Ecotoxicology is the study of how chemicals affect the environment and the organisms living in it. Scientists who study the environment tell us that all organisms are connected in the web of life. Therefore, if a chemical affects some of the organisms, other organisms in the ecosystem may suffer since they depend on one another.
The goal of ecotoxicity is to understand the concentration of chemicals at which organisms in the environment will be affected. This level of concentration should be avoided in order to protect the environment.
For organisms to flourish in the environment, they need to be able to do three basic things:
- survive to be old enough to reproduce
- grow to be big enough to reproduce
- and … reproduce
We want to make sure that chemicals do not affect organisms' survival, growth or reproduction.
Ecotoxicity data is generated in a number of different ways and is then combined with 'fate' data to reach a decision about whether an ingredient is safe to use in our products. If we do not believe that our ingredients are safe, we don't use them.
Even after we are done understanding toxicity and conducting a risk assessment, we're still not finished. We carry on working to understand the environment and how the environment's chemistry and physical nature interact.