Super Eco

Photo credit: lusi, SXC

Prepare yourself: The holiday season is a full contact sport. Packed shopping malls, family gatherings, bustling airports, hectic grocery stores, the party circuit ... No matter how you look at it, you're going to be in close proximity to the unwashed masses over the next month or so—and unwashed they're sure to be, unless there's some new handwashing trend we haven't spotted yet. Frequent, thorough handwashing remains your best defense against catching whatever bug is going around in your neck of the woods. But when you can't make it to a sink with soap, sanitizing lotions can help fill the gap.

Hand sanitizers aren't magic elixirs. They don't remove chemicals you may have picked up on your hands (such as fire retardants from that brand new electronic gizmo you just unwrapped), so hand-to-mouth chemical transfer at mealtime could still be an issue. Sanitizer ingredients—including the harmful ones such as fragrances and antibacterial agents—remain on your skin after use, giving them the chance to become fully absorbed into your body. (Eww.) We recommend passing up that ubiquitous bottle of Purell and reaching for something with more natural, nurturing ingredients.

Two products we like:

• Clean Well makes a completely alcohol-free, Triclosan-free formula that still claims to kill 99.99% of harmful germs on contact, including MRSA, E. coli and Salmonella. Available in small spray bottles or as wipes, it's kid-safe (no harmful ingredients if kids get some in their mouths), cruelty-free (no animal testing) and 100% biodegradable.
• Surya Brasil sanitizers are a good choice if you prefer the reliable germ-killing properties of alcohol (which can be drying to skin when used frequently). The rest of the ingredients, which include júa and açai and are all from renewable resources, are certified organic through Eco Cert. Even more remarkable is what's not inside: no mineral oil, parabens, petrochemicals, carbomer, synthetic fragrance or artificial coloring. This product is also cruelty-free.