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And They Don't Even Work As Advertised
Yesterday, CNN aired this excellent report by Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the safety of chemical flame retardants. It chronicles the chemical industry’s nefarious tactics to defeat state legislation that would keep these toxic chemicals out of our homes. It debunks one of the main arguments of the chemical industry: toxic flame retardants in foam products save lives by preventing fires. Evidence shows otherwise.
Top 10 Tips: Safer Cosmetics and Body Care for Tweens and Teens
Lotion, acne wash, cologne, deodorant… young people lather and primp daily with lots of personal care products, resulting in exposure to many combinations of untested and potentially harmful chemicals. Help guide tweens and teens toward safer bodycare with these tips.
Washington State Takes On Toxic Flame Retardants In 2013
Are you ready? The campaign to get toxic flame retardants out of our homes has officially begun! This week two Washington State legislators officially introduced the Toxic-Free Kids and Families Act, legislation to ban chlorinated Tris and other flame retardants that are a concern for kids’ health in foam children’s products and home furniture.
Inflamed About Toxic Flame Retardants
Growing Up Green: Inflamed about Toxic Flame Retardants No parent wants to bring a changing pad or other item with toxic flame retardants into the nursery, yet these chemicals have been found in the vast majority of baby products despite a lack of proven fire safety benefit. Parents have every right to be inflamed about these polluting chemicals. As the flame retardants migrate from products such as couches and portable cribs into dust, they end up inhaled or ingested unintentionally – most often by sticky-fingered babies and kids.
Recent News On Flame Retardants: Industry Does It Again and Napping With Chemicals
If you are like us and were busy holiday party-hopping in December, or took a break from the daily grind for a few days around Christmas and New Years, you may have missed a few interesting developments on toxic flame retardants. Here's a quick summary to catch you up.
Different Name, Same Story
Some call it chemical whack-a-mole. Others call it the toxic treadmill. Either term is accurate to describe a problem all too common in the production of consumer products— the replacement of one toxic chemical with an equally harmful one.
Swing Into Action
Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Well, if you’re stuck, here’s an idea: join the Washington Toxics Coalition team and support our efforts to pass the Toxic-Free Kids and Families Act. Help us protect our kids and environment from toxic flame retardants.
All Eyes On Homemade Eyeliner!
I was curious about making my own eyeliner, but when I looked into DIY and homemade recipes, most were just “put some activated charcoal on a wet brush and apply”. I began to look at how companies produced pencil eyeliners and how that could be recreated at home.
We're Halfway There!
We can all agree that harmful chemicals linked to cancer shouldn’t be in our couches, car seats or anywhere else near our children and families. Luckily, we have a plan to do something about it and a track record of success. All we need is your help to make it happen! Help us keep doing what we do best—protecting Washington families from harmful chemicals--- by making a financial contribution today.
Help Them Have A Healthy Future
Every day during the legislative session, we and our allies log long hours to support good legislation that will protect kids and the environment from toxic chemicals. But we can only do so much to counteract the dozens and dozens of lobbyists who want to preserve the status quo. What we need is your voice in Olympia too.
Pick Your Perfect Tree
It was then, as it is now, about two weeks until Christmas. With a preschooler and a sweet baby, we wanted Christmas to be magical, but presents, cookies, a Christmas tree all seemed elusive through the sleepy haze of new parenthood. Surprisingly, help came to our doorstep, literally. Some forward thinking Boy Scouts were ringing the bell, wondering if we would be interested in signing up for a living Christmas tree. I’m sure the Boy Scouts mentioned the environment, but what spoke loudly and clearly were the words “delivered to your living room. “
Couch Potatoes Beware!
In bad news for couch potatoes everywhere, a new study published today in Environmental Science and Technology found that most couches (85%) contained toxic or untested flame retardants in their foam. And virtually all newer couches, 94%, contained chemical flame retardants, some of which are associated with hormone disruption, neurological and reproductive toxicity and/or cancer.
Safer Baby Care Essentials
Parents once assumed that choosing safer baby shampoo meant finding the “no tears” slogan on a bottle. Now that research has found harmful chemicals in baby washes, lotions, shampoos and other products, finding products we can trust isn’t so simple.
Give Healthy Gifts This Holiday Season
It’s that time of year again! With the holidays fast approaching, we all need to start picking out gifts for family and friends. But rather than buy the latest plastic thingamabob, why not give your loved ones items that are fun AND less likely to have toxic chemicals?
Your Children’s Health Isn’t The Toy Industry Association’s Top Priority
Click through the web site belonging to the Toy Industry Association (TIA) and you'll read about dedication to providing Americans with creative and fun toys. And really, what's more fun than toys? But behind TIA's seemingly positive face lies a more nefarious goal: laser-focused dedication to the bottom line of the companies it represents, at the cost of the health of children
Something Smells: Children’s Perfume Makers Failing To Report Phthalates In Products
Today, we released a new report Something Smells: What Tween Perfume Makers Should Tell You, But Don’t. We found that some of the makers of these products, including big names like Disney, American Eagle, and Claire’s, aren’t complying with a new Washington state law that requires them to report the presence of phthalates to the Department of Ecology and the public.
Learn About "Hope" The Orca At The Port Townsend Marine Science Center
The Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC) is thrilled to announce the opening of a new exhibit, "Learning from Orcas—The Story of Hope," which will be the centerpiece in the Natural History Exhibit in Fort Worden State Park. The new exhibit tells a story that started in 2002 when a transient orca called CA 189—later named Hope by PTMSC students—beached herself and died in the Dungeness Spit area. Her story continues to the present day through the work of scientists, community members and PTMSC staff and volunteers.
Top 10 Safer Baby Essentials
Gearing up for a newborn? We’ve got tips for safer baby essentials that will help you navigate the must-haves with an eye toward healthier products for your little one.
Mold Is In The Air
To paraphrase a popular song, mold is in the air. It is a living organism, requiring food and water and releasing thousands of tiny mold spores into the air to reproduce. All good and part of the natural order of life until those microscopic spores enter our homes and grow indoors.
