When it comes to general rules about ways to reduce our exposure to synthetic chemicals, it’s hard to do better than this: use products and techniques your great-grandmother used—provided she was born before World War II, when most of the chemicals in use today got their start. “We clean for health,” writes Ellen Sandbeck, the author of Green Housekeeping. “If a woman living in 1904 was transported one hundred years into the future and was given a washing machine and dryer, a vacuum cleaner, a sewing machine, a dishwasher, running water, indoor plumbing, electric lights, and a gas or electric stove, would she spend all that saved time fretting over bacteria in her drain or garbage pail? Our great-grandmothers were obviously clean enough, or we wouldn’t exist. There is not a synthetic cleaning product on the market that can improve our health, though there are plenty that can ruin it.” The same philosophy, of course, can be applied to our other activities.
Sprinkled throughout this book are dozens of simple suggestions for reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals. All will benefit your family’s health. Most will save you money. Some may even connect you more deeply to your home, your garden, and your kids. Here, in short form, are a few more ideas.
A number of environmental and health organizations conduct research and work to change legislation regulating toxic chemicals in consumer products. Here are some of them:
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (cspinet.org) is a good resource for information on food safety and health science.
Clean Production Action (www.safer-products.org) is a useful resource for green chemistry and alternative materials.
Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) specializes in research and the creation of databases on body burdens and toxics in consumer goods from beauty products to agriculture and drinking water.
The Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), one of the country’s leading environmental groups, uses scientific research to support both public interest lawsuits and political lobbying on behalf of sound environmental and health policy.
Greenpeace, a global environmental organization, has taken a leading role in the regulation of toxic chemicals. Its analysis of persistent organic pollutants, or POPS, can be found at www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/toxics/toxics-reports/pops.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc.org), one of the country’s largest environmental advocacy groups, uses lawsuits and political lobbying to push for better environmental policy.
The Silent Spring Institute (coalition.silentspring.org) is a collation of scientists, physicians, and public health advocates working to understand the connection between environmental contamination and women’s health.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (ucsusa.org) advocates for the use of science in government policy overseeing everything from the spread of toxic chemicals to issues of climate change and renewable energy.
The United States Public Interest Research Group (uspirg.org). Along with its many state affiliates, U.S. PIRG lobbies for government reform on everything from product safety to toxins in the environment.
Some good resources for a list of nontoxic consumer products are the Consumer Reports Greener Choices website (greener-choices.org) and the Organic Consumers Association (organic-consumers.org). Greenseal (greenseal.org) tests all kinds of consumer products for their effects on health and the environment.
To learn more about your state’s legislative efforts to curb the spread of toxic chemicals in consumer products, check out a database compiled by the University of Massachusetts–Lowell’s Center for Sustainable Production: chemicalspolicy.org/uslegislationsearch.php.
The website for the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is charged with overseeing the safety of a vast array of products, can be found at cpsc.gov/.
Health advocacy groups have conducted body burden studies in a number of states. Here are a few:
Washington: Pollution in People (pollutioninpeople.org/)
Oregon: Oregon Environmental Council: (www.oeconline.org/our-work/kidshealth/pollutioninpeople)
Maine: Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine (www.cleanandhealthyme.org/)
The Environmental Working Group’s study “Pollution in Newborns”: www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals”: www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/
When it comes to “freshening” the air in your house, try doing it the old-fashioned way: open your windows. Air fresheners typically contain fragrances made with phthalates as well as neurotoxins, and the tiny aerosolized droplets can easily be absorbed into the skin and the lungs. A good rule of thumb: don’t try to disguise smells. For similar reasons, avoid synthetic potpourri. Instead, try boiling cinnamon and cloves in a pan of water. Or try placing cedar blocks and sachets of dried flowers around the house. Also try positioning pots of fragrant houseplants in your kitchen—they add a nice aroma and absorb airborne toxins, to boot. When cleaning up kitchens and bathrooms, use vinegar and baking soda.
Avoid aerosolized indoor pesticides. Instead of “bombing” your house for fleas, comb and bathe your pets regularly. A vacuum is an effective weapon in the fight against fleas; before vacuuming, try sprinkling borax on infested areas. If need be, spray fleas on your pet with citrus oil or concentrated lemon water.
Avoid synthetic carpet-cleaning chemicals. Vacuum twice weekly, preferably with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter.
Use high-quality furnace filters. Furnace filters are rated according to their minimum efficiency rating value, or MERV; the higher the MERV rating, the better. Have your air ducts inspected, and cleaned if necessary.
Always remove your shoes when you walk in the front door; shoes track in an astonishing variety of toxins and bacteria.
Clothes labeled as “permanent press” may contain formaldehyde; other synthetic fabrics made be treated with toxic stain-resistant or flame retardant chemicals. When shopping for clothes, look for items made from natural (and preferably organic) materials like cotton and wool. Wash new clothes before wearing them to reduce exposure to formaldehyde, often added to make clothing appear unwrinkled.
For children’s pajamas, avoid synthetic materials treated with flame retardants. Dress kids in cotton instead.
When getting your clothes dry-cleaned, seek out organic cleaners who do not use the chemical perc.
Another good general rule: Avoid using products made with ingredients you can’t pronounce. This is as true for cosmetics and shampoos as it is for food.
Be careful when shopping for personal care products, especially when they are for your babies or small children. Baby wipes, deodorants, shampoos, fragrances, hair gels, hairsprays, and hand lotions can all contain hormone-disrupting phthalates. Cosmetics and personal care products contain a vast array of largely unregulated synthetic chemicals, from formaldehyde in baby soaps to lead in hair dyes to coal tar in dandruff shampoos and skin creams. Horst Rechelbacher, who built Aveda into the largest nontoxic beauty salon chain in the United States before selling it to Estée Lauder in 1997, had it right: “If you wouldn’t put it in your body, why would you put it on your body?”
Since many beauty products are less than clear about their ingredients, look for products to buy or avoid on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetics database: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics pushes for legislation and regulation of personal care products. Its database (www.safecosmetics.org) is a good resource if you want to learn more about both laws and responsible companies.
Conventional toothpaste may contain toxic ingredients like ethylene glycol, which is also used in paint and antifreeze. Tom’s of Maine makes plant-based toothpaste and other personal care products (tomsofmaine.com).
Synthetic drain cleaners are among the most toxic of all household chemicals. Instead, try using a half cup of baking soda followed by a half cup of white vinegar. Better yet: use a plunger.
Not only are conventional detergents made with petroleum products and phthalate-laden “fragrances,” but they can contain phosphates, which are harmful for local waterways. Instead, try plant-based detergents. Other nontoxic substances, such as washing soda (sodium bicarbonate), are good stain removers for clothes as well as for stains on other types of fabrics. Instead of chlorine bleach, try using an equal part of borax or washing soda for every part of laundry detergent you add to the wash. For stains, use borax, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, or white vinegar. If you prefer store-bought products, look for nonchlorine bleach.
Fabric softeners can contain neurotoxins like isopropylbenzene and possible carcinogens like styrene; respiratory irritants like xylene and phenol; and phthalates. Instead, add a quarter cup of white vinegar or baking soda to the wash. For commercial products, look for vegetable-based (frequently coconut oil) surfactants and softeners.
Avoid using dryer sheets, which contain a variety of toxic chemicals. Instead, hang your laundry to dry, either outside or inside. If you live in a community that prohibits the hanging of laundry, work to change the rules. See laundrylist.org
When buying cleaning products, watch for such words on the label as “danger,” “poison,” “harmful vapors,” or “skin irritant.” Also be skeptical of vague terms like “eco-friendly” or “green,” which can mean almost anything. Look instead for specific terms like “solventfree,” “plant-based,” “no phosphates,” or “no petroleum ingredients.” Less toxic cleaning supplies are available from a number of companies, including Burt’s Bees (burtsbees.com), Dr. Bronner’s (drbronner.com), Ecover (ecover.com), and Seventh Generation (seventhgeneration.com). Supplies for making cleaning products can be found at fromnaturewithlove.com and snowdriftfarm.com.
Avoid using nonstick cookware, which is often made with Teflon chemicals. Instead, use stainless steel or cast iron and sauté food in butter or olive oil.
Use the ventilation hood on your stove; be sure the hood actually works and vents to the outside of the house. Outfit your kitchen with a working carbon monoxide monitor, and make sure it works, too. Check that your furnace is properly ventilated to the outside of the house. Likewise your garage. Avoid pumping car exhaust into unventilated garages, especially in winter.
Use dish soaps that are clear, since colors can contain dyes contaminated with lead and arsenic. As with other cleaning agents, try to use soaps made with plant oils. Castile soap (like that made by Dr. Bronner’s) are effective. Use dishwasher soaps that contain borax.
Instead of spending money on petrochemical cleaning products or toxics like chlorine, try making your own household cleaners using nontoxic (but effective) ingredients like baking soda, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and lemon. A bucketful of hot water with a cup of white vinegar and a drop of dish liquid will go a long way to getting your floors clean.
Seek out companies that make plastics out of natural (and nontoxic and biodegradable) ingredients like corn or potatoes. Nat-Ur, for example, makes everything from biodegradable dinnerware to compostable garbage bags. See Nat-urstore.com.
When buying napkins, paper towels, coffee filters, toilet paper, and, especially, tampons, seek out products made without chlorine bleach. Hint: if it’s brown, it’s likely been made without chlorine. Use washable rags to clean up instead of paper products.
Whenever possible, shop for food grown without pesticides.
Avoid processed foods and drinks made with dyes, which may contain coal tar.
Use glass baby bottles instead of plastic, especially for warm liquids, which can cause toxic chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol A to leach from the bottle into the liquid. Use clear (rather than amber-dyed) nipples, which are made of silicone and do not contain bisphenol A.
Do not buy food in a big box store unless it’s organic. Do not eat microwave popcorn packaged in grease-resistant packaging. Buy popcorn in glass jars instead.
Whenever possible, buy organic meat raised without hormones or antibiotics. Avoid meat that can be kept in the refrigerator for a long time, since it may contain the toxic preservative sodium nitrate.
When buying beef or milk, try to find products from animals raised on grass, their natural food source, rather than corn.
Avoid buying food packaged in cans, virtually all of which are lined with plastic, which can contain bisphenol A. Instead, wherever possible, buy food packaged in glass.
Eat wild fish, not farm-raised fish, which can be tainted with, among other chemicals, toxic flame retardants.
Avoid wrapping food in plastic cling wrap, which is often made of PVC and may contain bisphenol A.
When shopping for toys, look for products made from wood. Avoid plastics (which can contain phthalates), especially for teething infants and young children. A database of healthy toys can be found at healthystuff.org. Another organization working to change laws governing toys and other products, MomsRising, can be found at www.momsrising.org.
Buy toys from companies that boast about the ingredients in their toys—and back it up. Buy only watercolor paints, which typically release only low levels of (or no) volatile organic compounds.
Avoid serving your kids food in lunch boxes with the following recycling codes: 3 refers to PVC, which can contain phthalates; 6 means polystyrene, a possible human carcinogen; and 7 usually indicates polycarbonate, which can contain bisphenol A. A good resource for nontoxic, reusable lunch boxes and bags is www.reusablebags.com/.
When shopping for computer equipment (which can contain everything from mercury to flame retardants), consider checking Green Electronics Council’s Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT): www.epeat.net/. Many computer companies, including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Compaq, have recycling programs. Check the company website for more. The National Recycling Coalition is a good resource for electronics recyling: nrc-recycle.org. For general information on electronic products, check the Green Electronics Council (greenelectronicscouncil.org).
Instead of furniture made with laminated plywood or particleboard (the particles are often glued together with formaldehyde), try buying solid wood furniture, preferably made with materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (fscus.org). Be sure that whatever plywood you use was made without formaldehyde. Check out the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (sfiprogram.org).
Instead of synthetic (and aerosolized) wood furniture polishes, which can contain volatile organic compounds as well as toxic fragrances, try using olive oil.
Buy upholstery made of natural fabrics like cotton (preferably organic) or wool, hemp or linen. Synthetic upholstery is typically made of petrochemicals and is often treated with stain-resistant chemicals, which contain toxic perfluorochemicals. Avoid cushions made with PBDE flame retardants. Instead, buy cushions made with untreated foam or with all-wool stuffing, which is naturally flame-resistant.
Avoid mattresses made with PBDE flame retardants. Instead, look for mattresses stuffed with wool or made from natural latex. “Memory foam” can contain toluene. For blankets, try using wool and cotton instead of polyester and acrylic. Look for pillows stuffed with feathers or wool rather than polyester or polyurethane foam.
Throw out old cans of paints and tubes of caulk and the like, which contain a Pandora’s box of toxic chemicals and can release them as volatile organic compounds.
Avoid wallpaper and blinds and shower curtains made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic; instead, use curtains made of natural fibers like cotton, silk, or wool.
Avoid using synthetic polyurethane on wood floors; use water-based urethane instead. Look for low-VOC water-based paints instead of oil-based paints. When painting inside, be sure to allow for plenty of ventilation. Nontoxic paints and finishes can be found at the Real Milk Paint Company (realmilkpaint.com) and William Zinsser and Co. (zinsser.com).
A good place to look for less toxic flooring and carpeting is www.greenfloors.com.
Popcorn is meant to be eaten, not sprayed on ceilings.
Avoid wall-to-wall carpeting, which is typically made of synthetic fibers, is often laid over padding made with toxic chemicals and glued to the subfloor, and can become a sink for indoor pollutants. Instead, use area rugs made of natural fibers—cotton, wool, or hemp. For greener alternatives, check out the Carpet and Rug Institute (carpet-rug.org).
Good resources for healthy building materials can be found through the Healthy Building Network (healthybuilding.net), the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (www.ilsr.org), the Healthy House Institute (healthyhouseinstitute.com), or the U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org).
Drink municipal tap water, which is imperfect but still more regulated than commercially bottled water. Drinking from the tap eliminates the need for plastic bottles and typically costs less than twenty cents a gallon. If you get your water from a well, have it tested regularly. To learn more about your community’s drinking water, check out Clean Water Action (cleanwateraction.org).
To find out how your community treats its wastewater and storm water, check out the Water Environment Research Foundation (werf.org).
Don’t drink hot liquids from cups made from plastic, which can leach into the drink. Instead, use glasses made of … glass. Or stoneware. Even paper cups are typically bleached with chlorine and are commonly coated with plastic resin.
Buy a reusable steel water bottle. If you’re in the market for a reusable hard-plastic water bottle, be sure it is not made with bisphenol A.
An end-of-tap carbon water filter can help remove chlorine by-products, pesticides, and some heavy metals, but is not effective at removing bacteria, nitrates, or arsenic.
Be conscious of the way you dispose of your pharmaceutical drugs. Avoid flushing unused doses down the toilet, since these will inevitably end up in local water supplies.
Get rid of your lawn-care company or hire one that uses only organic gardening practices. To learn more about pesticides and their alternatives, visit the Pesticide Action Network North America (www.panna.org) or Beyond Pesticides (www.beyondpesticides.org). The National Pesticide Information Center at Oregon State University can be found at npic.orst.edu.
Consider replacing some of your grass with shrubs and trees native to your region. Not only will this reduce your need for synthetic chemicals, it will have an important (and visible) impact on local wildlife, especially birds. To learn more about which native species to plant in your region, check out PlantNative (www.plantnative.org), American Native Plants (www.americannativeplants.net/), or Wild Ones (www.for-wild.org/). Many states have native plant societies that offer seminars and planting advice.
For more information on organic lawn care, visit www.safelawns.org. Another good resource for lawn care and gardening is the Rodale Institute (rodale.org). To learn more about building backyard habitats for birds, consult the National Audubon Society (audubon.org).
When confronted with garden pests, consider spraying plants with water infused with soap, lemon, or hot peppers.
Avoid using glyphosate (Roundup), dicamba, 2,4-D, and the myriad other synthetic herbicides on the market. Instead, mulch your gardens to get rid of weeds or use a hoe to dig them up. Consider releasing beneficial insects (ladybugs, praying mantises, green lacewings, predatory nematodes) into your garden to combat pests like aphids and Japanese beetles. Planting native species also attracts birds, which will help keep insects in balance.
Trap rainwater in rain barrels fixed to the ends of downspouts. This will not only help relieve runoff but will offer a free supply of water for gardens during drought. Be sure to fit the barrel with a screen to avoid breeding mosquitoes. A good source for rain barrels, made from retrofitted Greek pickle barrels, is rainbarrelsandmore.com.
Consider replacing gas-powered lawn mowers with electric mowers or push (reel) mowers. You can reduce a lawn’s nitrogen requirements by 50 percent just by leaving lawn clippings on the grass. Encourage the growth of clover, which doesn’t need mowing and fixes nitrogen in the soil (thus eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers).
Instead of a gas-powered leaf blower, consider using a rake. Encourage children to jump in the piles.