Join Women’s Voices for the Earth to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals

The following guest blog post is by Cassidy Randall, Program and Outreach Coordinator for Women’s Voices for the Earth


Moms know that the ads we see are often the front lines for whether a product gets bought or ignored. A large and increasing number of greener moms may read up on blogs, read reports and articles and try to look up chemical names of material safety data sheets, but not everyone does this. Many moms are still influenced by ads that say “this will get your laundry smelling like a spring breeze!” and buy the bottle—along with the messages and ads that are sold to them.

That’s why I find it so unnerving that Procter & Gamble has issued a complaint to green company Seventh Generation, asking them to take down one of their online advertisements for the inexcusable crime of talking about safety.

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ ruling upholding Procter & Gamble’s claims against Seventh Generation’s commercial implies that companies can’t make claims based on the safety of their products, even though more and more research shows that consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on product safety due to health concerns.

Case in point: a recent report by EcoFocus Worldwide found that the category they term “EcoAware Moms” (more than 51 million women) have $1.45 billion in buying power, and that of the top five products that these women are buying more often, two of them are safer cleaning products: chemical-free cleaners (47%) and plant-based cleaning products (40%). You’d think companies would want to advertise the relative safety of their products to this powerful consumer group.

More disturbingly, the ruling upheld Procter & Gamble’s claim that chemicals in conventional cleaning product chemicals have no connection to a rapid increase in illnesses such as autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies, immune system deficiencies and birth defects. But scientific research continues to mount, linking chemicals in cleaning products to chronic health problems. Women’s Voices for the Earth has released three reports compiling the science on certain chemicals in cleaners and impacts to human health, finding:

• A class of chemicals called APEs are linked to reproductive harm and fertility problems.

• Phthalates are linked to genital malformations in baby boys, reduced sperm count, and increased asthma and allergic reactions in children.
  
  
• Triclosan is hormone disruption and is linked to increased risk of breast cancer.
  
• Synthetic musks are bioaccumulative, showing up in blood, breast milk, and infants, and may break down our bodies’ defenses against other toxic exposures.
  

These are just a few of the chemicals of covered in WVE reports—for more, visit the WVE website at www.womenandenvironment.org. For the past several years, WVE has reached out to all the major cleaning product companies, pressuring them to remove these chemicals of concern. Procter & Gamble has not removed ANY chemicals of concern identified in WVE reports (SC Johnson has removed 4, Clorox has removed 5, and Seventh Generation products contain none, for comparison), and has ignored WVE’s inquiries on whether the company uses synthetic musks or phthalates in their fragrances.

Procter & Gamble is the maker of Mr. Clean®, Tide®, Dawn®, Febreze®, Cascade®, Gain®, Swiffer®, and more. It seems like a company with such high-profile brands would want to advertise their safety. And if companies aren’t allowed to advertise how safe their products are, then consumers should be able to look on a product label to decide for themselves—too bad Procter & Gamble is only disclosing a few ingredients on their website, and no ingredients on product labels (as U.S. law doesn’t require ingredient disclosure for cleaners, few do). At least consumers can look on Seventh Generation product labels to see all ingredients and make a choice based on safety at the point of purchase.
The bottom line is that harmful chemicals shouldn’t be in cleaning products to begin with. Join Women’s Voices for the Earth to eliminate toxic chemicals that impact women’s health from products we use every day!


Sign our Twitter petition to the American Cleaning Institute
http://act.ly/2dc

Follow WVE on Twitter
www.twitter.com/women4earth

Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Womens-Voices-for-the-Earth/110000049854

If you have something to say and would like to be a guest blogger
for The Green Mamas blog, please contact us. Thanks :)

The Dirt on Cleaning Products

Did you know...cleaning product companies can keep toxic chemicals that could impact your health a secret from you?

• APEs are linked to reproductive harm and fertility problems
• Phthalates are linked to genital malformations in baby boys, reduced sperm count, and increased asthma and allergic reactions in children
• Triclosan is hormone disruption and increased risk of breast cancer
• Synthetic musks are bioaccumulative, showing up in blood, breast milk, and infants, and may break down our bodies’ defenses against other toxic exposures.

Join Women's Voices for the Earth for this Twitter Party
Wednesday, 9/15 at 6:00PST/9:00EST
Party hashtag: #toxiccleaners
Go to www.tweetgrid.com to join the party!

Join WVE for this Twitter party, which coincides with the American Cleaning Institute’s Annual Meeting! Help send the message that you don’t want disinfectants linked to hormone disruption or laundry detergents contaminating breast milk, and that cleaning product companies can no longer keep toxic chemicals that could impact your health a secret from you.

Follow @women4earth to get the dirt on cleaners, ways to reduce your exposure, and a fun and easy call to action on Twitter and Facebook to make real changes!

Women’s Voices for the Earth is a national organization that works to eliminate toxic chemicals that impact women’s health by changing consumer behaviors, corporate practices and government policies.

http://www.womenandenvironment.org

Earth Hour... Turn Off Your Lights Tonight!

re-posted for Earth Day Network

Earth Day is a month away, but another opportunity to join the fight climate change is just around the corner.

On Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 PM, millions of people across the globe will take a stand against climate change by turning off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour.

Earth hour is a chance to drive the environmental movement forward with one simple action. More than that, your participation will have impact outside of the usual suspects - you will raise climate awareness amongst your friends, family, and neighbors.

Help build environmental awareness - take action this Saturday for Earth Hour.

Earth Day Network is proud to be an official supporter of Earth Hour. We know that when millions of dedicated people gather to demand change, it works. Be the difference between the status quo and the substantive change needed for a more sustainable future: join us by taking action during Earth Hour.

This Saturday, let's demonstrate our resolve and take Earth Hour to the next level. Visit MyEarthHour.org to find out how you can play your part.

We can't wait to see the difference you make!

Thank you for everything you do,

The Team,
Earth Day Network

P.S. Don't forget - Turn off your non-essential lights at 8:30 PM this Saturday for Earth Hour.

Remember to Thank Your Mother!

I am a spiritual person and feel a connectedness with Mother Earth. I feel her wisdom in the breeze. The dance of the leaves. The rhythm of the day.

And although I can't be in constant contact with her as much as I like, I do make sure to meet up with her at different moments throughout my day.

Digging in the Earth helps me stay close to her. You can feel her goodness in your hands.

Watching a garden grow and die, knowing the old plants and fruits will help sustain next years harvest.

If you feel used up. Exhausted, plant your hands into her and feel her strength given back.

Mother Earth is all about the life cycles of all our relatives: the trees, the streams, the animals. We're all connected.

We all rely on our Mother.

Phil Lane, Sr. of the Yankton Sioux Nation once said, "We're sitting on our blessed Mother Earth from which we get our strength and determination, love and humility, all the beautiful attributes that we've been given. So turn to one another; love one another; respect one another; respect Mother Earth; respect the waters-because that's life itself!"

In this season of giving thanks, remember to thank your Mother. Our Mother. She provides everything we need. And because we respect her, we live in harmony with her, protecting her resources, sharing our bounty with one another.

May you be blessed with a knowing loving relationship with Mother Earth.

Are Vaccines Safe?

Really...are they?

If you ask your pediatrician, more often than not, they say yes. If you ask the growing number of families opting to forgo vaccines all together, the answer is no.

But what's the truth? Is it YES or NO? Or somewhere in between?

* Are some safe? And others not? If so, which ones?

* What schedule is safe? Can I use an alternative schedule?

* And what exactly is in the vaccines? How are they made?

There are an increasing number of mothers asking these questions and more. Unfortunately, unless you have an open-minded/open-mouthed doctor, you're not going to get anything but pharmaceutical company and government scripted responses.

So then, how are we - mothers, fathers, families - supposed to make an informed decision based on informed consent when none is being given?

I came across Dr. Sear's Vaccine Book and found freedom in its pages and unbiased approach to all the questions I have concerning vax's:

• Detailed information about the ingredients in each vaccine.
• How different manufactures create their vaccines.
• Which vaccines have mercury. Which don't.
  
• Alternative vaccine schedules.
• Lists of questions to ask yourself and your doctor.
• Pros and Cons of each vaccine.

Because, let's be honest here - there are both pros and cons when it comes vaccines.

It just depends on which vaccine your talking about, which manufacturer makes it, what ingredients are in it, and in what order it's given to your child...not to mention what other vaccines should and shouldn't be given along with it.

Everyone should educate themselves about what they are injecting into their child BEFORE they get one.

And if you have questions about the H1N1 vaccine, Dr. Sears has detailed information about the ingredients and creation process of each on his website.

Check your local library for a copy of Dr. Sear's The Vaccine Book. That's where I found mine.

When Being Green isn't So Easy...

Have you ever felt like you were on conservationalist's overload mode? That no matter how many plastic water bottles you save from the trash, that you use all local organic food, or that you barely used the AC all this smoldering muggy summer to conserve dollars and help with pollution...that it's never enough?

What about the crude oil industry? What about people who don't have clean water to drink? What about all those schools and companies and hospitals that trash everything on a continual, day-in-day-out, basis? What about the oceans? What about the polar bears? The wolves? The forests? My kids? My kid's kids?

There is so much to do, so much to be done, I just want to...scream! Being one person against a whole world of problems can sometimes kill the very passion out of you. You start to feel as though you are drowning in the toxic waste that fills your air, water, food.

The need is so great, how on Earth can we ever do enough?

Easy...don't give up!

Even though you are just one person, you can make a difference. Just think about your kids watching you take care of Mother Earth: watching what you put into her, making sure not to add to her hurt. You're raising greenies! Little green ones that will grow up to be big powerful green movements. That is something to be proud of!

And if you have kids that go to a school or you work somewhere that doesn't recycle, why not help them implement a system so that they can? Or show them how easy it is being green by packing a lunch box using reusable containers, napkins, and water bottles.

I sometimes get so bogged down with the insurmountable task of greening my family's life and what I can't do - buy solar, get a electric car, grow all our food - that I feel like I'm not doing a good enough job. But then I go out in the real world and see that I am not alone. That my seemingly small efforts are being compounded by everyone else's greeness...

There may be a lot for us to do...but there are a lot of us...

Keep up the good fight...

The Story of Stuff...

How much stuff is too much stuff? And where does our stuff come from? Or maybe more importantly, why do we feel we need so much stuff?!

Annie Leonard - who spent 10 years tracking how our stuff is created and then disposed of - presents with clarity how stuff creates the excessive amounts of pollution and problems we now have for all people and our beloved planet.

The Story of Stuff...

Watch it. Have the kids watch it. Pass it along to all those skeptics in your family...

www.storyofstuff.com

Punch Buggy Red...now Punch Baggy

As I was riding home from work a few months back on the back of our Vepsa I came to a sad realization. Growing up, my brothers, sister and I always played Punch Buggy...you know the game the first person to see a VW Bug screams at the top of their lungs "Punch Buggy _______ (and then the color of the VW)," and at the end of the drive that is how many times you get to punch (gently of course) your sibling. What a great game!

Today I realized that my kids won't be playing Punch Buggy, instead they will be playing Punch Baggy, because there are so many plastic bags littered around that they'll be easier to spot than VW Bugs. I counted on our drive home which is 13 miles and I saw 9 plastic bags. Americans use 100 BILLION

Tomorrow on your drive, no matter where you are going try it yourself. Count the number of plastic bags you see on the roadside, in the bushes, stuck in fences, they're everywhere. disposable plastic bags every year yet recycle less than 1%. Plastics which don't biodegrade.

Follow us on Twitter!

Tweet, Tweet :)

The Green Mamas have joined in on the fun, twittering away with some very powerfully informative, fun lovin' green mamas and papas from all over the web.

Do you tweet?
We'd love to follow you too!

Join us at http://twitter.com/TheGreenMamas.

Yet another great way to share green tips, ideas, and news...

How tweet ;)

Should Trash Collection Be Free?

A friend of mine owns and runs her own business. She is a very eco-conscious person, eats whole organic foods, and is raising four greenies of her own. However, when I asked her if her business regularly recycles - assuming the answer would be an astounding yes - I was shocked when she said no.

"Businesses have to pay to recycle."

"Then why don't you pay to recycle?" I asked perplexed, wondering if I had missed the punchline to her joke.

"Because it's expensive," she answered point blank. "Besides, trash collection is free."

"What?"

Of course, this conversation took place a few years ago and since then my dear Earth loving friend pays for recycling to be picked up. Only problem is, they still don't make it easy for her...sometimes they don't even recycle what they promised, putting the stuff in the dump anyway!

That brief conversation got me thinking though: why on Earth would a going green government charge businesses to do so themselves, yet allow them to continue to trash our environment for free? And if the gov't is actually interested in helping change the course of destroying our earth for a greener future, when are we going to see this change?

If you think about the mass amount of trash that businesses create - paper, plastic, cardboard, office equipment - and multiply that by how many businesses there are...I think our green movement is lacking tremendously when we seem to be focusing more on what the individual can do at home. There should be a bigger focus on the huge trash producers. And maybe the first step at bringing them into this green game is by charging for the very thing that they get for free: trash collection.

Shouldn't recycling be a free service? Isn't someone out there - companies that create new materials out of recycled stuff - benefiting from our green actions?

On the flip side, dumping countless items into a landfill is costing us more and more: more land, more resources, our health and the health of the planet...

So the question is, when are we going to see the shift? Is this shift something that will never happen? Am I dreaming here thinking that recycling be the free service?

Is this just something that happens here on the east coast where I live? Is trash collection whre you live the charged service, and recycling free?

Should recycling be free?

What do you think?

Keep America Beautiful! There's Still Time...

Have you looked outside lately? Take a walk around the block with your kids. Hike through the woods. Or just look at your own yard after a windy day. It's a mess!

Plastic bags, ignored roadside newspapers, candy wrappers, water bottles and more. All just lying around cluttering up the landscape. On a recent hike my kids and I actually found a ceiling fan in the woods...A ceiling fan!?!?

It is a sad absolute that when I take my children outside, they will see more trash laying around than other children playing and wildlife put together. Just as with violence on TV, the more they see it, the more immune they become to litter being a part of their world. If we don't do something about it, together as a family and a community, litter will become a permanent part of our great outdoors.

One way for communities to get together to tackle the problem is underway right now! Keep America Beautiful™, the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, is hosting The Great American Cleanup™ in communities, both nationally and internationally. "The Great American Cleanup™, [is] the nation's largest community improvement program, [which] takes place annually from March 1 through May 31, involving an estimated 2.8 million volunteers and attendees…The hardworking volunteers donated more than 7.7 million hours in 2007 to clean, beautify and improve more than 17,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond. Activities included beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.

"Keep America Beautiful™ believes that each of us holds an obligation
to preserve and protect our environment.
Through our everyday choices and actions,
we collectively have a huge impact on our world."

Get Local & Get Involved!
"There are more than 565 certified community affiliates of Keep America Beautiful™ doing good works." Click here to find a group near you.

Can't find an affiliate in your area?
Start one of your own. "Organize a clean-up committee by seeking out a few people who share your passion for the cause. Set a meeting date and let the ideas flow. Decide which project everyone wants to tackle." Click here to learn how you can Organize your own Great American Cleanup™

Here are just some ideas of how you and your kids can get involved in Keep America Beautiful™:

• Host a tree planting party
  
• Put a new coat of paint on a graffiti-marked wall
  
• Adopt a road with your friends and plant flowers
  
• Sponsor a litter collection contest
  
• Clean up a river or field that has become an illegal dump site
• Collect recyclable and reusable items on your block and deliver to a recycling center
  

Together we can make a difference. The possibilities are endless!

:)