We believe in full disclosure. That’s why we are now requiring all cleaning products sold in our stores to list every single ingredient on the label by April 2012. So, if you’ve noticed your favorite laundry soap now has a longer list of ingredients – it may not be a reformulation – it’s most likely because we’re asking our suppliers for complete transparency in their labeling practices.

When it comes to cleaning products, there are no government regulations for listing ingredients on packaging. This doesn’t sit well with us. As a result, we developed our Whole Foods Market Eco-Scale™ rating system to help you make the best choices about the cleaning products you use to do laundry, wash dishes, mop floors and more! By Earth Day 2012 – April 22^nd – all of the household cleaning products in our stores will list full ingredients on their packaging and be rated and third-party verified based on safety and environmental impact.

With the launch of our new standards, Whole Foods Market is the first to require full disclosure ingredient listing on household cleaning products. No one else — retailer, government body or trade association — is requiring full disclosure ingredient listing to the extent that we are.

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The Five Worst Environmental Pollutants in Your Beauty Products

This is a reprint of an article featured on GOOD.

By now we’ve already covered a little of how products can affect our health, but it bears reminding that what’s good for us is also generally good for the planet—and vice versa. Because Whole Foods is a pioneer in natural personal-care, even issuing new organic labeling guidelines to their suppliers, we asked them to tell us the top five most environmentally noxious ingredients used in personal-care products, and why we should avoid them.

1.  Antibacterial Compounds
Triclosan and chlorphenesin are often the active ingredients in antibacterial soaps. They do not break down in the environment and may contribute to bacterial resistance. These ingredients are also known to cause aquatic toxicity. A recent FDA advisory panel report even stated that antibacterial soaps are no more effective than regular soaps. Triclosan and chlorphenesin are not allowed in any products sold in Whole Foods Market stores. Read the rest of this entry »

Grilling can be one of the most satisfying and delicious ways to cook.  You’re outside; cooking over an open flame, sipping a refreshing beverage… it’s hard not to love a good old-fashioned barbeque! Yet, recent research indicates that grilling meat, such as red meat, poultry and fish, may pose certain health risks. So, while that gorgeous T-bone is sizzling on the grill, a variety of hazardous chemicals are forming.

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), cooking over an open flame produces carcinogens called heterocyclic amines, or HCAs. Carcinogens are substances that might cause, increase the risks of, or promote cancer. While the risks are still being studied, there is concern that high levels of HCAs may increase the risk of breast, colon, stomach and prostate cancers.

In addition to HCAs, another class of cancer-promoting substances, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are formed when fat from meat drips onto hot coals or stones, causing flare-ups. PAHs are deposited back onto food by smoke and flare-ups.

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March marked the two-year anniversary of Premium Body Care at Whole Foods Market. In case you aren’t familiar with it, products with the Premium Body Care™ symbol are the most exceptional personal care products available. They meet the strictest standards for quality sourcing, environmental impact, results and safety.

When we created our Premium Body Care distinction, our primary goal was to help dispel some of the confusion our customers faced when trying to find personal care products that were truly natural, effective, environmentally friendly and safer alternatives.

Our dedication to this mission has continued to gain strength. There are now over 3000 products in our stores that qualify for our Premium Body Care symbol, and we’ve identified over 380 ingredients unacceptable to our standard.

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It’s probably obvious that all of the food products we carry are made from recipes. You may not know that there are also basic “recipes” for the personal care products carried on our shelves, although the ingredients may be less familiar. For example, a basic loaf of bread is made of flour, water, salt and leavening agent. A basic shampoo includes surfactants, actives, preservative and fragrance. Thinking of the analogy between cooking foods and making personal care products may help put into perspective all of the long names found on their ingredient lists – and hopefully make them seem less foreign.

The first in a series, this post breaks down the basic anatomy of a shampoo, helping to decipher the key ingredients that comprise the shampoos that you use on a daily basis – and what you may want to think about when choosing your next one.

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Delving further into research on natural fragrances, I had the pleasure recently to connect with Jack Chaitman, an expert on plant distillation who has been extracting premium essential oils for over 25 years. When it comes to natural fragrances, Jack is extraordinary: an inspiration and a true artist who taught me much about essential oil extraction. I am glad to share with you some of his wisdom and passion.

There are differences in how essentials oils are distilled, and when they are extracted artfully with hydrodistillation methods, according to Jack, you are going to get a full spectrum of fragrance components that cannot be achieved with CO2 and steam-extracted essential oils and absolutes. Jack calls these minor fragrance constituents of the plant “soul components” — components that transfer the plant’s intelligence and the intact life force. It is due to these soul components that natural fragrances are so complex, that the scent keeps changing as you smell it. When you breathe it in, it is like being in nature or like smelling the ocean. Through this poetic vision of essential oil extraction, distillation is seen as the art of releasing the plant’s soul into the oils.

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For over two years now, we have been conducting research for our Premium Body Care Standards, carefully determining exactly which ingredients will be allowed and which will be exempted from the new standard. With over 300 body care ingredients currently classified as unacceptable, you can imagine that it has been a long process: at our desks spending countless hours delving into the nuances of personal care ingredients; at meetings with experts, generous in sharing their information and brimming over with passion; and through journeys far and wide to see firsthand how these products and their ingredients are made.

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Continuing with our series on Superfoods, on this episode we have Whole Foods Market Nutritionist and Quality Standards Coordinator Jody Villeco.

Jody talks to us about the specifics of Superfoods, she will tell us about certain Superfoods and their makeup, where you can find them and tips on how to get more into your diet.

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