{"id":15502,"date":"2013-04-01T10:05:30","date_gmt":"2013-04-01T16:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15502"},"modified":"2013-04-01T10:05:30","modified_gmt":"2013-04-01T16:05:30","slug":"personal-care-products-food-toxins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/personal-care-products-food-toxins\/","title":{"rendered":"Toxins in our Everyday Personal Care and Food Products"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Did you know that on a daily basis an average consumer may use as many as two different personal care products that, when combined, could contain as many as 200 chemical compounds? (1) Or were you aware that one out of every ten ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products shows evidence of reproductive toxicity<\/a> in laboratory studies? What is more, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has even revealed that toxic chemicals in household cleaners<\/a> are three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air! (1)<\/p>\n With so many \u201cnatural\u201d and \u201ceco-friendly\u201d alternatives on the market, one would assume it would be easy to dodge harmful chemicals from entering your body, right? Sadly, this is not the case. \u00a0As more and more companies come out with new personal care and food products, more eco-experts<\/a> are finding them to be green-washed and full of harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n Purchasing a product with an \u201ceco-friendly\u201d or \u201corganic\u201d label is not enough anymore. Consumers have to understand the labels on their products; making sure they have a certified label (i.e. compostable<\/a>, biodegradable<\/a>, organic) and that they themselves have a better understanding of the harmful\/toxic chemicals in their everyday products.<\/p>\n In a recent article on green-washing by Eco-Savy<\/a>,\u00a0a website devoted helping consumers navigate through today\u2019s eco-marketplace and achieve everlasting health through choosing \u201cgreener\u201d and more\u00a0 “eco-friendly” products<\/a>, it was reported that in a private study by TerraChoice, 95.5% of consumer products which claim to be green are still guilty of at least one of the sins of green-washing. (4) \u00a0Eco-savy<\/a>, also explains how green washing<\/a> is on the rise and that there has been a 73% increase in green products since 2009.<\/p>\n Many people don\u2019t think twice about what makes their Kraft Dinner “yellow,” their soap “antibacterial,” or their shampoo lather on so nicely? \u00a0The truth is there are thousands of shockingly harmful chemicals in our everyday products that we need to be more aware of as consumers. In fact, 89% of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been screened for safety.<\/p>\n Below is a list of the most common everyday controversial chemicals that you should watch out for on your next trip to the store:<\/p>\n To find natural products without such harmful chemicals, visit eco-savy.com<\/a> featured product\u2019s <\/a>\u00a0and eco-store<\/a>. You can also follow eco-savy\u2019s google plus<\/a> page.<\/p>\n References<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n (1)\u00a0\u00a0 Baillie-Hamilton, P. Toxic Overload. <\/i>Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated.\u00a0(2005)<\/p>\n (2)\u00a0\u00a0 Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number. Health Canada & Environment Canada. Available: 3380-34-5http:\/\/www.ec.gc.ca\/ese-ees\/default.asp?lang=En&n=6EF68BEC-1<\/p>\n (3)\u00a0\u00a0 Terrachoice. Online: http:\/\/sinsofgreenwashing.org\/findings\/greenwashing-report-2010\/index.html<\/a>. Accessed: January,2013.<\/p>\n (4)\u00a0\u00a0 Vasil, A. (2012) Ecoholic Body: Your Ultimate Earth-Friendly Guide to Living Healthy & Looking Good. Vintage Canadian Edition.<\/p>\n (5)\u00a0\u00a0 Duty SM. (2005).<\/i> Phthalate exposure and reproductive hormones in adult men Hum. Reprod<\/i>. 20(3): 604-610. first published online December 9, 2004 doi:10.1093\/humrep\/deh656.<\/p>\n (6)\u00a0\u00a0 Swan SH et. al. Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2005 Aug; 113(8):1056-61.<\/p>\n (7)\u00a0\u00a0 Casta\u00f1o-Vinyals, G., et. al. (2012) Anogenital distance and the risk of prostate cancer. BJU International.<\/p>\n (8)\u00a0\u00a0 Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller, WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope G. 2004. Concentrations of Parabens in human Breast Tumours. J. Appl. Toxicol. 24, 5-13.<\/p>\n (9)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Demirkol, O., Zhang, X., Ercal, N. (2012) Oxidative effects of Tartrazine (CAS No. 1934-21-0) and New Coccin (CAS No. 2611-82-7) azo dyes on CHO cells. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety.<\/em> 7: 229-236.<\/p>\n (10) Welshons WV, et al. Large effects from small exposures. I. Mechanisms for endocrine-disrupting chemicals with estrogenic activity. Environ Health Perspect.<\/i> 1118994\u20131006. (2003) http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1289\/ehp.5494.<\/p>\n Sara Bonham<\/a> is the founder of eco-savy.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Disclaimer: This article contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the article. It should be read with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering medical, health or any other kind of personal professional services.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With so many \u201cnatural\u201d and \u201ceco-friendly\u201d alternatives on the market, one would assume it would be easy to dodge harmful chemicals from entering your body, right? Sadly, this is not the case. As more and more companies come out with new personal care and food products, more eco-experts are finding them to be green-washed and full of harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":15503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,79],"tags":[535,19,6375,1679],"yoast_head":"\n\n