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TOXNET – US National Library of Medicine’s Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases.

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EWG Tests over 20 Cleaners used in Schools

School Cleaners Test Results

EWG tested over 20 cleaners used in schools in California, and detected hundreds of air contaminants not listed as ingredients by manufacturers.

Further testing shows that cleaning a model classroom using 3 widely used, certified green products produces far less air pollution than cleaning the same classroom with 3 common conventional cleaners.

See results.

Why Boys are Turning into Girls Article

Article in the Telegraph in the UK
Published: 7:00PM BST 23 Oct 2009
Why boys are turning into girls
Gender-bending chemicals are largely exempt from new EU regulations,
warns Geoffrey Lean.

From the article:
“Here’s something rather rotten from the State of Denmark. Its government yesterday unveiled official research showing that two-year-old children are at risk from a bewildering array of gender-bending chemicals in such everyday items as waterproof clothes, rubber boots, bed linen, food, nappies, sunscreen lotion and moisturising cream.

The 326-page report, published by the environment protection agency, is the latest piece in an increasingly alarming jigsaw. A picture is emerging of ubiquitous chemical contamination driving down sperm counts and feminising male children all over the developed world. And anti-pollution measures and regulations are falling far short of getting to grips with it.”

Read all

EWG’s Tips on Safer Handwashing and Avoiding Toxic Exposures

Health Soaps, Skip the Antibacterial Stuff, What about Hand Sanitizers?

How to Clean Your Hands without Toxic Exposures
Great tips from the Environmental Working Group
Get the Tips

Today’s Thought Process on Natural Body Lotion

It went something like this:

I bought some organic coconut oil for the winter dry skin season. It’s a great lip balm and hair oil, too. And you can eat it. I know what’s in it, unlike most lotions, even the “naturalest” ones! You know, the ones people think are pure enough to eat, based on a strong brand?

“What’s in that popular lip balm?” I checked. It had coconut oil in it, along with other things.

I wondered, “What’s in their body lotion?” Hoping to get some ideas.

This is what i read:
Ingredients: aqua (water, eau), helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, glycerin, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, stearic acid, cera alba (beeswax, cire d’abeille), aloe barbadensis leaf juice, butyris lac (buttermilk powder, babeurre en poudre), citrus aurantium dulcis (sweet orange) peel wax, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, calendula officinalis (calendula) flower extract, centaurea cyanus flower extract, tilia cordata flower extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, anthemis nobilis flower extract, hypericum perforatum extract, parfum (fragrance), tocopherol, sucrose stearate, xanthan gum, glucose, sodium chloride, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), sodium borate, glucose oxidase, lacto-peroxidase, benzyl benzoate, butylphenyl methylpropional, coumarin, geraniol, limonene, linalool

That’s a long list of ingredients including benzyl benzoate and butylphenyl methylpropional? The first, I read, should not be used by people with “perfume allergy” and the second is a “Possible human immune system toxicant” according to the Skin Deep cosmetic database.

On the company’s website, they talk about natural ingredients being important. Then, they talk about why they use synthetic ingredients.

Then, I remembered the adage, “Mind your own bees wax” and decided not to. I pulled up this article, which explains the brand’s humble origins and how things have changed. The company still tells “our history” on its website. But the story continues.

Your thoughts?