Clean beauty is hard to maneuver, especially considering that many makeup products hide their ingredients from view. But Target is about to make shopping green in the beauty department a whole lot easier. The green stickers at Target mean that a product is certified Target Clean, and will hint that the item is formulated without unwanted chemicals or ingredients like phthalates, propyl-parabens, butyl-parabens, and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES).
Target Clean icons were first introduced in the big box brand's household essentials aisles, but now they have made their way to the beauty section. Target has nearly 4,000 products that qualify for Target Clean, and they span across makeup to personal care.
“We introduced the Target Clean symbol earlier this year in household essentials and baby and we’ve had many guests tell us that it’s made their shopping trips easier. That’s why we are excited to introduce the Target Clean icon to the beauty department,” said Christina Hennington, Target’s senior vice president, in a press release “Now, guests can easily shop for skin care, hair care, cosmetics, oral care items and more that are formulated without a group of commonly unwanted chemicals they may not want included in their daily beauty routines.”
These small green icons are just one out of 14 stickers that help shoppers know if a product is cruelty free, non-toxic, plant-based, vegan, dye-free and more. If you're trying to live a specific lifestyle, or are trying to cut certain ingredients from your day-to-day products, these icons will make shopping so much easier.
These Target Clean icons are also the retailer's next step in achieving its chemical goals by 2020. In 2017 Target rolled out a new policy where the store will drive transparency and chemical management across all of its consumer products and operations.
That means Target is striving for full visibility to chemicals contained in all the products it sells. The retailer also plans to work with business partners to implement policies and practices to better manage chemicals throughout its supply chain. Target understands that safer alternatives may not yet exist for some chemicals, so the retailer is actively investing in chemical development and the commercialization of safer alternatives.
The US beauty industry is largely unregulated, allowing all sorts of harmful chemicals and ingredients into products that you slather across your skin.
"The law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market," the FDA stated on its site.
The end result is that many harmful chemicals are not stopped from entering your beauty items. In comparison, the EU has banned or restricted more than 1,300 chemicals from beauty products, while the US has banned just 11.
Having big box brands like Target take the lead to ban some of these chemicals from their products — and alert customers that those items don't have those ingredients — is a big step for clean beauty. So the next time you see a green Target Clean sticker, you will know that product is a little cleaner from the rest.
