With the end of the year fast approaching, talk about Thanksgiving and other holidays goes on and on, but I’ve been starting to hear conversations about that other important holiday - winter vacation, of course. I’m sure in this economy many people won’t be jetting off to too-faraway places, but there are still plenty of vacation spots offering value and fun for families.

Here in Florida, Disney World is the place our girls ask to go year round (are you surprised?). While we don’t head up there during peak tourist season, we do try to make a trip there once a year. Full of joyous music and people, not to mention the smiles that light up everyone’s faces, Disney always seems like a picture-perfect place to spend time with family.

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice wants you to know there’s a, um, dirty side to Disney - and you can do something about it. In their investigation of Disney’s cleaning practices, CHEJ found that while Disney uses twelve certified green cleaning products, they also use over 80 toxic cleaners in all their parks, hotels, restaurants and shops! Basically, the green cleaners are used at the animal parks (where the animals have high sensitivities to toxins). Hello?! Happiest place on Earth? I don’t know who budgets for their cleaning products, but if Disney can take care of their animals with such respect, I think they deserve to be told by all of us how unhappy we are with this arrangement.

On October 29th, CHEJ held a “Disney Go Green Campaign” National Day of Action, where activists and concerned parents called Disney and held get-togethers to collect letters and emails challenging Disney to step it up and have 100% eco-cleaners for their park. Although the big day has passed, you can still get in on the protesting. Visit CHEJ’s site and do all you can - send an email, and tell everyone you know about the smudge on Disney’s cleaning practices. Shouldn’t you and your kids stay healthy and safe while sharing the magic of all things Disney?