Recently there has been so much talk about tonic free, non-toxic, organic cleaning products but how do you really know that a product is truly what it says it is?!
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the federal agency responsible for administering the Federal Hazardous Substance Act. The Federal Hazardous Substance Act defines ‘a product is toxic if it can produce personal injury or illness to humans when it is inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin.’ There are a series of tests on lab mice of course that a product must go through in order to say they are non-toxic. So, the short version is that products are put through roughly 50 tests to see if they cause the mice to die. The long and short of it is that a product can be labeled non-toxic by still having 49 of 50 chemicals in it and leave mice barely living or have other mutations. Scary stuff right?!
Even scarier is that your skin is the biggest most receptive organ on your body. It only takes 26 seconds for chemicals to enter your blood stream. A large percentage of chemicals have been banned by other countries yet the United States still has over 80,000 chemicals in use. If you’re struggling with respiratory, immune, and hormone issues, tackling the chemicals in your home is a must.
Not sure what’s in your products? Take the Toxic Test. It might freak you out a bit but these are all things you can control in your own home. You probably can’t control what’s at work, the gym, or church but you can in your home. Since you spend the majority of your time in the bedroom, even if it is sleeping, start there.
The FDA also doesn’t regulate the term ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ in cosmetics. Unless cosmetics say USDA organic, it’s a crap shoot.
What to look for…
EcoCert. The Ecocert label guarantees a product is certified organic, has a neutral origin and is a plant-based product that comes from an organic origin. Plus, it verifies a product contains no parabens, no synthetic dyes or synthetic alcohol.
USDA Certified Biobased. Biobased certification is based on a product’s biobased content only, as measured by a standard test method (ASTM D6866). The BioPreferred program encourages manufacturers to share, with the program and with customers, other product attributes such as life cycle analysis (LCA), environmental and human health effects, life-cycle costs, sustainability benefits and performance.
USDA Organic. USDA Certified Organic foods are grown and processed according to federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives. Organic producers rely on natural substances and physical, mechanical, or biologically based farming methods to the fullest extent possible.
Anchor of Strength 