• Harpers "Pink Pyramid Scheme: How Mary Kay Preys on Desperate Housewives" by Virginia Sole-Smith, August 2012

    The Pink Pyramid

    How Mary Kay Cosmetics sells $3 billion per year worth of lipstick, girl power and false promises that you can "have it all."

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  • Beauty Schooled by Virginia Sole-Smith

    Beauty Schooled

    An investigation of the price we pay for pretty -- and my 600-hour adventure at Beauty U, learning to apply makeup, excavate pores and wax, well, everywhere.

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  • Parents_Hunger_Carousel Size

    The Hungry House

    Right here in the United States, one in four children don't have enough to eat. The impact this has on their health, their development — their future — is staggering. Our special report introduces you to two families who struggle every day to put food on the table.

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  • Slate Waxing_Carousel Size

    My Year in Waxing School

    The $1.8 billion business of superfluous hair removal is our most intimate and uncomfortable kind of beauty labor. And being on the other side of the waxing table turns out to feel simultaneously more exploitative and more empowering than I ever expected.

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  • WL_50WaysWater_Carousel Size

    50 Ways to Save Water

    The seemingly small steps we can take towards reducing our individual "water footprints" (taking less indulgent showers, even observing Meatless Mondays) become ever more important drops in what is ultimately a single, global bucket.

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    Mexico's Squid Sweatshops

    Much of the squid sold in the United States was processed in horrendous conditions in Mexico. Welcome to the Santa Rosalia factories in Baja California Sur. Reprinted in The UTNE Reader, September-October 2010. Research support for this article provided by The Nation Institute's Investigative Fund.

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From the Blog

[Mission Statement] What's Going On With This Blog

2013 marks my fourth year of blogging, and when I look back over how this blog (and this whole website, and my career and my whole life while we're on the subject) has evolved during that time, it's a little amazing to me. But what may amaze and delight me may be confusing to my lovely readers. As in, I've noticed a lot of new subscribers in the past few months — and a lot of new un-subscribers. O...

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