In the environment, sodium hypochlorite is acutely toxic to fish. The chlorine in bleach can also bind with organic material in the marine environment to form organochlorines, toxic compounds that can persist in the environment.

There may be some circumstances where bleach use is necessary for disease control, but there is little need for it on a regular basis. Tests have shown that washing counters and other surfaces with soap and water removes most bacteria and there are a number of oxygen-based alternatives for laundry uses of bleach.

Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFOs)
PFOs are used to manufacture Teflon (the coating on your non-stick pans). They are also in stain-resistant coatings for furniture, carpets, and clothing and are a breakdown product of chemicals used to coat food packaging, including fast food like McDonald’s. PFOs are broadly toxic. They don’t break down in the environment, and are considered to be persistent over geologic time scales. They nearly universally pollute human blood and have a half-life in the body of more than four years.

Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs)
BFRs (also known as PBDEs) are routinely added to consumer products to reduce fire-related injury and property damage. These chemicals have been linked to thyroid hormone disruption, permanent learning and memory impairment, behavioral changes, hearing deficits, delayed puberty onset, fetal malformations, and  possibly cancer. The San Francisco Bay Area is considered a hotspot for exposure to bromine-based chemicals. These chemicals can be found in the bodies of people and animals more than 20 years after exposure.

Dry Cleaning Chemicals
Over 95% of dry cleaners use the toxic chemical and probable carcinogen perchloroethylene (Perc) as the primary cleaning solvent. Short-term exposure can cause dizziness, fatigue, headaches, sweating, incoordination, and unconsciousness. Long-term exposure can cause liver and kidney damage. Once you bring dry-cleaned clothes home, they continue to off-gas Perc into the air, so if you must dry clean your clothes air them out before putting them away.

Plastic Softeners (Phthalates)
Polyvinyl-choloride plastic softeners (phthalates) are added to plastics to make them soft and maleable. They are ubiquitous–in shower curtains, children’s toys, shampoo bottles, raincoats, and even perfumes (to help them adhere to the skin). These industrial chemicals are linked to birth defects in the male reproductive system and can damage hormonal development in children. They can also can damage the liver, kidneys, and lungs. The presence of phthalates is of primary concern in toys, as children are much more vulnerable to toxic exposure. The European Union has banned the use of phthalates in children’s toys. Although not yet banned in the U.S., the good news is that Toys “R” Us has banned them from all products sold in their stores.

Toxic Cosmetics & Personal Care Products
There are hundreds of cosmetics and bodycare products in your supermarket and even your natural food store that contain known or possible carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxins. According to the Environmental Working Group, 60% of the products they tested contained endocrine disruptors, and a third had ingredients suspected of being carcinogenic. The European Union has much stronger requirements than the U.S. and you may be surprised to know that cosmetics and bodycare are not subject to FDA authority. According to The Environmental Working Group, cosmetics and personal care products may be the main routes of exposure for Americans to many harmful chemicals.

Of major concern are sunscreen (contaminated with the toxic chemical oxybenzone); nailpolish (contaminated with the chemical dibutyl phthalate or DBP, which has been linked to cancer); and many soaps and shampoos (containing the carcinogenic petrochemical ethylene oxide, which produces 1,4-Dioxane, a very toxic contaminant).

The chemical 1,4-Dioxane is especially disturbing because this toxin has been found in several brands of supposedly “organic” bodycare–not USDA Certified Organic but products claiming to be at least 70% organic and thus allowed to use the word “Organic” in their name. This includes several products made by Nature’s Gate, Jason, Kiss My Face, Giovanni and Desert Essence and others. There is currently a lawsuit in process filed by Dr. Bronner’s and the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in an attempt to get this chemical removed, or at the very least change the labeling, so that consumers are not fooled into thinking a product is organic and safe when it’s not.

Leaching Plastic Water Bottles
Water sold in plastic bottles may be contaminated with Bisphenol A (BPA), a xenoestrogen chemical. This includes hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol and many plastic baby bottles and drinking cups. If you taste plastic, you are drinking it, so get a different bottle. The type of plastic bottle in which water is sold is normally a #1, and is only recommended for one time use–so do not refill it. (The #2 HDPE high density polyethylene, #4 LDPE low density polyethylene, or #5 PP polypropylene water bottles are fine, so read what it says on the bottom of the bottle.)

BPA can leach from the above mentioned plasic bottles and is a known endocrine disruptor, disturbing the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Toxic Household Cleaners
There are many, many toxic chemicals in cleaners–in bathroom disinfectants, car waxes, window cleaners, furniture polish, drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and dish detergent. Many of these products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated. It irritates the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory system, and is the #1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers. Some cleaners contain hydrochloric acid, a highly corrosive irritant to both skin and eyes that can damage your kidneys and liver.

Furniture polish and car waxes contain petroleum distillates, chemicals that can cause skin and lung cancer; entry into the lungs may cause fatal pulmonary edema. Carpet cleaners may contain perchlorethylene, a known carcinogen, and ammonium hydroxide, a corrosive that’s damaging to eyes, skin and respiratory passages.

Bathroom cleaners often contain sodium hypochlorite, a corrosive that irritates or burns skin and eyes, and causes fluid in the lungs, which can lead to coma or death. They also contain formaldehyde, a highly toxic known carcinogen. Drain cleaners can contain trichloroethane, an eye and skin irritant and nervous system depressant; it can also damage your liver and kidneys.

Although some of the chemicals mentioned in this article are hard to avoid, it is not difficult to make your own cleaners. If you are not keen to do this, you can purchase green and nontoxic cleaners at many local stores. They may cost a little more money, but it’s surely worth it!

References: Environmental Working Group (ewg.org); Exposed by Mark Schapiro ©2007, Chelsea Green Publishing; Environmental Health Perspectives (ehponline.org); Grinning Planet (grinningplanet.com) and Consumer Law Page (consumerlawpage.com).

Many of us use toxic chemicals in everyday life. Sometimes we are aware of it, sometimes not. Many actions which appear to be harmless actually involve the use of harmful chemicals. Household cleaners, garden pesticides, paints, batteries, detergents, even flea powders can be hazardous to our health and the environment.

Detergents, degreasers, stain removers and pesticides have made our homes miniature chemical factories. Hazardous chemicals endanger the environment by contaminating our groundwater, lakes and oceans. If these hazardous products in the home are ingested, absorbed through the skin or inhaled they can cause illness that may only appear years later.

One of the biggest culprits in ocean pollution is phosphates, common in laundry detergents and some cleaning products. The average consumer nationwide uses about 30 pounds of laundry detergent a year; all together, Americans use about 8.3 billion pounds of dry detergent and a billion gallons of liquid detergent each year! High phosphate levels can kill life in rivers, streams and oceans by causing “algae blooms.” Algae slimes dense enough to suffocate marine life have been swelling around the world, especially in coastal bays. They are largely caused by fertilizing pollutants called “nutrients” in human sewage and farm runoff.

Some marine experts call this type of ocean pollution a silent, global epidemic that if unabated could destroy American’s most scenic and commercially valuable waters. From Long Island Sound to the Santa Monica Bay, nutrients have devastated many popular fishing spots and shellfish beds. Many coastal bays have turned the hue of pea soup, and some have regressed to “dead zones”–water so depleted of oxygen that only primitive creatures such as bacteria and algae can survive.

Some progress has been made in tackling this problem. Phosphates have been banned in many areas. But some supermarket varieties still contain them. In addition, many other household cleaning products contain harmful solvents and harsh chemicals that destroy the natural processes involved in wastewater treatment. In addition, hazardous waste products should not be disposed of in a septic system. These materials kill valuable bacteria in the system. This includes even small amounts of latex paint rinsed off of rollers and brushes.

Many of us tend to think anything sold in a supermarket must be safe, but often labels do not contain complete and accurate information. Many common household cleaning products are actually classified as hazardous waste! You should not dispose of them in the trash; please take them to your county’s hazardous waste collection center.

There is another side to this issue besides the pollution of our environment–our health, and the safety of our children. Chemical levels can be up to 70 times higher inside the home that out. Over 100 chemicals commonly found in homes have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, psychological abnormalities, skin reactions, headaches, depression, joint pain, chronic fatigue, chest pains, dizziness, loss of sleep, asthma. . .the list goes on. Housewives have a 55% higher risk of getting cancer than do women working outside the home. This most likely has to do with the products they use on a daily basis. Nervous disorders and respiratory problems have also been linked to hazardous substances in the home.

Every year thousands of household poisonings are reported. Many are fatal. Approximately 70% of all poisoning accidents occur in children between the ages of one and five. Almost all childhood poisonings are caused by unsafe storage and handling of household cleaning products and medicines. According to Poison Control, dishwashing detergent accounts for more accidental poisonings than any other household substance. Dandruff shampoo, if swallowed, causes vital organs to degenerate. Household ammonia, when mixed with bleach is a deadly substance. Bug spray can remain active and airborne in your home for up to 30 years.

Seniors are also at risk. With increasing age, people become more vulnerable to the harmful effects of environmental chemicals due to the deterioration of physiological and biochemical processes, which include certain age-related biochemical, morphological and functional changes associated with the nervous system. For example, the elderly are likely to suffer more than younger people from exposure to carbon disulfide and to certain pesticides and chemicals.

The most common ingredients in household cleaning products include alkalies, acids, detergents, other toxic chemicals. Alkalies are soluble salts that are effective in removing dirt without excessive rubbing. Alkalies vary in strength; the stronger one cause burns, and if swallowed can cause internal injuries and even death. Acids are beneficial in removing hard-water deposits, discoloration and rust stains. Acids can irritate and injure the skin and eyes. Oxalic acid, used in some toilet bowl cleaners, is extremely poisonous.

Caustic household cleaners can cause severe burning if swallowed or put on the skin, Symptoms of poisoning include redness around the mouth, drooling and difficulty in swallowing. Never make someone who has swallowed a caustic substance vomit or give a “neutralizing” agent, as the chemical reaction can cause further burning.) It is best to give water (about a cupful) and seek emergency advice from poison control.

Many of the chemicals found in our homes are used to make our lives easier. But we don’t realize the consequences of using many of these substances. Think before you pour waste down the sink. Only natural substances should be disposed in our sewer systems. Be wary and read labels. And whenever possible, use alternative non-toxic products that will curtail the destruction of the environment.

Our bodies are truly amazing. The fact that you are alive today means you have inherited an unbroken chain of being that stretches right back to the first single-celled organisms, 4,000 million years ago ­ that’s 4 billion years.Reprinted with permission from Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic, New Society Press, 2007

Your body contains between 50 and 75 trillion cells, and each cellular nucleus contains up to 25,000 genes. You breathe in and out 23,000 times a day from the same air that was breathed by the dinosaurs, and your body is 60% water, from the same ever-recycling water that is shared by every being in the world.

When you consider this amazing complexity, it is remarkable how healthy most of us are. When your body receives the nutrients it needs, breathes clean air, drinks pure water, and gets the exercise needed to keep your oxygen pumping and your muscles fit, it should last a hundred years.

It is very disturbing, therefore, to learn that our bodies are being contaminated with a burden of toxic chemicals. In 2003, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York conducted a study with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in which nine healthy volunteers, none of whom worked with chemicals, had their blood and urine tested. They found 167 industrial chemicals, including:

• 76 chemicals linked to cancer in humans or animals (average 53 per person)
• 94 chemicals that are toxic to the brain and nervous system (average 62)
•86 chemicals that interfere with the hormone system (average 58)
• 79 chemicals associated with birth defects or abnormal development (average 55) • 77 chemicals that are toxic to the reproductive system (average 55)
• 77 chemicals that are toxic to the immune system (average 53)

The chemicals came from everyday things such as adhesives, pesticides, food additives, fire retardants, hair sprays, perfumes, lubricants, brake fluid, varnishes, paints, dyes, and cleaning products. A Canadian study came up with similar results, as did a European study including 47 Members of the EU Parliament from 17 nations.

When the EWG looked at the breast milk of 20 nursing mothers, it found levels of brominated fire retardants (PDBEs) from furniture foam, computers, and televisions that were 75 times higher than the average found in recent European studies. The PDBEs accumulate in the food chain and human tissues, and adversely affect brain development and the thyroid.

In 2004, when they looked at the umbilical cord blood of ten newborn babies, they found that 287 chemicals had passed through their mothers’ placentas, averaging 230 contaminants.

The US Centers for Disease Control is also monitoring for environmental chemicals in our bodies. In 2005, as well as finding similar results to the other studies, they found that children had higher levels than adults for residues from second hand smoke, for some pesticides and chemicals such as phthalates that leach from plastics.

The good news is that they observed a steep decline in lead in the children’s blood, following regulations to remove it from gasoline and paint, and in second hand smoke residues, following smoking bans. The bad news is that these studies do not include the effects of ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen that is adding to our body burden.

When the chemicals are not removed, however, they often contribute to cancer. In 2003 a Belgian study found that women with breast cancer were five times more likely than healthy women to have residues of the pesticide DDT in their blood. In 2006 a US study found that men whose bodies were contaminated with PCB 153 were 30 times more likely to have prostate cancer than those who were not contaminated.

Why is this being allowed? A lack of regulatory oversight and constant pressure from industry not to interfere have combined to allow over 100,000 novel chemicals to be used, most of which have never been examined for their health impacts (see p. 30). When chemicals are studied, they are almost never studied in combination with other chemicals, and rarely at the minute levels of contamination that can undermine the body’s exquisitely sensitive hormonal systems.

We should be outraged that this is being allowed. Hazardous substances linked to cancer and other health problems are being found in the tissue of almost every living creature on Earth, and it is up to us to do something to stop this toxic trespass.

Two recent studies cast dramatic light on the extent to which Americans are absorbing toxic chemicals in their bodies as part of everyday life. They present a striking picture of Americans riddled with low levels of chemicals, the vestiges of eating, drinking, breathing and touching the synthetic products of the industrial world. Given how common these chemicals are, can personal actions and better choices reduce one’s level of exposure in a toxic world?

Charlotte Brody used to think so. For 20 years, she ate organic produce and followed all the usual recommendations to reduce chemical exposure, from using non-toxic household cleaning detergents to avoiding pesticides in her home and garden.

Joking that she washed her bathtub in vinegar so much that her family said it smelled like a salad, she adds, “I’m the one hand-picking individual weeds from my garden rather than using chemical sprays, and going that extra mile to get my organic milk in a glass bottle.”

With more than 70,000 chemicals in use in the United States and 2,000 new compounds being introduced every year, according to government figures, the average American is exposed to a cocktail of chemicals from various sources.

Brody used to think her efforts helped limit her exposure, but after volunteering to take part in a study measuring toxic chemicals in her body, she was shocked to find that she still had some 85 toxic chemicals in her blood and urine.

“I’m proof that a healthy lifestyle doesn’t shield you,” says Brody.

A chemical cocktail
Brody and eight other volunteers were tested for the presence of 210 chemicals, commonly found in consumer products and industrial pollutants, by the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York and two non profit groups, the and Commonweal.

The study claims to be “the most comprehensive” survey to date of the multitude of contaminants found in humans.

Tests on blood and urine detected an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants and other chemicals in the volunteers, with a total of 167 chemicals found across the entire group. The researchers chose subjects who did not work with chemicals in their jobs or live in industrial areas.

This small Mt. Sinai study and a much more comprehensive survey done by the also released in January, shed new understanding on the “body burden” of toxic chemicals we all carry inside. The results illustrate a side effect of modern life in which everything from carpets to cosmetics are bathed in toxins.

Results of CDC study
The CDC tests measured some 116 harmful chemicals, including lead, mercury and other heavy metals, chlorinated solvents, insecticides and other pesticides, PCBs, and plasticizing agents called phthalates, to name but a few.

The agency noted some public health successes, such as a decline in lead levels and in cotinine, the byproduct of tobacco smoke. But the researchers also announced some troubling findings, including:

• Children have twice the levels of certain pesticides in their blood as adults
• Children have higher levels of cotinine than adults
• Children have higher levels of certain chemicals used in soft plastic toys
• Adolescents have high levels of phthalates from personal care products
• Mexican-Americans have three times the levels of the banned pesticide DDT in their systems as other Americans

Cause for concern?
Environmentalists interpreted the test results as greater evidence of the need for better regulation of industrial chemicals, while some in the chemical industry saw them as a sign that better regulations and detection methods are working well.

“Just because chemicals are found present in the body doesn’t mean there’s cause for concern, but only that an internal metabolic process has occurred,” said Jennifer Biancaniello, a spokesperson for the American Chemical Council, a trade association of chemical manufacturers. “CDC hasn’t come out and said there’s cause for health concern.”

While the CDC researchers did not comment on the possible health consequences, they did note that there are not enough studies available to adequately answer health questions regarding most of the chemicals found.

The report’s immediate value, CDC officials said, was to show for the first time the extent of Americans’ exposure to a range of ubiquitous chemicals.

With data on real-world “body burdens,” researchers can then monitor the same populations for health effects and begin to connect the dots between exposures and health outcomes, said Jim Pirkle, deputy director for Science at the CDC’s environmental health laboratory.

“The important thing is to look at this as a work in progress,” said Dr. David Fleming, the deputy director of the CDC. “We’re getting information we never had before. Better decisions can be made about how to protect people from environmental hazards.”

Making personal choices
According to the Mt. Sinai study, chemicals make their way into our bodies through pollution, food additives, pesticide residues, a range of consumer products from paints and plastics, and a wide array of building materials. Given the ubiquitous nature of these chemicals, can individual actions to reduce one’s exposure make a difference?

“People should stop smoking and stop exposing children to secondhand smoke,” said the CDC’s Pirkle, who also cited the need to avoid lead in paint and other products. “But there’s no way you can get rid of everything,” he adds.

Kris Thayer, a scientist with the Environmental Working Group and one of their study’s authors, points to new evidence showing that making simple dietary changes can reduce one’s exposure. She cites a recent study that found feeding children organic food reduced their exposures to pesticides by 6 to 9 times and another study that found cutting consumption of fish decreased blood levels of methyl mercury, a potent neurotoxin.

But many exposures to toxic chemicals in daily life are unavoidable, she says. She hopes body testing will spur governments and corporate leaders to reduce toxic emissions and even ban some products, as Sweden recently did when it found traces of fire retardant turning up in women’s breast milk.

Rather than be paralyzed by our toxic exposure, we ought to use the results of these studies to promote better policies and product lines, said Jeannie Rizzo, director of the Breast Cancer Fund.

“I would have liked CDC to call for more policy changes and make a more urgent call for research,” said Rizzo. “We’re walking around with these chemicals in us but with a process (for protecting us) that doesn’t have to be this slow.”

Francesca Lyman is an environmental and travel journalist and author of “Inside the Dzanga-Sangha Rain Forest” (Workman, 1998). She recently finished a report on the health effects of the Sept. 11 attacks titled “Messages in the Dust,” which will be available online at www.neha.org.

Published: 05/07/2008

NEXT time you are in your kitchen, take a deep breath and have a look around. If you have recently given the nucleus of the house a summer-inspired clean – a nice scrub down of the sink, an anti-bacterial wipe-down of your kitchen tops, a sprinkling of bleach to keep your porcelain white – you might be feeling smug, but you’ll probably be surprised to learn that your house isn’t actually clean.

In fact, the air in it is about two to five times more polluted than the air outside – due entirely to the amount of chemicals in your everyday cleaning products.

While a recent report found that Britain is the dirtiest country in the developed world – just behind India and Malaysia in terms of household cleanliness – Britain also has the highest rates of asthma worldwide.

Many scientists believe that indoor household chemicals are to blame, at least in part, for the increase in chronic illnesses such as asthma (which has increased fourfold since the 1970s), cancer, fertility difficulties and neurodevelopmental problems in children.

Why? Because all those bleaches, disinfectants, air fresheners and aerosols that you use to keep your home squeaky clean all have a slew of ingredients you probably know nothing about – and many of them are now known to be incredibly toxic to both humans and the environment.

THE CHEMICAL CRUNCH

“People have absolutely no idea of the number of chemicals they’re exposed to every day,” says Elizabeth Salter Green, author of The Toxic Consumer and founder of CHEM Trust, a charity devoted to protecting people and the environment from harmful chemicals.

“We just assume that, living in a highly developed Western society, all these chemicals have been tested for their toxicity and effects on neurodevelopment and fertility. But they haven’t: 99% of the 10,000 chemicals in everyday trade don’t have adequate health and safety testing data.”

Adam Lowry, co-founder of eco-friendly cleaning brand method, calls the ingredients in everyday household products “bio-terrorists” and steers clear of them.

“You buy organic food to keep pesticides out of your body,” says Adam, whose book, Squeaky Green: The method Guide To Detoxing Your Home, looks at going natural with your domestic chores.

“But then you spray pesticides all over the kitchen to clean it. That can’t be good.”

So what’s in all those products?

BLEACH

Chlorine bleach is a common one that we use, usually holding our breath, to clean the really dirty areas of our home. But it’s a pesticide that needs at least 30 minutes of contact time to kill bacteria.

It poisons more children worldwide than any other chemical, says Adam, and has detrimental effects on the environment.

“The chlorine in bleach reacts with stuff when you wash it down the drain, and creates consistent chemicals that gather in your fat cells,” explains the environmental scientist.

“Basically, whatever you put down the drain ends up in your drinking water, so as you drink more water, you get a higher concentration in your body. It ends up in our fish and in plants, which we eat, too.”

Plus, it stinks. Chlorine bleach is a caustic element that’s dangerous to your skin and to the environment. If you’re keen on keeping your toilet and sinks clean, you can try a non-toxic, concentrated, biodegradable unchlorinated bleach such as Ecover’s Toilet Cleaner or method’s Bowl Patrol, a lactic-acid based non-toxic mix.

Or, if you prefer an all-natural clean, try this tip from Anna Shepard, The Times’ Eco Worrier and author of eco-guide How Green Are My Wellies?.

“As often as you remember, pour an eggcup of vinegar down the loo to prevent limescale,” she suggests.

“If it builds up, scoop out all the water and scrub at the limescale with undiluted vinegar, and a sprinkling of bicarbonate of soda if it’s really tough.”

TRICLOSAN

An anti-bacterial agent, triclosan has been registered as a pesticide by the US Environment Protection Agency, and in the UK, there are fears that its use is helping spread the occurrence of superbugs such as MRSA.

“Triclosan is in nearly everything,” says Elizabeth.

“It’s in handwashes, washing-up liquids, detergents, deodorants, chopping boards, bin bags and toothpaste. It’s an anti-bacterial that is a relatively new chemical, so we don’t know much about it yet, but we do know it doesn’t break down into the environment very well.”

“Triclosan is particularly pernicious,” agrees Adam.

“It accumulates in your fatty tissues and is believed to interfere with normal thyroid hormone function, disrupting your immune and reproductive systems.”

Want to get rid of triclosan? Ditch your cleaning products and deodorants for the natural variety, or look for conventional products that don’t have triclosan in them.

This might be harder to do with toothpaste, so try a health-food store for a natural one such as Kingfisher.

Adam suggests using your old toothpaste (if it’s the white, creamy variety) to buff your CDs and DVDs clean by wiping them from the centre out (not around and around) and rinsing with water. You’ll discover your old Crest is remarkably good at stopping CDs from skipping, too.

SYNTHETIC MUSKS (PARFUM)

“The only natural musk in the world comes from a deer that lives in the foothills of the Himalayas,” says Elizabeth.

“Everything else has a synthetic fragrance – your shampoo that smells like flowers, the floor polish that smells like lemon, the washing powder that smells of lavender.

“Parfum has a hormone-disrupting capability and has caused breast cancer cells to proliferate,” she adds.

“The idea is that you inhale it, it goes into your body and accumulates, and ends up being passed on to your unborn child.”

Finding products without parfum is a bit difficult, but not as hard as it seems. Opt for washing powders that are fragrance-free.

Natural shampoos, conditioners, lotions and creams usually come parfum-free, and products with the highest content of parfum – perfume – can be purchased from places such as Diptyque or L’Artisan Parfumeur, where only essential oils and not synthetic ingredients are used, says Shepard.

SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE (SLS)

SLS has received a bit of bad press lately, with reports that it is carcinogenic, a skin allergen and a possible cause of eczema and dermatitis. But both Elizabeth and Adam think that, in small quantities, SLS is OK.

“SLS is a degreaser in soaps, shampoos and cleaning products that’s used, in its undiluted form, as an engine degreaser in garages,” explains Elizabeth.

“It’s watered down extensively in cleansers, and while I wouldn’t want to put it on my children’s skin, there’s no proof that says it’s a hormone disrupter, toxic or dangerous. But it can exacerbate dryness in sensitive skin, so that’s why I don’t like it.”

Adam says: “SLS is a safe ingredient and has not been classified as a known, probable or even suspected carcinogen by either the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the American Cancer Society.

“It can be a moderate skin and eye irritant when used in high concentrations and unbuffered, but method only uses SLS in its formulations at sufficiently low concentrations so that any irritation concern is irrelevant.”

If you’re worried about SLS, detergents, cleansers and shampoos from health-food stores are often SLS-free – but they tend not to foam as well.

SOURCING ECO SCOURERS

Interested in finding out where you can buy method’s non-toxic, biodegradable, naturally derived and never-tested-on-animals products? They are now available at Sainsbury’s, Boots, Tesco, John Lewis, Waitrose, Ocado.com, Co-op, Selfridges and Whole Foods, with prices from £1.75. See www.methodproducts.co.uk for more information.

Ecover is available in selected ranges in all major supermarkets and the full range in all good, independent health-food stores. For stockists information, visit www.ecover.com

For more information on L’Artisan Parfumeur, visit www.artisanparfumeur.com

For details about Diptyque, visit www.diptyqueparis.com

Squeaky Green, by Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, is published by Chronicle Books, priced £9.99. Available July 28.

How Green Are My Wellies?, by Anna Shepard, is published by Eden Project Books, priced £16.99. Available now.

Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/700823?UserKey=0#ixzz0e6amoHqk

April 15, 2009 9:00 PM

Did you know Earth Day is a trademark? Yep. If you want to have an Earth Day event, you need to register it with Earth Day Canada, who own the name and police (or, um “coordinate”) Earth Day activities across the country. You want Earth Day merchandise? You buy it from them.

I found this out a couple years ago when EYE WEEKLY was running an Earth Day contest, and I got a call suggesting that since we were (ahem) using someone else’s trademark for a promotional purpose we should (ahem, cough) find a way to partner with them to make it all legit. Not that anyone was threatening to sue us, you understand, but organizations need to police their trademarks lest the name become generic.

Heaven forbid environmentalism become generic. What would happen then? People would be bound to go green all over the place with no supervision. But never mind.

The new awareness led me to start wondering about the name. And I realized why I’d always sort of thought of Earth Day as a lame snorefest celebrated most enthusiastically by the same people who tell you how truly delicious gluten-free probiotic snack crackers are (when, in truth, they taste like the packaging real snacks come in). Smug moral obligation isn’t exactly the festive theme I like most about my holidays. I like presents and turkey and, if it can be arranged, an open bar.

Either way, I don’t care about the Earth at all, really. It’s true that you really can’t beat an oxygenated atmosphere if you’re in the mood for breathing, but at the end of the day I don’t feel all that emotional about our planet. Half of Mother Earth’s majesty is inanimate and the other half is trying its best to make a meal out of people, after all. Animals? I love them. Or, more accurately, I love how they taste. Trees? You go ahead and hug them. Personally I like them best in the form of paper on which narratives are printed.

So of course I’m an environmentalist. But I didn’t buy into it to express my love of Mother Earth. I got into it — and stay into it — because I love people.

See, when eco-geddon comes, the Earth will continue to exist and, no doubt, to thrive long after we’re gone. Don’t worry about the Earth. Worry about us.

Because like any healthy ecosystem, the Earth is adapting to our abuse of our surroundings by attempting to kill us off. Which is why we need more trees, especially in cities. They offset carbon emissions, lower needs for energy use by providing shade and protection from the wind and they provide a foundation for a healthy, self-regulating ecosystem. And we need animals, because biodiversity is key to a functioning ecosystem that protects people from disease, saves us money and wards off climate change. And we need to eat fewer animals, tasty as they are, because the massive resource bonfire that is factory farming is in the process of cooking us. And so on.

Environmentalism is not about loving nature and saving Earth. It’s about loving humans and saving humans from a painful and ugly extinction. So what’s with “Earth Day”?

Maybe if we emphasized what was actually at stake here, we’d be all the more motivated to do our part. Leaving the car in the garage to “save the Earth”? Sounds nice, sweetheart, but I have places to be. But doing so to avoid seeing my grandchildren burned alive or drowned in an inland-marching ocean? Where did I put that Metropass?

Looking around, I found that Joseph Romm made a similar point at Salon.com last year: “Ultimately, stopping climate change is not about preserving the earth or creation but about preserving ourselves.” Agreed. He proposed the name “Triage Day.”

I’m partial to “Avoiding a Gruesome, Fiery, Painful Death Day.” Perhaps I should trademark it.