Ecocult

Image credit: Dear Sundays. This post contains some affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, EcoCult receives a small percentage of the sale price. It’s been ten years since our founder and editor-in-chief, Alden, first tested out non-toxic nail polish brands for effectiveness. Some worked better than others, of course. But with new brands and new cosmetic chemistry, we thought it was time to do a whole new test of some of the most popular non-toxic nail polish brands.

Image by BRANWYN. This explainer would normally only be available to EcoCult members, but BRANWYN, maker of  merino wool performance innerwear for women, has generously partnered with us to make this free for all. One of my most basic pieces of advice when it comes to avoiding hazardous chemicals in clothing is: “avoid performance and promises.” By that, I mean fancy logos and slogans on your clothing that promise it’s stain repellant, water resistant, wrinkle-free, and easy care.

Like sonar pulsing through the deep ocean, a muffled message keeps reaching my ears, each wave saying that seaweed and algae are the future of sustainable fashion. There are seaweed fibers, algae shoe soles, seaweed packaging, algae ink, and even entire couture outfits made from sheets of seaweed. This conversation has been going on for more than a decade.

Hey, welcome! You might be here because you’ve been looking for trustworthy statistics to prove your point that the fashion industry is an environmental disaster. Well, you’re in the right place. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, in NGO and government reports (ugh, UN, stop breaking my heart), poor quality news sites (looking at you, Forbes), brand marketing, and blogs.

This article would normally be only for EcoCult Health members, but the clean California fashion brand MATE the Label  has generously sponsored this article so that it is free for everyone to read. Check out MATE’s 92% organic cotton sports bras, leggings, and bike shorts. We’ve all been tricked. We’ve been convinced over the past few decades that to perform well in sports and accomplish a great workout, we need to wear synthetics.

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This Deep Dive has been generously sponsored by cultthread, a brand that makes ethical, recycled, and cruelty-free coats, jackets and bags that are practical, stylish and comfortable. It’s been disappointing how slowly the fashion industry is moving to get PFAS out of outdoor clothing like winter puffy coats. This toxic class of chemicals (fancy chemical name: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) provides lightweight water and stain resistance.