I was fortunate enough to spend time in Washington DC in April of 2022 with about 200 of my Beautycounter colleagues.
Consequently, our goal was to hold as many meetings with congress as possible in one day to ask for more health protective laws for all of us.
Guess what was going through our minds? If you guessed nerves and self doubt, you’re right. Above all, we found our voices!
And here’s the thing. What we learned through these meetings is that there is absolutely nothing scary about meeting with congress. Truly. They put their pants on one leg at a time just like us. And at the end of the day, they want to hear our personal stories.
In other words, personal stories connect us all together and make us realize that on an issue like personal care product reform, we are all in this together and can do great work to affect change.
We also learned that it only takes 15-20 constituents (in layman’s terms, a constituent is you or me who represent the voice of the elected official) to reach out to a member of congress for the congressperson to feel “the heat” and act. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! 15-20 constituents reach out and they’re on it?
EASY PEASY. But where to start? Don’t worry. I got you.
Here is a simple step-by-step guide on how you can use your story and create change.
Step One: Find your elected congress officials by clicking here.
Step Two: Click on each elected official and you’ll find their congressional website. (You’ll want to contact each of your elected officials)
Step Three: Find the congress person’s “Contact” area and click on that. Look for the option to send an email with free text.
Step Four: Fill out your pertinent contact information and it may ask you to choose your topic. Select “other”.
Step Five: If you’re contacting someone who is in the House of Representatives, click here and copy and paste this (which bills we are asking them to co-sponsor). If you’re contacting someone who is in the Senate, click here and copy and paste this (which bills we are asking them to co-sponsor)
This next one is the MOST IMPORTANT PART
Step Six: Most importantly, in about one paragraph, make it personal. Share your “why”. Be direct and succinct. And hit “send”.
Do you know someone or are you someone who has had breast cancer not related to the BRCA gene? If so, that’s your why. Ingredients in personal care product are linked to cancer.
Do you find it disgusting that asbestos has been found in children’s makeup and that it’s a by-product to irresponsibly mining talc? All of us deserve to have products that don’t contain asbestos.
Do you think it’s ridiculous that the packaging of many personal care products contains PFAS, or “forever chemicals” that directly impacts our endocrine system?
Did you or a loved one struggle with infertility only to find that the ingredients in personal care products are not safe for people trying to get pregnant? Can you believe male sperm count is down by 50% since the 1980s and much of that is because of what’s in the products men are using?
Did you or a loved one lose hair from a hair product? FDA has no authority to pull it off the shelf.
Did you have a horrific reaction to something containing “fragrance” or “parfum” only to find out that no manufacturer has to disclose what ingredient are in fragrance? And many of them are loaded with phthalates?
In conclusion, be direct and succinct. This will ensure the staffers read them and get them in the hands of their boss.
Can you believe it’s that easy?
In conclusion, don’t delay. There are time stamps on these bills and we need to make sure they get written into pieces of legislation and get passed. This is not a women’s issue. This is a human health issue.
Full Stop. As a result, you will feel empowered, capable and confident and you can make a difference in changing laws forever.
