Just when I was starting to feel like Wal-Mart was improving. They have started selling more organic produce, and are working to improve the nutritional quality of their food with manufacturers, partnering with anti-obesity champion and First Lady, Michelle Obama.
The line also features products named as they relate to texting, for this supposedly tech savy age group. Great! Not only are they applying pressure for girls to use makeup at such a young age, but also pressure to use technology to text each other. To me, Wal-mart is creating products to profit from shortening, objectifying, and sexualizing childhood--- and that is morally corrupt. I didn't even mention the pants for this age group with cutie plastered across the behind.
Sign the petition below to tell Walmart to stop exploiting our girls and the environment.
What do you think about it? Would you let your 8 year old wear makeup in her daily life (not while involved in creative play)?
Then I hear about one of their newest product lines. Is it a line of non-toxic personal care/bath and body products, made with fully labeled and safer ingredients?
No.
Is it a new, stainless steel Green Walmart water-bottle line, showcasing how they are abandoning bottled water, saving millions of plastic bottles from entering the waste stream and waterways?
No.
They are releasing a line of cosmetics, called Geo-Girl, targeting the pre-teen, or tween. Yes, makeup for your children, ages 8-12. The products include include blusher, mascara, face shimmer and lipstick, as well as anti aging products (um, really?).
When I was growing up, these years were called childhood. Now, apparently, they are tween. So, according to this targeted growth market, my kindergarten aged daughter will be ready for these products in the second grade.
When I was growing up, these years were called childhood. Now, apparently, they are tween. So, according to this targeted growth market, my kindergarten aged daughter will be ready for these products in the second grade.
I don't think so.
Why not? According to an expert featured on this segment,
"We are raising another generation of girls who kind of measure their self-worth based on what's on the outside," Dr. Logan Levkoff, author of the book "Third Base Ain't What it Used to Be" said to "Good Morning America."
Not to mention the increased exposure to thousands of chemicals that have never been tested for safety, and that are linked to cancers, hormone disruption, and other problems. Geo-Girl is supposedly an eco-friendly line of cosmetics, but I would like to see the ingredient list and ratings by the Environmental Working Group to be sure.
She also points to the fact that parents can be, well, parents, and say no to their kids if they feel strongly about this issue. She said:
"Parents should be talking about makeup and parents are entitled to be parents and if your daughters want to wear makeup you can say no," Levkoff said. "We don't just have to befriend our kids, but we also have to explain why. Because you are beautiful and it's really not what's outside that's beautiful and there's plenty of time for you to explain all of these things."I'm disappointed, although not surprised, by this move by Walmart. They stand to make millions of dollars selling products to this vulnerable age group, who will learn that our society values their looks above all.
The line also features products named as they relate to texting, for this supposedly tech savy age group. Great! Not only are they applying pressure for girls to use makeup at such a young age, but also pressure to use technology to text each other. To me, Wal-mart is creating products to profit from shortening, objectifying, and sexualizing childhood--- and that is morally corrupt. I didn't even mention the pants for this age group with cutie plastered across the behind.
Sign the petition below to tell Walmart to stop exploiting our girls and the environment.
What do you think about it? Would you let your 8 year old wear makeup in her daily life (not while involved in creative play)?
39 comments:
Hell no! What are they thinking! I wasn't allowed to wear make-up until I was 16, and I plan on doing it with my daughter. They grow up way too fast these days with all the propaganda from everything from music to cartoons. Shame on wal-mart.
Those that know me know I despise Walmart (even with their so called improvements)...you won't catch me in one ever!
and "childhood" now is from birth-4 yrs of age, after that they're all grown up :(
Possibly even younger with all the people entering their toddlers in beauty shows and loading up the makeup on them :(
let kids be kids and quit putting chemical filled crapola (makeup) on them. To this day (I'm 43) I dont wear makeup and there's nothing wrong with that! Shame kids cant be kids and what message does it send little girls...that they're "not pretty enough without makeup"???!!!! aggggggggg
No Fricking Way.
Okay, occasionally I'll let her wear a little of my Burt's Bees tinted lip balm, but only a teeny bit, and very rarely. But that's totally different from a whole line of makeup MARKETED to little girls. (Oops...I mean, marketed to their PARENTS...right?)
This ticks me off. It's hard enough to be a little girl nowadays without this kind of thing.
Thanks commenters! It is nice to hear from others mamas on this. Please sign the petition if you haven't already. After I tried to make one and had a technology glitch, I found this one someone else already started.
Well let me start off with my daughter is one of the Tweens that posed for the Geogirls and they will be lauching the 25th of feb.... when we were at the shoot the makeup was very light that just brought out there natural beauty and i see nothing wrong with it.... and no matter what line it is there is makeup out there NO MATTER WHAT.... and it is up to the parents because they are the ones who have to buy it....
Hi Melissa,
You are right, there are lots of other lines of makeup. But this is makeup is targeted to children, from the world's largest retailer. They can and should do better.
Their natural beauty? That would be their faces without any makeup, in my opinion. They are children.
Thank you for commenting.
I love how the petition says GeoGirl is bad for the environment and the article does as well. Do your research before you make assumptions, it just makes you look bad. Also, all your petition is going to do is make GeoGirl sell more product. I doubt if any of you negative commentators can even name 2 sku's in the line.
Welcome back, Anonymous!
I did see that this is an "eco-friendly" line. I applaud Walmart for removing the typical chemicals from this line, but I am holding my judgement until I see a rating from the Environmental Working Group to be sure. I think children using no cosmetic products would be the best for the environment, don't you?
I'm not concerned with naming products from the line. I'm just concerned with excessive marketing to children and the self esteem of girls who think they need makeup to be beautiful. Thanks for your comment and for sharing your perspective.
My daughter knows she is beautiful with nothing on her face, but likes to wear a little bit now and then for fun or for special occasions and dance recitals. I'm glad there's a more affordable option now that is better for her skin. I'm thankful that Wal-Mart is giving me that option and I don't hold them responsible for teaching my child her value in the world. That's my job.
I am glad too that the close to half of all 8-12 year old girls that wear makeup will have a eco-friendlier, safer option. I also see a big difference in having a child wear makeup for special occasions, plays, and recitals, versus everyday.
Thanks again for sharing your perspective.
I have to agree with Anonymous. We could go into the *parenting* issues with allowing young girls wear makeup everyday, but that's not really the main topic here. I have a 5 year old girl, who like many of her little friends, want to play dress up and wear makeup, get their nails polished, etc. I'm grateful that I had my kids in the last few years because now I am able to make informed choices on what I will and will not purchase.
I only purchase Piggy Paints, Sparituals, and Hopscotch Kids nail polishes and to date, I have not purchased any make up. This article has peaked my interest in becoming more informed.
Like the blogger, I am interested in seeing a full ingredient list and any subsequent testing. One can say what they will about Walmart (evil, giant, corporation, etc.), but it is giving middle/lower income families access to things they may not otherwise choose (i.e. they generally have access the most cost effective things) . I applaud Walmart for this, especially in this economic climate.
So, it's a wait and see for me. But, I will check it out. For those interested, there is another line: Luna Organics, that you may purchase online via their site, amazon, or etsy.
For what it's worth...
~Courtney
Just stumbled unto your blog and loving it so far. I'm a big fan of Eco-friendly products, which is why, when I went to Wal-Mart this evening and saw Geogirl, I purchased one of their "lipsticks". However, I'm 16 yrs. old and I think Geogirl is a perfect alternative to Covergirl, but for teenage girls (15-19) who are already wearing cosmetic makeup, not an eight year old little girl. Reason being that, at 16 yrs. old, my skin is broken out and I can't ware concealers with harmful and irritating chemicals, and believe me I need conceler or else I would scare people away with my red pox-marked face, and normal commercial brands have many of the ingredients that make me break out. GeoGirl is much cheaper than any other brand of natural makeup and is straight forward and simple. Which means, less chemicals on my face to cause it to rebel. And the "lipstick" I bought today? Well, there is a reason I but it in quotes, cause it is hardly a lipstick at all (more like a balm). When I put it on it feels great, but I would have to put 10 coats of it on to even get it to show up, that's how sheer it is, like all their products. But, I do agree with you, Wal-Mart is about the money, not the opportunity to provide natural products to the average consumer, and that 8 and even 12 yrs. old is WAY TOO YOUNG to ware makeup. Nevertheless, I believe, if Wal-Mart stopped targeting to "tweens" and started targeting towards teenagers simply by changing the name from "Geogirl" to "Geoteen", they would find a much bigger consumer market, with lots parents behind the brand, desirering for their teens to stop putting black eye-liner on, and be more natural.Cause as a teenager, it's about experimentation, and I know my mother would be happy to know I'm experimenting with safe, natural and sheer colored products, than with thick black eye-liner and garishly red lipstick. Besides, teens like myself have paying jobs and therefore can afford to purchase makeup and whatever else we want, with little influence from Mom & Dad. Where as an 8-yr. old, will always have a parent right there, controlling all the money. And if that parent were smart, they could (like you said) just say "NO". Anyways, I'm sure my opinion means very little, but I felt that I needed to put it out there that, we don't need to do away with Geogirl, just change the age it's geared to.
Hi Courtney,
Thanks so much for your comment. I do agree that having an option that is safer at a lower cost is a good thing.
I just have trouble with the marketing to young girls. I teach 11 and 12 year olds, and some of them are starting to wear makeup. I'd certainly rather have them where makeup that is safer for them in the long term, and better for the environment as well.
Hooray for jumping in, i95fahrenheit (I always spell that word wrong!). I am glad to see a teenager here on Non-Toxic Kids. Welcome.
I completely agree-- we need this line geared towards teens and young adults instead. 8 year olds don't need to feel like they need these products to be beautiful. I love the idea of a name change to GeoTeen as well. We need healthier, eco-friendly choices for teens in the makeup department.
And your voice and opinion DO matter. To me, to the world, and to your community.
Thanks for sharing it!
I don't remember getting allowance from my parents at 8-12, so anything I bought is usually brought to the cashier by my mom. So if anything, it's really up to the parents control.
Makeup is makeup. Just because it's aimed at "tweens" doesn't mean that only tweens can buy it. It's kinda like how toys are for kids, but hey, adults buy stuffed animals and figurines too!
I'm not saying that I agree with 8 year olds wearing makeup. It's just as creepy as those shows like "Toddlers and Tiaras".
i have a 13 year old who by nature is beautiful inside and out. the girls now a days are not the same emotionally or physically. you guys need to calm down and quite being so suppressive. my daughter loves make up. she loves glitter and all things girly. yet she is home with me, in sports and has a heart of gold as well as incredible manners and morals. i catch her coloring and playing club penguin as well. if you are a good parent and have a great relationship with your child then this is not an issue. i highly doubt make leads to being a hooker or drugs, etc. matter of fact when i was in high school it was the girls without make up that did the most sleeping around, drugs and suicides, educate your selves and realize that life and people are evolving much younger, geez, we are not the middle east. they need to have make up for girls like mine, otherwise i buy her the adult stuff which is no fun. she loves the clean look, the spf and glittery lip gloss, heaven forbid she loves being a female. she wears jeans and t- shirts and doesn't show her body in any risque way. i was hoping that someone would come out with a line of make up for this age group.
look i have 2 younger sisters im 21 my sisters are 15 and 7. yes thats a large gap. I do wear makeup and the 15 year old does too the youngest likes to play make up. i would be trilled to have something that is mild for her to use. she does not wear makeup to school but does enjoy playing with my stuff. why not get her some of her own that is made for her age group?
I don't agree with children putting on makeup at all. I do have a 8 year old that wants to have the makeup and nails and the whole girl thing. But we tell her "absolutely not" now as to us parents we have the rights to say no to our kids. Just like walmart is allowed to sell this product . Basically I don't care if they sell this product or not. Regardless im the parent I have the right to discipline my children. if u have a daughter she's going to want to wear any type of makeup products not just because its GEO GiRL its because she sees me putting on makeup, her aunts, cousins, grandmas n everybody else .She knows what mac, clinique, sephora, n so on n so on. The point is, that we r the parents and we discipline our children from not wearing makeup n that's including clothes, movies n programs they can watch, n music they listen too. We as parents are the ones that teach our children between right or wrong. We dont try to befriend them. N it seems like now days. kids do grow up to fast. I truly belive its the parents fault from not preventing this problem.
P.s.....Plus I would like to add I like some of the geo girl products. My skin is very sensitive and I can actually clean my face without breaking out of hives.
I'd just like to say, young girls are beautiful. When they are the ages of 8-12 (same age as this stupid cosmetic line) their faces are still smooth, fresh, nothing bad about. When these girls get a hold of it the will constently use it. When the just reach 14 or 15, they would thing make up is normal (like breathing). Also, by the time their 13 they might "out-grown" GEO GIRL cosmetics. This is disgusting... horrible Wal-Mart.... *yuck*... They should be washing faces by the age of 13 (or something like that). By 16 they could have the opportunity to wear make up.....
im just gonna say, im only 12 (no lie) and i dont have any experience, but seeing that video... *yuck*.
i just wrote about beautiful girls jacking up their faces.... let other
girls vote.... (8-12)
im 12 going on 13... I've lived in 7 different states, this state im living in now... has whole bunchie of girls that have no sence and their parents that have no sence to let their child to wear that...
I really don't see the issue at all here. The products are natural, environmentally friendly, and they're really quite good. I'm 30 & I love this line. I own several of the lip products, and they are right up there in quality with department store cosmetics. I have one of the lipsticks & aside from the tube, it is indistinguishable from my MAC lipsticks. It's also very subtle- even when I put it on quite heavily it's just a subtle wash of shimmery tint. All the colors are super sheer, it's not like Wal-Mart is trying to sell your daughters WHORE PAINT or anything. And the skincare stuff is probably meant mainly to just get girls in the habit of taking good care of their skin.
I honestly think you guys are freaking out over nothing. A lot of people spend way too much time looking for things to get outraged about & this is one of those instances. So little girls wanna wear makeup, so what? That's NORMAL. Yes, they're beautiful without it, but it's still FUN. Wearing my mom's lipstick as a kid never hurt me. My mom let me wear makeup & fake nails since I was about 5 & I sure didn't turn out to be a prostitute or a teen mother. All that happened was that I HAD FUN and I loved my mom all the more for letting me be myself.
Outright forbidding HARMLESS things like mascara & lipgloss is ridiculous. It will only make your kids want it even more & will cause them to rebel. Chill out.
Hello P,
Do you have kids? I think you might have a different feeling about this topic if you had a daughter. Just a thought.
My thoughts are that it is expressly marketed to 8 year olds. They need no makeup. For play, maybe, but not daily.
Have you read any books on the rampant sexualization and marketing to and of young girls? Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein is a good one. Another one is So Sexy So Soon. You'd see that its a bigger issue of marketing, media, consumerism and objectification.
So, no thanks, not chilling out. Reading, writing, thinking about how to let my girls be children for as long as possible.
I have to say, don't judge a 12 year old girl, and what they want or need, until you have a 11-12 year old girl in your home. I have two lovely daughters 12 and 14, and they wear tinted lip balm to school. Both girls take care of their skin with washing their faces at night, putting on moisturizer, and wearing sunscreen during the day. But, they do have pre-pubescent breakouts from time to time. My 12 year old will put concealer on a blemish on her face, and put a dab of powder over the concealer. I would hate to say to her, "no, you wipe that marker dab of concealer off your face right now young lady!" Seriously, parents with an open line of communication with their children need to listen to what they talk about and how they're feeling, and not make things so completely black and white. We talk about what is appropriate for age and the situation. Smoky eyes are not appropriate for a 12 year old, or a 14 year old.
I don't have children yet, but I do work with them everyday. Also, I remember what it was like to be a little girl. I know it's tough not to be worried about your appearance as a "tween", especially if your friends' parents are allowing them to feed into the hype. I honestly don't think my future daughter(s) will be allowed to wear makeup until they are in high school, though...end I'm hoping we'll be able to agree on natural-looking shades and having few products. I understand that Wal-Mart are trying to come up with some healthy choices in makeup for that day when your kid inevitably whines about wanting makeup and lets you know that you suck because other moms let THEIR kids wear it, but I don't think we should perpetuate the horrible beauty standards that have been generated. Especially when a kid should only be focused on being a kid.
That said, I would love to see this brand stick around...but I'd rather see it marketed toward adults. I like the eco-friendly packaging and if the ingredients prove to be healthier, I'm all for that. I guess, though, if they market toward adults, you can expect to see the prices go up. :(
Also, in response to Phendrænima:
I think for most people the biggest issue probably isn't even this makeup line. It's what this line represents. Sure, it's not going to damage your kid's face or make her look like a trollop, but it IS going to tell your kid (at a very early age) that society expects you to look a certain way in order to maintain a happy and healthy life. She'll grow up to understand that soon enough as it is, which is unfortunate in and of itself, but the age group they're marketing to needs to be focused on having fun and making good grades...not realizing that they get more out of life by having a pretty face, which, consequently, males don't have to worry about as much. Little girls have enough to worry about during that age range, the last thing they should have to think about is whether or not society will ostracize them because they haven't started wearing makeup yet. If everyone did their part to not perpetuate these silly notions, we wouldn't even be put in the position to say, "At least the makeup she's pressured (perhaps unknowingly) into wearing won't harm her skin."
ONE more comment.
Yes, wearing makeup is fun and exciting when you're a little girl. There's a huge difference, though, between getting to play with it at home or VERY occasionally outside of the home and making little girls feel like they need full face routines for everyday wear just like the adults they're trying so hard to emulate at that age. I agree with the anon contributor who talked about the grey area issue. It's obviously very good for your kid to know how to take care of her skin. It's even acceptable to allow her to conceal her breakouts and wear tinted lip balm. I just think it's a little much to allow her to obsess over anything that will make her look unnatural unless it's for play time or whatever.
I don't see what the big deal is?? I am 27 and I have two products from this line, and I love them! I started playing with makeup from the time I was very young. That's how I learned to wear it properly! Why is that any different than playing dressup in your mom's clothes? It washes off, it's not permanent! Where is there research showing that wearing makeup causes harm to a child's self esteem?? If anything, teaching them how to wear it, and when it's appropriate is much better than forbidding it! Plus, where does it say these products are for 8-12 year olds? Because of the word 'girl'? Ok, so I guess Cover GIRL must be for 8-12 year olds as well! The packaging is very low key, and in fact looks very similar to the brand Cargo, which is marketed to adults. Plain brown packaging with small flowers wouldn't exactly catch a kid's eye. Besides, sugary foods are marketed to kids all the time. That's where parenting comes in. It should be no different with toys, foods and in this case cosmetics. I think it's good for young girls to learn to care for their skin properly. I just think everyone is over reacting quite a bit, especially when there are much bigger issues out there!
And, if anyone had actually tried the products, they'd see that it's much better for them to experiment with these very sheer colors than some black eyeliner and mascara (like most 14 year old girls these days) I just really don't think makeup is as big of an issue as the things kids are seeing on tv and in movies these days. Makeup has been around for ages, and I started wearing it in 6th grade, and I didn't date until I was 20.
i saw this line at walmart, and never heard of it before as it is not sold where i live.. i was vacationing in florida where my parents live, and went to walmart with my mom.. anyways.. i am 27 years old and was kind of interested in the lip gloss, as i dont wear tons of makeup all the time.. i see nothing wrong with a shimmery pink sheer lipgloss on a 11 yr old. The PARENTS are the ones that should set the rules on makeup usage.. so what if they are marketing to kids.. it doesnt mean i have to buy it for my child. there are tons of toys out there for my 7 yr old son.. I say "no" very often.. its pretty easy.
I don't think this line is a bad product. It's not telling tweens that they HAVE to wear makeup. It's for moms who are tired of their kids going through their lancome make up and other expensive makeup. I remember as a child playing with my mom's makeup and breaking out from them. This product is ORGANIC so it isn't going to harm tween's skin and it gives them a chance to play dress up!
So first of all I just want to say I am 17 years old. I know these products are targeted for tween but honestly what tweens will even go through the makeup aisle? I saw this product and I fell in love with it because it's organic. I have super sensitive skin and this was perfect for me. I think they should've targeted people with sensitive skin. Definitely recommending this product to my friends with sensitive skin!
So, I'm sixteen. I wear makeup, but not that much. I mainly use it to cover acne and perhaps some mascara (my eyelashes stick straight out..). However, when I was a kid I was facinated with makeup. I never wanted to wear it everyday, but I would always have "dress-up parties" with my friends and we'd borrow mom's makeup or whatever and had fun with it. This had nothing to do with us trying to make ourselves prettier or whatever, just to experiment and have fun with it. Doing this as a kid took a lot of the unhealthy teenage rebellion type experimentation out of it. Also, I'm glad that now there's a line that won't damage their faces and are sheer so they're hardly makeup at all. All the other 'kid makeup' is complete crap and HORRIBLE for your skin. Of course little girls shouldn't be wearing makeup on a daily basis, but a little play makeup won't kill them.
I agree! Play makeup that is organic and safe is good to have out there. I just don't want little girls to think they need to wear this stuff everyday to feel pretty. Dress up parties and play dates are different, special occasions, and these products are probably great for that.
Thanks for commenting.
I just bought this for my 13 year old daughter. This is her first makeup. It is gret for her becuse it is not paint. It is a great first make up and it is a great way to let my daughter get the hang of make up nd see if she likes it without the dark colors. I agree the target age of 8-12 may be to young but I think it is good for 13.
They're target market is not advisable at the young age. It isn't advisable for this age bracket to introduce this kind of stuff. Maybe at the age of 15 + it's okay to introduce make-ups and to wear party dresses. But still, parent should need to read a skin care product review for the safety of young skin.
Aside from the whole marketing and age issue, this make-up is not organic, its labeled as "natural". There is a difference. It's not really even ALL natural. The lip balm with the spf 15? After buying it for my 3 year old (yes 3 year old, she has super chapped lips, and I didn't want anything with petroleum) I read the label and the active ingredients are Octinoxate (7.5%), Oxybenzone (4%)! Needless to say it went right back to the store.
I ADORE GEOGIRL! Its not like HEAVY HEAVY makeup. And no tweens are 10 and up, But I still luv you.
Geogirl is a great brand, it's very light make up and very affordable. I am a 17 year old girl and right when I found this make up I have fallen in love with it.
I don't understand why people are making such a big deal out of this, if you DON'T WANT YOUR KIDS TO WEAR MAKE UP, THEN DON'T BUY IT. It is honestly as simple as that.
Unless your little 8-12 year old child goes shopping at Walmart by themselves and spends their own money it seems like it would be pretty easy to say "No" when they ask you to buy some makeup.
I really am not trying to be rude, but just because they are trying to market it to a younger age of girls, doesn't mean you have to BUY IT for your younger age girls.
Ok, really do you guys honestly think a 10 year old wearing a little bit of lip gloss once in a while is a worldly issue? There's bigger problems going on with the world right now, and you guys are making a petition about girls wearing make-up every now and then. Is this honestly a big deal? It's organic make-up that makes it okay for girls to wear every now and then. Just please let it go. Is this really an argument about Wal-Mart, or about make-up? My gosh
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