Showing posts with label cosmetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cosmetics. Show all posts

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

This is an abridged article from Toronto Star of May 2010, "Secret ingredients found in perfumes" by Noor Javed

They make you smell like an exotic flower, but popular perfumes and body sprays may also be dousing you with small amounts of chemicals and trigger allergic reactions and disrupt hormones.
Toronto based Environmental Defence and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in the US tested 17 popular fragrance products and found they contained a total of 38 secret chemicals not listed on the label. On average, each product had 14 of those chemicals.10 of them are known to cause allergies and 4 have a potential to disrupt the hormone system. Many of them are classified as allergens by the European Union, says Rick Smith of the Environmental Defence. "The problem is that they are listed under a generic name "fragrance" and Canadian laws do not oblige the cosmetic manufacturers to be transparent."
People with chemical sensitivities may suffer from nausea, headaches and skin reactions if exposed to strong scents. That's why they are limited even in staying in places with other people, such as theatres and street cars.

TASK: Check this website and discuss about your findings.


LANGUAGE TASK:

Find the past participles in the text and decide which of them are used as:
1. passive forms
2. adjectives.

Teddy Bear in One Hand, Lipliner in the Other

This is an abridged article by Douglas Quenqua from Toronto Star of 3 May 2010

The choice between prohibition and harm reduction has long divided parents on pricky issues: forbid alcohol or supervise the inevitable kegger? Preach abstinence or buy condoms?
Now the struggle shows signs of coming to a new front: the cosmetic counter.
Regular use of cosmetics is rising sharply among tween girls, according to a new report from NPD Group, a US consumer company.
Meanwhile, women of all other age groups, including teenagers, report using less makeup, according to NPD. The economy seems to be playing the role, says karen Grant, senior beauty analyst with NPD, with women cutting back on beauty products to save money and unemployed women feeling less compelled to do their face every morning.
"They're not sneaking any of this stuff", Grant said. "They're doing the shopping with their moms, they're getting the money from their moms and families. It's becoming almost part of the family exercise."
Poor adult judgement or progressive parenting?
As with most such issues, it depends on whom you ask. Stacy Malkan, author of "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry" said that parents have been fighting a losing battle with the beauty industry, which now aggressively markets to children.

Discussion questions:

1. How do you feel about the fact that children before teen years ("tweens") are using make up?
2. What could be possible consequences of premature aging?
3. In your opinion, what is "progressive parenting"?
4. What could be drawbacks of "conservative parenting"?
5. From a cultural point of view, how does raising children in your country of origin differ from Canadian ways?
6. Find out who you can contact in case you have issues raising your children in a new country.
7. Find out about health risks in using cosmetic products. If your class is interested, you can invite WHEN in Toronto for a presentation on this topic.