Guerrilla Beauty

You want to live ethically – maybe you already do – and the first step is to understand all the ways of living ethically that there are!  Guerrilla Beauty is not here to tell you how to live your life: we’re just giving you the information to make an informed decision. So, here’s a quick guide to the terms you will find on this (and other) sites.

Organic products can be food, toiletries, clothes – just about anything really. There are a number of EU and International standards for organic produce: in the UK look for products certified by the Soil Association. Organic produce is not Genetically Modified (in the case of animal products, GM feeds are prohibited), does not use chemical fertilisers, and animal cruelty is prohibited (animals live free-range). In addition, pesticides are severely restricted and the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers is disallowed. However, organic products do not necessarily have a low carbon footprint (you can buy organic products from other countries), are not necessarily fair-trade, and are not necessarily vegetarian or vegan (you can buy organic meat). [Taken from www.soilassociation.org]

Sustainable Agriculture is not the same as organic. The main difference is that local produce is encouraged: this lowers the carbon footprint and supports the economy in your local area. It also means that your town/area does not depend on trade, which could be important at times of war or political instability (think of wartime rationing).

sustainable agriculture is a system that emphasizes protecting and enhancing natural resources, using alternatives to pesticides, and caring for the health and well being of farm workers and rural communities. [http://www.ipminstitute.org/Articles/sustainable_produce_article.htm]

Carbon Footprint is a relatively new concept that we often hear in the news:

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent. [http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html]

Part of our carbon footprint comes from our lifestyle and the products that we use. For example, let’s look at a tin of soup. The vegetables might be harvested by machine, transported to a factory by lorry, processed by machines in a factory (which also has heating, lighting, computers…), put into a tin can which needs to be manufactured, and then shipped to a supermarket. Every point in this process uses energy, most of which is produced by burning fossil fuels in a power station.

Vegetarian products do not contain meat (that includes fish!) or other products derived from animals (such as rennet, gelatine or leather). Most vegetarians are Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians, which means that they eat honey, eggs and dairy products. Vegans or Strict Vegetarians do not eat or use any animal products, which includes eggs, dairy, wool, beeswax and honey. Pescatarians are people who abstain from land-dwelling meat, but still eat fish and seafood. Meat-Free products may contain substances like gelatine, and are therefore not always suitable for vegetarians!  There are many reasons why people become vegetarian: they might be uncomfotable with eating a dead animal, or they might object to farming practises, aim to reduce their carbon footprint, be concerned about land use and sustainability, have a religious objection, or be vegetarian for health reasons. The Vegetarian and Vegan Societies can provide more information [www.vegsoc.org and www.vegansociety.com]

Free-Range is a farming method where animals are allowed to roam freely. Organic products are free-range, but not all free-range products are organic! Free-range implies a more ethical approach to farming (free-range eggs are certainly preferable to those from caged, battery farmed eggs) but conditions on free-range farms are not always as cruelty-free as we might like. Free-range chickens can be packed in to a barn so tightly that they may as well be caged!

Fair Trade products aim to give a better deal for farmers in the third world. In the UK, look for the Fairtrade Mark from the Fairtrade Foundation. There are other organisations like the Rainforest Alliance.

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives. http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/faqs.aspx

Human Trafficking is the sale of people – it is the modern slave trade. We often associate trafficking with the sex industry. However, food and clothing can also be made with trafficked labour. A good example is chocolate:

Over a third of the world’s chocolate comes from Cote D’Ivoire, Africa. It’s highly likely that your favourite chocolate bar comes from here. Thousands of children – from within the Cote D’Ivoire and neighbouring countries – who pick and harvest these beans have been trafficked. They have had their freedom taken away from them and are forced to work long hours on the cocoa plantations without receiving any money for their work. [http://www.stopthetraffik.org/ourwork/chocolate/]

Objectivisation of Women is a complex issue. The definition of objectivisation is to treat someone as an object: that could be reducing women to kinky sex machines, objects of visual beauty, or baby-making housekeepers. As women we have a right to express our femininity and feel beautiful (some very intelligent and independent women choose to be models or housewives). We also have a right to decide to what extent feminity defines us and how we express this. In today’s ‘western’ society we are bombarded with images of size zero models and surgically enhanced porn stars. Eating disorders and domestic violence are epidemic. One thing is for sure: the beauty industry actively exploits our insecurities, selling us the hope of staying younger and thinner for longer, whilst capitalising on the fact that many women are not strong at science (and cannot question the ludicrous claims they make about their products!) Here at Guerrilla Beauty we seek to explode some of the Beauty industries’ claims, and give you the power to choose your lifestyle.

Tags: ethical, fair trade, free range, meat-free, objectivisation, objectivization, organic, pescatarian, trafficking, vegan, vegetarian

Categories: Featured , General