Natural and Green Products: Not Necessarily Good for You
I've been looking for years for a laundry detergent that won't irritate my skin due to surfactants, optical brighteners, and artificial dyes and scents. There's a common recipe for make your own so-called natural or chemical free laundry detergent that is found on many sites around the web. It includes Borax, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and shaved bar soap such as Dr. Bonner's Pure Castille Soap, Ivory, or Zote.
This sounded like a good recipe to me: the ingredients were readily available and it wouldn't be too much of a pain in the ass to put them together and use.
But then, of course, I got curious, since people often toss around terms such "natural" and assume that something "natural" is synonymous with "good for you," and this simply isn't true. Poison ivy is natural and I wouldn't rub it on my skin. Arsenic is natural and I wouldn't eat it. They also assume that "chemicals" are bad for you and that you should therefore avoid things with "chemicals" or "added chemicals." But everything in the world is made of chemicals or chemical compounds: oxygen is a chemical element, for example, and purified water is a chemical compound. Some chemicals are bad for you and other living things, and some are not.
So the first question I had was, "What the hell is Borax?" And then, "Where does it come from or what's it made from?" Borax, otherwise known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is a chemical compound that includes the element boron. The Borax mentioned in the recipes for natural laundry soap, is more familiarly known as 20 Mule Team Borox Natural Laundry Booster & Multipurpose Household Cleaner. Borax occurs naturally as the evaporative residue of certain lakes; it is also produced synthetically.
Borax can be both natural or synthetic. In either case, it is a chemical compound. But this tells us nothing about its safety; we need to know more about it before we can make that determination. Here's the more: Borax receives a grade of "F" from the Environmental Working Group, primarily for its developmental and reproductive toxicity. These concerns come from its ingredients: sodium borate, anhydrous, and sodium borate. These ingredients may damage fertility or fetuses, and there is "clear evidence of endocrine disruption in at least one animal study" (Environmental Working Group, http://www.ewg.org/guides/substances/5495).
In 2010, Borax was added to the European Union's list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), based on its classification as toxic for reproduction. Products containing Borax imported into the EU are now required to be labelled with the warnings: "May damage fertility" and "May damage the unborn child." And it is banned as a food additive in the U.S. Nevertheless, Borax continues to be used as a laundry detergent and in cosmetics, and to be promoted by those looking for "natural" or "green" products.
Again, just because a product is labeled "green" or "natural" doesn't mean that it is good for your or the environment. For example, Seventh Generation is another commonly used brand of laundry soap that promotes itself as "green." But according to the Environmental Working Group, several of this brand's products contain dangerous substances such as the preservative methylisothiazolinone and sodium borate. Sodium borate, as described above, is a potential endocrine disruptor and may cause reproductive harm. Methylisothiazolinone is an environmental toxin (http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2013/03/five-noteworthy-findings-ewg-s-guide-healthy-cleaning).
So, what to do? Check out EWG's Clearinghouse for a research-based evaluation of personal care products including laundry detergents, shampoos, cosmetics, and sunscreens. EWG identifies 35 laundry products that receive a grade of "A," for example. It also identifies 298 laundry products that receive a grade of "F," some of which may surprise you, given the claims these products make of being "green" and "chemical free" and "natural."
This sounded like a good recipe to me: the ingredients were readily available and it wouldn't be too much of a pain in the ass to put them together and use.
But then, of course, I got curious, since people often toss around terms such "natural" and assume that something "natural" is synonymous with "good for you," and this simply isn't true. Poison ivy is natural and I wouldn't rub it on my skin. Arsenic is natural and I wouldn't eat it. They also assume that "chemicals" are bad for you and that you should therefore avoid things with "chemicals" or "added chemicals." But everything in the world is made of chemicals or chemical compounds: oxygen is a chemical element, for example, and purified water is a chemical compound. Some chemicals are bad for you and other living things, and some are not.
So the first question I had was, "What the hell is Borax?" And then, "Where does it come from or what's it made from?" Borax, otherwise known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is a chemical compound that includes the element boron. The Borax mentioned in the recipes for natural laundry soap, is more familiarly known as 20 Mule Team Borox Natural Laundry Booster & Multipurpose Household Cleaner. Borax occurs naturally as the evaporative residue of certain lakes; it is also produced synthetically.
Borax can be both natural or synthetic. In either case, it is a chemical compound. But this tells us nothing about its safety; we need to know more about it before we can make that determination. Here's the more: Borax receives a grade of "F" from the Environmental Working Group, primarily for its developmental and reproductive toxicity. These concerns come from its ingredients: sodium borate, anhydrous, and sodium borate. These ingredients may damage fertility or fetuses, and there is "clear evidence of endocrine disruption in at least one animal study" (Environmental Working Group, http://www.ewg.org/guides/substances/5495).
In 2010, Borax was added to the European Union's list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), based on its classification as toxic for reproduction. Products containing Borax imported into the EU are now required to be labelled with the warnings: "May damage fertility" and "May damage the unborn child." And it is banned as a food additive in the U.S. Nevertheless, Borax continues to be used as a laundry detergent and in cosmetics, and to be promoted by those looking for "natural" or "green" products.
Again, just because a product is labeled "green" or "natural" doesn't mean that it is good for your or the environment. For example, Seventh Generation is another commonly used brand of laundry soap that promotes itself as "green." But according to the Environmental Working Group, several of this brand's products contain dangerous substances such as the preservative methylisothiazolinone and sodium borate. Sodium borate, as described above, is a potential endocrine disruptor and may cause reproductive harm. Methylisothiazolinone is an environmental toxin (http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2013/03/five-noteworthy-findings-ewg-s-guide-healthy-cleaning).
So, what to do? Check out EWG's Clearinghouse for a research-based evaluation of personal care products including laundry detergents, shampoos, cosmetics, and sunscreens. EWG identifies 35 laundry products that receive a grade of "A," for example. It also identifies 298 laundry products that receive a grade of "F," some of which may surprise you, given the claims these products make of being "green" and "chemical free" and "natural."
Comments
Post a Comment