Past Issues 
The new line, Teens Turning Green, is the most recent project of the Marin-based organization Teens for Safe Cosmetics. Several Redwood students, including seniors Danielle Littman, Carly Wertheim and junior Natalie Whalen helped to create the line through their involvement in the group.
They and other members of Teens for Safe Cosmetics worked with the Whole Foods grocery chain and nine major “green” beauty companies from around the world to generate a line of cosmetics targeted at young adults across the country.
“The Teens Turning Green collection came from the idea that we wanted to make it easier for students and teens to find the perfect green products just for them,” Wertheim said.
Through Teens for Safe Cosmetics, young adults around Marin work to inform the public of the importance of using environmentally friendly makeup.
“There wasn’t anything in the green cosmetics market just for teens and we thought, why not try to educate our peers and be able to spread our campaign at the same time?” Wertheim said.
The girls sampled products from a variety of green cosmetic companies and found the nine they liked best to sell under the Teens Turning Green label.
“We’d each take them home and write reviews on the products,” Wertheim said. “It was just this long process of narrowing down hundreds of products that we sampled into nine of our favorites.”
They chose to work with cosmetics companies such as Alaffia, Depth, EO and Pomega5 for both their quality beauty products, and their green ideals, which include using non-toxic chemicals, sustainable packaging and no animal testing.
“These are companies that are doing things that we believe in,” Wertheim said. “We wanted to find people that were doing amazing things in the industry of safe cosmetics, and work with them to do even more.”
Members of Teens for Safe Cosmetics, with the help of Judy Schils, executive director of Search For the Cause, contacted Whole Foods and presented them with the idea of selling the first green makeup line created specifically for teens.
“Judy knew the head of the Whole Foods beauty department, so we got the chance to speak directly with him,” Wertheim said. “We presented our idea to them and they said ‘Sure we can do it,’ so we just started putting it together.”
The line, which includes both skin and body care products, ranges from $3.99 for EO Organic Mint Rosemary Spray to $21 for an Astara Sunstar Purifying Mask. Other products include soap, facial cleanser and sport deodorant.
According to Wertheim, every product in the line they chose also meets the Whole Foods Premium Body Care Quality Standard, which means that they have minimal impact on the environment and use only healthy ingredients that won’t harm the skin or body.
All three Redwood students are confident that teens will love the line.
“We were a part of every step of designing this line,” Whalen said. “Whether it was the product, the smell, the color or all the packaging. This stuff is made to help our needy skin, and to do it in a sustainable and healthy way, which is a huge plus.”
The Teens Turning Green line is only a small portion of what Teens for Safe Cosmetics has accomplished since the group began in 2004.
According to Littman, in 2005 the organization went to Sacramento to lobby for The California Safe Cosmetics Act, where they had the opportunity to speak to a state representative in an effort to persuade him to support the bill.
“I’m involved in this campaign because I like to educate people, make changes and urge other people to make changes,” Littman said. “Through Teens for Safe Cosmetics you really get the opportunity to do that.”
Teens for Safe Cosmetics has also started the Lips Against Lead campaign with the help of Schils and other members of Search For the Cause. They plan to lobby to get the state to pass a ban on putting lead in lipstick, a bill that was voted down last year by one vote.
“It’s obvious that this bill can pass since it was so close last year,” Littman said. “This year we are just revamping our approach and we are going to get it this time, no matter what.”
Littman, Whalen and Wertheim are hoping that selling the Teens Going Green line nationally will help spread the word about keeping cosmetics healthy and safe. “Partnering with Whole Foods has allowed us to basically be in almost every Whole Foods across the country, which means that we are essentially expanding our Teens for Safe Cosmetics campaign nationally,” Wertheim said. “Being seen and heard everywhere in the country will hopefully allow us to start campaigns in all different cities.”
According to Littman, the first step in learning about safe cosmetics is to figure out which unsafe products people use everyday and the effect they can have on their health.
“The first step is becoming aware of the products you are using, and then it is your choice whether or not you want to change,” Littman said. “Once you are at least aware of the harmful effects of your products, you can make an informed decision on becoming makeup safe.”
