by Mary-Jane Liddicoat
Do no harm, avoid harmful chemicals
Keeping our children safe and healthy is the first concern of most parents.
So you buy soap, moisturizer and bubble bath labeled ‘gentle for baby’ and feel comforted knowing that even if you can’t control the environment ‘out there’, you are doing your best at home.
But are you really? If you look down the list of ingredients on the back of many ‘baby safe’ products, you will find that, in fact, many contain a range of potentially harmful ingredients.
Ingredients linked to skin and eye irritations, eczema, respiratory and mental problems, and even cancer and birth defects.
Our skin protects us?
Once upon a time, we thought our skin was a barrier that protected us from most things.
We now know that anything we use on our skin can be absorbed directly into our bodies and stored over time in our organs and can lead to serious illness.
Surely our governments and major well-known manufacturers would not allow the use of such ingredients in baby (or indeed any other) personal care products?
Sadly, the discoveries of melamine in baby formula, diethylene glycol in toothpaste, and talc (asbestos) in baby powder have shown us that their quality control systems are not failsafe.
What if it were easy?
Feeling overwhelmed? What it it were as simple as being aware and choosing differently? Here's how.
Do no harm, avoid harmful chemicals
Keeping our children safe and healthy is the first concern of most parents.
So you buy soap, moisturizer and bubble bath labeled ‘gentle for baby’ and feel comforted knowing that even if you can’t control the environment ‘out there’, you are doing your best at home.
But are you really? If you look down the list of ingredients on the back of many ‘baby safe’ products, you will find that, in fact, many contain a range of potentially harmful ingredients.
Ingredients linked to skin and eye irritations, eczema, respiratory and mental problems, and even cancer and birth defects.
Our skin protects us?
Once upon a time, we thought our skin was a barrier that protected us from most things.
We now know that anything we use on our skin can be absorbed directly into our bodies and stored over time in our organs and can lead to serious illness.
Surely our governments and major well-known manufacturers would not allow the use of such ingredients in baby (or indeed any other) personal care products?
Sadly, the discoveries of melamine in baby formula, diethylene glycol in toothpaste, and talc (asbestos) in baby powder have shown us that their quality control systems are not failsafe.
What if it were easy?
Feeling overwhelmed? What it it were as simple as being aware and choosing differently? Here's how.
- Be aware of the potentially harmful ingredients commonly used in food, cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, moisturizers and other personal care products, including in those labeled ‘gentle for baby’, 'all natural', 'wellbeing' etc
- Take a list of these ingredients with you when you go shopping to make sure you don’t buy products containing them
- Identify companies committed to using only safer, effective ingredients, and use only their products (don't know? ask us!), and
- Invite your local shops to add more chemical free food and non-toxic personal care products to their shelves. In some countries you'll need to take a magnifying glass with you to read the labels!
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