I often wonder what goes through people's minds. I often wonder why some things never go through people's minds. Being a zealous toxicista, I always keep under close surveillance what my fellow shoppers in the queue are unloading onto the check-out belts. Shopping baskets don't lie; they tell the naked truth and it's not always pretty. They often tell me a story of people whose minds seem to be in some kind of semi-comatose state in which they trustingly embrace the world of goods carefully displayed for them on the endless shelves of the endless shops. Some goods have sunk into our minds to such a depth that their existence is seldom questioned. In a simplistic and almost iconic way soap is soap, shampoo is shampoo, conditioner is conditioner, frizz control spray is frizz control spray, body lotion is body lotion, face cream is face cream, foot cream is foot cream, eye cream is eye cream, anti-cellulite cream is anti-cellulite cream, nail moisturiser is nail moisturiser, hand cream is hand cream, make-up remover is make-up remover (...). They are. Unquestioned, indisputable, axiomatic, absolute.
Not tailored to our needs. It's our needs that are manipulatively tailored around them.
Not to the benefit of our earthly bodies, but to the benefit of corporate bodies.
Not 'pure as nature desired', but purely synthetic chemical cocktails.
Don't let your mind be silenced.
DOUBT. ASK. CHALLENGE. Look behind those glamorous labels to find THE TRUTH.
THE STORY OF COSMETICS (2010) by Annie Leonard
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