Notes from Catherine Rowett, former Green Party MEP for East of England and deputy coordinator of the Eastern Region Green Party*(UK). Biographical reflections on life as an MEP. Longer reflections and discussions on issues relating to policy, the good life, justice, equality, anti-austerity economics and the future of the planet. This is also a forum for exchanging ideas on how to tread lightly on the planet and avoid supporting exploitation and corrupt practices. Here we go...

Friday, 9 February 2007

"Natural toothpaste"

I was delighted the other day to discover, while passing a few moments of idleness in the bathroom, that my Kingfisher Toothpaste is made not just in the UK but IN NORWICH. Or at least the firm that makes it is based in Norwich. Presumably, if that is where it is distributed from, it had not travelled too far to get to the Green Grocers, where I bought it.

(But actually it is impossible to discover where it's actually made and where it's distributed from).

As for the description "natural" one wonders what there can be that is not natural, if toothpaste is natural. For sure, it does not occur in nature, as far as I can discover.

The tube rather helpfully tells you what the ingredients are, what they are derived from and what they are for. One item is sodium laurel sulfate, derived from palm oil. I rather suspect we should not investigate too closely whether we approve of this ingredient.

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