Common Household Chemicals You Need to Protect Your Family From

Unless you have a science degree, determining what products are safe in the home for our families to use can be tricky to say the least. That’s why we’ve enlisted the help of eco-warrior Malcolm Rands. Malcolm is the co-founder of ecostore, which sell eco friendly products from bodycare to haircare, baby products and household cleaners. Ecostore sources ingredients with no toxic or unnecessary chemicals. “The guiding principle of ecostore formulations is that the end product must not only be good for the planet, but must also be good for the user,” explains Malcolm. “The company believes that everyone has a right to know exactly what is in the products they use, which is why it goes above and beyond legal requirements to list every ingredient on its products label.

Ecostore products are plant and mineral based, and are all manufactured in New Zealand adhering to the latest environmental and sustainability standards. Each product spends months in the development phase, ensuring the safest health, environmental and efficacy standards are achieved.”

Here, Malcolm explains which household chemicals to look for and the affects they have on us and our growing families….

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Hormone Disruptors 

“Latest research shows there are around 800 endocrine disrupting chemicals in use today,” explains Malcolm. “Some of them are used in products we use in our homes and on our children everyday like household cleaners, plastic toys and lunchboxes, canned foods and antibacterial hand wash where they perform important functions like extending their shelf life or killing germs.

Chemical safety testing and legislation are lagging behind chemical development. Just a few years ago scientists didn’t know that they even needed to test for endocrine disruption, nor did they know how to and what this means for you and I is that we’ve been taking part in a giant science experiment.”

What are some of these hormone disrupting chemicals?

“Parabens are one of the most widely used preservatives in personal care products including moisturisers, shampoos, conditioners, and deodorants,” explains Malcolm. “They are highly effective in terms of protecting products from microbes during their manufacture, storage and end-use. However there are many health concerns associated with the paraben family (e.g. methyl-, butyl-, ethyl- and propylparaben). They have been shown to mimic oestrogen and cause hormonal imbalance. They have also been associated with breast cancer, being found in trace amounts in breast tumour biopsies. Their effect on the environment is also of concern, and is linked to genetic defects in animals, such as sex change in fish.”

“Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent used in soaps, hand washes, toothpastes and cosmetics,” explains Malcolm. “The NICNAS (National industrial chemicals notification and assessment scheme) in Australia has determined that it’s hazardous and should be classified as an irritant to skin, eyes and respiratory system, and toxic by inhalation. Studies also show Triclosan affects hormone regulation in animals, is toxic to aquatic bacteria and inhibits photosynthesis in groups of algae that are responsible for a large chunk of the photosynthesis activity on the planet.”

“Phthalates are used in plastics, clothing, cosmetics, toys and perfumes,” explains Malcolm. “In animal tests exposure to phthalates has shown an increase in developmental abnormalities and increased fetal death. In 2004, a study showed that phthalates were detected in pooled breast milk samples from American women and in infant formula. Breast milk contaminated with phthalates was also linked to reproductive hormonal imbalances in infant boys. Phthalates can leach into food through plastic containers so it’s a good idea to avoid plastic food containers, children’s toys (some phthalates are already banned in kid’s products), and plastic wrap made from PVC. Some personal care products also contain phthalates, so read the labels and avoid products that simply list added ‘fragrance’, since this sometimes means hidden phthalates.”

“bisphenol A (BPA), is used in the lining of canned foods, in shopping receipts and parking tickets,” says Malcolm. “According to the Breast Cancer Fund (March 2012),`Exposure to BPA, used to make the epoxy-resin linings of metal food cans, has been linked in lab studies to breast and prostate cancer, infertility, early puberty in girls, type-2 diabetes, obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Childhood exposure is of concern because this endocrine-disrupting chemical can affect children’s hormonal systems during development and set the stage for later-life diseases’.”

Why they are used? What they do?

According to Malcolm, exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals has been linked to obesity, infertility, early puberty, endometriosis, thyroid problems, and breast and prostate cancer. “The most sensitive windows of exposure happen during the key areas of development – during pregnancy for women, babies in the womb don’t have the blood brain barrier that adults do – so any toxins the mother has can affect the baby. Puberty is another sensitive time of toxic exposure,” he explains.

Instead, use:

Stainless steel or glass containers to store food or for lunch boxes.
Make sure plastic toys are BPA free, don’t collect your shopping receipts and don’t let your children play with them.
Avoid canned foods – buy tomatoes and tomato sauces can be bought in glass bottles or BPS free tetra packs.
Check for a full list of ingredients in your cleaning products and cosmetics.
Avoid antibacterial soaps and cleaning products. Ordinary soap and water does the trick just as well.
Look for products labeled Paraben free.
Open a window instead of using air fresheners or room deodoriser sprays.

Allergy Triggers 

“Fragrance is one of the biggest triggers for allergies, fragrances can be made of hundreds of different chemicals, including Pthalates,” Malcolm warns. “Even essential oil based fragrances like the ones we use in ecostore products can trigger an allergic reaction in a small number of very sensitive people. For those who suffer from allergies we strongly recommend using fragrance free products.”

About Malcolm

Malcolm Rands and his wife Melanie founded ecostore in 1993 from their home in a fully sustainable eco village they co-created in the rural area of Northland, New Zealand. Their dream was ambitious and their philosophy of safety and health first was at the core of every product developed. Together they set up ecostore, providing affordable everyday household cleaning products that would enable people to live a healthier lifestyle and ‘green up’ at home, promoting the use of safer alternatives to conventional everyday products full of harmful chemicals.

In 1993 they launched the Fairground Foundation. Fairground and ecostore work in partnership to support the health and environmental wellbeing of communities, and a percentage of ecostore profits is channelled into the not-for-profit to ensure it has ongoing funding.

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