Pangea Organics Body Care

The Product:

Pangea Organics body care products (prices vary from $8 for bar soap to $40 for facial mask)

The Promise:

• No petrochemicals, sulfates, detergents, synthetic preservatives, artificial colors/fragrances or GMOs.

• Organic, fair trade (whenever possible), cruelty-free

• Molded fiber packaging made from 100% post-consumer newsprint without glues or dyes. Packaging has been impregnated with seeds from the same plants found in Pangea Organics products.

• A 100% wind-powered facility where the carpets are made from recycled soda bottles, the paint is non-VOC and the workers are paid a living wage.
  

The Reality:

We believe that the USDA only provides organic certification for food ingredients, so it would be nice if Pangea provided some information on how it knows its ingredients are organic. We've seen other cosmetics brands - particularly European ones - that contain the logo of one or more organic certification authorities, but Pangea seems to have foregone this step.

Other than that, the product and packaging seem to match the descriptions on the website and press materials.

The Experience:

The organic essential oils (sage and geranium in massage oil; blood orange, lavender and and Egyptian calendula) in Pangea products give them a truly heavenly scent.

We thoroughly liked all the Pangea cleansing products that we tried. The facial cleanser seemed to do an especially nice job on our 'problem' skin ($28), which perhaps explains why the cleanser won a Redbook MVP Beauty Award.

And cinnamon-lovers will be over the moon about the Malagasy Cinnamon Cassia with Cloves bar soap ($8). Incidentally, the soap not only smells great, but it looks like a work of art.

Inside the seeded boxes, Pangea packages all its products either in glass or #2 HDPE plastic, both of which are very recyclable. The caps on the shower gels and lotions are apparently also recyclable.

As for the seeded boxes, they all contain sweet basil seeds except for the bar soap, which has the seed of a spruce tree.

We love the idea of 100% post-consumer recycled packaging, especially when it comes with a bonus of free plant seeds! Not only does Pangea packaging reduce trash, it actually promotes plant life!

The packaging is so innovative that we almost feel silly complaining, but as advocate for eco-minded consumers everywhere, we wish that Pangea had put different types of seeds with different product boxes. If you buy six different Pangea products, you get six boxes impregnated with basil seeds. How about some oregano? Maybe a little rosemary?

(Also, it's not immediately clear from the boxes that you need to remove the label - which does appear to be held onto the box with a bit of glue - in order to access the full planting instructions.)

These are small quibbles. On the whole, Pangea seems to have a large number of laudable eco-friendly practices in place and to be producing some very nice skin and bodyare products.

Where to buy:

Shop online at Pangea's own website or through other e-tailers like Amazon.com.

Prefer to try before you buy? Use the Pangea Store Locator to find a retailer near you.

The Natural Dentist

Lots of toothpastes include an ingredient called SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) to help clean your teeth. But did you know that in higher concentrations, SLS is also used to degrease engines and clean floors, according to Wikipedia.

Toothpastes from The Natural Dentist are SLS-free. They're also free of alcohol, artificial dyes, sweeteners and preservatives.

Because really, why should your toothpaste or mouthwash be bright green or bright blue? That's just not natural!

Even though I'm approaching my mid-30s, I still got a kick out of The Natural Dentist's Sparkle Berry Blast flavor toothpaste. The toothpaste relies on minerals (silica and mica) for its cleaning and sparkling power. It does have sodium fluoride to prevent cavities, plus it also has such natural goodies as aloe vera gel, lycopene and grapefruit seed extract.

Technically, Sparkle Berry Blast is supposed to be for kids. And it does kind of taste like you're brushing your teeth with liquid candy. But I'm totally OK with that.

For adults with a slightly less sweet tooth, The Natural Dentist also makes grown-up flavors like Peppermint Twist and Orange Zest. The Peppermint Twist one is supposed to also whiten your teeth (using the silica to remove surface stains). Personally, I've yet to find a toothpaste that does a great job whitening your teeth. For a true teeth cleaning/whitening, I think you need to visit a dentist, but I guess every little bit helps if your toothpaste can help you maintain whiteness between cleanings.

I also enjoy The Natural Dentist's Pre-Brush Whitening Antigingivitis rinse. Unlike many other mouthwashes and rinses, The Natural Dentist's rinse contains no alcohol, so you won't get that "My mouth is on fire!" feeling. Instead, The Natural Dentist relies on Peppermint and Sage Oils to conquer bad breath. Oh and the rinse's whitening power supposedly comes from powdered bamboo. And since 1GreenProduct.com is a hearty fan of bamboo, that's another point in The Natural Dentist's favor.

Where to buy:

Purchase multipacks of Natural Dentist products at Amazon.com.

Alternatively, find a broad list of online and offline retailers at The Natural Dentist's own website.

Update: My source at Natural Dentist tells methat prices for all Natural Dentist mouth rinses have recently been reduced 30% from $9.99 to $6.99 for a 16-ounce bottle.

Even better, by visiting The Natural Dentist website, you can download a coupon for $1.50 off any product.

Afterglow Mineral Cosmetics

Ah, Christmas time is here.

Surely one of the nicest Christmas traditions for the romantically inclined is the traditional Christmas smooch under the mistletoe. (Although, apparently the mistletoe kiss has its roots in pagan tradition, specifically the Goddess Freya.)

In any case, before you pucker up beneath the mistletoe, you'd better consider the lipstick that the female kisser might be wearing. (Or the male kisser - hey, it's the 21st Century. You never know!)

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics issued a report in 2007 alleging that certain popular brands of lipstick contained unsafe levels of lead.

In September, an article in The Huffington Post noted (in the context of political satire) that some lipsticks may contain scads of potentially harmful synthetic dyes and/or be tested on animals.

What's a girl (or guy) who wants sultry and colorful yet cruelty-free and all-natural lips to do?

Thank goodness for companies like Afterglow Cosmetics and their line of Organic Lip Love lipsticks (MSRP $24).

Some shades of the all-natural, paraben-free, synthetic-free Lip Love lipsticks contain more than 82% certified organic ingredients.

We're talking about organic jojoba seed oil (to reduce inflammation and prevent flaking), organic aloe leaf gel (to nourish and moisturize), organic apricot kernel (to soften and soothe), organic vitamin E (for antioxidant purposes), organic pomegranate seed extract (more antioxidant power) and organic grape seed extract (you guessed it - another dose of antioxidants).

According to Afterglow Cosmetics, the only reason that the rest of its ingredients aren't certified organic is because they are inert minerals and thus ineligible for organic certification. These minerals include iron oxides and micas (for pigment) and titanium dioxide (for opacity). Afterglow says it uses 'pharmaceutical grade minerals' to ensure top quality and purity.

(Frankly, we were unaware that minerals were used in pharmaceuticals, but presumably that's a whole 'nother ball of organic wax. In any case, according to this information from Medical College of Georgia, 'pharmaceutical grade' sounds pretty darn pure.)

If you're concerned about buying eco-friendly products, you're probably also interested in buying animal-friendly products. After all, animals are a big part of the ecosystem.

Thus you'll be pleased to know that both Leaping Bunny and PETA have apparently certified Afterglow as cruelty-free.

Our tester gave the Lip Love's Secret shade a big thumbs up from both an appearance and performance standpoint.

As far as we can see, the only drawback to Afterglow's Lip Love lipsticks would be their price. At $24 per stick, these are 2-3 times more expensive than many famous national brands.

On the other hand, if women really do eat 4 lbs. of lipstick in their lifetime simply by licking their lips (as reported all over the Internet and attributed to a 2002 Glamour Magazine article), then we think it's certainly worth spending the extra moola to paint your lips with something that's pretty and organic.

Your lips will thank you - and Santa Claus or whoever else you kiss beneath the mistletoe just might thank you as well.

Merry Christmas!

Where to buy:

You can order Organic Lip Love lipsticks directly through Afterglow's website ($24 each).

Prefer to check out the lipsticks in person before you buy? Just use the Store Locator to find a retailer near you.

PlantLove from CARGO Cosmetics

If you love plants, then it's a good bet you'll be fond of the new line of PlantLove™ cosmetics from CARGO. 

According to CARGO, the new PlantLove Cosmetics Collection is 100% natural and wholly organic. 

CARGO says that PlantLove carries an ECOCERT™ designation that ensures product, process and packaging meets the strictest standards for natural, organic and environmentally friendly content.

Not only  are the PlantLove cosmetics themselves free of parabens, phalates, petro-chemicals and synthetics, but even the packaging is Earth-friendly. CARGO says that the compostable PlantLove cases are made from corn, while the biodegradable boxes are made from 100% post-consumer packaging. 

(In fact, the PlantLove lipstick samples we received actually had boxes embedded with wildflower seeds. You can moisten and plant the boxes to grow your very own wildflower patch!)

Our tester praised the colorful, cheerful flower pattern on the lipstick tube, particularly admiring the pink version designed by Lindsay Lohan. (All the colors have their own celebrity designers, from Courteney Cox to Mariska Hargitay.)

CARGO also says that PlantLove products are only manufactured in countries with solid environmental and labor records. (Our lipstick samples came from Canada, which certainly seems to have a solid reputation in both areas.) 

Furthermore, CARGO claims that even the mill supplying packaging materials for the brand manufactures under carbon neutral conditions using 100% renewable energy.  

And (yes there's more), CARGO also says that $2 from the purchase of every lipstick will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital™. 

Beyond lipstick ($20), the PlantLove Cosmetics Collection includes Loose Powder Foundation ($30), Pressed Powder ($30), Baked Illuminator ($28), Baked Bronzer ($28), Blush ($28), Lip Gloss ($20), Lip Liner ($16), Lip Balm ($20), Eye Shadow ($20) and Eye Liner ($16). 

Where to buy:
The PlantLove Cosmetics Collection debuts today at Sephora.com and in Sephora stores nationwide.