Ology ~ Affordable Non-Toxic, Eco-Friendly Products at Walgreens

One of my goals this year is reduce the amount of harmful chemicals I expose my family to via toiletries. I’ve worked hard to green up many areas of my home, but certain toiletries in my repertoire still contain bad stuff … stuff I intend to banish from my home in 2013, including:

Methylisothiazoline (MIT) – implicated in neurological damage in humans
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) – known carcinogens
Parabens – linked to increased estrogen levels
Phthalates – may be contributing to hormonal problems and early onset of pubery
Formaldehyde {often listed as doazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, and quarternium-15} – In addition to being linked to cancer, these ingredients are also linked to allergies, chest pain, chronic fatigue, depression, dizziness, ear infections, headaches, joint pain, loss of sleep, and can trigger asthma

You can read more about the toxic ingredients in toiletries at Healthy Child, Healthy World and Yahoo.

Knowing about all of these nasty ingredients makes me wonder why I have waited so long to banish them from my home. And the answer is easy: the expense! Natural toiletries are often super expensive. But I am very excited to share with the Ology brand – an exclusive, eco-friendly and non-toxic brand now being sold at Wagreens that IS NOT EXPENSIVE!!! I am so excited that more and more companies are jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon and making it affordable for many of us to afford their products!

Included in Ology’s Line-up:

Adult Shampoo & conditioner
Baby wash
Baby lotion
Laundry detergent
Household cleaners
Paper products: TP, tissues, copy paper made from bamboo

I saw these new products advertised a while back in Walgreens’ holiday magazine {featuring Taylor Swift- my 8 year old’s favorite singer} and endorsed by Healthy Child, Healthy World! And I was really excited to try them out. We’ve been using the baby wash for several weeks now and I’m in love.

Ology’s Soothing Baby Wash in Lavender & Chamomile costs just $4.99 and smells really nice! It contains no parabens, silicones, dyes, phthalates or animal byproducts. It’s also hypoallergenic, safe and gentle, and calming and my girls really like it! It’s not too sudsy and it comes out of their hair very easily. Their hair smells so nice when it’s clean now!

I also tried out Ology’s toilet paper and tissues. We are a mostly paper product free house, but we do use toilet paper and the tissues in my van are for emergencies.

Ology describes their toilet paper as biodegradable bath tissue “made from readily renewable sugar cane husk that would otherwise be disposed, and quick-growing bamboo that regenerates in as little as six months.” I was excited to try this out, honestly. I buy cheap-o TP. I grew up in Germany, you see, and may as well have wiped with cardboard over there. OUCH! So even the cheapest American TP is way better than the brown toilet paper I used in Germany. But Ology’s TP is quite soft {but not too soft – it doesn’t stick to bums}. I love that it is sourced from quick growing forests and sugar cane that would otherwise be trashed. VERY NICE! At $5.99 for a 12 pack, I think it’s quite reasonably priced as well. It was even on sale for $4.99 when I bought it and has lasted us quite a while!

I didn’t try out their cleaners because I make my own, but I know many people need options for pre-made cleaners. If that’s you, I hope you will try out the Ology brand! $3.19 for 26 ounces seems quite reasonable for a cleaner that contains no harsh solvents or artificial fragrances, no dyes or ammonia, and isn’t tested on animals.

All in all, I will buy more Ology products. I look forward to trying out the adult shampoo and conditioner and their baby wash is definitely on my keeper list!