Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Don't just wash your unwanted toiletries down the sink, they're a major source of water contamination, writes Lucy Siegle.
The traditional green way involved a laissez-faire attitude to personal care products, or even a boycott, hence the jibes about soap-dodging hippies.
True, this involved less ecotoxological overload, but didn't suit those of us who are vanity cases with ethical aspirations. Fortunately, since the late Anita Roddick's Body Shop (now owned by L'Oreal) proved that peppermint foot lotion can be commensurate with planetary respect, the green corner of the bathroom cabinet has flourished.
Today's stalwarts include companies with a range of certified organic toiletries where you can be sure of the provenance of all base oils and plant extracts and whose traditional production methods minimise impact on the water table, plus eyeliner without the wanton destruction of wildlife habitats.
There are compelling reasons for binning all non-green products commonly found in cosmetics, such as parabens, low in toxicity but suspected of high oestrogenic activity, which is linked to a heightened risk of breast cancer, and synthetic musks, which have been detected in human breast milk.
When the Women's Environmental Network tested toiletries it found oestrogen-mimicking preservatives in nearly 60 per cent of products.
Dumping pharmaceuticals and personal care products is a fact of life - everything has a shelf life. But drop them with caution.
The best, yet imperfect, solution is to decant all unwanted toiletries into one jar and place in your normal rubbish. While there is evidence PPCPs leach from landfills, this is preferable to washing them away. In future, you can make wiser choices (check that packaging is recyclable and go for biodegradable, non-toxic, sustainable ingredients) in the knowledge that beauty products are far from just skin deep.
