AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION…
By Liberty Goodwin, Director
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
© 2008 Liberty Goodwin
PREPARING TO PARTY:
Prettying Up for the Holidays - Personal Care & Clothing
(Excerpted from our new FREE Healthy Holidays Handbook,
available now at libraries around Rhode Island and on our website at www.toxicsinfo.org/basicInfo/HealthyHolidaysHandbookHtml.htm.)
SCENTS KIDS GO WILD FOR
What You Don’t Need At A
Holiday Gathering:
Rowdy, Revved Up Kids!
By Wendy Busfield, medical
reporter, www.wannabee.org.au/
Simple things such as perfume can trigger
hyperactivity in children, a recent study has found. Researchers say mothers splashing on a fragrance can cause
hyperactivity in their children.
Toiletries and air fresheners can have the same effect, with possible
links to attention deficit hyperactive disorder. A study of about 400 British families with hyperactive children
showed perfume was one of the biggest triggers. Melbourne ADHD researcher Peggy Brunet works with children
diagnosed with ADHD, autism and speech disorders. "I've seen the effect of perfume with my own eyes", she
said. "Babies have developed ticks
and twitches & all sorts of mannerisms as a result of perfume. "It can be really dangerous".
RESOURCES FOR CHOOSING SAFER
COSMETICS
FOR YOUR PERSONAL CARE & AS
GIFTS
What
You Should Know About Chemicals In Your Cosmetics: Consumer Reports
Shopsmart(Sm), Winter 2007 Article:
www.safecosmetics.org/newsroom/consumer_repts_1_07.cfm
More Information
From This Issue: Smarter Cosmetic Shopping
Take
a Whiff of This ,Q&A
With a Scientist,
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Environmental Working Group (Ewg)Skin Deep Less Toxic Cosmetics Databasewww.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1 Due to gaping loopholes in federal law, companies can put virtually any ingredient into personal care products. Worse, the government doesn’t require pre-market safety tests for any.” Skin Deep” provides safety ratings for nearly 25,000 personal care products and the 7,000 ingredients they contain.
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Organic Consumers Association: 20 Ways to Reduce
Your Intake of Chemicals in Body Care Products
www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/reduce052104.cfm
EXAMPLES: Shaving: A thick
coating of aloe vera gel is a good alternative to shaving foams and gels. It has natural anti-inflammatory and
skin-softening properties. Lipstick: Most lipsticks contain petroleum derivatives. Try brands based on beeswax, plant oils or
vitamin E instead.
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To Dye Or Not To Dye? Permanent Hair Dyes, by Annie B. Bond.
www.care2.com/greenliving/permanent-hair-dye-dangers.html
If you use permanent hair dyes, you should know of a 2001
study at the University of Southern California that found an association
between hair dyeing & bladder cancer - but not with semi-permanent or
temporary hair dyes. For Safer Ways to
Color Your Hair, see: www.care2.com/greenliving/safer-ways-to-color-your-hair.html
WHAT ABOUT YOUR PARTY DUDS?
IMPORTANT WARNING ABOUT NEW CLOTHING
Newly purchased garments come treated with
chemicals for permanent press wrinkle resistance. To limit exposure to these chemicals, WASH NEW CLOTHES BEFORE WEARING.
TIPS ON HEALTHIER DRY CLEANING
FROM YES! MAGAZINE, FALL, 2003 www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=628
The best alternative is to buy clothes
that don’t require dry cleaning. That
said, many things labeled “dry clean only” can be washed by hand -
including natural fabrics, such as linen, silk, and wool. Use a gentle,
low-alkaline detergent such as Ecover Laundry Liquid Wash. Roll wet clothes in a clean towel to absorb
excess water & then allow them to air dry.
Never wring or twist delicate items.
If you want a neat, pressed appearance, take clean clothes to the dry
cleaners & have them pressed only.
If you do use a dry cleaner, several
technologies are emerging as substitutes to “perc”. About 30 percent of clothes labeled “dry clean only” can be
cleaned using the Wet Cleaning method. The second alternative uses a
silicone-based solvent in conventional dry-cleaning machines. The third choice submerses clothing in
liquid carbon dioxide. Krista
Camenzind
]
FOR LOCAL ALTERNATIVE DRY CLEANING RESOURCES, AND LOTS
OF GREAT HOLIDAY TIPS & GIFT IDEAS, SEE OUR FREE ” HEALTHY HOLIDAYS
HANDBOOK”! Find one at a local RI Library!
(If no copies are there, tell us:
Call 401-351-9193 or E-Mail: HHH@toxicsinfo.org)
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Liberty Goodwin is Director of the Providence-based
Toxics Information Project (TIP).
Contact her at: 401-351-9193 or liberty@toxicsinfo.org
to submit a query or a TIP about healthier household choices. Visit TIP’s website: www.toxicsinfo.org for a
wealth of info on keeping healthy in a toxic world.
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