Green Giveaway: Waste-Free Lunch Box by Citizen Pip and 15% off Kids Konserve
Kindra, you are the winner of the Citizen Pip lunch kit! I used random.org to generate a winning number, which was #2 (comment #2). I’ve emailed you separately, please get back in touch with your mailing address and let us know which kit you’d like. You can contact me at organicmania at gmail dot com. Thanks to everyone for participating, and thanks to Citizen Pip for the donation of their “muck free” lunch kit! —Lynn
After a trip to Target today, I realized I’m not the only one still shopping for eco-friendly back to school supplies! This year I got off a lot easier than last year – “just $50!,” but I wasn’t stocking up on backpacks or lunch boxes because we’re reusing last year’s, as I blogged here.
I don’t normally do giveaways – they take time and I’d rather do other things with my time, frankly! But after blogging about “How to Pack a Cheap and Easy Waste Free Lunch”, the “Challenges of Going Green in the Schools” and my son’s Camp Eco-Challenge, I realized that purchasing a “waste-free lunch system” is just one more expense that many would rather avoid. So when Citizen Pip and Kids Konserve reached out to me, I figured what the heck, let’s give a giveaway and a discount code a go!
So if you are in need of a lead-free, PVC-free, phthalate-free, and BPA-free waste-free lunch box that’s pretty darn cute, you may be in luck! Just leave a comment here telling me you’d like to win Citizen Pip’s waste-free lunch system, and share your best tip for a healthy lunch treat to pack for the kids. A winner will be randomly selected by midnight Saturday, August 29th and I’ll post the winner’s name here at OrganicMania.
And if that’s not right up your alley, you can get 15% off the cost of any Kids Konserve waste-free reusable lunch kits and food-grade stainless steel containers by using coupon code OrganicMania. (Valid until 9/30/09). Check it out here.
Kellie of Greenhab: The Browns Go Green wrote a great review of both the Kids Konserve and the Citizen Pip systems – so you can figure out which you’d prefer.
Since I haven’t seen either system, here’s the deal: if you win, promise that you’ll send me an email or leave a comment with your thoughts – your own mini-review!
And if you just want to re-use last year’s box but need more containers, because of course those darn lids always get lost? Guess what? I found the Gerber ones I use on sale today at the Rockville, Maryland Target – four for $4.71! 
What are you doing for a healthy and waste-free lunch this year? Let’s make every day waste-free lunch day, not just once a week! I was shocked by a statistic Kids Konserve shared with me – “the amount of trash produced by one child’s lunch alone creates 67 pounds of landfill waste in a school year!”
Kindra, you are the winner of the Citizen Pip lunch kit! I used random.org to generate a winning number, which was #2 (comment #2). I’ve emailed you separately, please get back in touch with your mailing address and let us know which kit you’d like. You can contact me at organicmania at gmail dot com. Thanks to everyone for participating, and thanks to Citizen Pip for the donation of their “muck free” lunch kit! —Lynn
Lynn
Copyright OrganicMania 2009
Popularity: 1% [?]
Filed under Coupons, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green Schools, Product Recommendations, Savings Tips, School lunches, Sustainable Packaging | Wordpress Comments (28) |Green Schools: Five Lessons Learned the Hard Way
Editor’s Note: This post is for the Green Moms Carnival on Green Schools, which will appear here at OrganicMania on Tuesday, August 11th. There will be great contributions from green women bloggers from all around the country, weighing in on green schools – from nursery school to college!
It seems like just yesterday that I squeezed into a seat at the kid-size cafeteria tables at my son’s new elementary school. I was there to participate in my very first PTA meeting, and while I was interested in many of the things going on at the school, what I really wanted to learn about were the school’s environmental initiatives. I wanted to get involved in the Green Committee.
Imagine my surprise when the PTA leadership didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about. They invited me to become involved with the committee that watered the trees over the summer. Oh, and they really wanted some help with a children’s garden.
But I’m not much of a gardener. I may feel green, but my plants are brown. I wanted to focus on environmental issues like substituting conventional school cleaning products with more environmentally friendly options; introducing waste-free lunches; eliminating the throw-away styrofoam trays used in our lunchroom; replacing Sally Foster fundraisers with more eco-friendly options; and stopping the Cheap Plastic Crap giveaways used at school fundraisers. And that was just for starters! Then I could see moving on to including walkable schools in our County and State Carbon Reduction Programs, retrofitting the school with solar or wind power, and more…
I think the other committee members went into overload just listening to my wish list. Our principal suggested that the new parents hold back and watch and learn what went on at the school instead of jumping in with a million new directions. So I did what comes unnaturally to this Jersey girl: I shut my mouth.
After the meeting, several other of the incoming parents approached me and said they understood and supported what I was proposing, and would be glad to help. The problem was that no one wanted to lead the effort. No one could seem to find the time. I agreed to co-chair a committee, but soon found that coordinating with a co-chair and getting the committee off the ground fell by the wayside as I focused more of my energy on work, home, family, other volunteer work, OrganicMania, and the Green Moms Carnival.
I blogged a bit about my Green Mom Culture Shock during this time and how I was Dealing with the Schools: Coping as a Green Mom…but then I went all quiet on you. Didn’t say too much about what was going on…
So did we make progress this last school year? Yes, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. I did learn a few lessons, though, which I’m happy to share with other eager parents as they seek to navigate the new world of PTAs and public schools. What about you? What’s worked for you? Please leave a message and share, because the new school year is about to start up and we can all learn from each others’ experiences. What’s worked for you as you’ve sought to green your school?
Lesson #1: Meet People Where They Are
Only months after that first meeting did I learn that the existing gardening committee had plenty of “greenies” involved who would have been happy to take on many of the other issues I proposed. And had I volunteered first with that committee, proved myself, and learned how things worked at the school, our Green Committee probably would have had more impact.
Lesson #2 Get Support from Area Non-Profits
Through the Green Schools committee of my town’s sustainable communities initiative, Bethesda Green, I learned that the Audobon Society’s Green Schools Initiative was trying to reduce waste at my son’s school. Several of the other committee members were from my son’s school, and we were encouraged us to go back and try again with the Green Committee, or just to do things on our own as we could fit them in. The woman who led the charge? Probably the busiest one among us – she has triplets!
Lesson #3 Seek out Liked Minded Allies in the School Early On
Through the Green Schools committee, I met a teacher from my son’s school. She was able to shed some light on mysteries like WHY the class buying lists contained so many plastic items, and how to get that changed for the next school year.
She was also able to explain that there were a bunch of different Green initiatives going on at school that would have more reach and impact if they were coordinated. Coincidentally, I heard the same thing from the PTA president at that time. Soon we were able to get things a bit better organized, and on much sounder footing for this coming school year.
Having friends “on the inside” of the school really helps!
Lesson #4 Connect with other Local Schools and Learn What’s Worked There
Some of the other schools here in Bethesda, Maryland have had far greater participation in their “Waste-Free Wednesday” lunch campaigns than we did with ours. It may just take time for new ideas to take root, but it would have been ideal if we could have touched base with the green leaders at our town’s other schools to see how they achieved so much success. Thanks to our community-wide Green Schools initiative, we’ll be connecting with those other green school leaders soon.
Lesson #5 Propose Well Thought-Out Alternatives
It’s not enough to say, “Get rid of the traditional school fundraising programs and all of the “stuff” that they push on people!” When well established fund raising programs are bringing in $20K or so for the PTA, you’ve got to have a plan to replace that money. There are many new green school fundraising programs emerging, but how much money are schools actually making from these programs? That’s one question I haven’t yet been able to answer to our PTA’s satisfaction. (Perhaps a kind reader will leave a comment here with that information!)
What about you? What’s worked and what hasn’t worked as you’ve sought to “green” your neighborhood schools? Please leave comment and share!
Lynn
Copyright OrganicMania 2009
Popularity: 1% [?]
Filed under Bethesda, Green Charities, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green Moms Carnival Home Page & Calendar, Green Schools, Green moms, School lunches, Tips | Wordpress Comments (12) |World Environment Day
It seems like Earth Day was just yesterday, but here we are at World Environment Day, which falls on every June 5th. The focus of this year’s United Nations – sponsored event is climate change.
What can you do?
How about planting a tree?
The UN is kicking off a campaign which aims to plant 7 billion trees, one for every person on the planet, by 2010.
Too tired to plant? Too wet outside? (It’s been raining for days here in DC!)
You’re not off the hook that easily!
You can plant your trees virtually. The campaign’s Twitter account is trying to reach 10,000 followers by Friday midnight. The UNEP will plant one tree for every follower at http://twitter.com/UNEPandYou. (As of this writing, they were short by several thousand, so try to give them a hand!)
And then there’s Mokugift, which has a beautiful interface you can access either from its IPhone app or from its website. Through Mokugift and a simple $1 donation, you can plant trees in 12 African, Asian or Central American countries. And they’ve just launched a new partnership with artists and athletes, which you can check out here.
So take a few minutes and plant a tree for World Environment Day – all from your iPhone or computer!
This post is part of a special “mini” Green Moms Carnival hosted by The Smart Mama. Head on over and take a look at a round-up of great posts about World Environment Day and World Oceans Day!
Lynn
Copyright OrganicMania 2009
Popularity: 15% [?]
Filed under Green Charities, Green Ideas & Stuff, global warming | Wordpress Comments (3) |Thank You, Anonymous Leaker. Now What?
Thank you to whomever had the gumption to send the now infamous Bisphenol A (BPA) meeting notes over to The Washington Post. Notes that exposed discussion about developing a PR plan to restore BPA’s luster and to block proposed bans on the controversial chemical. BPA is used in the linings of canned foods and beverages in the US, yet has been linked in numerous independent studies to myriad health concerns such as endocrine disruption, cancer, diabetes and heart disease (as I’ve previously blogged here.) (You can read the meeting notes from the Cosmos Club discussions with Coca-Cola, Alcoa, Del Monte, Crown, the American Chemistry Council, the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc. and the Grocery Manufacturers Associations here at the Environmental Working Group’s website.)
There’s nothing unusual about industry insiders sitting down to craft an image campaign to bolster a failing product’s allure. These steps outlined in the memo are standard marketing tactics: Fund a consumer perception study. Craft some new messages. Find a marketable spokesperson (in this case a pregnant woman).
But was is unusual is this: for a chemical that is supposed to be so safe, why do the notes show no discussion about the overlooked benefits of BPA? If the problem truly is “perception,” why didn’t the participants spend their time talking about the key points supporting their position that BPA is safe? And why did someone feel compelled to leak the notes if everything truly was on the up-and-up?
According to the notes, the accuracy of which were verifed by a NAMPA spokesperson in The Post article, the attendees spent their time discussing budget ($500,000 for the campaign) and tactics. Funny thing is, they’ve already had a big PR firm, Stanton Communications, representing them. According to O’Dwyers, Stanton also represents The Formaledehyde Council, coincidentally the same group that left snarky comments on Mom blogs after we blogged about the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ Toxic Tub report.
Now, in this recession, in this town, $500,000 is a lot of money for PR work. NAMPA and its allies can secure the finest communications council DC has to offer for that princely sum. But according NAMPA’s website, Stanton already reported in February that “In just the first four weeks of 2009, more than 150 articles have been published in various trade, environmental, health, and consumer media. While the specific content of the articles has varied, the underlying message is the same — BPA found in plastic products and metal cans is harmful to people and should be avoided or eliminated. .. . This underscores the need for swift and consistent response to articles as they appear, to set the record straight on BPA, specifically in relation to its critical usage in metal packaged food and beverage products.”
In NAMPA’s response to The Post story, also posted on their website, they state, ”The use of BPA-based epoxy liners in metal food and beverage cans serves a critical function by preventing a myriad of contaminants from penetrating into the food, affording longer shelf life and significant nutrition, convenience, and economy. Unfortunately, the one-sided reporting so commonplace in the media has left consumers to conclude that rather than preventing health impacts, the epoxy liner itself causes problems because it contains infinitesimal amounts of BPA.”
So is this their entire defense? BPA prevents contamination from penetrating into food and it’s approved by the FDA. NAMPA appears to imply that we should ignore advice such as this one issued on May 21st from Harvard’s School of Public Health: “With increasing evidence of the potential harmful effects of BPA in humans, the authors believe further research is needed on the effect of BPA on infants and on reproductive disorders and on breast cancer in adults.”
Hmmm…how do they sell Coke in Japan? The Japanese, who banned BPA, must have found a suitable alternative that does not contaminate the food supply. And while it’s true that BPA is not banned in Europe, it’s also true that countries around the world are reviewing their laws. From NAMPA’s own May e-newsletter I read “NAMPA has learned that the Danish Parliament has proposed a law to ban BPA in baby bottles and other consumer products. The proposal acknowledges the European Food Safety Agency’s (EFSA) approval of the use of BPA in 2008, but dismisses this finding and indicates its
unsuccessful efforts to have EFSA apply more severe rules governing BPA.”
Here’s an offer. When NAMPA gets its act together, I’d love to talk to their new high-priced PR firm to get answers to my questions. I’m sure I could get some other Mom bloggers to join me, those who’ve just posted their own reactions to the specter of a pregnant woman hawking BPA products: The Smart Mama, Green and Clean Mom, Nature Moms, Safe Mama, Non Toxic Kids, The Soft Landing, Jenn Savedge of Mother Nature Network and The Green Parent, Retro Housewife Goes Green , and Leslie aka La Mama Naturale over at Eco Childs Play. How about a blogger conference call?
To round it out, let’s invite Consumer Reports too – as their blog says, “We have repeatedly called for BPA to be banned from food and beverage containers, and for the government to take immediate action to protect infants and children from BPA exposure. Some manufacturers and retailers have already begun removing BPA from their products. We hope that more will follow that example rather than relying on cynical public relations gimmicks.”
What do you think? Leave a comment and share.
Lynn
Copyright OrganicMania 2009
Popularity: 14% [?]
Filed under Cancer, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green moms, Product Recommendations, Sustainable Packaging | Wordpress Comments (15) |Gardening with the Green Moms: Talk About Stress Relief!
Did this photo make you smile? Admittedly, I’m biased since that’s my “Baby Boo,” but how could it not make you smile?
That’s one of the greatest things about gardening (and children). They bring us so many smiles. And when our lives are full of the hectic everyday busyness that is modern life, plus the unexpected curve balls that life lobs at you every now and then, well, who couldn’t use some stress relief?
Want to know how to get started with your spring garden? Check out a round-up of great gardening posts from the Green Moms Carnival over at Green and Clean Mom. My own post about recycled seed starter pots was belatedly added to the carnival after its launch, because I was …well…stressed out dealing with child advocacy and green advocacy issues; an elderly, sick mother; stitches for Baby Boo; and the everyday craziness that all of us face as parents.
Have you started a garden yet? It’s not too late! Leave a comment and share!
And if you just can’t get around to it this year, take a walk and go enjoy someone else’s garden!
– Lynn
Copyright OrganicMania 2009 .
Popularity: 12% [?]
Filed under Easy Green Weekend Projects, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green Moms Carnival Home Page & Calendar, Green moms, Savings Tips, Uncategorized | Wordpress Comment (1) |What to Get A Green Mom for Mothers Day (Or Any Other Time!): Top 10 Gifts for Green Moms
Some may think posting about Mother’s Day gifts on Saturday morning is kind of late. But let’s face it – most guys put gifts off to the last minute, don’t they? So here it is – this Green Mom’s Top 10 Wish List.
In past years, I’ve taken a real minimalist view – all this Green Mom wanted was a clean car. That may still be a need, but with so many of us putting off desires this year due to the economy, I have a hunch that many of us secretly yearn to be a bit more spoiled this Mother’s Day.
1. The Gift of Time
Many Moms feel “guilty” about this. It’s Mother’s Day and (horrors!) they don’t want to spend the whole day with their kids? You mean, like they do every other day of the year? Give her some time off. Tell her to take the afternoon off. Go for a walk. See a movie. Lie in bed. Whatever. She can pretend there are no responsibilities on her plate, no to-do lists.
2. Crossing Something off Her List
For some, washing the car, running an errand, or crossing something else off her list is still a great gift. This year I’ve made peace with the messy car (and it’s not quite so bad this year!) But if I came home and found my containers brimming with plants, and my front garden weeded…wow! Would that ever make my Mother’s Day!
3. Eco-Chic
We may be green on the inside, but it’s nice to look green on the outside too! There are so many cool eco-accessories now. You can find purses and jewelry made of recycled materials, clothing from bamboo or organic cotton, shoes made of bamboo, and more… One of my favorite online sources is Eco-Artware.com (who also happens to be a client of mine). If you’re in my neck of the woods and want to buy at a store, check out the gift shop at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. I was there yesterday and saw a wonderful assortment of eco-chic bracelets and earrings made of old magazines. Prices were between $15 and $30.
4. Eco-Helpers
Going green requires preparation, especially when you are on the go. How about some useful green chic gifts such as To-Go Ware(R), which is reusable cutlery packaged in cute little bamboo bags. You can stash it in a reusable bag and reduce some of that green guilt when you find yourself at a roadside restaurant or to-go place that only stocks plastic utensils. Other great options include chic reusable bags like those sold by the Chico Bag Company. In my neck of the woods? Stop by Creative Parties in Bethesda and check out their selection of reusable bags. (And while you’re there, look across the street and see the new headquarters of our local sustainability initiative, Bethesda Green, located on the second floor of the Chevy Chase bank building).
5. Donations to a Favorite Green Cause
How about a gift in her honor? Try these fave green causes: Environmental Working Group, The Nature Conservancy, or The World Wildlife Federation.
6. Eco-Dining or Fine Dining
There are organic restaurants and restaurants specializing in local foods springing up all over the place. What better day to check one out than Mother’s Day? So many parents avoid dining at nice restaurants with kids in tow. One of the great things about Mother’s Day is that the fancy-pants places that don’t typically cater to children will grudgingly do so on Mother’s Day. That’s what we’re doing on Mother’s Day! At least I know that The Blue Moon will put up with my kids on Sunday!
7. Flowers – Make them Organic!
How about a twist on the time honored tradition of a beautiful bouquet of flowers? This time, make them organic! This Mother’s Day, Organic Bouquet is running a promo with The Nature Conservancy – you save 10% and it’s donated to The Nature Conservancy!
8. Great Green Books
There are so many inspiring books available about going green. One of my faves – a real resource – is fellow Green Moms Carnival member Diane MacEachern’s The Big Green Purse. You can order it here on Amazon, or check out your local bookstore or even Whole Foods for a great selection of books about going green.
9. Yummy Greens
What better excuse than to try some organic and fair trade chocolate? And what woman doesn’t love chocolate? Some of my faves: Divine Chocolate and Green & Black’s.
10. Green Entertaining
Having friends over, or just relaxing? Get her some wonderful sustainable, organic or biodynamic wine and cheese from your local natural market.
Happy Mother’s Day! Did you find these tips helpful? Leave a comment and share!
Note: I will soon introduce some Amazon affiliate links (as soon as I can get back into my account!) If you choose to order these products I recommend, I will make a commission from your purchase. This will help me to defray the cost of operating OrganicMania.com. Thank you.
– Lynn
Popularity: 14% [?]
Filed under Eco-friendly gifts, Green Charities, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green moms, Holidays | Wordpress Comments (7) |How I Learned to Cruise at 99 MPG: 10 Eco-Driving, Hypermiling Tips from Ford’s Hybrid Team
Ford’s hybrid experts and world record hypermiler champion Wayne Gerdes have set up headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia for the “Ford Fusion 1000 Mile Challenge.” They’re pushing the new 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid to go 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas. When I received an invite to check out the action and learn a few tips for improving fuel economy, I couldn’t resist going, despite having to drag my whole family there on a beautiful early Saturday morning.
This video shows some highlights from my “eco-driving” lesson. Using just a few hypermiling techniques, I was able to improve my gas mileage by nearly 10 MPG! I clocked 38.4 MPG prior to my “eco-driving” lesson, and 48 MPG afterwards! What’s more, I actually hit 99.9 MPG on the downgrade of a hill. Now that was exciting!
10 Tips for Maximizing Your Fuel Economy
#1. Reduce Your Speed
The trick to hypermiling? Drive very s-l-o-w-l-y. Speed increases aerodynamic drag (wind resistance) and mechanical friction which reduces fuel economy.
#2 Coast & Glide
Coast to the Highest Point of the Hill and then Glide Down Hills . (You’ll see Tom Rolewiszc, Ford Fusion Hybrid Main Calibration Expert, explain this in the video).
#3 Avoid Using the A/C and other electrical and mechanical accessories
If you crack the driver and back window, you’ll create a cross-breeze. Use of air conditioning can reduce your fuel economy by up to 25% at low speeds.
#4 Don’t Accelerate Quickly or Brake Heavily
This reduces fuel economy by as much as 33% at highway speeds.
#5 Lighten Your Load
Excess weight decreases fuel economy. That’s one reason I was amazed that I still managed to shave 10 MPG off a typical drive , despite the fact that 5 people and 2 carseats were in the car. (I stayed near the posted speed limit as opposed to crawling along, as most hypermilers do).
#6 Take Flat, Smooth Roads
Hilly, mountainous, or unpaved roads reduce fuel economy.
#7 Tune Your Engine
A poorly tuned engine burns more fuel.
#8 Watch the Weather
Did you know you get better mileage on beautiful sunny days than on rainy or snowy days? It makes sense: less resistance against the car, and better traction.
#9 Drive to your furthest destination first.
Then, as you are heading home, stop at the closer destinations in order from furtherst to closest so the car is warmed up for the longer portions of the ride.
#10 Avoid Idling.
Consider shutting down your engine if stopped for more than 7 seconds as that is all the fuel it takes to restart today’s fuel-inject engine
Want to learn more? Check out CleanMPG, a site run by hypermiler champion Wayne Gerdes.
Was it a fun day? Look at this Flickr stream for pix of OrganicMania_DH and the Eco-Kids at the Ford event.
Have you tried hypermiling? Do you have other fuel economy tips? Leave a comment and share!
– Lynn
Copyright 2009 OrganicMania
Popularity: 15% [?]
Filed under Green Ideas & Stuff, Tips, global warming | Wordpress Comments (9) |Earth Day 2009: Let’s Make a Difference!
The Green Moms of the Green Moms Carnival are focusing on celebrating the true spirit of Earth Day.
As Alline Anderson of Passion for Green Business says, “Ah, Earth Day. Created in the 70’s to raise awareness, it has morphed into another demon shopping holiday – or has it? As the host of the Green Mom’s Carnival for this Earth Day, I am delighted to share the insights of some very talented, thoughtful women. Always impressive, they continue to astonish me with the ways they look at the world, and how hard they are working to make it a better, and greener, place.”
Come check out today’s Earth Day edition of the Green Moms Carnival at Alline’s blog, Passion for Green Business.
– Lynn
Copyright 2009 OrganicMania
Popularity: 14% [?]
Filed under Green Ideas & Stuff, Green moms, Holidays | Wordpress Comment (0) |It May Be April Fool’s Day, But Toxins in Baby Bath are No Joke
It sounds incredible: probable human carcinogens like formaldehyde in children’s bubble bath. Yes, today is April Fool’s Day, but this is no joke. This is the sad reality of the state of our personal care products industry.
How did we get to this point? It’s a function of our regulatory system (or lack thereof as some might say). According to the non-profit Environmental Working Group, “The nation’s toxic chemical regulatory law, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is in drastic need of reform. Passed in 1976 and never amended since, TSCA is widely regarded as the weakest of all major environmental laws on the books today. When passed, the Act declared safe some 62,000 chemicals already on the market, even though there were little or no data to support this policy. Since that time another 20,000 chemicals have been put into commerce in the United States, also with little or no data to support their safety.”
And if this is news to you, you may be asking why you’re learning about this only now. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics just last month released its “No More Toxic Tub” report, which included lab results showing that personal care products are commonly contaminated with formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane – and, in many cases, both. According to the report, “These two chemicals, linked to cancer and skin allergies, are anything but safe and gentle and are completely unregulated in children’s bath products.”
But you know what? This isn’t new news. It may be new to you because perhaps you’re a new parent who is just for the first time paying careful attention to what goes into the bath water with your baby. But the fact is, you can find reports like this one about 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde dating back to 2007 – and I imagine, even earlier. (Updated 4/3: Here’s a link reporting that in 1982, “the industry-funded Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel noted that the cosmetic industry was aware of the problem of 1,4-dioxane in cosmetics and was making an effort to reduce or remove the impurity.” )
The makers of these products claim they are completely safe and meet all government requirements. J&J’s products are bearing the bulk of the criticism from today’s Green Moms Carnival because of J&J’s ill-timed “Big Bubblin Stars” video campaign. But the fact is, J&J does meet all US requirements. Levels of formaldehyde in the J&J products are even below EU levels, which is significant because many American consumers try to follow EU standards for personal care products because they believe them to be safer than the US standards.
But the issue is not J&J’s products alone. Why? We are exposed to thousands of personal care products over our lifetimes. If each one of these products leaches trace amounts of potentially toxic chemicals into our bodies – as tests like the EWG’s “Body Burden” test have shown – then the effect is a cumulative one. And when you’re talking about infants, small children, and young people in their reproductive years, the potential effects are really unknown. We do know that chemicals have been linked to cancers. We do know that we’ve seen a marked decrease in fertility in this country and an increasing number of reproductive diseases. Are they connected to repeated chemical exposures from birth on? I agree with Dr. Philip P. Landrigan, Professor and Chair of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He says, “Children are not simply ‘little adults’. They are uniquely vulnerable to toxic exposures in the environment. Exposures in early life can affect human health over the entire life span. We need to find definitive answers about the relationship between toxic chemicals and health so we can protect our children now and in the future.”
In response to past criticism, J&J’s spokesperson Iris Grossman has said, “It’s important to stress that all our products are within the FDA limits.” But that’s just the problem. Are the FDA limits appropriate? Unfortunately, one of the legacies left us by the Bush Administration is the public’s fundamental distrust of our regulatory system. The public has just been burned too many times by lax oversight. Look at our financial markets. The SEC claims it wasn’t aware of the extensive use of derivatives in our secondary markets. Heck, I remember learning about derivatives way back in ’97 when I was at Georgetown’s Business School. No, I didn’t understand them, but I still remember scribbling this note: Derivatives: Stay Away!!! Then there’s the sad state of our food safety oversight. How many more people will have to die of salmonella before we get that under control? What about the lead in children’s toys? I shouldn’t have to cart my toys over to The Smart Mama for a thorough lead inspection.
Many will advocate for more regulation, such as the Kid Safe Chemical Act supported by the Environmental Working Group. But regulations don’t always work as intended. The CSPIA, enacted to prevent the sale of items containing lead, has inadvertently caused many small makers of children’s products to go out of business because they couldn’t afford to comply with the testing requirements imposed by the new law. Then there’s the response to the banking crisis. While the government was celebrating the passage of TARP, the bankers were celebrating the fact that the law didn’t require them to start lending again. How do I know that? I first learned about it at a Washington Christmas party, well before that scandal had finally hit the press. And now that spring is here? The credit markets still remain frozen.
So is The Kid Safe Chemical Act the answer? Will it cause more problems than it purports to solve? Will it inadvertently cause harm to the natural and organic purveyors, by causing them to comply with burdensome regulation, just like what happened when the USDA Organic regulation and the CSPIA was passed? I don’t know. I don’t claim to be a regulatory expert. But I do know something about marketing. And I know that the profit margins on personal care products – beauty products in particular – are incredibly high. It is a very lucrative business, and in most cases the biggest expense is not producing the product, it’s marketing. It’s paying for all the free samples and glossy magazine ads that personal care products companies routinely hand out.
Of course, it’s a different matter in the natural and organics market. There, the cost of all natural alternatives to synthetic chemical ingredients is high. And consequently, on a percentage basis, they spend less on marketing than companies like P&G or J&J.
As an MBA and a New Jersey native, I have very dear friends who have worked at leading personal care companies like J&J, Bristol Myers Squibb, and P&G. Of course they believe their products are safe and comply with US law. But that’s not the whole issue. Someone – either the personal care industry as a whole – or the US government – needs to take a closer look at the 82,000 chemicals used in our personal care products to assess the likelihood that they are contributing to our sky high cancer rates and the increasing incidence of reproductive abnormalities.
And as a former newspaper reporter, I know that there are two sides to every story. So I called J&J before publishing this blog post. I wanted to understand their stance on the Kid Safe Chemical Act and the possible adverse affects of long term exposure to the multitude of chemicals in our personal care products. Their spokesperson, Iris Grossman, could not respond to these questions, although she did offer to put me in touch with their “Mommy blogger” person. I pointed out to her that if she couldn’t answer my question, I didn’t think a “Mommy blogger” specialist could either. Then the shock set in. As a marketing and communications professional, I know that every company has a set of standard Q&As used to respond to the media. I asked her if this meant that NO ONE had ever asked these questions before:
- What is J&J’s stance on the Kid Safe Chemical Act?
- What does J&J think about the adverse affects of long term exposure to the thousands of chemicals used in personal care products?
- Is this issue even being discussed at the industry level, through groups like the Personal Products Council?
So what can you do? Here are a few choices:
1. Sign this petition in support of the Kid Safe Chemical Act.
2. Fill out this web form to contact J&J and tell them you want them to lead an industry-wide effort to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act. Or, leave a comment on the J&J blog.
3. Contact the Personal Care Products Council here and tell them you expect a better response to the EWG report than the one that their Chief Scientist gave US News & World Report. “These are issues that have been around for many, many years, so it’s not new news. The thing that impressed me was the low levels of dioxane that were found in these products, which indicates to me that the industry is doing its job in keeping this potential contaminant down to a low level.” (And yes, I’ve called the Personal Care Products Council and am just waiting for a call back).
4. Check the EWG’s Skin Deep data base to find safer alternatives to the products identified in the Campaign’s report.
5. Use fewer personal care products and try to find those with fewer, simpler ingredients.
6. Contact your Congressional representatives to let them know you support Kid Safe. Support is especially critical in Pennyslvania and California. This press release from Senator Lautenberg’s office includes good background information on the bill. If you or someone you know lives in PA, check out this link.
If you live in CA, check out this link.
What do you think? Please leave a comment and share. And if you want to talk about the issue, I’ll be on the radio today along with Jennifer Taggert, The Smart Mama, and Lisa Frack of the Environmental Working Group. You can listen to us here and call in with questions at (530) 265-9555.
Thanks for reading this far! This was a longer than usual post, but I felt I needed the space to make these arguments.
– Lynn
Copyright OrganicMania 2009
Popularity: 25% [?]
Filed under Green Cleaning Products, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green moms, Marketing, Organic Personal Care Products, Organic Product Needs, Product Recommendations | Wordpress Comments (17) |5 Tips for Observing Earth Hour with Kids: Get More than an Earth Minute!
Last year, my grand plans for Earth Hour were derailed by the reality of life with little kids: as I blogged here, I ended up with an “Earth Minute.”
This year, I’m determined to learn from the past and enjoy a less rushed and stressed experience. Here are five tips that I’m hoping will make for a more enjoyable family experience. Let me know what you think. How’d your Earth Hour go last year? And what are you planning tonight? (Yes, it’s tonight!)
1. Stick to Your Routines
Clearly, whoever dreamed up Earth Hour did not have little munchkins to put to bed. 8:30 p.m. is simply too late for most kids. If your tykes hit the hay well before 8:30, DON’T, repeat DON’T try to do something special. Odds are, you’ll regret it…
2. Pick a Substitute Time that Works for You
This year, we’re going to have our Earth Hour during dinner (candlelight dining with my three boys should be fun!). If that doesn’t seem to go well, I may try for a few minutes after dinner. But bedtime – it’s still 8 p.m., Earth Hour or not!
3. Use this as a Teachable Moment
My first grader’s school observed Earth Hour on Friday. When I asked him why they did it, he said, “To help the Earth and stuff.” Yet when I tried to make a correlation between Earth Hour and turning off the lights in his room before he rushes off for school, he didn’t quite seem to get it. That’s another reason to do Earth Hour at the dinner hour – it will give us time and context for a discussion about why we are observing Earth Hour.
4. Give Yourself a Break
If despite all your plans, things still go awry, give yourself a break. When I look back at this photo of my little Boo Bear a year ago, I can’t believe how small he was and how much I tried to accomplish despite that. So many of us parents – especially the Moms – are guilty of this. We simply try to do too much.
5. Celebrate with Your Significant Other
Another benefit to Tips #1 and #2 is that if you stick to your kids’ bedtime routine, odds are you’ll have some energy to celebrate the darkness of Earth Hour with your significant other and perhaps a bottle of sustainable wine, organic beer, and fair trade chocolate.
Sounds a lot better than last year! I can’t wait…
Tell me about your Earth Hour! Leave a comment and share!
Lynn
Copyright 2009 OrganicMania
Popularity: 34% [?]
Filed under Easy Green Weekend Projects, Green Ideas & Stuff, Green moms, Holidays, Parenting, Tips, global warming | Wordpress Comments (3) |
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