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What keeps you up at night? Sick kids, restless pets, the latest tragedy on the evening news, politics, wars, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, money troubles, job stress, and family health and wellbeing? There is no shortage of concerns that make us all toss and turn.
But what keeps the chemical industry up at night? A couple of decades ago a senior Shell executive was asked this very question. The answer? Endocrine disruption.
Inspired by the then-new iPhone’s curved fiber nesting tray and the Canadian milk pouches of her youth, Corbett envisioned an environmentally-friendly bottle with an outer shell of recycled paper concealing a thin, plastic, recycled liner inside. The concept could, she believed, reduce carbon emissions by more than a third. Turning it into a full-fledged company, however, proved an uphill climb.
The use of skin bleaching products to eliminate blemishes and achieve a lighter skin tone is increasingly popular in many parts of the world. Regardless of prevailing national and international health regulations, many skin-lightening products contain inorganic mercury compounds.
Laboratory tests found a total of 38 chemicals not listed on the labels in 17 name-brand fragrances (such as Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Bath & Body Works, Old Spice, Calvin Klein, and more). The average fragrance product contained 14 chemicals that were not disclosed on the label (along with another 15 that were listed). Fragrances commonly contain parabens, phthalates, and synthetic musks that may cause hormone disruption, reproductive problems, or possibly cancer.
A clean, decluttered home provides a much-needed sanctuary from the daily grind. It’s hard to fully decompress if your home is dirty or untidy, and the average American worker spends nearly one hour on housework daily in an attempt to keep a clean house. But there’s a misconception that in order to truly clean your home, you’ve got to don rubber gloves and spray harsh chemicals to do it.
Whether we're shopping for holiday gifts or everyday items, we can all agree that no one should have to wonder whether the products found on store shelves contain chemicals that could one day make us sick. Parents shouldn't have to worry whether their children's car seat contains cancer-causing flame retardants. We shouldn't have to wonder whether the fragrance in our teenage daughter’s shampoo is formulated with hormone-disrupting phthalates, or if our food is packaged with extremely persistent chemicals like poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The primary function of oxybenzone (benzophenone-3), commonly found in chemical sunscreen products, is to prevent your skin from absorbing ultraviolet light; it has weak estrogenic and powerful antiadrenergic effects. Oxybenzone is linked to deaths of coral reefs that provide a home to 25 percent of all marine life across the world and that shelter coastlines from erosion from ocean waves and currents. Working with supporters, Hawaii's democratic state senator Will Espero has proposed a bill that would ban the sale of products using oxybenzone to protect the reefs and tourism in Hawaii.
A ban on most sunscreens by Hawaii could spark a global bid to save sensitive coral reefs from death by the toxic chemicals found in suncare products, writes ANNE VAN HUYSSTEEN of RAspect.
The US Food and Drug Administration’s ban on triclosan in hand soaps and body wash took effect September, 2017. But the antimicrobial and its chemical relatives are still legally on the ingredient lists for loads of other products Americans and people all over the world put on their skin and in their mouths. Prime among the triclosan-ridden products are toothpastes—and toothpaste may be causing us to ingest more triclosan than we think.
In earlier times, mothballs were commonly added to storage bins, boxes and trunks to prevent clothing made from natural fibers from becoming infested with moth larvae. Mothballs contain toxic chemicals, namely naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene, which are unsafe for people, pets and wildlife. Several safe alternatives exist to the use of mothballs, including cedar blocks or chips and essential oils such as lavender, mint and white camphor.
