There are those who invite us to celebrations, sometimes year after year, but who also refuse to remove the accessibility barriers so that we can attend.
There are 25 barriers in this photo.
Can you find them all?
Click on the image to enlarge it.
Don’t understand?
Learn more here:
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Community, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Products
Tagged accessibility barriers, allergies, asthma, autism, cancer, chemical sensitivity, environmental sensitivities, fibromyalgia, Fragrance, hazardous air pollutants, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, quit fragrance, toxic chemicals, VOCs
Here’s yet another example of a systemic issue regarding health harming accessibility barriers, happening in a province (and country) where we have Human Rights laws that recognize people with environmental ‘sensitivities’ as having a disability, and where everyone is encouraged to remove accessibility barriers instead of creating new ones.
Unsuspecting Oshawa Costco Canada shoppers are being subjected to this fragrance assault and/or accessibility barrier between November 26, 2019 and December 8, 2019.
Info which was found buried on Costco Canada’s website in the Special Events page, there may be other locations as well.
How many members see these announcements?
In December, it appears that those who shop at Costco’s Ste Foy location will also be sprayed, without alternative accommodations made for member shoppers whose lives are harmed by this kind of thing (unless there’s a public outcry before it happens).
Not only is the store air thoroughly polluted by this kind of diffusion (as experienced by someone who reported it to their mother who has environmental sensitivities and is severely allergic to fragranced products) for the 2 week duration of this “special event”, but everything in their store(s), *including food*, will also have absorbed substantial residues of undisclosed (and not food-safe) fragrance substances, that may be difficult if not impossible to remove.
This ‘special event’ can cause significant harm to people with asthma, autism, chemical and environmental sensitivities, fragrance allergies, migraines, and mast cell activation syndrome (to name a few). Even 2nd and 3rd hand residues of this type can cause serious (and life-threatening) health problems and long lasting disabling effects, so a suggestion of having someone else do the shopping is not a reasonable or feasible accommodation.
See below for the product details and the store manager’s and assistant manager’s responses when called.
Posted in Air Quality, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Fragrance, Human Rights, Indoor Air Quality, Pollution, Products
Tagged accessibility barriers, allergies, asthma, autism, cancer, chemical sensitivity, contaminated food, Food, hazardous air pollutants, health, Human Rights, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, multiple chemical sensitivities, perfume, shopping, toxic trespass, VOCs
When you need a product that says it’s fragrance-free
and the product’s web page states:
“It’s 100% dye-free, perfume-free and dermatologist-tested. Take laundry day to the next level. … With Persil® Sensitive Skin you can achieve a deep clean without scents and perfumes that can aggravate skin sensitivities.”
Guess what? You still need to read the ingredient list, because some manufacturers think it’s ok to do this:
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Fragrance, Human Rights, Laundry, Products
Tagged allergies, asthma, autism, chemical sensitivity, environmental sensitivities, false advertising, fragrance sensitivity, fragrance-free, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, multiple chemical sensitivities, toxic trespass
It’s not often that we hear people discussing chemical and environmental “sensitivities” and other environmentally linked chronic health problems and disabling conditions, or how they relate in the bigger picture.
Two such discussions have taken place in August of 2019, and you can watch the videos below.
Posted in Accessibility, Community, Disability, Environment, Environmental Health, Human Rights, Pollution, Products
Tagged allergies, art, chemical sensitivity, creativity, EHS, environmental sensitivities, fragrance-free, health, Housing, IAQ, invisible disabilities, medical, Mold, multiple chemical sensitivities, pesticides, petrochemicals, toxic chemicals, video
Back in 2017, there was an effort by Memes for Inconvenient Disabilities to get people to wear a mask to see what it was like to be a human canary.
Only one person we know of took the challenge, but she did not give permission to share her incredible insights from her experience.
I’ve discovered that Fast Company did their own version of the Mask Challenge and here’s their video: Continue reading
Posted in Air Quality, Chemicals, Disability, Environmental Health, Pollution, Products
Tagged allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, environmental sensitivities, Fragrance, hazardous air pollutants, IAQ, invisible disabilities, masks, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, pesticides, respirators and masks
Have you seen the new “the more the better” Gain detergent ad?
When the delivery woman tries her best not to puke from the Gain fumes,
the Gain user shrugs and the voice-over says:
“Hey, you can’t float everyone’s boat. Love it or hate it, it’s intense.”
!!!
In other words, Gain implies they’re fine with sinking us
(More on what we all think about that later)
The ad starts off with a scene that already promotes an IAQ nightmare:
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Disability, Environment, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Human Rights, Laundry, Pollution, Products
Tagged accessibility barriers, advertising, allergies, asthma, autism, bullying, cancer, chemical sensitivity, chemicals in clothing, child health, environmental sensitivities, false advertising, hazardous air pollutants, health, IAQ, invisible disabilities, laundry products, MCS, saatchi, scented candles, toxic trespass, VOCs
Hey Vagisil!
Aside from making women feel like they need products that are
totally unnecessary and can be all around harmful in general, it’s
TOTALLY NOT COOL
to appropriate disability language
to sell products
that harm people with said disability!
If you are ‘scentsitive’, it means you need to be scent-free!
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Chemicals, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Human Rights, Products
Tagged allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, environmental sensitivities, fragrance chemicals, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, personal care, scentsitive, video
It seems like the best way to clear up some confusion about being fragrance-free, is to provide a checklist of products and places where fragrances that can make you not be fragrance-free are found, so that you don’t inadvertently bring fragrances with you when going somewhere with a strict fragrance-free policy.
The checklist addresses some common misconceptions about what being fragrance-free really means.
Being fragrance-free is about more than not using perfume or cologne.
It’s also not about skipping deodorant, as some people seem to think.
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health Promotion, Human Rights, Policy, Products
Tagged allergies, asthma, autism, cancer, checklist, chemical sensitivity, Chemicals, environmental sensitivities, fragrance-free, hazardous air pollutants, health, IAQ, MCS, MCS/ES, migraines, toxic trespass, VOCs
Many people believe that for a product to be sold, it has to first be proven safe.
Unfortunately this is far from the truth.
I ran across a great in depth article in Fast Company about product safety,
and how:
“There are no laws in place to ensure a company’s
product development process results in safe products,
because product safety is entirely voluntary.”
…
and to echo what I’ve been saying:
“Today, public outcry is doing much of the work
that government agencies cannot.”
…
More snippets from the very informative and long article follow:
…
Get something stinky
as a gift?
Don’t toss it
on the street
or in the trash.
Don’t regift it
to a friend
or enemy.
Don’t donate it
to a charity.
Do send a message
loud and clear!
Now’s the time Continue reading
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Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 