Seventh Generation highlights its chemical free detergent, noting that it does not have optical whiteners like so many commercial detergents. Optical whiteners do not take dirt out of clothes but rather leave chemicals in the fabric to make clothes appear brighter. Clothes washed in conventional detergent will glow purple under a black light. Because of this, the military has instructed that uniforms are laundered with detergents that are free of optical brighteners.
Perhaps more commonly known is that formaldehyde is used in clothing, especially no-iron shirts, one of the reasons that clothes should always be washed prior to wearing. And sports clothing sometimes has triclosan, an antibacterial chemical, which is also found in toothpaste, although it is a pesticide. Um, yum?
The EPA has slightly altered the instrutions for broken CFL bulbs, which have a "small amount of powdered mercury in them." Mercury is toxic and dangerous, and I can't understand how or why these light bulbs have been permitted and promoted.
As the public becomes more aware of BPA in product packaging, companies are looking for alternatives. This report names names and grades companies based on their transparency and their efforts to reduce BPA in packaging. One of the more interesting tidbits is that a company (in this case, GE) can choose to use BPA-free can linings for one product line (Muir Glen) but not the rest (Progresso and Green Giant). I'm not surprised to see Kellogg's gets a D--I can't remember the last Kellogg's label I read that didn't cause me to put the package back on the shelf. Stores are not going to take action until, as Costco says, until "a safe alternative becomes readily available."
I'm a little late but here is A cute picture story for Christmas.
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