I am having a hard time swallowing this. There are a few reasons. One is that it just generally concerns me that there are cancer causing toxins in what seems like everything...baby lotion, sunscreen, hand lotions, body creams, lipsticks (ladies....we are EATING LEAD). The companies range from well known department store brands, to unknown brands, to ones that tout themselves as NATURAL.
If you go to the following website, you can type in your brand, or category, or company, and search for the results. Beware, this is only for what is known, for what has been reported. You might need to do more research to find out if your brands contain toxins.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
Another reason it is hard for me to swallow this is that we are directly applying these toxins (via our products) directly onto ourselves to be absorbed directly INTO our skin. And unless you do some research, you have no idea what you are doing.
A friend of mine introduced me to this website. I checked out a few of the companies used in my household. I buy from Melaleuca, Inc, http://www.melaleuca.com/. They make great products and say that they are non-toxic and high quality, good for the environment, etc. I only found 2 products (neither of which I use) and they had extremely low levels (0-2 based on a 0-10 scale). I highly recommend this company and it's products -- though it does surprise me about those two products. More on them in another post.
What I found alarming is the lists upon lists upon lists of items (over 2500!) with Peg-100 Stearate. This is alarming because some of these items tout themselves as using only natural products! (The Body Shop, Kiss My Face, Neutrogena, Kiehl's) AND, one that scored 9 on the 0-10 scale I grew up using! (St. Yves Apricot Scrub) Yikes! Even worse than that is the products that we use on or around our mouths that are highly toxic...Rembrandt 3-in-1 whitening and mouthwash toothpaste, Orajel Baby Tooth & Gum cleanser, Mixed Berry flavor, even an Arm & Hammer toothpaste! Arm & Hammer!
So think about how Cancer is on the rise. Year after year, diagnosis are on the rise. This now doesn't surprise me given what I have just been reading! And that we start cleaning and moisturizing our babies with all of this from infancy! Johnson & Johnson, Huggies, Baby Magic all contain high levels of toxins. Scary! Thank god I use my Melaleuca Koala Pals products and never got sucked into that whole "Johnson & Johnson are the best" hype.
I realize I am ranting and it may seem pointless, but I really want people to become aware of this and realize that they can actually be proactive in NOT using these harmful products. Avoid using products that contain harmful ingredients and that may be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, including sodium myreth sulfate, PEG compounds and chemicals that include the clauses "xynol", "ceteareth" and "oleth". Similarly, avoid products that contain formaldehye-releasing preservatives including quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea.
Products without these additional harmful toxins may be hard to find. Similar to my experience trying to buy products that do not use high fructose corn syrup (which is a toxin as well). They (products without high fructose corn syrup) are hard to find, because it seems it is in everything. Individually it may seem to the FDA that it is such a negligent amount, it isn't harmful, but if it's in EVERYTHING you are eating, then the levels are way higher than anyone is thinking about because it's all compounded. And, same thing with the toxins in the cosmetics and bath products, shampoos, and lotions...it may be low levels individually (though some are high) but ALL together it's insanity!
We all need to wake up to what is in our household products. Don't even get me started on how toxic BLEACH is. That is a whole other posting.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My dilemma regarding dishwasher detergent...
I have this dilemma regarding my dishwasher detergent... If I use eco-friendly detergent (as I do for all of the other cleaning products in my house), my dishes don't get clean and also there is a moldy substance that starts to grow over time IN the dishwasher. Can't be good. Also, it's annoying that my dishes don't get clean with the eco-friendly detergent. I then have to use more water (a waste) and other detergent (another waste) and my own time and energy, all because I don't want to use a detergent that has phosphates.
Well, I have to say this is the one area I have succumbed to using the more powerful phosphate added detergent. I hate it and I am not willing to use more water and more soap and my time and energy RE-CLEANING my dishes. If it were one or two dishes, I could handle that, but it's several.
So, there you go. This is my dilemma.
Well, I have to say this is the one area I have succumbed to using the more powerful phosphate added detergent. I hate it and I am not willing to use more water and more soap and my time and energy RE-CLEANING my dishes. If it were one or two dishes, I could handle that, but it's several.
So, there you go. This is my dilemma.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Reusing
There is a lot of talk about recycling -- one thing I want to start focusing on is reusing and repurposing (is that really a word?? Regardless...).
Re-Using: Interesting concept -- Can we reuse something more than once? In the world of uber-sanitizing against germs (read: bleach in everything), we, the common person, has been trained to only use the Ziploc bag once rather than again and again. Well, for dry goods I see no harm in that and for the wet items, a good washing with dish soap will get the stickiness or crud out (ahhh, my parents would be so proud, given I used to cringe when opening the kitchen drawer full of "reuseable" baggies back in my high school years). In fact, a girlfriend of mine, just figured out and made a "reuseable" homemade non-plastic "Ziploc". It is made out of fabric, is coated with bib coating - washable - and has velcro in it to keep it shut tight. It is awesome. I told her I wanted lots. The whole thing is washable, but for us moms who have kids, who like their snacks in something personal, it is the perfect reuseable "baggie". Yay Natalie!!
Re-Purposing: I like this, even if not a word... it is the reusing of something for a different purpose. Real Simple Magazine usually has a page or two of new uses for old things - always a learning experience. But I saw something a few weeks ago that was really great. We drink wine a lot and so often have a bottle or so to recycle regularly. This person used old wine bottles, some with really cool looking labels, as water bottles on each of the tables where we were sitting. I must say, they were much easier to pour from than heavy water pitchers and much more interesting! They all had lovely wine stoppers in them too to make them even more appealing. Inside was delicious water. I loved this idea and will be stealing it for our next dinner party!
So look around and see what you can reuse and/or repurpose. That is just as important as recycling.
Re-Using: Interesting concept -- Can we reuse something more than once? In the world of uber-sanitizing against germs (read: bleach in everything), we, the common person, has been trained to only use the Ziploc bag once rather than again and again. Well, for dry goods I see no harm in that and for the wet items, a good washing with dish soap will get the stickiness or crud out (ahhh, my parents would be so proud, given I used to cringe when opening the kitchen drawer full of "reuseable" baggies back in my high school years). In fact, a girlfriend of mine, just figured out and made a "reuseable" homemade non-plastic "Ziploc". It is made out of fabric, is coated with bib coating - washable - and has velcro in it to keep it shut tight. It is awesome. I told her I wanted lots. The whole thing is washable, but for us moms who have kids, who like their snacks in something personal, it is the perfect reuseable "baggie". Yay Natalie!!
Re-Purposing: I like this, even if not a word... it is the reusing of something for a different purpose. Real Simple Magazine usually has a page or two of new uses for old things - always a learning experience. But I saw something a few weeks ago that was really great. We drink wine a lot and so often have a bottle or so to recycle regularly. This person used old wine bottles, some with really cool looking labels, as water bottles on each of the tables where we were sitting. I must say, they were much easier to pour from than heavy water pitchers and much more interesting! They all had lovely wine stoppers in them too to make them even more appealing. Inside was delicious water. I loved this idea and will be stealing it for our next dinner party!
So look around and see what you can reuse and/or repurpose. That is just as important as recycling.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Breaking Old Habits
It's hard to break old habits. Going green can be overwhelming. Growing up in Oregon, it was ingrained in me to recycle or reuse everything. It's easy to be green in Oregon. There are recycling bins on every corner downtown (well, not every corner, but it sure seems like it). Living in Atlanta, where it seems the city doesn't really want you to recycle is a bit frustrating. It is a commitment you have to make and then you need to set up life to make it happen.
To start: I hate that I can't recycle cardboard with my trash/recycling company. They won't take it. And they say they won't take yellow pages books either. I put those in anyway. (And why are those still published and distributed? What a waste...does anyone even use them anymore? Why wouldn't you just use the internet? Please stop sending them to me.)
I have been traveling a lot recently. Why is it that the Atlanta airport does not have recycling bins next to the trash bins? It could be so easy. Big blue bins, one for plastic and one for newspapers. So easy and given that it's the busiest airport, it could make a huge impact. I doubt anyone is sorting out the trash. Just let us the people sort it.
I am trying to conserve water...just because. I started when we had a severe drought. Now I just do it to save water. My water bill keeps going up. I do a comparison every month, this month compared to same month last year and also to the previous month. We are still using more water. I don't get it.
The one thing I am consistent with is bringing my own shopping bags for groceries. This makes me feel so good that I am not using plastic bags. I wish everyone would see how easy it is to use your own bags and to know what a difference you would be making by using them. I think Seattle has the right idea -- they might (if people vote yes to this) charge 10 cents for every plastic bag you use when shopping. Sometimes the people putting your groceries in bags put ONE item in a bag. How ridiculous is that? This 10 cent charge would never happen in Atlanta. So, here I am, the bag lady, always showing up with my zillion bags for my groceries. It's the one thing that I know I CAN do that makes an immediate impact.
To start: I hate that I can't recycle cardboard with my trash/recycling company. They won't take it. And they say they won't take yellow pages books either. I put those in anyway. (And why are those still published and distributed? What a waste...does anyone even use them anymore? Why wouldn't you just use the internet? Please stop sending them to me.)
I have been traveling a lot recently. Why is it that the Atlanta airport does not have recycling bins next to the trash bins? It could be so easy. Big blue bins, one for plastic and one for newspapers. So easy and given that it's the busiest airport, it could make a huge impact. I doubt anyone is sorting out the trash. Just let us the people sort it.
I am trying to conserve water...just because. I started when we had a severe drought. Now I just do it to save water. My water bill keeps going up. I do a comparison every month, this month compared to same month last year and also to the previous month. We are still using more water. I don't get it.
The one thing I am consistent with is bringing my own shopping bags for groceries. This makes me feel so good that I am not using plastic bags. I wish everyone would see how easy it is to use your own bags and to know what a difference you would be making by using them. I think Seattle has the right idea -- they might (if people vote yes to this) charge 10 cents for every plastic bag you use when shopping. Sometimes the people putting your groceries in bags put ONE item in a bag. How ridiculous is that? This 10 cent charge would never happen in Atlanta. So, here I am, the bag lady, always showing up with my zillion bags for my groceries. It's the one thing that I know I CAN do that makes an immediate impact.
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