Blue Blues: Why Are So Many Things Blue?

Have you ever noticed how something will suddenly turn up everywhere and be in everything before you even realize it, like pumpkin spice? Love the flavor or hate it, I’m talking about how it shows up everywhere all at once (candles, coffee, eggnog, donuts, lip balm, dog treats – OK that’s not one I’ve seen, but I assume it could be out there)--and seemingly earlier and earlier every year.

Photo by Jenny Hill

Well, a similar thing happened to me with blue products over the last few months. I wound up with a small size bottle of Dawn dish soap for a project at home. I was not excited about the color (more on this later). And then I got a new prescription drug that turned out to have blue capsules. I bought generic acetaminophen tablets with a sleep aid. Those tablets were blue. At my dental checkup, I was given blue mouthwash AND blue toothpaste. A friend passed along some shampoo that wasn’t working for her. It turned out to be pearlized blue.

Blue Love

As a kid, I remember thinking Aim toothpaste was so beautiful because it was blue. Blue was, and still is, my favorite color. My first car was blue; furniture, walls, rugs, accessories in my home are blue. My bike helmet is blue…surely blue as an added color could not be a bad thing?

The photo was for Bike to Work Day and illustrates my blue lifestyle. Photo by Rob Hill

I was aware that red and yellow dyes have a deservedly bad reputation for bringing more toxicity than benefit to any items they are added to. I was disappointed (but not surprised) to find out that blue dyes have similar potential. In fact, it feels (to this eco-anxious person) that the only reason Blue 1 and Blue 2 aren’t totally marked as hazardous to one’s health is they have not been studied as extensively as the red and yellow dyes.

A 2021 study published by the National Institutes of Health looked at the effects of natural and synthetic blue dyes on human health. The study states that even FDA-approved synthetic dyes are questionable in their safety since they are derived from crude oil. Though more research is needed, it has also been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Manufacturers historically preferred synthetic dyes for their color stability and sources of natural blue dyes are scarce. Two pieces of good news: First, as of last April, the Food & Drug Administration announced plans to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes, including Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2. The second piece: there is promising research on natural blue food dye, as reported by Cornell University earlier this year. This new dye uses phycocyanin, a protein found in algae.

As hopeful as this news was, I remembered in the sustainability journey, it is good to consult the Rs early and often. Indeed in this case, I had forgotten a fundamental R: Reduce.

Reduce Blue, Rethink Color

OK, I’ve already owned that I am a blue junkie. So why would I advocate for reducing the amount of blue in products? What I figured out was that the crux of the matter is the need to reduce (get it?) my expectation that personal products, medicine, and cleaning products have any color at all. 

Let’s take toothpaste as an example. I was having issues with my bargain-priced grocery store toothpaste (white with a blue stripe if you must know). It was irritating my gums. So I swung full-scale into using some delightful natural-ingredient tooth cleaning tablets that did not irritate my gums and felt better than toothpaste in my mouth. But they are…brown. It was disconcerting to see that brown color, I admit, and I had to chide myself for feeling it was weird.

Which brings up another R: Rethink. What was weird, I have recently decided, was thinking that it was “natural” for toothpaste to be a color, even white. Same with soap, shampoo, or medicines. Yes, it’s important to be able to distinguish medicines from each other, but there are non-blue natural dyes and a lot that can be done with sizes and shapes to help them stand apart.

It's taken a little extra attention, but I have my daily supplements down to natural or color-free ones. Photo by Jenny Hill

Looking for less additives in personal products, medicines, and cleaning products may be benefiting from a trend to remove artificial color from food products. This food trend is seen by some as a mixed blessing. Nutrition expert Dr. Marion Nestle has called the focus on artificial colors “a meaningless way to give compliant junk foods the aura of health foods.” 

So, as with many things on the sustainability journey, lasting change is slow change. But I choose to take personal responsibility and count my wins where I can. I consider it a win that, if I can get past the squeamishness about brown stuff in my sink after brushing my teeth, I can keep unnecessary chemicals out of my body (and the water supply!). I can vote with my dollars by purchasing products without added color. Or I can make some of my own, as explored (with recipes!) in this blog on DIY personal products.

Have you been eliminating artificial color and dyes from your life? What have you found to be difficult? What were the wins? 

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