Green Your Cleaning and Your Personal Care Regime Dana Ravech Erica Reilly Green Cleaning CoachIndependent Consultant

Household Cleaning Chemicals: What we don’t know can hurt us! We think that what’s on the store shelves must be safe because we assume it’s been tested and/or meets some criteria-many ingredients we have grown to trust are harmful to our health There are no legal requirements for listing ingredients on the labels of household cleaning products Well over 100 chemicals commonly used in cleaning products have been linked to cancer, fertility problems, birth defects, hormone disruption, asthma, allergies, and psychological abnormalities EWG Test: Comet Disinfectant Powder Cleanser released more than 100 air contaminants, including chloroform, benzene, and formaldehyde Women are still doing more than 70% of the housework in the average home, causing us to be more exposed to hidden toxic chemicals in cleaning products Children are disproportionately exposed to chemicals in cleaners because they are smaller and their organs and immune systems are not fully developed. Certain chemicals can interfere with the development of their neurological, endocrine and immune systems. Pets are at risk as well. Fumes and residue from products are both harmful to our health— exposure through our respiratory tracts and our skin Indoor air quality is 70% more toxic than outdoor air pollution

Personal Care Products also contain many harmful ingredients Women use on average personal care products a day (with 168 different ingredients), men use an average of 6 (with 85 ingredients) and children were exposed to 61 ingredients daily. We do not realize that our skin is our largest organ, absorbing what is put on it in seconds. Personal Care products include: shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving cream, deodorant, children’s products, toothpaste, lotion, make up, etc. Again we think that what is on the shelf is safe for us to use, and we trust the labels that are put on products. The last time the FDA passed a law regarding personal care products was in EWG found that 22% of personal care products contain a cancer causing ingredient,1,4 dioxane, including many children’s products. The European Union has banned (for over a decade) over 1300 ingredients in the personal care industry. The US has only banned 11 ingredients to date. And the FDA does not regulate this--the industry is self-regulating. There are over 10,000 different ingredients used in our personal care products. Over 80 % have never been tested for safety.

What to Look Out For Safety Warnings: Danger, Caution, Warning, Irritants, Corrosives, Sensitizers, Chronic Health Hazards Unsubstantiated Health Claims: Non-toxic, Natural, Environmentally Friendly, Biodegradable Harmful Ingredients (Not all are disclosed and order does not represent relative amounts): See next slide

Common Hazardous Ingredients in Cleaning & Personal Care Products Acetone Aerosol Products Ammonia Bleach D-limone Formaldehyde Fragrance (can include presence of many thousands of ingredients) Naphthalene Parabens Phosphoric Acid Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Toulene Turpentine And many others… Most hazardous ingredients fall into one or more of 3 categories: carcinogens, endocrine disruptors (mimic hormones), neurotoxins

What can you do? Make your own cleaners: Saves money and you know what’s in them! Use fewer cleaners with minimal ingredients: Vinegar and baking soda go a long way! Read ingredients before you buy products Take care of stains right away Open windows to air out house occasionally Wipe down shower curtain and walls after showering Take off shoes at the door

7 How to clean your personal care regime: You do not need a chemistry degree to read product labels. Use the EWG’s skin deep data base to check your products. It looks at and rates over 65,000 products. Make your own beauty products Check the products in your house, including your children’s products 7

The Joy of Green Cleaning by Leslie Reichert Antibacterial products kill good bacteria and some bad bacteria, but some bad bacteria survive and create stronger, more resistant forms. We don’t need to disinfect our homes, we just need to clean them the good ol’ fashioned way! Smelling good isn’t the same as being clean—in fact often times what you smell is presence of harmful ingredients. Clean should not smell like anything! Our great-grandmothers most likely cleaned with 4 things: white vinegar, salt, baking soda and Borax Most regular cleaning can be done without toxic chemicals-use vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, etc. The first cookbook for green cleaning- Over 70 pages of green recipes that are made from items you can find in your own pantry. And they really work!

9 Book Resources: For adults: Gorgeously Green. 8 simple Steps to an Earth Friendly Life. by Sophie Uliano Little Changes. Tales of a Reluctant Home Eco-Momics Pioneer by Kristi Marsh with Rachel Vidoni The Body Toxic by Nena Parker Not Just a Pretty Face by Stacy Malkin For kids: This is our Earth by Laura Lee Benson Tacking Trash by Lorre Griffen Burns Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming by Jean Davies Okimoto 9

Leslie’s green cleaning tips, videos, blog, online shopping, and much more!