I'm excited to announce I'll be on Go Green Radio with Jill Buck tomorrow, July 4, 2008, at 9:00 AM Pacific.  Listen live or check out the podcast if you miss it.  The focus is Going Green for Good Health.  We talk about the positive health benefits of going green and non-toxic - from getting the lead out to greening our cleaning, and the reduction in exposure to toxic chemicals.

I'll link up to the podcast too as soon as it is posted!

After writing the blog about polyethyelene beads in conventional body scrubs, I've been researching plastics in our oceans.  It really irks me that beauty products contain plastic DESIGNED to be washed to the ocean.  And I've found those beads in lots of products, now that I'm looking, including toothpaste (see Simple Steps below). 

Okay, I realize that this may be old news.  Beth over at Fake Plastic Fish had a blog about it in early May.  But still.  I'm a green mom on a mission.

If you didn't know, those polyethylene beads are not caught by sewage treatment plants.  They go right to the ocean.  And while the beads aren't responsible for the plastic garbage patches swirling in our oceans, they don't help matters.  And they contribute to them.  My research has compelled me to renew my vow to eliminate plastic as much as possible from my life.

I'm going to guess that you have seen the horrific images of sea life damaged by plastic.  A turtle grown up with a deformed shell from a plastic ring wrapped around him when he was young.  Or a dead bird with a stomach filled with plastic items.  And these images are no doubt disturbing.  But, while we try to do what we can to stop such things from happening, most of us think that we do what we can to recycle our plastic items so we're not contributing to this problem.  Even if we are wrong.

What has me disturbed is not those images, which do indeed disturb me, but the information that there are huge patches of swirling, floating plastic debris in our oceans.  The Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a combination of the Eastern Garbage Patch and the Western Garbage Patch - is believed to cover an area the twice the size of the continental United States.  Twice the size!  And growing.  The plastic debris is held in place by currents.

And more plastic garbage patches exist in other oceans.

What are these plastic garbage patches made up of?  Plastic.  Plastic from the last 50 years.  Plastics don't degrade, but in the ocean, they do break into smaller and smaller pieces.  And they form a plastic soup on top of and below the surface of our oceans.

What is in there?  University of Plymouth marine biologist Richard Thompson has identified varieties of acrylic, nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride in our oceans.  And in this swirling mass of plastic are objects more than 50 years old.  (Photo courtesy of Algalita Marine Research Foundation).

Plastic does not degrade in any relevant time frame.  Almost all the plastic ever produced is still around.  Consider this quote from Orion Magazine's article Polymers are Forever by Alan Weisman:

“EXCEPT FOR A SMALL AMOUNT that’s been incinerated,” says Tony Andrady the oracle, “every bit of plastic manufactured in the world for the last fifty years or so still remains. It’s somewhere in the environment.”

Holy sh*t! 

How does the plastic in our oceans get there?  About 80% of the plastic comes from land and the remaining 20% comes from ships and oil platforms.  Keep in mind that only about 3.5% of plastics are recycled.  And, there are a lot of myths about recyling plastic.  The biggest myth?  Plastics that go into curbside recycling bins get recycled.  Not all of them do.  Actually, most of them are NOT recycled.  And if they are recycled, they are made into products such as textiles, parking lot bumpers, and similar products - that cannot be recycled.

So what can we do?  Here are some Smart Mama Simple Steps to help reduce plastic consumption, and also help reduce the plastic garbage patches in our oceans:

Give a hoot, don't pollute.  That saying is true.  Don't litter, and pick up litter you do see.  Even better - organize a park clean-up, a beach clean-up, or get the local homeowner's association to install trash cans.  Be a green mom on a mission.

Reduce the use.  Don't buy items in plastic packaging or plastic containers.  Buy in glass or paper.  Use your green purse!

Use reusable bags when shopping.  Let's eliminate plastic bags altogether!  Whenever you shop, use reusable bags - whether you are grocery shopping or clothes shopping, take your own bags.  Richard Thompson reports that even some purportedly biodegradable bags aren't really - they break down into cellulose and plastic polymers.  After the cellulose broke down, Richard Thompson's team found that thousands of clean, nearly invisible plastic particles remained.  And, after tying plastic produce bags to moorings in the ocean, his team found that the bags could still carry groceries after a year.

Buy in bulk.  This will keep plastic packaging down.

Bring your own container.  We just did this at lunch today in my quest to use less plastic.  We brought our own cups to Target (yes, my kids went to the dentist today and we ended up at Target).  The snack counter had no problem with us using our own stainless steel Kleen Kanteens.

Skip personal care products with plastic beads.  If a product identifies micro-fine polyethylene beads, polyethylene micro spheres, polyethylene beads, polyethylene or , skip it.  Natural exfoliants such as walnute shells, apricot huls, grape seeds, coarse sugar, sea salt, jojoba seeds or similar products are okay.  Just skip those stupid beads.  Based upon product labels, I've found them in: Crest Pro Health Fluoride Toothpaste, Colgate 2 in 1 Toothpaste & Mouthwash - Whitening Icy Blast, Pond's Fresh Start Daily Exfoliating Cleanser, L'Oreal Pure Zone Pore Unclogging Scrub Cleanser, Aveeno Skin Brightening Scrub, and many more.

Clean up your waste.  This summer, whether you are at the beach or on a picnic, pick up your trash.  If the trash bin at the location is full or prone to losing its trash, take your trash with you and put it in a secure location.

Sweep sidewalks, don't hose them.  Pick up the plastic - don't wash it to the ocean.  This will save water too!

Put butts in the trash, not on the ground.  Those cigarette butts are litter!  They do not degrade.  Cigarette butts are not biodegradable as you think.  Almost all cigarette filters are a bundle of 12,000 plastic cellulose fibers.  The acetate (plastic) filters take years to decompose.

Dispose of trash in secure container.  Don't let your trash trash your neighborhood and our oceans.  Make sure your trash can is secure.

I've been meaning to post about this but just hadn't gotten to it.  I was reminded because of my earlier post on the sins of green washing.  Consumer Reports has launched an Eco Labels Center that will give you information on green label claims.  You can search by label, by label category, by product, by product category or by certifying organization.  For example, if you look in personal hygience, you can find out what the claims means of 100% vegan, alcohol free, allergy tested, etc.  Information is given as to the meaning of the label, whether it is used consistently, etc.  For example, for the label allergy tested, as I've previously blogged about, the label has little meaning.

I filmed a television show yesterday and then had a Healthy Home party.  What was apparent to me from both was that eco-guilt runs rampant.  Universally, the people I spoke with wanted to do some thing to save Mama Earth, go green, be non toxic and live healthier lives.  At the same time, it was readily apparent that there is a lot of mis information out there, and confusion regarding various claims of healthy, natural, earth-friendly, green, etc., especially in relation to personal care/beauty products.

So how do you assuage your eco-guilt in the face of competing, misleading green claims?  My simple answer is - be an informed, conscious consumer.  That's seems overly simplistic, but its the truth.

This morning, I was forwarded this great article in Newsweek about the sins of green washing.  And I think it is telling.  The article states:

Last year TerraChoice sent researchers into big-box stores in North America to evaluate the green claims of 1,018 consumer products, and found that 1,017 were illegitimate, including beauty products that promised a "totally organic experience" but included "zero evidence that the product contained any organic ingredients," says Case. (TerraChoice won't identify the retailers for fear of libel.) "We saw absolutely ridiculous claims," Case says. "And vague, too. What the heck does 'earth-friendly' mean?"

Only 1 product's claims were legitimate.  The rest, phony or misleading. 

I can't emphasize enough that you have to read labels, particularly when buying beauty/personal care products.  If you are looking for products that are "natural" or "organic," you need to carefully inspect labels to see if you are buying what you think you are buying.  It is a wild west of unregulated claims.  Case in point, while the USDA Certified Organic seal has meaning, companies can you the word "organic" in the company name or product name, without having any organic ingredients at all.

And the US Food & Drug Adminstration (FDA), the agency that regulates cosmetics, doesn't do much to regulate them.  The FDA has only banned 9 ingredients in cosmetics - the EU has banned over 1,100 (although, granted, some of them are chemicals you would never find in cosmetics).  The FDA does not test cosmetic products before they are marketed.  In fact, the FDA admits that cosmetics manufacturers are responsible for substantiating claims of safety.

And those advertising slogans?  They don't mean much.  The FDA doesn't have regulatory definitions for hypoallergenic, fragrance free, etc.  People are always amazed at the lack of regulatory definitions for those commonly used advertising on beauty products.  For example, here is the FDA's position on the label "hypoallergenic" on cosmetics:

There are no Federal standards or definitions that govern the use of the term "hypoallergenic." The term means whatever a particular company wants it to mean. Manufacturers of cosmetics labeled as hypoallergenic are not required to submit substantiation of their hypoallergenicity claims to FDA.

The term "hypoallergenic" may have considerable market value in promoting cosmetic products to consumers on a retail basis, but dermatologists say it has very little meaning.

Similarly, "unscented" and "fragrance free" have no legal definition.  Companies often use these labels for products that have no scent to them, but fragrance has been added to mask bad odors.  In fact, for an eye opening less in label reading, I urge you to check out my analysis of every parent's staple - Johnson & Johnson's Head to Toe Baby Wash.

So, if you are trying to buy organic, natural or healthy beauty products, keep in mind that label reading is a must.  Just buying the products at Whole Foods or a similar retailer doesn't necessarily ensure the product is what you think it is.  Often, so called natural products have petroleum derived ingredients - which may not be what you want.  It doesn't necessarily make them bad products, but it just may not be what you think you are getting when you shell out your money.  As explained in the Newsweek article,

Many beauty products marketed as "organic" or "natural" actually contain fossil fuels. True, petroleum is the product of decayed plants and animals, but that's not what customers have in mind when they pay a premium for organic. And because petrochemicals are mixed with so many nonorganic chemicals, it's even a stretch to call them "natural." In April Dr. Bronner's, a line of beauty products, filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against 13 personal-care brands, including Avalon, Jason, Kiss My Face and Estée Lauder, for deceptive and false advertising. Among the claims were that Kiss My Face's "Obsessively Organic" cleansers contained olefin sulfonate, a petrochemical, and that Avalon "Organics" contain the petrochemical Amdiopropyl Betaine. The defendants say that the use of processed oil derivatives does not undermine their "all natural" labels, and call for a clearer legal definition of what constitutes "eco-friendly."

Bottom line?  Be an informed consumer.

I'm so excited to be going to Blog Her '08, from a bed to myself (no wriggling little bodies, no snoring husband) to lots of fellow bloggers, I'm giving away a BRAND NEW Wii Console (basic package - console, Wii controller & Wii Sports package game) and a BRAND NEW Wii Fit!  Both unopened in their boxes, and in my possession (not a coupon).  Retail value $339.98 plus tax.

To win, you must leave a comment to this blog with a green, non-toxic, or organic simple tip.  It doesn't have to be earth shattering - just someting easy to do.  A simple step.  Turn off the lights.  Use baking soda to clean.  Whatever.  When you leave the comment, you'll be asked for your email address.  This will NOT be published and will not be added to the newsletter, so subscribe separately for the newsletter if you are interested.  I need your email to contact you at the conclusion if you win!  The winner will be drawn from all the comments, and selected using a randomly generated number.  The quality of  your comment will not be a factor in the contest.  One entry per email address regardless of the number of comments left with that email address.

If you want an extra entry, then just link to my website and send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   letting me know you've linked and put in the text the URL so I can check it out.  If you want my button code, let me know.  I'm always happy to exchange links!  

Okay, gritty details.  1 winner.  Void where prohibited.  Items will be shipped by me.  Contest starts 6/27/08 and ends on 7/22/08.  Drawing on 7/23/08 (just after Blog Her '08).

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I was disappointed to read this article about polyethylene beads being used in conventional body scrubs such as Olay Body Wash Plus Spa Exfoliating Ribbons, Dove Gentle Exfoliating Foaming Facial Cleanser and Clean & Clear Daily Pore Cleanser.  I would have said shocked, but not much shocks me lately about what manufacturers put in their products.

So what is the big deal about these plastic beads?  Polyethylene is considered a safer plastic as opposed to, say, polyvinyl chloride (aka PVC or vinyl).  But those micro beads go straight to the ocean - they are not filtered out by sewage treatment plants.  And plastic debris is killing our oceans.  Whether or not these beads contribute to the plastic debris killing our oceans is unknown. 

Why is plastic in our oceans a problem?  Plastic debris does not biodegrade, although it does break down into smaller and smaller pieces.  Plastic large and small clogs our oceans and poisons our marine life.  According to the Alguita Marine Research team, the swirling debris of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean has now grown to a size twice as large as the continental United States.  This debris is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

Small pieces of plastic pose a problem because they are mistaken for zooplankton - and there is now more than six times more plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch than zooplankton.  And one study found that there is 10 pounds of plastic for every one pound of zooplankton.

So what contribution do these beads make?  That I don't know.  There isn't any evidence that the small plastic beads are mistaken for zooplankton or harm aquatic life when consumed.  But, just think about all of the products that contain these beads, and how many are used each year.  Should we be adding to the plastic load in our oceans by intentionally washing these beads down the drain?

P&G responded to an inquiry on the subject by saying that "the average diameter of the particles (20 micrometers) is too large to penetrate the membranes of biological organisms or to even be biologically available to cause harm to wildlife organisms."  But, that misses the point.  Why put such a product in a body scrub that is washed to the ocean?  The beads are too small to be filtered out by the sewage treatment process, so they are discharged to the ocean.  And while they may not directly harm wildlife, why would we want to contribute to the plastic loading of our oceans when so many other, more eco-friendly options are available?

I don't use conventional body scrubs, having switched to other products awhile ago.  I also make my own when I want a scrub.  So, if you are using a body scrub with micro plastic beads, you might want to try one without - look for scrubs that get their scrubbing action from apricot kernels, corn meal, salt, etc.  For example, you might want to try Perfect Organics' Ultimate Body Scrub - Hazelnut Coffee.  It is yummy, and uses organic corn meal for scrubbing!

Or, you can always make your own.  One easy recipe is to grind 1 tablespoon almonds in a food processor or coffee grinder.  Mix in 6 tablespoons cornmeal - you can either process or stir in a bowl.  Then add 2 tablespoons honey in a bowl (not the processor).  Add water if too dry.  Apply to face and let sit 5 minutes.  You can substitute oatmeal too.  A great body scrub is 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup jojoba oil, 1/4 cup castile soap (liquid) and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.