Every year around this time, the school supply list shows up in our mailbox.
You know the one, where teachers tell you exactly what to bring on the first day to fill the new classroom with the necessities that don’t last from year to year and aren’t provided by the school. Sometimes they even specify brand names!
But that doesn’t stop some of us from asking whether the items on the list are safe for our children, or how we can pick the safest - and greenest - options.
Which is exactly why EWG put together some back-to-school shopping tips this year. To make it easier on us parents to make safer choices, without spending every waking minute doing product research! We focused on these 11 common product types that children often use (and parents are asked to buy) at school:
1. Art supplies
Many contain toxic chemicals that are not suitable for children — especially younger ones. Pay special attention to these: Paints should be water-based to avoid solvents and colored…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Enviroblog readers are fully aware that there are toxic chemicals in personal care products, and many turn to EWG’s Cosmetics Database to find less toxic products.
But how aware are we of the just plain gross ingredients in our personal care products? Find out on this ABC News segment with EWG’s Senior Vice-President for Research, Jane Houlihan.
Teaser: There is most certainly beetle juice in your….
This recent conversation on Democracy Now - with Stacy Malkan of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (and author of Not Just a Pretty Face) and John Bailey of the Personal Care Products Council - will bring you up to speed on what’s going on, and who thinks what about it all.
Not surprisingly, they don’t all agree.
EWG is a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
This July 21st conversation on Democracy Now with Stacy Malkan of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face, and John Bailey of the Personal Care Products Council will bring you up to speed on what’s going on, and who think what about it all.
Not surprisingly, they don’t all agree.
EWG is a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Special to Enviroblog by Katy Farber of Non-Toxic Kids (that’s her hair being sampled to the right)
When the nurse came to take my blood, I winced, I moaned, and was generally a big fat baby. It was 10 vials, after all. Then they cut out a chunk of my hair, and I peed in a cup.
Honestly, it was the least I could do. Having written about toxins in toys, vitamins, children’s products, and food for two years on my blog, Non-Toxic Kids, well, I needed to put up or shut up, to say it simply.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). These flame-retardants and are associated with affects on thyroid hormones and neurological problems. They are in electronics, mattresses, and furniture. Read EWG’s tips to…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Special to Enviroblog by Katy Farber of Non-Toxic Kids (that’s her hair being sampled to the right)
When the nurse came to take my blood, I winced, I moaned, and was generally a big fat baby. It was 10 vials, after all. Then they cut out a chunk of my hair, and I peed in a cup.
Honestly, it was the least I could do. Having written about toxins in toys, vitamins, children’s products, and food for two years on my blog, Non-Toxic Kids, well, I needed to put up or shut up, to say it simply.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). These flame-retardants and are associated with affects on thyroid hormones and neurological problems. They are in electronics, mattresses, and furniture. Read EWG’s tips to…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should have the authority it needs to regulate cosmetics and personal care products - so that you can trust that what you’re buying is safe for you and your family.
What will the Safe Cosmetics Act DO?
The recently introduced Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (H.R. 5786 for the wonks) will greatly expand the powers of the FDA to regulate the ingredients in cosmetics. How?
The agency will be able to prohibit the use of certain ingredients, including carcinogens and reproductive and developmental toxins; recall products that fail to meet safety standards; and require product labels to name each ingredient, including fragrance. Yes, it’s ludicrous that none of this is happening now.
We need this legislation - urgently.
Currently, manufacturers may use almost any ingredient or raw material in your soap, shampoo or makeup without government review or approval. According to EWG’s research, 22 percent of all personal care products, including…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Companies that drill for natural gas and oil in the United States are skirting federal law and injecting toxic petroleum distillates (think: kerosene, mineral spirits and a number of other petroleum products that often contain high levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen that is toxic in water at minuscule levels) into thousands of wells, threatening drinking water supplies from Pennsylvania to Wyoming.
Drillers inject these substances into rock under extremely high pressure in a process called hydraulic fracturing that energy companies use to extract natural gas and oil from underground formations.
Private wells and public waterworks are affected
The process, known as “fracking,” fractures the rock to allow additional gas and oil to flow to the surface. Fracking is currently used in 90 percent of the nation’s oil and natural gas wells and has been instrumental in accessing huge new natural gas deposits trapped in underground shale formations. It’s a threat not just for…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Special to Enviroblog by Nena Baker, author of “The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Wellbeing”
This morning I relied on a dozen grooming and beauty products to help me face the day.
I used soap, shampoo and conditioner in the shower, and gel and mousse when I dried my hair. I slathered on moisturizer and dabbed my face with sunscreen. I applied foundation, blush and eye shadow. I rolled on deodorant. And I used toothpaste, of course, when I brushed my teeth.
Adults in the United States use an average of 10 personal-care products a day. That translates to exposures to more than 126 unique chemicals, not counting the untold number of chemicals used in any “fragrance” listed on a label, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
While some of these chemicals are perfectly safe, others may cause cancer, and problems with brain development and reproduction. This worrisome situation is why three Congressional Democrats — Reps….
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
1. Myth: If products are for sale at a supermarket, drugstore, or department store cosmetics counter, they must be safe.
Fact: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no authority to require companies to assess ingredients or products for safety. FDA does not review or approve the vast majority of cosmetic products or ingredients before they go on the market. The agency conducts pre-market reviews only for certain color additives and active ingredients in cosmetics classified as over-the-counter drugs.
2. Myth: The cosmetics industry effectively polices itself, making sure all ingredients meet a strict standard of safety.
Fact: In its more…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Subscribe
Every year around this time, the school supply list shows up in our mailbox. 
