A report Friday that had green blogs buzzing revealed that almost half of 100 ‘green’ and ‘natural’ products tested by the Organic Consumers Association have come back not so people friendly. Turns out, these products contain an FDA-known carcinogen (in lab rats) named 1,4-dioxane, which is actually a byproduct (meaning, the companies did not intentionally include this) created during production to help soften foaming agents. Your favorite brand may be here - Kiss My Face, Alba, even Seventh Generation do not escape. Here’s the complete list of products that were tested, and the parts per million 1,4-dioxane levels contained. On labels, look for “polyethylene glycol” or the syllables “PEG,” short for polyethylene glycol, -eth or -oxynol-.
Now, let’s not all throw out all our products yet again. There’s still sodium laureth sulfate and parabens hiding out in my shower, make-up case, and kitchen cleaners. The point of our reactions to this is sort of the whole point of why I started teensygreen in the first place. You spot what needs changing; you do what you can to change it. To me, running the dishwasher after we’ve turned out the lights for the night, and changing lightbulbs is a more immediate change that scouring products for PEG. However, does this taint how you view green products? Do you feel deceived? Does it make a difference to your buying habits, or, maybe more important, do you still trust these companies? The cynic in me wants to say “you can’t win,” and surely we won’t be able to entirely eliminate carcinogens from our homes. There will always “be something” to deal with!
If you really want to dig deep, you can run products you have in your home through the Environmental Working Group’s “Skin Deep” Cosmetics Database. My only caveat is you may get carried away and end up wanting to trash everything in your home, makeup included! Whatever you do, don’t empty your wallet over this. Responsible companies will for sure be correcting this problem!
Comments
Europe’s “Food Production Daily” reports a study published by WRAP suggests that manufacturing light-weighted glass is less carbon intensive than manufacturing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles on a per unit weight basis. WRAP Director of Retail and Organics Programmes, Richard Swannel, said in a statement that this report: “demonstrates the positive environmental impact of lightweighting and the incorporation of recycled content. It will help inform the wine packaging and retail industries on the environmental impact of their packaging choices.”
for more information on organic products check out http://keepitorganic.org
[…] “think outside your playroom” - recent green posts include: Organic Woes, Bam! Bamboo, That Is…, and Philanthropy of the Month […]
Hi Stefani,
I’m a Seventh Gen employee and mother of four…read your posting and wanted you to know that I share your concern about the products we use in the care of our family and children.
All of us at Seventh Generation are concerned about ingredient disclosure and transparency, and we applaud the Organic Consumer Association’s (OCA) recent research efforts to educate consumers about the safety of personal care and home cleaning products.
It is important for you know that Seventh Generation’s dish liquid, which does contain a minute amount of the ethoxylate 1,4-dioxane, is deemed safe according to the FDA’s and our own strict guidelines.
We are committed to eliminating all harmful chemicals from household cleaning products. Consistent with our core mission, we have worked with surfactant manufacturers for many years to reduce levels of 1,4-dixoane in ethoxylated surfactants and it is our intent to completely eliminate 1,4-dioxane from all of our products.
We share the OCA’s concerns about the misuse of terms such as “organic” and “natural” and the lack of disclosure requirements. We have championed this cause and have led the market for twenty years. We also believe that the decision to stop using conventional synthetic chemical cleaners is one of the most important ones you’ll ever make for the health of your family and the safety of your home. While our products are not perfect today, we will continue to improve them and are confident that they are a much better and safer choice than traditional cleaning products.
For more information about Seventh Generation’s commitment to consumers, please visit our 7th Gen blog!.
Again, thank you for keeping your audience informed.
Chrystie Heimert, Seventh Generation
