behind the scenes: where my ecotools collection is made
Kind Lifer VegVirgo asked if my EcoTools collection was USA made, so I wanted to answer her question for all of you. The short answer is that as much as I wish it could be, it's not, and here's why:
When I started developing my EcoTools collection, I had a few non-negotiable priorities: everything had to be vegan and sustainably made in a fair workplace. The collection also needed to be affordable. It was important for it to be available to everyone. After all, one of the main points of developing my EcoTools collection was to make it easy to buy cruelty-free products, and to show how yummy and soft vegan brushes are vs. the alternative.
Of course, in an ideal world, all of these criteria would be met perfectly. And while my EcoTools collection is 100% vegan and made with the most sustainable materials I could find, the world isn't perfect, and we all just have to do the best we can under the circumstances. For example, I would love for everything to be made locally, but if my collection were made in America, it would cost somewhere between $50-$70 per product, way too expensive!
So, the next best option was to find a factory elsewhere with sustainable practices and that factory ended up being in China. I am aware of the human rights issues in many Chinese factories, so I researched this factory to ensure it was a fair workplace. There are no children working in the factory where my EcoTools collection is made and it follows a strict set of labor standards. Here is what EcoTools says about the matter:
The EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone collection is designed, created, and manufactured under conditions that represent the kind and thoughtful nature of the products, themselves. All suppliers and their employees in the process are treated and compensated fairly, and work environments are held to very high standards. Involuntary and under age labor are strictly prohibited, and Paris Presents Incorporated, the owner of the EcoTools brand, goes to every length possible to ensure its suppliers adhere to its company guidelines.
On top of that, I actually believe that in a country where people are in need, giving them a job that pays well is not a bad thing. Let's look at the whole picture!
I am absolutely not in favor of corporations who take work to other countries and pay little to their employees, have bad working condition, or make environmentally unfriendly products. That is not what excites me or what I'm promoting.
Fundamentally, the bottom line is that yes, I want everything to be local and as sustainable as possible but there are certain situations where you just can't have your cake and eat it too. Take hemp for example it's a natural, sustainable material, but the U.S. has made it illegal for farmers to grow hemp here. So, we have to import it until that law changes.
What I love about my EcoTools collection is that it's available at places that primarily sell products made with no conscience at all about materials or employees and my EcoTools collection sits on the shelf right next to those products. That just thrills me to pieces! It's a step in the right direction, and I'm proud of helping to make that change.
Now I want to hear from you! How do animal rights, human rights, and environmental concerns affect your shopping habits? Do you find yourself compromising in certain areas to meet your larger priorities? Let me know how you feel about these issues in the comments below.
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14 comments
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Might be worth a visit to the factory to confirm, but sounds like a well thought out decision. Woud not affect my decision to buy the product.
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VegVirgo good call on bringing this up and thank you Alicia for honestly addressing it. It is a hard situation to be in because unless you are monitoring that factory everyday you really cannot know what is going on behind closed doors. Apple was under the same belief that their factories were up to the highest standards regarding labor laws but obviously that was not the case. It is also well known that inspections are often pre planned and allow the factories to put on a good show while being examined. As soon as the inspector goes away they go back to what is more often than not a horrible work enviroment. That being said Alicia is a business woman and a product selling at a higher price is not going to sell as well as something cheaper and more in the budget range of most Americans. It saddens me but I do understand the position that a person would be in from a business perspective. That being said... How many people's parents are still using their American made Cuisinart that were made in the 1970's? Have you noticed how all of our parent's belongings don't break and seem to last forever? Everything I have bought in the USA has either been incredibly durable or if there has been a problem I have been able to call the company and 95% of the time get a free replacement. Anything that I have bought in China has broken quickly and been replaced multiple times often not for free. In the end I pay the same price as I would have if I just bought the more reliable and more expensive American made product. It's a tough call Alicia but maybe at some point if the line grows you could follow in the steps of New Balance and at least start making a few shoes in the USA so people have the option. Fingers crossed that the line does well and you are able to offer this option.
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Hey Alicia!
I'm very tempted to buy these brushes.... And I have worked with Mary Kay skincare and I have the Mary Kay brushes, which are very high quality - though probably made with real animal hair.
I'm not vegan. I was a vegetarian for four years, but sadly I love chicken, so I didn't want to do it anymore. I've just ordered your book online, and I'm SO intrigued by the vegan lifestyle! My boyfriend whom I live with probably wouldn't be too happy if I were to make such a drastic change to my diet, but I think it would be good to introduce a few vegan dishes a week.
My point is, being an awful meat-eater and all, I really do my best to always buy fair-trade, free-range and ecologic. Boyfriend's so annoyed with how much I spend on food, but I want the best and, in a way I guess, the kindest I can get.
I think it's great if you produce this in China, yes of course, none of us support their animal abuse issue, but you are helping with giving them jobs, and making sure they are being treated fairly, so I really don't see a problem with it.
It doesn't matter much to me, I live in Norway, and we don't produce much besides fish and oil... hehe! :) So unfortunetaly I order a lot of things from other countries because we don't have it here. -
Also the ONE CHILD POLICY in China is awful. Women who get pregnant with a second child are forced to get abortions by the goverment, sometimes via mobile abortion trucks, and then the woman has to pay for the whole procedure. Towns put up banners and signs that talk about not having more than one child and the repercussions if someone does. Children who are born as a second or third child are not aknowledged by the state and aren't issued any official papers. So they can't get jobs or own things or go to school etc. . Also it's GIRLS that are being aborted since they won't be able to work as much as a son does and when they marry they'll bring in the brides dowry into HIS family. Also the new wife will care for the sons family when they parents get old.
Also there's the issue of the Chinese eating dogs. : (
So I'm still not buying Eco Tools and I think the whole "cant make things in the USA" for a large company to say is not good enough.
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I understand the may be missunderstanding about how the people creating these products are treated would come up but I am baffled to hear that people are upset by the way you feed your child...
How many people have bitten something off a bigger piece of food and given it to their child?
It isn't "regergitating" into the childs mouth. She doesn't swallow it then vomit into his mouth (which is what regergatation is....)
Really what do you think our ansesters did to feed their babies before they had blenders?
So many people can't accept anything that is slightly different to the way they do thing, or how their parents did things. Sometime exploring different options is good.
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This is very interesting to know. What I bring into my life has the GREATEST importance to my overall foundation. I grew up poor & any money I made I had to earn myself; given this truth I've always been super sensitive when shopping. I've been on "shopping sprees" which money wasnt a concern in terms of spending & in those moments I learned its bascially IMPOSSIBLE for me to be inconsiderate with my money- I tie emotional significance to whatever I possess. Its purely emotional. Which brings me to the brush set; in terms of beauty nowadays I feel its very unkind. The presentation of it is not something I would want to be associated to, its dumb! I was so moved by the concern for the environment mixed with beauty. I saw that as a deep concept apart from beauty tools which just aren't attractive. Its not about being yourself with whats out there now, its about covering up yourself in the hopes of getting attention. I was so excited to buy the brush set, I guess because it inspired me..when I saw you were attached I wanted to reach out. Im a fan of your film work but I was unaware of your "life style" vocation. When I discovered that, I became more interested in the person because its hard to judge a person thats playing a character for a film. Although with 'Clueless' & 'Batman" I received a sense of aggressive femininity from you, which I'm intrigued by. Whats most *awesome* about the product is that, like you said. its sold right within an environment that one can assume is filled corporate irresponsibilty, i.e. Walgreens, rite aid, or Target. That one product in there is the one ray of sunshine within a mixture black clouds, at least thats how I look at it. Its an important example of positive glamour. Responsibility vs. the more you acquire the more you destroy, which is not a sustainable concept. No race,group or culture can survive & thrive if they are living within a cycle of destruction. Thats the equivalent of death. & glamour represents the "ideal" life; being good looking, having a happy social life, possesing the right resources to be comfortable but everything thats glamourized today is destructive. Im right on board with you thats its a GREAT step foward in the journey toward a worlds wellness! X
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Other people are mentioning it here, so I'll say my bit about the way you fed Bear...I didn't even notice. It didn't seem weird to me, it didn't gross me out or bother me. There is nothing nasty about a mom feeding her baby and helping him learn to chew. I didn't even think about it when I watched the video-seriously, it did not seem weird. What is weird is that people FREAKED OUT after seeing the video. I try to tell myself that they come from a place of love and maybe they thought it was unsanitary, but I think a lot of people were just shocked and ignorant about the practice. I didn't know anything about but it just didn't strike me as odd when I saw it. I could care less!
I knew my ecotools bodywash and lotion and body spray were all made in China. I can't remember if I'd noticed that about the tools & bags as well or not. But everytime I take a shower I kind of stare at the "made in china" print on the back of the shower gel bottle and wonder where exactly in China it is made, if it's truly safe(quality control!), and who is making it and what their life is like. I appreciate the information, and feel better now.
I try not to comprimise my beliefs, what products I buy and where I shop but I'll admit that in the past 10 years I've probably been in walmart 50 times, which makes me want to puke. I dislike them as a corp, quite strongly, but found myself in a Walmart with friends who always shop there and ended up picking up what I needed.
For whatever reason I only buy orange juice made in the U.S....this probably seems silly, but it's one of those things I believe in and I can control.
I try to not buy products made in china and never anything tested on animals. I don't care if a nice looking product or something I need(lets say a perfume-not that anybody NEEDS perfume- or some type of bath & shower product) is on clearance and it only costs $2, but the more natural version that isn't tested on animals is like $12...I'll still buy the $12. I'm poor, but I find ways to cut something so that I can buy the products that I believe in, and feel better about. It seems really imporant.
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I think this is a good example of weighing the alternatives and the sorts of decisions we all have to make. Better to at least know why we are making the decisions we do than to just go willy nilly through our lives buying whatever we pleased. In the end, all of our good decisions can really have an impact.
I don't buy makeup brushes, but I also think 50-70 for a product that I know was sustainably made, to the fullest potential, as well as a product I would use forever (potentially?) would make a lot of economical sense. Economy in terms of not just the immediate impact on my wallet, but economy for others, and natural resources...etc. Outsourcing to China is a nice way to make the product available to the widest array of people, though, as I don't think many Americans would be willing to part with so much money for makeup brushes when the cruel alternatives are so cheap.
Maybe part of the broader conversation is changing the mentality of Americans. Though we have access to far more resources than a majority of the wolrd, we aren't putting those resources toward making decisions that are more beneficial for the "global" village of people. This is so we can buy more of OTHER things. And how many of those things in our "other" category are really things that we need? I try to ask this when I am shopping and I'm not perfect, but it also helps me say no to a lot of things that, in the past, I might have bought without a second thought.
Good on Alicia for making a thoughtful and measured decision and for providing this amazing alternative to an everyday product.
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I remember when your libe of products came out. I used to work for Ulta corporate and I was always excited when we would bring in products that were cruelty-free. Its true, it produce products in the US is expensive but, to produce the fairly in other countried in which jobs are helping low income families, well, that's good too. Of course we all TRY to buy American made but, these days, there sometimes aren't such bold lines between company origin and made origin or even where the items to MAKE the product origin. We live in a world where a lot is dotted lines and I think if we can make the best of it while pushing for sustainable products made in fair environments, that's a huge leap forward.
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This year, we have gone out of our way to buy cruelty free products. I even found cruelty free contact solution! yay!
The only thing right now that weighs heavy on my heart is that I fear that my prescribed medications are not made cruelty free- I may be wrong but my assumption is that the pharma companies do testing/research in that way. After being vegan for over 2 years, I do feel better physically in most areas but truth be told, I do have a true need for my meds. It is one of my most sad compromises. I wish that there was a way around it!
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Hi! First off, let me quickly say that I did not see a huge problem with how you feed your child. He is YOUR child, and I'm sure you don't feed ALL of his food to him that way. But it is shocking how many people were angered at that video when I think many parents have pre-chewed food for their children. Most don't feed the food straight from their mouth but really what is the difference? It's still pre-chewed from a mouth, so they need to get over it!
Anyway, the ecotools.. The are really the highest quality makeup brushes I have ever owned! I use them every day and recommend them to everyone! My friends think I'm funny because I use all very high end makeup from Sephora and then use "cheap" brushes but they are the softest most wonderful brushes and apply makeup perfectly! They are IMO higher quality than some $50 (each) brushes I have tried!
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Wow, you are under fire lately as I heard your products were made in China on twitter - and the whole regurgitating food into your son's mouth fiasco. I wish - for your sake- you did not post that on youtube. As for if I will use your products? I will. I think you are honest and passionate w/ your goal being eco-sustainable products - and you succeeded!!!! I also thought your video w/ your son was cute. With all of that being said, I think the way a person markets themselves matters and I hope you get a bit more wise in this area - as it does matters. I mean well & come from a kind place. Your eco-beauty products are beautiful!
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