Podcast

Is the “Clean Living” Space Too Judgy? with Suzy Dean

The Clean Living Movement Has an Elitism Problem

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I'm wendy!

I'm a former environmental toxins lawyer turned clean living coach who is obsessed with all things holistic living (but for real life). Catch me over on Insta for my weekly label readings and come say hi.

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Your toxin-free living journey doesn’t have to be perfect to be valid, and this conversation about the clean living movement proves it. In today’s episode, I’m teaming up with my “woo woo bestie,” Suzy, to tackle the elephant in the room: the elitism and perfectionism that’s plaguing the toxin-free community. Suzy represents the majority of well-intentioned consumers in the U.S. She’s slowly making clean swaps, one by one, but she’s still working on a budget and holding on to a few things others might deem “toxic.”

Meanwhile, I literally packed my own clean sheets on a trip to Bali (where my bag was weighed, might I add). Listen, we all weigh our priorities and make decisions accordingly. You don’t have to go from 0 to 100 in your toxin-free journey, and anyone who makes you feel like a failure for having one or two toxins in your cabinet is probably a hypocrite.

Through honest stories about our “incident” on a bus in Bali, Suzy’s eye-opening experience cleaning with conventional products in an Airbnb, and the reality of budget constraints, we’re exposing how shame-based messaging is actually pushing people away from making healthier choices. The conversation gets real about accessibility, with discussions about food deserts, Title I schools, and the controversy around better-but-not-perfect products.

Most importantly, we celebrate the small wins that actually matter: choosing phenoxyethanol over BHT, switching from Bath & Body Works to Attitude products, or simply reading ingredient labels for the first time. Bottom line: If 96% of Americans chose the “better” option at Target instead of the worst option, companies would be forced to reformulate.

In today’s episode, we’re chatting about:

Why the “all or nothing” mentality is harming the clean living movement
How budget constraints and accessibility issues affect product choices
The difference between reproductive toxins and “imperfect” ingredients
Why celebrating small improvements creates lasting change
How to support your body naturally without expensive devices

The “All or Nothing” Mentality is Harmful

I built my entire business around embracing your ‘ish.’ In our world, it’s impossible to be 100% toxin-free. It’s crazy to even try to align perfectly with the clean living movement. I think this whole idea of bashing all these brands for not being perfect is actually pushing people back to using CVS makeup. They can’t live up to this crazy expectation set in the clean living movement, so they think, “Why try?”

People are on a budget. It’s ludicrous to think the average person can throw away every single toxin product in their home and replace it all with clean products in one day. People are trying their best and working toward a toxin-free lifestyle one step at a time, and I think they should be celebrated for that.

We have to make the clean living movement accessible. Some cheaper, clean brands might not be 100% perfect, but they’re MUCH better than name brands at Target. Isn’t choosing that option better than nothing? We have to pick and choose in stages what changes we’ll make.

Start Somewhere

Don’t feel like you have to tackle your entire home in one day. You’ll just get overwhelmed, give up, and no change will happen. Start with ONE home swap. Once you do that one, start another. Small steps make big differences. Progress is something to be proud of. Listen to episode #109 for five simple steps that will impact your health the most!

The biggest tip I can give you is to learn how to read labels. In this episode, Suzy told a story about choosing between two toxic body washes while staying at her mom’s house. She read the labels and found that one had BHT and the other had Phenylethanol. While both of these are on my avoid list, she remembered me saying to choose anything over BHT, so she used the one with Phenoxylethanol. Neither option was good, but she knew which was worse.

Label reading will help you make snap decisions like that when you don’t have my Toxin-Free Shopping Guide or avoid list on hand 😉. Take control of your health and environment, but embrace your ‘ish.’