Is it safe? Don't be fooled.

Don’t be fooled.  Not everything in your home is safe.  I would love to say that it is only natural for human beings to want to be clean, and healthy, but unfortunately I know that is not true for all.  However, for those of us who want the best for ourselves, our children, and our environment inside and outside of the home, we strive to educate ourselves, use the best products for our homes, and eat healthily.   There are toxins in products people use every day from our cosmetics, to our food. Unless a person is educated on every single ingredient, in everything they use,  they have no idea what they are really putting on their skin, breathing in their air, and digesting in their bodies.  Lets face it, who has the time to research out every single ingredient in the products we use daily.  Thankfully there are some companies that care enough for our environment that they make it their job to do the research.  Also, thankfully there are companies that actually care for the environment, and people’s health that they manufacture products that don’t contain chemicals that harm our atmosphere, and our bodies.  

In doing my research and reading research from other companies such as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) I have been educated on products that are “oh not so healthy for the home” as I thought.  According to news release by EWG these are the worst offenders:

• Mop n Glo Multi Surface Floor Cleaner
• Tarn X Tarnish Remover
• Simple Green Concentrated All Purpose Cleaner
• mystery mixtures such as Target’s Up and Up and Walmarts Great Value brands
• conventional oven cleaners
• spray cleaners with quaternary ammonium compounds or Ethanolamine,

Products such as Simple Green, Wink Rust Stain Remover, and Citra Solv Cleaner and Degreaser are guilty of greenwashing.  Not only is Simple Green guilty of greenwashing but the product also has a secret blend of  ingredients in it called alcohol ethoxylate surfactants. Some of these chemicals used in this blend is banned in the European Union.

Make sure you read the fine print. It is only common sense to know that a company is greenwashing when the fine print on products that claim to be green says that the product may be fatal or cause permanent damage.  Unfortunately, most products that you can’t eat don’t label all the chemicals that are in it because the companies are not required to do so.  I recommend against buying any products that are labeled “poison”, “fatal”, or “danger” if swallowed or inhaled. Even if a person takes dangerous, toxic, products and puts them out of harms reach there is still outgassing.  If you can smell the product while it is closed you are most likely inhaling it.  

For a list of more products that are harmful to a person’s health and the environment visit http://static.ewg.org/reports/2012/cleaners_hallofshame/cleaners_hallofshame.pdf