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Case for Green Products

I want to start this blog post by defining what the term “green product” means to me. To me a “green” product is one that will not materially effect my health be it immediately or over time due to continued use and if it will not harm me more than likely, it will not harm the environment also.  In other words, it won’t use or have ingredients which can cause disease and/or premature death as a result of my continual use.  Below is a case that happened recently which speaks a little to my definition of what would not be a green product. 

“A St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused her cancer, the latest case raising concerns about the health ramifications of extended talcum powder use.”

EWG Grade on Johnson’s Baby Powder

I am not supporting one way or the other if the claim is true or not regarding talcum powder, perhaps it was what’s in fragrance, I am simply trying to say that the ingredients used in the products should be vetted for the potential to harm us today or in the future due to continued use.  I kind of hate today we have to distinguish a product that may use more wholesome or less harmful toxins as “green”, but this is the world now.  For the purposes of this post, I will use the term “green product” to describe those products in which the safety of the consumer seems to be at the forefront and not something else and it would fit that designation based upon the available science concerning the ingredients what’s in the product. 

My Reason

I think consumers, I for one, are becoming more conscious of the possible negative side effects of some of the products they use on their persons or to clean with.  I am not necessarily pro “green” everything just because it says it’s green.  I am more of a “less is more” kind of guy and want transparency so that I can choose wisely.  I want to be aware of and use safer products for my hygiene and cleaning purposes because I have had varying skin conditions crop up now for no apparent reason for a majority of my teenage and adult life.  I partly hold the view that perhaps the norm is what contributed to these maladies and that an alternative “green product” may be a better fit. 

Tools For the Search

So, I went a searching and I discovered 2 online tools to help me evaluate the products I was using and to find safer alternatives to those products if they were not “green”.  The tools I want to share with you are named the EWG and GoodGuide.  What these services do is allow you to look up a product you may/may not use and rate it given the known data surrounding the chemical ingredients the product is composed of.  Based upon the cumulative data and scientific research regarding each ingredient, a score is give determining how safe that product likely is to your health.  So, whether that is the norm or green product, I can careless, I just try to minimize risk.  I tried to find products, which you can as well, that worked well with my skin internally and externally and some experimentation, trial and error, was necessary to come to some conclusions of products which would find their way into my repertoire.  I should note in researching for this blog post, I have some products which will be on the way out and you may be surprised what they were.

I know my wife hates some of the products I use because she says they don’t work or clean like the products she is used to using which are much harsher and abrasive than some of the products I have incorporated.  I tell her, “I don’t want a product that I am using to kill me for the sake of personal hygiene or cleanliness”.  Let me start by breaking the products into two categories, one for cleaning and the other for personal hygiene.  

I have certainly had to tried a lot of different products being guided by EWG and/or GoodGuide, but more the former in the choice of product that I would try which would be safer for me. Don’t get me wrong, I use both and both are excellent sources of information and have been critical in my becoming a more informed consumer concerning the products I choose for me.  

Cleaning Products

I try to avoid bleach and products that have bleach in them period.  I just have the belief that a lot of companies are not looking out for the consumer or will not change what they provide to the consumer unless the consumer starts to change.  I started that change years ago as I mentioned because I have battled with skin conditions which are indicative of a couple of things, genetics, what I ingest, what I put on to me, and my environment.  What else is there?  I try to control that as much as I can and the cleaning products I have chosen are below:

• Vinegar 
• Green Works All Purpose Cleaner (this was the product I was speaking of on the way out though it has green in the title.)
• Green Works Bathroom Cleaner (this was the product I was speaking of on the way out)
• Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid
• Murphy Oil Soap
• Baking Soda
• Washing Detergent without fragrances, dyes, etc.
• Hydrogen Peroxide

I can clean just about anything in my house with these products above and here are a few of the grades so you can get an idea about the grades for each in EWG and GoodGuide. 

Note:  During my revisiting, some of the products I am currently using will need to be changed as the grades aren’t to my standards where I would like to be.  You can also see some disparity between the two sources on the same product.  That is partly because I know that EWG treats fragrance as negative because the formulas are proprietary and companies don’t need to show what it is composed of and EWG dings that. 

I would rather use vinegar to clean with or baking soda because they can get the job done just as well as bleach and are far less toxic to use.  I know they don’t smell good and all that stuff, but I would rather use green products that is not going mess up my respiratory, etc. because it smells good.  

Personal Hygiene Products

Imagine if you were to see all the rundown of potential negatives of the chemical ingredients, like what I listed below in a product that I used to buy.  The product is Nivea for Men Hair & Body Wash, Menthol Cool, and believe it or not this is fairly tame compared to a similar product like Axe 3 & 1 Hair & Body Wash.  As I took stock of what was in the products I was buying, I tried to stay away from those, even in the cases where I know it would cost me more money if the scores were yellow or red.  So, lets take the hygiene products like soap, then lotion, cologne, and deodorant, and see the range of scores for them.  I typically tried to chose the product with a low harm rating in the 1 score range for EWG or 10 for GoodGuide.  I stray somewhat, but writing this has been helpful for me to start re-evaluation.  My wife would be right about some of green deodorants not working; although, I have found one that works quite well and it’s just a rock.

• Attitude Lotion
• Vanicream Soap
• Attitude Hand Soap
• Crystal Rock Deodorant (it works but is not antiperspirant)
• No cologne really, except if essential oil or strayed on my shirt not directly on skin
• Dr Miracle
• Tom’s Toothpaste

 

Conclusion

So often these companies that produce these less invasive type products are classified as green companies, but there are some big companies as well that are producing products that you might not think are green but are and certainly better than others by comparison.  All that I am voicing in this blog is that as consumers we will need to make better choices for our health because some of these companies will keep feeding you the same crap if you stay in the dark.  We have scientific based tools to assist us as well, so see how the products you are using grade and hopefully all is well, but if not would you consider making a switch and go green?

Resources for your Reference:
EWG – Home 
EWG – Skin Deep Guide
EWG – Cleaners Guide
GoodGuide
CNBC – this is link to article I quoted above

PS: Please share your experience with using Green Products or if you have questions by leaving a comment on this post.  Also please be sure to share this content with your friends and family if you find it useful.  I thank you in advance. 

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