot even afford a simple $1.00 lipstick.....I wanted to help & not be wasteful.
Thanks for all that you do!