Environmentally Friendly Household Products

Background Information

As we move into an evermore environmentally concerned society, we must acknowledge that not only do we need to build and develop sustainable buildings and communities, make use of greener transport solutions, opt for sustainable energy production, and reduce, re-use, recycle and reclaim our resources, we must also begin to monitor the types of products that we use in our households and gardens in order that we have a lesser detrimental impact on habitats and eco-systems as well as our own personal health.

We have broken this chapter down into three main areas:

• Cosmetics and Personal Hygiene
• Detergents and Domestic Cleanliness
• Interior and Exterior Decorating Products

In each chapter there will be information about the reasons why there is a need to switch to using environmentally friendly products, and what alternatives there are for you to use and where you can buy them.

You will also find a number of links to other companies and organisations for extra information, so that if something takes your eye you’ll know where to go for the most up-to-date information.

At the bottom of this page is an in-depth account of the impact that our household products have on our environment for those interested in the science bit.

In our modern, hygiene conscious western world, there are a vast number of products available to help us launder our clothes, our homes and of course, ourselves. And why shouldn’t there be, after all cleanliness is close to godliness; or so we are told. But as members of this modern world, we should where ever possible and practicable go about our cleaning practises in away that doesn’t dirty our conscience in the process.

The best thing is that thankfully there are a growing number of household products which allow us to do just that; as would befit a modern, socially evolved world.

There was until recently some amount of cynicism surrounding the effectiveness of “new-era” cleaning products, but thanks to scientific analysis the sceptics have now been silenced over all but the toughest of stains. And how dirty do we really get? If however, you and your family do happen to resemble a rugby team who celebrate by swimming in a bath of red wine and tomato ketchup, then by all means use the occasional scoop or tablet of traditional detergent. It’s not an all or nothing life choice; but we should strive to use these products as little as possible.

It’s worth mentioning that not only do these products abate the detriment to nature whilst maintaining our cleanliness, they harbour an added benefit in that they are safe for our health, our children’s health and the health of our pets. Cleaning products manufactured from natural extracts give skin less cause to be irritated amongst other things. And lets face it, who wants to wear underwear that’s been washed in Alkyl benzene sulfonates especially when the carcinogens and reproductive toxins have been removed during the manufacturing process and released as posion into the environment.
There is also the added security that these products have not been tested on animals.

Cosmetics and Personal Hygiene

So what makes an environmentally friendly, sustainability conscious cosmetic? Well essentially a conscious cosmetic will have been produced in such a way that reduces the use of natural resources, where the production process has greatly reduced impact on the environment, using recycled products in their packaging and contain a higher proportion of natural ingredients which are kinder to your skin and your health. But please remember that natural doesn’t necessarily mean organic so watch out for organic logos if that’s what you’re looking for.

It is important to note that animal by-products such as gelatine and collagen are absent from these products. Also of great importance is the absence of petroleum industry products. Often, these ingredients when applied to the skin block pores and suppress normal skin functions such as vitamin adsorption.

A major ingredient in traditional cosmetics are the artificial perfumes (usually identified as parfum) which may build up in the bodies of certain aquatic animals and causing a range of developmental problems.

Research states that 60% of what we put onto our skin can be adsorbed into our bloodstream!

But the buck doesn’t just stop there. There are non-chemical ingredients to think about such as palm oil. The cosmetics industry uses 7% of the world’s palm oil industry. Growth in the palm oil industry is according to some NGOs, responsible for the accelerated destruction of peat forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, and thus is a major player in climate change. The deforestation, desiccation and burning of these peat-lands accounts for 4% of global carbon emission. (Greenpeace). Please see AfSL energy pages for more info on Palm Oil. (Should we say that palm oil production in West Africa would be sustainable?)

As this page is developed, you can hope to find more information about other ingredients. Watch this space!

Below is a link to Health Report where you can find a list of common chemical ingredients found in traditional cosmetics, what they are and what they do:

http://www.health-report.co.uk/ingredients-directory.htm

Detergents and Domestic Cleanliness

Ok then why choose environmentally friendly detergents and cleaning products? Well the man made chemical ingredients that are found in traditional products are harmful to the environment. Once released, they do not readily degrade so they can exist in the environment for a long time. Obviously the long they survive, the more damage they can do.

Anti-bacterial agents found in kitchen and bathroom cleaners, rinsed down the sink can cause resistance to the agents in the environment just the same as bacteria become resistant to anti-biotics in our bodies.

A major concern is the presence of phosphates found in laundry detergent (trisodium phosphate); phosphate promotes plant growth (and decay) most notably in algae, and when there is accelerated plant growth, there will accelerated absorption of oxygen from the water. With depleted oxygen levels the algae start to produce toxins which are released into the water. Certain aquatic and marine life such as shellfish, feed by sweeping the water with gill like appendages that collect particulate from which they feed. Unfortunately they also imbibe the toxins, which can then kill the organisms or kill us should we eat them; as is the case of diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning.

Often water courses can be chocked by such algal blooms and this leads to poor water quality and affects the health and behaviour of aquatic animals. If oxygen levels continue to fall leading to hypoxia then aquatic/marine animals begin to suffocate.

For example please see the link below for a taste of the chemicals that can be found in traditional detergents. While not exhaustive it certainly sheds light on the matter:

www.housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/Environmental_Cleaning_Solutio...
www.scorecard.org/health-effects/chemicals.tcl?short_hazard_name=cancer&...

Below are a number of links that hold information on the types of labels certifying the products’ eco-friendliness:

www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consumerprod/ecolabel/index.htm

Interior and Exterior Decorating Products

www.pesticides.gov.uk/approvals.asp?id=996

In-Depth Environmental Information

Ok then... You might be wondering how it comes to be that the products we use on our bodies and on our homes effects the environment. Well take something like toothpaste for example, that we all use and then dispense almost immediately down the bathroom sink plug hole. The minty-fresh emulsion travels down our pipes and into the drain, from where it enters the sewer system. The same can be said of washing-up liquid in our kitchens and the products that we might use outside such as car washes and de-greasers.

The problem is that these chemical effluents are not subject to bacterial decay*, as is the case with organic matter which we add to the sewer from our bathrooms and kitchens in the form of poop and food scraps. In most cases, chemical effluent has a negative effect on the eco-systems both with in the sewer (we realise that the ecosystem of a sewer seems pretty unimportant – but trust that it is not; more of this latter) and in the wider estuarine and marine habitats.

* or if they are, it is on such a long timescale that they – for all intents and purposes – become permanent pollutants.

Content supplied by Timothy McMahon