The Chemicals We Consume, Buy, and Support — Time to Call It Out

Walk into any grocery store, pharmacy, or beauty aisle and you’re surrounded by products wrapped in words like natural, safe, eco-friendly, or non-toxic. But here’s the unfiltered truth: most of these labels mean nothing.

We’re swallowing, slathering, and supporting chemicals every single day often without realizing it. They show up in our food, our cosmetics, our cleaning supplies, even in baby products. Some are linked to hormone disruption, some to coral bleaching, some to long-term health issues we barely understand. Yet they’re normalized, marketed as safe, and sold to us in glossy packaging.

The problem is bigger than one industry. It’s systemic. Chemicals banned in Europe still line shelves in the U.S. Corporations lobby to keep regulations vague. “Green” campaigns distract from toxic supply chains. And consumers are left with the illusion of choice, caught between price, convenience, and half-truths.

So what do we do? We start by calling it out. By demanding accountability not just from brands, but from policymakers. By asking harder questions: Why is this ingredient still allowed? Why is the burden on the consumer to decode labels written to confuse us? Why do we keep rewarding companies that profit from shortcuts?

This is not about fear. It’s about responsibility. The chemicals we consume, buy, and support are shaping our future  in our bodies, our oceans, and our communities. Each purchase, each policy, each piece of legislation is either a step toward transparency or another brick in the wall of willful ignorance.

Change doesn’t start with perfection. It starts with awareness  and the courage to say: enough.

Sarah Miller, CEO & Founder, EthoSun