• acesulfame-K (acesulfame potassium)
• acetylated esters of mono- and diglycerides
• ammonium chloride
• artificial colors
• artificial flavors
• aspartame
• azodicarbonamide
• benzoates in food
• benzoyl peroxide
• BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole)
• BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)
• bleached flour
• bromated flour
• brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
• calcium bromate
• calcium disodium EDTA
• calcium peroxide
• calcium propionate
• calcium saccharin
• calcium sorbate
• calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate
• caprocaprylobehenin
• carmine
• certified colors
• cyclamates
• cysteine (l-cysteine), as an additive for bread products
• DATEM (Diacetyl tartaric and fatty acid esters of mono and diglycerides)
• dimethylpolysiloxane
• dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DSS)
• disodium calcium EDTA
• disodium dihydrogen EDTA
• disodium guanylate
• disodium inosinate
• EDTA
• ethyl vanillin
• ethylene oxide
• ethyoxyquin
• FD & C colors
• foie gras
• GMP (disodium guanylate)
• hexa-, hepta- and octa-esters of sucrose
• high fructose corn syrup
• hydrogenated fats
• IMP (disodium inosinate)
• irradiated foods
• lactylated esters of mono- and diglycerides
• lead soldered cans
• methyl silicon
• methylparaben
• microparticularized whey protein derived fat substitute
• monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• natamyacin
• nitrates/nitrites
• partially hydrogenated oil
• polydextrose
• potassium benzoate
• potassium bisulfite
• potassium bromate
• potassium metabisulfite
• potassium sorbate
• propionates
• propyl gallate
• propylparaben
• saccharin
• sodium aluminum phosphate
• sodium aluminum sulfate
• sodium benzoate
• sodium bisulfite
• sodium diacetate
• sodium glutamate
• sodium nitrate/nitrite
• sodium propionate
• sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate
• sodium sulfite
• solvent extracted oils, as standalone single-ingredient oils (except grapeseed oil).
• sorbic acid
• sucralose
• sucroglycerides
• sucrose polyester
• sulfites (sulfur dioxide)
• TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone)
• tetrasodium EDTA
• vanillin

What is PVC? Poly Vinyl Chloride, sometimes lead is added to it, so it’s a mystery whether you are being exposed to it. What is not a mystery is that with the chlorine makeup, the vinyl emits dioxins. Double dose for you and the environment. We are talking major red flags for the reproductive system, immune system, endocrine and neurological systems!

The CHEJ (Center for Health, Environment & Justice) is proud to announce the release of their 2011 Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies to help you make healthy shopping choices that are safer for your children’s health. This guide lists the most common back-to-school supplies made out of toxic PVC and provides safer PVC-free products in over 35 product categories. You can also see which companies provide safer options.

get your guide now at http://www.chej.org/publications/PVCGuide/PVCfree.pdf

The jist is many school supplies children are using contain a toxic plastic that is dangerous! There are chemical additives in these types of plastics include phthalates, lead, cadmium,etc. that leach out and evaporate into the air. Think vinyl shower curtain smell- that stuff is toxic!!! Go ahead, smell that binder,shiny plastic backpack or lunchbox give it a whif! You can just smell the PVC!

From the Healthy Child, Healthy World site:
Everyday Encounters With PVC
PVC food packaging can include plastic trays in boxed cookies or chocolates, candy bar wrappers, and bottles. Cling wraps , especially the kind used commercially to wrap meats, cheeses and other foods, can also be PVC. Unfortunately, this means that many people are exposed to plasticizing chemicals through food wrapping every day.
Traces of toxic chemicals, known as adipates and phthalates (pronounced “tha-lates”), used to soften PVC can leak out into foods. The risk of leaching is especially high with fatty foods and at higher temperatures .
PVC is also commonly used in teethers and soft squeeze toys for young children, beach balls, bath toys, dolls and other products, such as knapsacks, raincoats, and umbrellas. Health concerns for children who play with soft PVC toys center once again on the toxic softeners known as phthalates. In May, 2001, Greenpeace released a report which examined the level of phthalates and other hazardous chemicals in children’s products and household items and found high levels of phthalates in many cases.

Read more: http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/pvc_the_most_toxic_plastic/#ixzz1UVL5UzFG

Is there hope? Yes!!!! check out the Soft Landing for links on companies that care enough to make SAFE products for children! http://guide.thesoftlanding.com/2008/03/17/bpa-pvc-and-phthalate-bath-toy-guide/

The big 3 evil things that Triclosan is responsible for:
1.messing up our endocrine systems
2.making germs even more resistant
3.messes up our environment, contaminates water and back to our food supply

How do we know this? Lab tests, urine tests, breast milk tests, sea life with altered reproductive systems and the increase in all the health problems adults and children are suffering from.

The popular anti bacterial product of choice is hand sanitizer. Now, rest be assured-all are not bad. I spoke “well” about Clean Well in my last article. But I get really upset when I see people slathering on “certain” hand sanitizers like they are going out of style and rubbing them into children and infant’s hands. You have to start reading labels and learn what ingredients to look for. Please click on this link to find what products are harboring Triclosan. http://www.beyondpesticides.org/antibacterial/products.htm

Some familiar products may surprise you. Also, it is unsettling to know out of thousands of products, it isn’t even a complete list.Keep in mind,some companies may have changed their formulas and I cannot guarantee the accuracy of each product. Please know there are other choices out there. I am trying to share all my findings in my blog, so stay tuned! The prices of safer products are not horrific, and companies have coupons if you look. Or, you can pay later, with medical bills. If more people supported safer companies, perhaps the prices would go down. Just making a few changes can add up health wise!
if it is killing 99% of germs…what else is it killing?

Active Ingredient: Triclosan
Inactive Ingredients: Water, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium PCA, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Polyquaternium-10, Fragrance, Disodium Phosphate, Cetyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Citric Acid, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Yellow 10, Green 3

What did the bacteria say to the handbag? “I’ll be bac!”

I can’t help but notice the massive contamination epidemic crazing our nation. It’s not because I might have a little germaphobia, I am just incredibly observant.. a little curious and downright nosey!
I like to look into the other people’s carts when shopping to see what they are buying. Time and time again, I see people placing their handbags, phones or grocery items in the baby seat. Having a baby, I can confirm that accidents do happen…and they happen right there in that area where people put those items. Things happen even with those baby cart covers. Now, for arguments sake, I seriously doubt after realizing your baby has had an accident your first thought is to clean it or to alert the store to clean it. “Um, excuse me, my baby seemed to have a little accident (as you wheel the cart across the store)you don’t mind cleaning it up for me, would you?”
Let’s not blame it all on babies! You don’t want to make them cry! I have seen raw meat sitting in carts, with it’s bloody juices leaking all about…touchdown for e.coli while salmonella tackles the cart! Mr.customer then places his groceries unknowingly on the surface and comes home to place his items in his refrigerator, counter or dinner table. Hypothetically,of course.
“salmonella- it’s what’s for dinner!” There are people that believe that being exposed to germs makes you stronger…but these are the wrong germs to be messing with. These are the germs of gastrointestinal warfare. So what can we do? Use those chemical wipes? Um, no! Just please think twice about putting your stuff in the baby seat, wash the bottom of your containers off before putting them on your counters or fridges with a little vinegar wipe or Clean Well wipe. (score a point for team clean!) If you really enjoy a good germ-fest, there are ten more germ-laden places to get your groove on than the average public washroom: cell phones, computer keyboard, doorknobs, escalator handrails, elevator buttons, atm buttons, gas pump and public restroom doors, flushers and faucets!

On an important note: Know that hand sanitizers are not a substitute for soap and water. Some studies suggest that ultra-clean, ultra-hygienic environments early in life may contribute to higher levels of inflammation as an adult, which in turn increases risks for a wide range of diseases. Some also say that using the hand sanitizers reduced 59% disease. I say, keep some “on hand” no pun intended! You just never know and use it whenever you can’t make it to a sink or the sink is so disgusting that you wouldn’t touch it with a rubber glove! Whatever you do, choose one like Clean Well, the brand that doesn’t have triclosan (a pesticide),artificial fragrances(pthalates) parabens, or benzalklonium chloride. It is also kid safe regarding poisoning and ingestion risk. They also make soaps and wipes. www.cleanwelltoday.com

p.s. Clean Well did not contribute to this article in any way. I just love them because they are supporters of Healthy Child Healthy World and believe in making the world a better place without using the bad stuff!

I found some key important points in an article by Jennifer Taggart,Smart Mama, of Smart Mama.com, that will hopefully be a wake up call.

We hear lots of talk about avoiding certain ingredients in personal care products. Hormone disrupting phthalates, cancer causing 1,4-dioxane as a result of ethoxylation, formaldehyde releasing Quat-15. But figuring out which products are okay when shopping is difficult and frustrating. Then you add in the misleading nature of beauty product labels and, well, most of us just give up and buy what we have always bought.

A nursery staple is diaper cream. Whether you go disposable or reusable cloth, you’ll use diaper cream.

When you are slathering on diaper cream, keep in mind that an infant’s skin is thinner than an adult’s skin, so chemicals can more easily penetrate. Also, an infant has 2 and ½ times the skin surface area as an adult when compared to his internal mass, which basically means an infant gets a greater exposure to toxic chemicals in body care products on a body weight basis than an adult.

So, what is in Desitin – Original Formula? The ingredients in Desitin are: Zinc oxide 40%, BHA, Cod Liver Oil, Fragrance, Lanolin, Methylparaben, Petrolatum, Talc.

So what do you think, safe or not? Let’s just talk about a couple of the ingredients.

(1) BHA. BHA is associated with cancer and hormone disruption in laboratory animals.It has been banned from cosmetics in the EU because of skin dipigmentation.

(2) Fragrance. Synthetic fragrance contains phthalates, hormone disrupting chemicals. A study published in Pediatrics showed the presence of phthalate metabolites in the urine of infants and that exposure is widespread, 81% of the infants tested have 7 phthalates above detection limits.

(3) Methylparaben. Methylparaben is one of the parabens, the most widely used preservatives in cosmetics. Parabens are hormone disruptors. And, although they have been found in breast cancer tumors, no direct link has been established between parabens and breast cancer development. A small percentage of the population is also allergic to parabens, resulting in contact dermatitis reactions.

Another popular choice is Desitin Creamy. Desitin Creamy has a different formulation. Its ingredients are: Zinc Oxide 10%, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Methylparaben, Microcrystalline Wax, Sodium Borate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Vitamin E, White Petrolatum, White Wax.

So what about Desitin Creamy?

(1) Fragrance. As mentioned previously, synthetic fragrance contains phthalates, hormone disrupting chemicals.

(2) Methylparaben. One of the problematic parabens as discussed above.

(3) Sodium borate. The cosmetics industry’s own safety panel states that sodium borate “should not be used on infant skin or injured skin.” (CIR, p. 228).

So what can you do? Look for diaper creams free of synthetic fragrance, BHA, parabens and sodium borate.

this is why it was so important for us to create a line of safe products!

Some products out there are liars! They promise to be paraben free, or pediatrician recommended or cruelty free. But when you see their ingredients they have proplyene glycol or butylene glycol or maybe even some PEG’s or QUATERNIUM-15 or are fragranced by synthetic substances. I would say there is something wrong with those labels! There are actual names for companies who make these false promises. Pinkwashing and Greenwashing.
They are real terms you can google anytime. I like this site called www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org. They have a bunch of logical questions you should think about to bring awareness to this epidemic. They define pinkwashing as:

Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company that purports to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribboned product, but manufactures products that are linked to the disease.

Greenwashing (a portmanteau of “green” and “whitewash”) is a term describing the deceptive use of green PR or green marketing in order to promote a misleading perception that a company’s policies or products (such as goods or services) are environmentally friendly. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment. (Wikipedia)

Therefore, it is important that you read your labels and know which bad ingredients to look for before using any product! Don’t believe the claims!

I always like to mention Dreft, the laundry detergent that says it is “the #1 choice of pediatricians”, “gentle as a mother’s touch”, “specially formulated to be gentle for baby’s skin”, etc. But according to Women’s Voices for the Earth, you can see a list of products that contain synthetic fragrance to hide the chemical’s smells. Here is the site:
www.womensvoices.org/our-work/safe-cleaning-products/learn-more/galaxolide-tonalide

Just know that many products skincare,cosmetic or cleaning, that if you know for sure are not fragranced with essential oils(the good guys), they can contain secret fragrance chemicals that are not required to be listed on the label, and which are linked to allergic reactions, respiratory disorders, reduced fertility and birth defects.

BE WISE- USE YOUR EYES!

Whether you are on a budget and need to prioritize your organic purchases, or you would simply like to know which type of produce has the highest pesticide residues—and which do not—the following guide from the Environmental Working Group will help.

12 Most Contaminated

■Peaches
■Apples
■Sweet Bell Peppers
■Celery
■Nectarines
■Strawberries
■Cherries
■Pears
■Grapes (Imported)
■Spinach
■Lettuce
■Potatoes
* I am adding Blueberries because they are listed on other sites like thedailygreen.com and my favorite fruit!!!

12 Least Contaminated

■Onions
■Avocado
■Sweet Corn (Frozen)
■Pineapples
■Mango
■Asparagus
■Sweet Peas (Frozen)
■Kiwi Fruit
■Bananas
■Cabbage
■Broccoli
■Papaya

Step 1: Avoid Pesticides

Weeds, bugs, rodents – we call them pests for a reason. No one wants them around. But the convenience offered by a pesticide’s quick fix has its price. Pesticides are poisons, and in most cases, their negative effects can far outweigh any positives of being rid of the pests. Pesticides have been linked to a range of health problems, including asthma, hyperactivity and behavior problems, cancer, learning disabilities, reproductive disorders, and compromised brain development!

Step 2: Use Non-Toxic Products

Stop for a moment to consider how many different products you come in contact with every day: personal care products, cleaners, computers, carpeting, cabinetry, cushions, cosmetics and much, much more. These are the makings of modern life, but do you know what’s in them? Oftentimes, what’s in them ends up in you. Everyday you may be rubbing hormone-disruptors into your skin or inhaling carcinogens when you lay on your couch.

Step 3: Clean Up Indoor Air

We breathe more than we eat. We breathe more than we drink. We are breathing all the time, but how often do you stop to think about what exactly you are breathing? Probably not nearly as much as how often you consider what else you’re putting in your body. Yet, it’s no less important, especially for young children who breathe faster than adults – inhaling 50% more air per pound of body weight.

Air pollution is obvious when you’re caught in a plume of fumes from a diesel truck or when the wind blows smoke in your face from a camp fire or grill, but even when you can’t see the air, it can still be heavily contaminated. Even more importantly, the worst air is generally inside, where most people spend roughly 90% of their time.

Step 4: Eat Healthy

Today’s modern diet is grown, processed, and packaged using toxic chemicals. From the pesticides used on conventional farms to the bisphenol-A used to line the insides of aluminum cans, our food is heavily tainted before it hits the table. Pesticides, bacteria, industrial chemicals, and food additives all find their way into our children’s foods, often at levels that can be harmful to them in myriad ways.

Pound for pound, children eat and drink more than adults. Therefore, healthy eating is essential in order to safely nourish their growing bodies.

Step 5: Be Wise With Plastics
Plastics are everywhere and in most cases are very affordable and convenient. But, increasingly scientists are finding that a hidden cost may be our health. Some common plastics release harmful chemicals into our air, foods, and drinks. Maybe you can’t see or taste it, but if you’re serving your dinner on plastic, you’re likely eating a little plastic for dinner.

Beyond the immediate health risks, our increasing use of plastics is causing an enormous amount of enduring pollution. Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists (except for the little bit that has been incinerated, which releases toxic chemicals). In the ocean, plastic waste is accumulating in giant gyres of debris where, among other thing, fish are ingesting toxic plastic bits at a rate which will soon make them unsafe to eat.

Plastic is generally toxic to produce, toxic to use, and toxic to dispose of. Luckily, we can all make safer choices.

Well, we had a fabulous time at the Oscars gifting event in Beverly Hills. It is an event catered to celebrities who have small children or are expecting to expose them to new products. It is also good for product placement, hoping they will use it on a show! Both Christie Lynn Smith and Nicole Sullivan were at the last event we did and came back to tell us how much they love the product!

I was really happy to see Dapple there! Dapple is a line of natural-based cleaning products for households
with children. Dapple products are baby-safe and baby-specific -using ingredients found in nature that are also proven to tackle unique baby cleaning challenges, from dried milk on bottles to sticky fingerprints on toys.
Why I love Dapple:
Natural-based ingredients
Phtalate-free, paraben-free, SLES- & dye-free
Fragranced with pure lavender essential oil
Biodegradable
Not tested on animals
Certified to contain no detectable levels of dioxane

Recommendation: Great organic product that is good for baby to child. Especially great for kids with sensitive skin.

Link: http://www.mommyreview.com/2011/02/14/oh-baby-organic-skincare/