Some facts:
1. Chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisonings.
2. Common cleaners emit fumes that can increase the risk of kids developing asthma (1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma - that's increased more than 160% from 1980 to 1994).
3. Average cleaners contain hazardous chemicals like kerosene, lye, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, petroleum distillates, formaldehyde, and ammonia.
Did you know that you can clean with vegetables? More and more, it's easier to find cleaning products that are made from natural surfactants (like from coconut, palm or vegetable oils). These are safe for septic systems, are biodegradable, are non-toxic, don't harm your skin . . . and even clean just as well as the name brand products.
Some of the students asked where their parents can find these safer products. Whole Foods has a good selection as does Trader Joe's. There's also an organic market in Alexandria called MOMS. Brands like: Sun & Earth (www.sunandearth.com), Seventh Generation (www.seventhgeneration.com), and Ecover (www.ecover.com) are easy to find. Another great place to check out is www.shaklee.com. They have a Get Clean kit which has environmentally-friendly cleaning products for all areas of your home. You can also contact Juli at pjfaiola@aol.com for more information.
The goal of this meeting was not to frighten our kids, but instead, to make them aware that just because a product is on the store shelves, doesn't necessarily mean that it's good for us. We need to look at the packaging labels and be informed so that we can make smart decisions for ourselves and our planet.
It's definitely a challenge to change our everyday habits. We have to think about our buying decisions, not just be on autopilot. But we can do it . . . for ourselves and for our children.
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