harbour toxins

Homebush bay has just removed the last of the agent orange polluting it! Apparently the sediment is still in the silt on the bottom and it is still risky to go in the water. The reason they cleaned up the area was due to big business paying for it, in order to built another multi complex of units.

chemicals in clothing

Natural materials such as cotton and wool are naturally fire resistant and let our skin breath. Kid's PJs that are made from synthetic materials are required to be made fire resistant - this involves the use of toxic fire retardants (sometimes sewn into the synthetic material itself). There is nothing in the labelling to say this. Make sure you buy 100% cotton baby clothes.

Wash all new clothes and sheets before use, as they are often coated in formaldehyde to make them sit flat in their packaging. Avoid any crinkle-free clothing or bedding.

Cotton growing is a big environmental problem, seek out organic cotton. These organic cotton clothes from Purebaby are a good choice. Note they still come with a 'Low Fire Danger' label, this is due to cotton being naturally resistant.

a good non-stick coating?

Neoflam looks interesting - a non-stick pan surface made using ceramic instead of teflon, claiming to be totally non-toxic.

non-stick everything

Stop using Teflon coated pans, this convenient black stuff is toxic. Heated teflon pans are known to kill pet birds! This is something that has apparently been known for many years, in fact Teflon have to carry a pet bird warning on their packaging. Despite being called safe, this carcinogenic stuff leaches and causes birth defects. It is now in other products too - avoid any hand soaps or plastic containers that say 'Antibacterial' this means they have Teflon in them!

Stick to cooking pots and pans that are stainless steel or cast iron.

Read more about what the Teflon story in Slow Death By Rubber Duck.

miessence

Miessence scores very well on the Skin Deep website, being the number one Australian skin care product that uses truly pure ingredients, even the plastic bottles it comes in are BPA free, and delivery if you purchase online is carbon neutral. Their deodorant is one of the most effective deodorants you can get, even for the stinkiest of us! BUT confusingly what I have found is that some natural products which don't contain parabens can give you skin rashes, it's a matter of finding the right product for the individual.

say no to froth

(SLS) Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and (SLES) Sodium Laureth Sulfate are used to make shampoos, toothpastes and body washes 'sudd up' but they also irritate and dry out our hair and skin, and once in the blood stream they mimic our hormones. Look for 'SLS and SLES free' labels. Baby moisturisers and shampoos are full of this stuff, Gaia is an Australian company that makes chemical free baby products available in chemists and supermarkets.

skin deep

Skin Deep is a brilliant database website, where you can check out the toxic levels in different brands of cosmetics, shampoos, deodorants, etc. Just type in your product and they will give it a score. If they don't have your product, you can type in the ingredients to find out how toxic they are. I was recently devastated because Dr Hauschka, which has been a brand devoted to the ideals of biodynamic natural ingredients didn't score well. Nooo, I love Dr H! It appears some natural plant products can also be carcinogenic...not all essential oils are healthy.

invisable phthalates

Phthalates are found in plastic containers, personal care products, car interiors and synthetic mattresses. Women with high, or even low levels of phthalates during pregnancy risk giving birth to boys with hypospadias, a malformation of the penis, one of the most common birth defects and one which is occurring more often.

It's hard to avoid phthalates as they are not listed in ingredients, the best way to lessen your intake of them is to avoid PVC plastic (shower curtains, raincoats, kids toys, backpacks), don't wear nail polish, buy personal care products such as shampoos and cosmetics that list Fragrance as an ingredient and don't sit on a brand new couch!

the plastic school bag

Kid's raincoats, gum boots, pencil cases and backpacks are usually made out of PVC (Vinyl) which is one of the very worst kinds of plastic for their health. I found these backpacks and lunch boxes from Crocodile Creek, they are made specially from non-toxic plastic. They are the only brand I could find that are making their brand PVC, BPA and Phthalate free and that are easy to get in Australia. A good website to find more really nice environmentally friendly kids products is Growing Up Green.

go lego

Lego, Playmobil and are free from PVC, BPAs and Phthalates. Lego in particular pledged early on in the piece not to add this stuff to their products designed for kids. Toys from the brand ELC (Early Learning Centre) also use non toxic plastic, paint without lead and wood without formaldehyde.

sweaty vinyl

More hormone changing plastic for the growing kids - PVC (Vinyl) plastic is recognisable by it's flexibleness - be sure to get rid of any soft pliable, blow up style toys or toys from $2 shops that smell strongly. Vinyl is also recognised by the number 3 recycling code.

plastic water

Plastic water bottles are a silly idea for the environment and for your health. Stop using them people! And stop re-using them - BPAs (the carcinogenic hormone disruptors) leach from the plastic into the water, then into you! PET plastic sounds friendly, but no, it is designed for one use only, the more you use it the more the plastic leaches. Get yourself a non-leaching, reusable bottle like one from kleen Kanteen or Sigg.

no, not the tinned tomatoes

BPAs are also used in the plastic lining of tin cans, even when they don't come with the white plastic inner edge. Apparently we have a greater intake of this chemical from food kept in tins, than from plastic water bottles.

baby bottles

Has the world gone mad? Why would there be an unnecessary endocrine disrupting chemical that is linked to early puberty, prostate cancer and breast cancer in baby bottles? Well there are, they are called BPAs (Bisphenol A), they leach from the plastic to the milk and is made worse by heating in the microwave. Canada has recently banned the chemical in baby bottles, yet it is still in many children's toys, cups and formula tin lining! Other countries are not there yet, but it is now easy to buy glass bottles again and some major brands are now fortunately feeling the heat and going BPA free.

take away the coffee cups

Did you know take away coffee cups are non-recylable? Even the paper ones are coated with plastic - they all end up as landfill and the lids are always a number 6 or 8 plastic (the ones to avoid), so don't drink through the lids! Best of all, take your mug, or buy yourself a reusable cup - the KeepCup is made of recycled polypropylene (number 5 plastic - not so bad), but my favourites are the ceramic and silicon ones on ebay.

the no-bean bag

As an experiment, I am trying different materials to fill Rory's bean bag instead of little carcinogenic polystyrene balls. So far I have tried cotton wadding (great natural filler that is hard to find), but it was too heavy and lumpy. Now I am collecting biofill, that stuff that is used for packaging and claims to break down in the compost - only problem is, it really does break down and results in a bit of a sad looking bean bag after someone heavy has sat on it.

ditch your mattress

PBDEs are the new PCBs! Don't sleep with them, get a new healthy mattress from The Natural Bedding Company in Stanmore. Exposure to PBDEs at normal household levels can reduce your fertility level and damage your nervous system. Used as a fire retardant on synthetic materials, this stuff is being fazed out very slowly, but is in everything made before 2005 and continues to be used. It is in carpets, foam padding in furniture, clothes, car interiors and electronics.

my plastic house

Hello friends and plastic scrubbers,

I have recently been clearing my house of plastic and synthetics in an effort to minimise exposure to the everyday toxic products that are avoidable and worth avoiding. My aim with this blog is to promote items that I have found to be truly non-toxic, and to identify other products which are the best I can find. I appreciate any suggestions and knowledge that reaches further than my own!

Most of my information comes from the Environmental Working Group and a recently published book 'Slow Death By Rubber Duck' but as a local Sydney sider there just isn't much information on toxicity in the products we buy, from take-away food containers to cushions from IKEA, we really should know how these things are affecting our health.