Vibrant colour is a key element of design. For far too long, green products have
been drab, boring, and ugly. At method, we believe in a colourful and verdant world,
and that goes for our products, as well. So we use colour, but we use colour responsibly.
We do this by using safe, environmentally compatible colourants in the most effective
ways possible. Some people ask us if using colourants is green. We always respond
that it can be, if done intelligently. Conventionally, green products are stripped-down,
sacrifice-ridden versions of conventional products, and typically don't use any
colour. However, every product uses colour, be it in the formula, in the package,
or on the label. Even if a product is colourless and packaged in a clear bottle,
the label uses inks and the box it is shipped in is printed. So the question is
not "do you use colourants?", the questions are "which colourants do you use? where
do you use them? and how do you know they are safe?"
At method we use only colours that are safe for people and the environment. We ensure
they are by relying on a rigorous material assessment process run by environmental
research firms EPEA & MBDC.
Our starting point for selecting safe colourants is a front-end screen that EPEA
developed. This screen ensures that all colourants we evaluate are:
- not carcinogenic
- not bioaccumulative
- not mutagenic
- free of heavy metals
- free of halogenated organic compounds
Once we select materials for potential use in a product, EPEA completes an
in-depth assessment of the ingredient. This material assessment reviews
all relevant health and environmental criteria for the colourant, and issues a recommendation
to use the colourant or not.
The result is that any colourants we use in our products have been comprehensively
reviewed and deemed acceptable by method standards.
While some are natural, the majority of the colourants we use in our products are
man-made. The reason for this is that synthetic colourants work effectively at extremely
low levels (most of ours are under 0.002%), maintain their effectiveness over time,
and don't stain skin or cause irritation or allergies as do many natural colourants.
We are constantly experimenting with new natural colourants, but so far only a few
meet our ingredient standards.
