As consummate and remarkably impressionable consumers, U.S. citizens have become malleable putty in the hands of America’s deep-pocketed personal/home care product conglomerates. Clever, psychologically-targeted marketing strategies lead us to believe that we are innately stinky, grungy creatures in desperate need of a boundless array of deodorizing, scrubbing, cleansing, and sanitizing products. New!-different!-gotta-try-it! concoctions are launched at a dizzying, rapid-fire-pace, and if you take a casual tour of the typical home in USA-ville, we are all up to our eyeballs in home cleansers and personal care preparations that enable us to wage a full-scale war on all of our anticipated bacterial invaders. Though we may appear to be perpetually well-stocked, we are always out on the prowl for better and/or more effective formulations, which pleases the corporate-powers-that-be to no end.
One need only scan Fortune Magazine’s 2008 ranking of the world’s largest corporations to discover that Procter & Gamble, America’s household and personal products guru, has achieved an impressive ranking of 79 on the list thanks to our collective desire to cleanse and mitigate our filth. If you or someone you know has ever purchased diapers, body wash, cleaners, shampoos, pet food, shaving gel, soaps, scents, facial skin care products, or laundry items (among many other household staples), chances are quite strong that the item was manufactured by P&G (http://www.pg.com/common/product_sitemap.shtml). Colgate-Palmolive, known for their eponymous toothpaste, dish liquid, soap, deodorant and pet food lines (http://www.colgate.com.au/app/Colgate/AU/Corp/Products.cvsp) has earned an equally notable presence on our radars, and their steady sales and market presence enables them to anticipate an upcoming year of double-digit profits, despite the global recession. What most of us don’t realize when we purchase conventional products manufactured by such conglomerates and their competitors is that we are, in effect, introducing ticking health-time-bombs into our permanent fabric of our lives.
Lately, I’ve been on a ‘what’s-REALLY-in-this-product-that-I’ve-used-my-whole-adult-life?’ kick and through the magical powers of the internet, I’ve unearthed a rather long list of answers that leave me slack-jawed and conversely mortified that I’ve been ignorantly blissful for so very long. I must admit, I never imagined that the active microbe-torching ingredient “methylisothiazolinone” found in many cleansers and personal care items (manufactured under such brand names as Pantene, Pert, Lever 2000, Suave, Head & Shoulders, Finesse, Clairol, Revlon, Olay, Bath & Body Works, and Paul Mitchell) is chemically similar to Agent Orange and notorious for triggering nervous system disorders. Ditto for the “aluminum chlorohydrate” found in the garden variety deodorant, which turns out to be a skin-irritating, Alzheimer’s-linked, breast cancer-causing neurotoxin that builds up in the body’s tissues over extended periods of time. The scents found in many widely-available household products (including laundry items and air fresheners) are hardly exempt and contain dangerous and toxic chemicals acknowledged by the federal government to be hazardous to our health and the environment at large.
I’m a notorious label-reader and make a conscious effort to steer clear of products with ingredient lists a mile long, but I’ve only recently learned that U.S. companies are not required to reveal what they actually put into their products – they can simply offer a generic blanket statement (such as “fragrance”) which in many cases still entails utilizing hundreds of volatile organic compounds. Their proprietary blend of ingredients is protected under this arrangement, creating a shorter ingredient list that may still harbor a bumper-crop of chemicals within. Before you think that you are ‘in the clear’ because you have sought out conventionally manufactured products that are unscented or fragrance-free, bear in mind that unscented products contain laboratory-created, often highly toxic chemicals that mask whatever additional scents may be present. In the case of fragrance-free items, unless you purchase them from a natural grocery store or other reliable distributor, traditional manufacturers that emblazon that label on their products may still utilize questionable chemicals.
The compounds used in conventional cleansers and personal care products have been perceived as a modern marvel of science — cost-cutting, high-tech alternatives to the more costly staples of yesteryear, but the reality is that they have been used solely within the last several decades. Only via recent consumer health and safety tests have scientists and researchers found that commonly used ingredients such as phthalates, formaldehyde, and toluene are responsible for a rash of debilitating health consequences. If you desire further evidence of the danger associated with the regular use of common chemical ingredients like linear alkylate sulfonate (in laundry products), triclosan (in antibacterial products), and formaldehyde/phenol (in air fresheners), perhaps “compromised fertility,” “liver/kidney damage,” “nervous system depressant” and “skin and mucous membrane irritant” will raise the red flags in your mind. Why not take matters into your own hands by searching this comprehensive database for the real-deal on what your favorite products are made of (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1)? You might feel compelled to purge your cabinets once and for all and embrace the simple pleasures of baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice.
Recipes For Homemade Personal Cleansers:
- http://www.smartskincare.com/tips/tipcategidx/skinrecipe/
- http://www.mybeautyrecipes.com/Site_Map.html
Recipes For Homemade Household Cleansers:
- http://www.eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
- http://www.pfadvice.com/2008/06/24/recipes-for-homemade-cleansers/
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As always, AgriGuiders who have a few handy-dandy tips of their own (on how to steer clear of the chemical warfare that is being waged on consumers) are encouraged to comment below.
1. Are there any natural personal or home care products out there that really WOW you?
2. Are you privy to a website or unique resource that offers oodles of cool homemade cleaning recipes that actually WORK?
3. Do you know of any “conventional” brands that are actually safe for the consumer?
Come on…spit it out…we wanna hear all about it!
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