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
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:
I’ve been observing advertising for fragranced products over the years and have found some of the ads to be quite telling.
For instance, every time I’ve seen an ad for this product, it looks like the people using it are inhaling drugs.
And this product too. All the ads show adults and/or children who look like they are getting stoned:
My LOVE!
Be fragrance-free!
♥
What’s love got to do with it?
Who among us wants to harm another? Modern fragrances cause harm. Stop them!
If you want to learn more about why so many people are suffering adverse health effects and making a stink about fragrance use, then the recent report from Women’s Voices for the Earth is a great place to get informed
“Unpacking the Fragrance Industry: Policy Failures, the Trade Secret Myth and Public Health“.
It’s must read material if you are at all unfamiliar with the issues surrounding fragrance.
Like this:
And that’s only the ones that have been tested. Many have not been tested for human health effects. Scientists also recently discovered that chemical cocktails can become carcinogenic even when individual chemicals themselves weren’t carcinogenic, but chemicals are tested individually (if at all), and not in the cocktails we get exposed to.
Please read the research and articles from WVE, and then take action.
Not surprisingly, the fragrance industry took issue with the report and shared some standard industry generated marketing responses. You can read about that here:
Posted in Air Quality, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health, Human Rights, Pollution, Public Health
Tagged allergies, asthma, autism, cancer, child health, drugs, endocrine disruptors, environmental sensitivities, fragrance chemicals, hazardous air pollutants, IAQ, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, petrochemicals, phthalates, toxic chemicals, toxic trespass
The May June 2015 issue of Costco’s magazine had an article about scent marketing.
The Economist had an interesting article in 2007 regarding manipulative chemical use.
Women’s Voices For the Earth has several reports about fragrances and the fragrance industry.
Why should you be concerned? Read on:
Posted in Air Quality, Brain, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health, Human Rights, Neurotoxicity, Pollution, Public Health, Toxic Trespass
Tagged allergies, asthma, autism, cancer, Chemicals, child health, fibromyalgia, fragrance chemicals, hazardous air pollutants, IAQ, manipulation, marketing, MCS, petrochemicals, shopping
While these resources are primarily directed at women of childbearing age and children, they are really applicable to all of us. If a mother stops using perfume, but the father still piles on the scented deodorant, aftershave, and cologne, then his sperm, the mother, and children (born or unborn) are still being exposed to harmful chemicals.
If other family members, friends, and places like daycares are using scented laundry, personal care, and cleaning products, they too are putting moms-to-be and kids at risk.
The adverse effects from these chemicals can be life-long, even longer. Our exposures can affect our grandchildren. Eliminating them from our lives now will ensure better health all around, including downstream, where fish and wildlife are also being affected.
The short video below, produced by Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), provides simple, important information on how you can protect yourself and your child from Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). They are found in so many places now.
∴
WECF have also developed a new website, NESTING, which is another good resource for all of us. They have assembled a lot of good advice there.
Here’s an example from their Cleaning & personal care page:
Posted in Air Quality, Brain, Chemicals, Child Health, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health, Precaution, Pregnancy
Tagged child health, EDCs, endocrine disrupting chemicals, endocrine disruption, Fragrance, hazardous air pollutants, indoor air quality, non-toxic, personal care, petrochemicals, postpartum, resources, solutions, tips, toxic chemicals
I have heard that new ads are out and insinuating people will somehow feel richer merely by inhaling mysterious blends of chemicals. Please don’t be fooled. Seriously.
“Unstopables … will add an indulgent level of luxurious scent to every load of your laundry. Add as much as you wish for up to 12 weeks* of scent enhancement so you can smell like the lifestyle you—and your wardrobe—deserve.”
They fail to mention that your neighbors who get migraines may think that the “scent enhancement” emanating from your dryer vent (which was designed to emit moisture, not chemicals) is not such a good thing for them, their asthmatic children, or for their aging parents who have lung disease and whose window is yards from your vent.
Apparently we also don’t deserve to know what we’d be inhaling if we use these things! P&G will only refer us to the self-regulated fragrance industry’s voluntarily disclosed list of over 3000 ingredients, most of which are petroleum derived. (Scroll down for a PDF of the list, which took quite a bit of sleuthing around their other website to find).
I’ve designed a few new ads for them, simplifying some of their marketing messages into plain English for you :
There’s more, much more…
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Brain, Environmental Health, Fibromyalgia, Fragrance, Health, Human Rights, Indoor Air Quality, Pollution, Products
Tagged allergies, asthma, barriers to access, brain fog, brain injury, buzz, cancer, Chemicals, child health, cognitive problems, drugs, EDCs, Fragrance, fragrance-free policy, hazardous air pollutants, hormones, images, impaired, inhalants, laundry, luxurious scent, MCS, MCS/ES, petrochemicals, phthalates, toxic chemicals, toxic trespass
It should be illegal to sell products that disperse secret, unregulated, ingredients into the air people have to breathe, especially children.
Children need clean air to breathe! Clean air is air without petrochemicals in it.
These things emit hazardous chemicals. It is not cute or fresh to poison kids!
It’s time to stop and think about what is going into the air we expect children to breathe.
Breathing is not optional!
When children’s hospitals enact policies banning fragrance use on their premises, you know there are good reasons to be concerned:
Good question!
∴
It’s a question I have asked many, many times, especially when dealing with fragrance chemicals and scent marketing.
Penelope Jagessar Chaffer wasn’t referring specifically to fragrance chemicals when she asked that question, but one set of the chemicals that she discusses in the following TEDX talk are often found in fragrances, laundry, and personal care products (but are never on the labels), and they have been implicated in many different adverse health effects, including the deformities of the penis that she elaborates on in this new video:
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Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 