NutraWomen Wednesday: Lindsay Dahl, Chief Impact Officer, Ritual

Prior to becoming Ritual’s Chief Impact Officer, Dahl spearheaded the passage of more than two dozen health protective laws at the state and federal levels, including the nation’s first ban on the toxic chemical BPA from baby bottles and other landmark laws on chemicals.

“I stumbled upon this role that led me to a 20-year career focused on removing toxic chemicals from consumer products. It was a little bit by accident that I ended up in this space, but I really became attracted to the idea that a lot of people generally care about the environment out there, but what they really care about is their home environment. Talking about toxic chemicals polluting our rivers feels like it's far away, but if you talk about toxic chemicals in someone's home, it can suddenly feel a lot more personal and inspire people to take action. I found that consumer goods was a nice bridge between the connection that people have between their personal health, safety and well-being, things we think about in our home environment, and also connecting us to the environment and world out there.”

Dahl added that there are several steps consumers can take to make their home healthier. 

“There's a lot of great certifications and tools out there. So for example, EWG verified for personal care and Makeup Made Safe​ certification is a really credible certification across product categories that are really helpful indicators for consumers that this company has done their homework. The second is there are different tools and websites that people can search products and see how they rank. Again, EWG Skin Deep Database​ is a great example of that, especially for the personal care industry. And then I also think really trying to focus your efforts, because people can easily go down into a rabbit hole, we're never going to have a perfectly clean environment within our homes and that's okay. 

“Being really mindful about what you put on your skin and in your body. So that would include both food and supplements, including obviously the company I currently work for, Ritual, as well as topical products,” said Dahl.

To hear more tips, watch the full episode. You can also visit Dahl’s website lindsaydahl.com​ for more details on clean living.