Friday, February 25, 2011

Clorox Cleanup?


Wow! Clorox has surprisingly released the lengthy list of fragrance ingredients that they use in their products. You've got to check out the list of Clorox's 1,219 fragrance ingredients here. Hmmm.....what's the catch? Clorox didn't bother to mention which fragrance ingredients are in which products. Well, I guess the good part for me is that I don't use any Clorox products!

Enviroblog's What's Inside: Clorox Shares A Little summaries the recent development:
The company no longer mentions polycyclic musks on the list of chemicals it never uses because the company - unfortunately - reneged on its promise to phase them out. Its just-released list of fragrance ingredients includes two of them, Galaxolide and Tonalide. Both have been linked to hormone disruption and breaking down cellular defenses against other toxic exposures. Research has also shown that these chemicals accumulate in people's bodies and turn up in blood and breast milk.
A third musk compound with potential for hormone disruption and cell damage is also on Clorox's list of approved fragrance ingredients: musk ketone. High blood levels of musk ketone in women may be associated with gynecological abnormalities, including mild insufficiency of the ovaries and compromised fertility.
The Clorox fragrance list includes a few other troubling ingredients:
  • Acetaldehyde - a possible human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Oxybenzone - a hormone-disrupting chemical commonly used in sunscreens that has been detected in the bodies of 97 percent of Americans and is linked to low birth weight in baby girls
  • Phenol and Benzyl Alcohol - both neurotoxins
  • Triethanolamine - a chemical that can cause asthma to develop in otherwise healthy individuals.
When will enough be enough?

Green washing at its best.

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