With the economy in upheaval, Congress reeling, and the environment under continuing assault from Big Oil, Big Coal, and Big Agro, it’s sometimes tempting to question – how much good can living green really do The luxuries of enviro-heedless daily American living surround us on all sides…high-tech petro-based cosmetics…sweatshop-manufactured designer clothing…toxin-emitting furniture, carpets, cabinets… mountaintops being exploded into rubble to keep our lights on and our computers running. Even if you’re committed to a green lifestyle, the relentless din of this consumerist world view can get wearing. In the midst of a hectic day, does it really matter that much to the planet if you drive to the 7-11 to pick up a pack of Clorox wipes instead of cycling to the health food store for white vinegar to use with your reusable cloth towels? But there’s a deeper question here – it’s not a matter of harshly enforcing green discipline. Somewhere over the last sixty years or so, our culture has lost the skills…and joy…and value…of living simply, lightly, in balance with the natural world. I took my 86-year-old father to a local Fair Trade coffeehouse and housewares shop awhile back. He browsed through the reclaimed-wood furniture, clay-based paints, […]
Continue reading... →When you start asking moms to promote products that other moms and organizations find troubling and maybe even toxic, you can expect a backlash of conversation. That’s what happened when Johnson and Johnson launched a contest called Big Bubblin Stars, in which the winning video of kids having fun in a bubble bath garners $10,000 in prize money. You didn’t have to buy the J&J products and yet, wouldn’t you? It’s $10,000 after all, and it seems fun and safe enough. But is it? The troubling part for many moms was that the contest promoted the use of products that contained dubious chemistry, shown over time to build up in the little bodies soaking in it. The launch of Bubblin Stars also coincided with a report from the Safe Cosmetics Organization titled No More Toxic Tub. In the bubble bath case, the moms were specifically questioning the use of products containing 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, included in some J&J products. What’s the big deal? Well, according to areport on a site focused on reducing breast cancer, it’s not just in J&J products. As stated in the report: Laboratory tests released today revealed the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in products such as Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Huggies Baby Wash, Johnson’s Baby Wash, Scooby-Doo Bubble Bath […]
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