The green goods

Cool green stuff we stumbled across this week
Lipstick tainted with lead. Deodorant loaded with aluminum. Moisturizer preserved with formaldehyde. In Canada and the U.S., a lack of regulation allows virtually any ingredient to be used in personal care products. Even the beauty industry can be ugly. Check out the Green Guide to Style’s top 6 eco-beauty products for girls to eliminate your daily regimen of its toxic tally.

Clorox plans to turn Burt’s Bees into a mainstream American brand sold in big-box stores like Wal-Mart. Along the way, Clorox executives say, they plan to learn from unusual business practices at Burt’s Bees — many centered on environmental sustainability. Go here for more info on the ownership structure of the organics industry.

Give a round of applause to Grist’s list of green-leaning musicians, including Ontario songstress Sarah Harmer and Canuck favs Bare Naked Ladies.

Toronto’s vaunted tree bylaw is supposed to protect our disappearing canopy of mature trees, but loopholes are cutting off the forestry department’s ability to stem the destruction of our grandest giants. NOW mag discovers that sometimes the city itself is too quick with the chainsaw.

Canadian researchers have found a new way to harvest energy from the human body with a device that looks like a knee brace but can generate enough power in a relaxed stroll to fuel half a dozen cell phones.