Easy Eco Blog » Women

Full Spectrum CFLs to beat Winter Blues

easy eco blog — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00:27 +0000

Full Spectrum compact fluorescent light bulbs are now available. These light bulbs produce a white light that produces a light spectrum similar to that of the Sun’s light. This type of light source has been use used to treat Sleep Phase Disorders, Seasonal affective disease or winter blues, and other conditions.

Look for bulbs with full spectrum on CFL bulb labels. They mimic daylight so they have a temperature rating of 5000K – 6500K. Home Depot’s are called “Daylight Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs”. They do not cost much more.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

This malady is finally getting more press. It is characterized by episodes of depression that usually occur during a certain time of the year, usually during winter. If your location has long winter nights, with little sunlight, you might be affected. A recent article has additional tips on beating this syndrome. Light therapy, Dawn simulation, Negative Air Ions, Antidepressants, Behavioral Therapy, Vitamin D, Diet, and and Outdoor Exercise are therapies to help ease the Winter Blues.

Philips even has a new Wake-up Light with Dock for iPod

“Gradually wakes you up by light for a more pleasant feeling” – Anything that makes waking up easier sounds good to us and a lot of others!

Tips to Avoid BPA Exposure

easy eco blog — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:00:48 +0000

Bisphenol-a, or BPA is widely used in the making of the hard, clear, and nearly unbreakable plastic called polycarbonate. Studies and tests show that small amounts of BPA are leaching from polycarbonate containers into foods and liquids and possibly causing health problems.

Avoiding the chemical BPA is much harder than expected. Those with young children and infants need to be concerned even more so. The Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act will go into effect on July 1, 2013 in California. Bisphenol A will be banned in baby bottles and sippy cups in California.

Some quick tips to minimize BPA exposure:

Use BPA free water bottles and baby bottles
Eat fresh food whenever possible. Select frozen food over canned food, this includes infant formula sold in cans.
Eat at home as much as possible, to ensure compliance with your goals
Store and cook food in glass containers
Recycle any scratched plastic containers
In general, Avoid food and plastics with the recycling code 3 or 7 on the bottom
Avoid putting hot or boiling liquids in plastic containers
Wash your hands after touching cash register receipts

Breast Cancer Fund recently conducted tests of canned foods aimed at young children. They found significant traces of BPA in several national brands including Campbell’s soup and Chef Boyardee pasta.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a January 2010 update on Bisphenol A that says it many not be safe for children and infants. In its report on BPA, the National Toxicology Program expressed “some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A.” It appears that young children have immature immune systems that may not detoxify BPA as well as adults. Health and Human Services has a BPA avoidance page.

If you are feeding an infant formula, make sure you are buying BPA-free product. Look carefully at the label and call the company to verify. Only use BPA free water bottles.

Environmental Working Group has a guide to avoiding BPA Exposure. The upshot is to eat more fresh food, use alternatives to canned items, and to use glass containers when heating food in microwaves.

A research article from the National Institute of Health’s Environmental Health Perspectives echoes the issues and studied 20 people before and after an attempt to reduce BPA exposure.

Some interesting tidbits on BPA:

“FDA estimates that babies have 12.5 times more BPA exposure than adults, and EWG is concerned that FDA has seriously under-estimates exposures for many babies. Recent tests by Environmental Working Group and the Canadian government, and a 1990s test by FDA show BPA leaching from metal cans into all brands of liquid formula. Powdered formula appears to be BPA-free, therefore EWG recommends that parents choose powdered formula if your baby tolerates it.”

“Almost all canned foods sold in the United States have a BPA-based epoxy liner that leaches BPA into the food. EWG tested 97 canned foods and found detectable levels of BPA in more than half of the foods. The highest concentrations were in canned meats, pasta and soups.”

“Less BPA leaches from plastic water bottles and food containers than found in canned foods and baby formula. Nevertheless it is good to take simple precautions to reduce your exposure.”

Clear Plastic and BPA

Any product made of hard, clear plastic may be made from polycarbonate unless the manufacturer specifically states that it’s BPA-free. One way to check is to look for the recycling triangle stamp on or near the bottom on an item: polycarbonate plastics should have the numeral 7 in the triangle, sometimes with the letters PC for polycarbonate.

Unfortunately, 7 is a catchall “other” category for a variety of plastic items some of which do not contain BPA. If the plastic is soft and pliable, it is probably not made with BPA.

Microwaving

Plenty states that microwaving items causing BPA exposure situation is even worse. – “Some of the products would be expected to contain BPA, such as a Rubbermaid Premier container with a #7 recycling code, which includes polycarbonate plastic, known to be made with BPA. But to everyone’s surprise (including ours), BPA was also found to leach from containers with recycling #s 1, 2 and 5.” Use ceramic or glass when microwaving.

BPA cash and cash register receipts

Small amounts of BPA were found on one dollar bills. BPA residue is also found on cash register receipts printed on thermal paper. Wash your hands often!

“Because the BPA used in thermal paper is not chemically bound, it is a concern, Schreder says. “We are definitely concerned about these levels of BPA in receipts because BPA is present in an unbound form, where it can easily transfer to our skin.”

BPA has been found in the bloodstream of pregnant US women.

Read more about BPA in Canned in Packaged Foods

Eco Friendly – Green Natural Deodorant

easy eco blog — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:00:37 +0000

Credit: Crystal.com

We were looking for some eco friendly – natural deodorant without questionable ingredients and did some research. The first place we looked was non profit Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database. The ones rated with 0-2 were the best bet. You want to avoid artificial ingredients, harsh chemicals, aluminum based chemicals. Natural herbal extracts and mineral salts are healthier ingredients.

We then went to our local markets to see which brands they carried. We ended up picking products from Crystal. You can also buy their products from amazon.

Crystal also taught us:

“Deodorants work by masking, suppressing or preventing body odor. Deodorants do not tend to reduce the amount of perspiration the body produces. Antiperspirants, on the other hand, use chemicals to inhibit the activity of sweat glands so less moisture is produced. While deodorants are considered to be a cosmetic product because they only control odor, antiperspirants are actually drugs because they affect the physiology of the body. In fact, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) controls the active ingredients used in antiperspirants because of their drug classification.”

Household Product Ingredients

easy eco blog — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:00:25 +0000

photo credit: crd!

SC Johnson, makers of Pledge and Windex has a new site that lists ingredients in their products. I noticed that the website contains most of their products, including the Windex products shown on the home page of the site. You no longer have to dig for MSDS documents. Clearly the green oriented brands like Seventh Generation, Method, and the like are starting to affect the mainstream brands.

SC Johnson created their own Greenlist label to indicate how green their products were. A consumer, Wayne Koh has actually sued them over this label.

“Through our Greenlist™ process, each potential ingredient receives a rating from 3 to 0. An ingredient with a 3 rating is considered “Best,” 2 is “Better,” 1 is “Acceptable” and 0-rated materials are used only on a limited, approved basis when there is not a viable alternative. Whenever possible, we work toward replacing these 0-rated materials with those that have a preferable environmental or health profile.”

A consumer who sued cited paying about 50% more and not getting a product that was very green.

This article describes the efforts and covers the controversy behind some chemicals like monoethanolamine in Mr Clean and Formula 409. 2-butoxyethanol in Simple Green is another chemical that I would just avoid.

Eco Friendly or Green Sunscreen

easy eco blog — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:09:14 +0000

The sun is finally out again.. I did not realize that an eco friendly or green sun screen was an important area, especially when one is on vacation. EWG reports that UV filtering ingredients in sunscreen have been proven to cause bleaching in the algae that lives on coral, thus killing the entire structure. EWG only recommended 8% of the sunscreens they tested. Oxybenzone has been linked to hormone disruption and low-birthweight babies.

The Food and Drug Administration revamped sunscreen rules in June 2011. The new rules should help demystify the sun blocking properties of sunscreens.

There are other issues that EWG covers with possible problems with other chemicals in sunscreen. Also: “80 percent of our water in the U.S. shows trace amounts of chemicals from personal care products, which could be sunscreens, lotions, colognes or medications.”

Look for sunblock with 7% or higher zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

Ingredients to avoid include: OXYBENZONE, OCTINOXATE, and ALUMINUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE

“66 sunscreens with SPFs from 55-100+ might tempt you to stay out longer in the sun, but they block just 1-2% more sunburn rays than an SPF 30 sunscreen.” SPF 30 protection is good enough.

EWG has some good sunscreen that meets our criteria. Some good best are:

1. Desert Essence – Age Reversal Sunscreen Mineral Daily Face Protection spf 30 – 3 oz

2. All Terrain AquaSport

See our Eco Friendly or Green Cosmetic post for details.

Eco-friendly, Safe, or Green Cosmetics and Skin Care

easy eco blog — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:00:40 +0000

Eco-friendly or Green Cosmetics are starting to become mainstream. Companies are touting their products as being natural, no animal tested, organic, etc. There have been lawsuits over the wording.

What should you look for in a green cosmetic, makeup, lotion, or hair care product?

A good place to start is the EWG skin deep guide to cosmetics and personal care products database. They also have a nice printable guide.

The key ingredients to avoid include the following:

Anti-aging creams with lactic, glycolic, AHA, and BHA acids – Additive that preserves fats and oils
DMDM hydantoin and Imidazolidinyl urea
Fragrance and dyes – allergies, cancer, nervous system
phthalate or dibutyl or diethylhexyl or just “fragrance”
Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone
Parabens or “-paraben” – Hormone disrupter
“PEG” and “-eth”
Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate – May cause hormone disruption, skin irritation
Triclosan and triclocarban
Triethanolamine (TEA)

Here are some specific products with ingredients to watch for

Hair dyes with ammonia, peroxide, p-phenylenediamine, diaminobenzene; all dark permanent hair dyes
Hair Removers – Stick to Razors (Electric rechargable or blade replaceable, avoid disposable razrs), waxing with Soy based compounds. Avoid depilatories and Oral Contraceptives and Hormonal Treatments.

Liquid hand soaps with triclosan
Nail polish and removers containing formaldehyde, Toluene, Pthalates, Ethylacetate & N. Butyl Acetate
Skin lighteners with hydroquinone
Moisturizers containing paraben
Sunscreens with oxybenzone – Oxybenzone has been linked to hormone disruption and low-birthweight babies.
Body washes with sodium lauryl sulfate
Feminine sanitary and hygiene products with bleached with chlorine or loaded with chemical fragrances
Oral hygiene products with propylene glycol

Many cosmetic make up products have expiration dates, so be sure to observe them.

Aftershave for Men

Men take note, slapping on some burning aftershave on your face is probably not the best thing for your skin. Skin irritation and dryness may occur with products containing petroleum and other chemicals. Make some herbal aftershave.

Migrastick for Headaches and Migraine Headaches

easy eco blog — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:00:22 +0000

Migrastick contains 100% pure and natural, steam-distilled peppermint and lavender essential oils and is used on the temples to relieve headaches or migraine headaches. We swear by it and find that it allows us to avoid taking too many pills. Be sure to apply it at the first sign of a headache and not when the headache is raging full strength. Costs less than $6. Whole Foods also carries it.

Of course you should always check with your physician or health care provider regarding any medical condition or treatment. It would be nice to understand what side effects there are to this.

General information on Aromatherapy.

Lead in Purses and Wallets

easy eco blog — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:00:16 +0000

photo credit: Mountainside Crochet

Center for Environmental Health filed a lawsuit alleging high levels of lead have been found in dozens of vinyl and faux leather women’s handbags, purses and wallets purchased from Bay Area outlets of major retailers. Full report.

“Purses and other accessories found with high lead levels were purchased from major retailers, including Target, WalMart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Sears, JC Penney’s, Ross, and other Bay Area stores… Brands found with high lead levels include Nine West, xhilaration (a Target store brand), Rosetti and several others. CEH initiated legal action against the retailers and accessory makers today for violating Proposition 65. ”

So be careful when you are shopping and be thankful we have watch dogs looking out for our health.

Cleaning Showerheads and Tile the Green Way

easy eco blog — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:00:45 +0000

Cleaning showerhead holes is a pain. No need to use harsh poisonous chemicals. An easy way to do it is by unplug the shower head and soak in a mix of equal parts of white vinegar and warm water for about 2 hours. Rinse it off.

A mix of 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with 1 quart of warm water works well on bathroom tile. Be sure to use a soft towel and rinse it off afterwards.

Organic Cosmetics Lawsuit

easy eco blog — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:32:24 +0000

photo credit: auggie tolosa

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps has filed a lawsuit accusing some of the larges cosmetic firms of falsely advertising products as organic when some contained little organic material, contained synthetic chemicals, 1,4 Dioxane, or used petroleum products.

The term “organic” on personal care products has no meaning unless it is certified by the USDA. So look for this symbol.

Environmental Working Group has a safety guide to cosmetics and personal skin care product that you should consult before buying products.