How safe is your soap? July 31, 2008

The Environmental Working Group has a website called Skin Deep. This site is an excellent resource for consumers in that it lists thousands of personal care products in an organized way and rates them on how safe their ingredients are.

“Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.”

At Skin Deep, you can find hundreds of specific items for hair, skin, eyes, nails, baby, oral care, fragrance, and makeup rated from 0-10, zero being the safest. Each item’s score is explained in detail and safer options are given.

I occasionally purchase an item or two at a department store but most of my everyday care products come from my local drugstore. In today’s post I’m listing safer, inexpensive bar soap choices from Skin Deep’s site that can easily be found at your local drugstore. I’ve also listed a common item with high (not safe) score as comparison.

It should be noted that although Skin Deep gives products a “moderate hazard” score, some of them contain parabens, which one study suggested may cause breast cancer due to hormone mimicking properties, fragrance, which can often mean Diethyl Phthalate or DEP, which is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to reproductive and genital abnormalities, propylene glycol, which the FDA says is safe for general use but can cause cancer and contains toxins that affect reproduction, sodium laureth sulfate, which can cause skin and eye damage and even liver toxicity and finally, BHT, which has been linked to neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption. Items containing any of these are noted.

Bar soap with a score of 1 having a “low hazard”:

Basis Sensitive Skin Bar Soap

Bar soap with a score of 3 having a “moderate hazard”:

Dove Beauty Bar Sensitive Skin – BHT

Dial Original Bar Soap White – fragrance

Irish Spring Deodorant Soap Original 8 bar pack – fragrance

Ivory Classic Ivory Bar Soap – fragrance

Zest Bar Soap Bar, Linen Fresh – fragrance

Bar Soap with a score of 4 having a “moderate hazard”:

Zest Bath Bar Soap, Spring Burst – fragrance, sodium laureth sulfate

Bar soap with a score of 7 having a “high hazard”:

Lever 2000 Bar Soap, Energize – fragrance, propylene glycol

Visit Skin Deep and check out some of your favorite products to see how they rate. Then decide if you need to make some changes. If you do, don’t feel you need to do it all at once. Just make changes as you run out of things.

Check back with me as I’ll continue with safer choices for oral and baby care.

See an earlier post of mine called, “How Safe Is Your Shampoo & Conditioner?“

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That’s (eco)news to me – online banking July 30, 2008

Did you know that if all Americans signed up for online banking to pay their bills, we’d save 16.5 million trees a year and cut 3.9 billion pounds of greenhouse gases? It’s such an easy change that saves you time and earth’s resources.

photo by: www.time.com (Stuart Franklin)

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Why go “green”? July 29, 2008

Sixteen years ago, I became a vegetarian. At the time, I didn’t do it for ethical reasons or to save the planet. I had moved to a new place and my roommate was one. She liked to cook and I didn’t. After living with her for a while, and eating her dishes, I realized how long I had gone without eating meat. Did I feel “physically” different? Yes, actually, I did. The only way I could explain it is that I felt lighter and I don’t mean this in terms of my weight, which basically stayed the same. Because I liked the way I was feeling, I decided to stick with it and I’ve been going meatless ever since. I understand that as an individual I’ve made only a small impact on saved resources (water, land use) due to not consuming meat, but it’s something.

When I became pregnant last year, I thought a lot about how small amounts of chemicals, whether in food, soap, or a mattress, could affect a baby. Could these toxins have a stronger impact on her little body? Having her has inspired me to do research on safer soaps, toys, cleaning products, food, which then helps me to make better choices for things I would use myself. I knew then and still understand now that I can’t eliminate all hazards from coming in contact with her, but I can try to reduce them. These changes I’ve made haven’t made a huge impact on the world’s pollution or waste but it’s still something.

These small substitutions over time, however, could have a big impact on my health and my family’s health. By spreading the word on what I’ve learned, perhaps I can inspire others to want to do the same and all of us making safer choices for ourselves and the environment add up to measurable differences.

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Safe, clean hands on the go July 28, 2008

When I find a safe, handy item that makes life easier and can be carried in my bag (an added bonus!), my heart go pitter-patter. About a year ago, I came across Clean Well hand sanitizer and wipes.

Clean Well products are:

• 100% poison free
• 100% green
• 100% biodegradable
• are safe for kids
• contain no alcohol
• are naturally anti-bacterial
• kill 99.99% of germs

Their wipes come individually wrapped and their hand sprays come in two sizes. They can be purchased at Whole Foods, Target and Amazon. Check their site for other local stores near you.

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Not in my kitchen! July 27, 2008

Nature is beautiful. I appreciate the trees, grass, ocean, and animals. But there’s one thing I have difficulty embracing and that’s insects. As long as they stay outside, I’m fine with that. I just don’t want them in my kitchen. I will say proudly, though, that I do rescue spiders when I find them. After all, they’re harmless and go after the real pesky insects like mosquitoes. That’s where I draw the line, though. Anything else has to go.

I live in an apartment building and so there are particular pests, no matter how clean your kitchen is, that sometimes find their way into your home. Unfortunately, you’re often at the mercy of your neighbor. So, about 4 weeks ago I spotted a (I’m cringing at the thought of just typing the next word) cockroach. My first reaction was to set off a bomb with the most horrible toxic cloud imaginable to go after the one I saw and any others that I immediately pictured living behind the appliances. But I resisted and called a friend. She simply suggested pouring a barrier line of baking soda just under and in front of the stove, dishwasher and refrigerator (see an earlier post on the wonders of baking soda as a cleaning product). I stepped into action right away and even pushed some through any small holes I found as an extra precaution.

Well, it’s been a month now and I’m very pleased to say (as I knock on the wooden table here) that I haven’t seen one since I built my “great wall”, as I like to think of it. Resist temptations of using harsh chemical pest controls and take a look at Earth Easy for other natural ways of getting rid of ants, dust mites, mosquitoes, flies, fleas, wasps and others.

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Limit your processed meats & have a “Meatless Monday” July 26, 2008

Yesterday, CNN reported on a story about processed meats and their possible link to cancer due to the nitrates in them. The American Institute for Cancer Research recently conducted a study on this and found that eating a hotdog a day can increase your risk of cancer by 21 percent. A hotdog was given as an example but it would be the same as an ounce and a half of sausage, bologna, bacon, or salami per day. It was reported that choosing nitrate-free meats could possibly help. The American Cancer Society states we should reduce our consumption of processed meats to only special occasions.

You can take this a step further by choosing to go meatless one day a week. This would help your overall health and would be better for the environment. A United Nations agency in Rome reports that livestock accounts for 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse related gases. This includes deforestation that clears grazing land and the transportation of the meat. Check out MeatlessMonday for some great vegetarian recipes.

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Reasons not to drink bottled water July 25, 2008

Manufacturers of bottled water take good care of us. They provide us with crystal clear water from springs and glaciers, untouched and clean. Their water is healthier than what we get at home from our kitchen and it’s inexpensive. Right? Well, no actually.

Here’s some important facts:

• The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tested 103 brands of bottled water and found there was no certainty that bottled water is safer or cleaner than tap water.
• Municipalities have to disclose their water testing results to the public, whereas bottled water companies do not. (If you don’t like the way your tap water tastes, you can buy inexpensive carbon filters which should help and they still end up being less than purchasing bottled water. You can also see how your local water compares to others here.)
• 80 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled.
• Water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.
• Tap water costs about $0.0015 per gallon.
• Bottled water costs about $1.27 per gallon.
• 25 percent of bottled water is filtered tap water (For example: Aquafina and Dasani)

We can all make a huge difference in the amount of waste produced by empty bottles and the many millions of gallons of oil needed to make them if we just used refillable ones. A great toxic and BPA-free option is a Kleen Kanteen. I’ve been using one for a few years now and really love it. It’s made of only stainless steal, with no special lining inside. The opening is large enough to put ice cubes in too. They even come in a sippy cup version.

Head on over to Green Mom Finds where they’re having a Kleen Kanteen sippy cup giveaway until July 29, 2008. The Soft Landing is also having a giveaway until July 31, 2008 for a Safe Sippy, which is also BPA-free. Good luck!

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CFL light bulbs – What a bright idea! July 24, 2008

CFL’s, or compact fluorescent lights, are an easy way to cut your home energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They will cost you more upfront but over time they will save you money.

• CFLs use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and can last up to 10 times longer.
• CFL’s use only about 30% of the power needed for a similar incandescent bulb.
• They can save you $30-60 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
• They produce about 75% less heat, so they’re safer to use and can reduce energy costs associated with cooling your home.

You probably shouldn’t use CFL bulbs in ceiling fans because the movement will cause the bulb to wear out sooner. Outdoor CFL bulbs are in a secondary enclosure to help with their cold weather performance; however, CFL’s like to be warm so you may notice that their efficiency drops with colder temperatures.

It is important to dispose of CFL’s properly because they contain a small amount of mercury. IKEA offers a “Free Take Back” program where you can give them your old CFL’s to be recycled. You can also bring your used CFL’s to all Home Depot stores for them to be recycled as well. If you don’t live near either of these stores, you can go to Earth911, the largest online resource for recycling information in the United States and Canada, where you can enter “CFL” and your zip code to find where you can bring them to be recycled.

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BPA free baby bottles – glass or plastic? July 23, 2008

Like many moms-to-be, I dove head first into researching all things baby before my daughter was born. First, I narrowed things down to what I only thought she would really need and then I looked into what I thought were the safest options.

One thing that was a big focus of mine was BPA (see an earlier post of mine on this subject). I knew I would purchase ones without it, but which to go for – glass or plastic? I started off with plastic, thinking they would be a safer choice if I dropped one. But after cleaning them over and over again, I went for glass – Evenflo to be exact and here’s why:

• They are VERY easy to clean – both formula and breast milk have fat in it which makes a greasy film on the bottles. This is difficult to clean off plastic. It’s really easy to clean off from glass.
• No plastic issues to deal with at all.
• They’re very inexpensive – I think I bought three 8 oz bottles at Babies R Us for $4.99.
• They’re easier to warm up – using cold breast milk/formula from the refrigerator is difficult to warm up when you have it in a plastic bottle and are using hot water from the tap in a mug, for example. It’s much easier/faster with a glass bottle.
• They have an “old fashion” feel to them which I kind of like!

If you’re worried about dropping them, as I initially was, you can purchase something like Silikids Siliskins.

Choosing a bottle that’s BPA-free, whether it’s glass or plastic, is ultimately what’s most important. After that, it’s personal preference and what we often find after our baby is born is that it’s THEIR personal preference as to which one they like best. So don’t be surprised if you need to try, try again until you find what works for the both of you.

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Be wary of the new “green” Teflon July 22, 2008

About two months ago, I heard about a new “green” non-stick pan that Bed Bath & Beyond was carrying. I was interested and relieved – finally a safe, inexpensive, non-stick pan for people who love this convenience. Well, I was wrong.

On June 9, 2008, The Environmental Working Group sent out an email explaining that there is no public data available about the health risks of these new “green” chemicals. The email goes on by saying:

“Calling these replacement chemicals ‘green’ is like saying you’re safer driving a car at 150 miles an hour instead of 200,” said Olga Naidenko, PhD, an EWG senior scientist. “Just like the chemicals they’re replacing, these new compounds are extraordinarily persistent in the environment, they are already found in people’s blood and they cross the placenta to contaminate babies before birth.”

The email goes on to say, “In 2006, DuPont and 7 other companies, under pressure from the EPA, agreed by 2015 to phase out PFOA, a persistent breakdown product of perfluorinated chemicals in fast-food wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn and other food packaging. PFOA has been termed a “likely human carcinogen” by the EPA’s Science Advisory Board. Even as it agreed to a phase-out, however, DuPont has insisted – in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary – that PFOA does not harm human health or the environment.”

However, The Environmental Working Group’s investigation found that:

“Since 2007, various PFC manufacturers have reported to the EPA 19 different new, unpublished studies showing “substantial risks” to human health and the environment from fluorochemicals, but under EPA rules shielding “confidential business information,” in 17 cases the companies redacted the name of the specific chemical and did not disclose its intended uses.”

The Environmental Working Group suggests that to be safer, we should:

• use stainless steal or cast iron pots
• try to avoid greasy packaged food and fast food since the wrappers are sometimes treated
• say no to optional stain treatment on furniture and new carpets
• look for personal care products without “PTFE” or “perfluoro” in the ingredients

You can see The Environmental Working Group’s concise guide to PFC’s and how to avoid them here.

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