Where Are Your Cosmetics From?

From the time we are adolescents, we are fed a fine marketing campaign that thrusted us into consumerism. Unfortunately, much of it has played on our vanity and the products that we started to buy into were "beauty" products. Without a thought to how these might impact us, we became accustomed to using them along with our peers. It is only in recent years that some consumers have become a bit savvy about scrutinizing their products for safety. And even still, the minutia that we have to sort through is staggering. The developmental years are a critical time to steer the health of the human body. Exposure to toxicants at this time will have an impact upon the incidence of disease in later life...and the progressive increase in the rate of chronic disease is telling this story.

Getting the message across that we have to stand up for ourselves as consumers is a challenging one. It is a leap for many to believe that we are simply not being protected by government regulation that stops the flow of toxic chemicals into the food and products that we use everyday. But the reality is this...we are currently not safe if we choose to trust the manufacturers without a pause. The majority of cosmetics are loaded with synthetic chemicals that are questionably hazardous to the health of our bodies and the environment. A good body of evidence suggests that many disrupt the function of our hormones and produce genetic changes that put us at risk for diseases such as cancer. The conversation about our health and the environment is long overdue in some homes. So where to start?

With a creative educational video. The Story of Stuff Project has been in the works for a few years now with the mission of educating consumers about this very topic. The emerging relationship between the health of our ecosystem and the health of our species is becoming rather clear. As a continued push to help consumers protect themselves, the Story of Stuff Project released a video on the Story of Cosmetics. It is a story we should all hear, including the young members of our population. Start to share this with your family and friends. It is the demand of consumers that bring about change. If we don't buy it, they won't make it. And that would make life easier for all of us!

Go Green When You Clean

It seems to be the prevailing thought that you need a different cleaner for every job in the house and that disinfectants are necessary to prevent illness. Nothing could be further from the truth and the health of our environment could improve drastically if we consider a different way of going about this.

The list of harmful chemicals in cleaners runs very long. Some of these chemicals are causing damage at the level of the DNA and others cause endocrine dysruption. In either case, they induce changes in the physiology of the body that contribute to the development of a number of diseases, including cancer. The assumption by many consumers is that these products are regulated and therefore we are being protected from any possible toxic exposure. And the sad truth is, this simply is not the case. Synthetic chemicals may be introduced into use without any testing to validate their safety. Of the over 80,000 chemicals that have been produced, only 200 of them have been tested by the FDA and just 5 of those have been banned. This leaves the consumer in the position of trusting that the product manufacturers are looking after their health. With the number of chemicals in use that have been linked to low-dose toxicity and hormone disruption, we can safely assume that most manufacturers are not doing this.

Ultimately, we must implement regulation of synthetic chemicals that prevents their being used until they have been proven safe for human exposure. It is helpful for individuals to clean up their environment to improve their health, but continued use of these chemicals leads to their persistence in our ecosystems which threatens the safety of our water and air. Be a part of the change you would like to see and stay informed of how you can support legislation that will move us towards eliminating these stressors on our health and the environment. http://www.breastcancerfund.org/

So how do we protect ourselves and those we care about starting today? By trading in the household cleaning products for the techniques of old. Our homes don't need every new disinfectant and scrubbing bubble on the market. In fact, research has shown that homes that use synthetic disinfectants and anti-microbials are no less prone to infections than those that do not use these compounds and overuse of these contributes to the growing problem of anti-biotic resistence. Furthermore, many benign compounds can clean our homes nearly as effectively as the fandangled toxic products that are being pushed on us daily. Good old distilled vinegar will clean windows and hard surfaces, baking soda will help scrub away the tile residue and a number of essential oils will kill lots of those germs that you're worried about. And if you contest that these don't do as good of a job as the harsh store bought cleaners...consider this. Is the streak on the window or a bit of soap scum a small problem in comparison to the loss of good health? We think this is an appropriate thought to ponder.

So if you decide to get greener with your cleaners, we have a great resource for you. One of our go to research groups, Women's Voices for the Earth, has a list of easy green cleaning recipes to start you moving on the path to a less toxic home...and you can start breathing easier today!

BPA...and All the Rest!

The hype about BPA or bisphenol A, has deserved all the attention it has gotten. However, the spotlight on toxic chemicals needs to shine a bit bigger than this. BPA is one chemical in a larger classification of chemicals called bisphenols. There is no regulatory statute that governs the introduction of chemicals used in consumer products and this is a very real and serious problem. We feel as though we are being savvy about using products labeled BPA-free when in reality, a manufacturer can choose another, yet untested chemical that may be effecting the same...if not a more dangerous result on our health.

The long list of chemicals that are considered endocrine disruptors or toxicants is very long. According the the Breast Cancer Fund, there are roughly 84,000 chemicals that have been introduced into consumer products. When the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 was introduced, the 62,000 that were in use were "grandfathered" in. BPA was one such endocrine disrupting agent that remained in use without any testing. After 1976, chemical manufacturers have only been required to test a newly introduced chemical if there is current data available on it. The burden of proof of hazard falls on the EPA and they have limited time to produce the research before the manufacturer is able to send it off into consumer's hands and into the environment.

So now as we look for the "BPA-free" label, we cannot be certain that the products we are using are free of agents that can cause harm in our bodies...and our loved ones. Some of the other bisphenols, such as BPB, BPS and BPAF, have been shown in studies to produce endocrine-disrupting activity much like that of BPA. Albeit, these studies have been small in number, but they are being used in products labeled "BPA-free". And if these preliminary studies don't look good...the big question is...who wants to be the guinea pig?

There are a couple of ways to approach this in the here and now. First of all, step back in time and pick up the old glass bottle. Look for food packaged in glass and start your meals with whole, fresh foods. It's better nutrition for us anyway. Second, take the time to read about the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 that was introduced by Senator Lautenberg. The beauty of this approach is that it seeks to shift the burden of proof of safety to the chemical manufacturers and prevent the introduction of chemicals only until they are found to be safe for us and the environment. This is better for our health and a lot less effort than having to clean up our health and the environment after the damage has been done!