The chemical bisphenol, effect on the body politic

BPA: Surprisingly strong effect on the body politic

Posted on June 17, 2010 — Bookmark and Share

Magnifying Glass GirlLindsay Dahl, Deputy Campaign Director

It’s hard to pronounce, and even harder to find on a product label, yet the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) has become a household word. BPA comes up in casual conversation: Have you switched out your water bottles yet? Do I really have to live without canned green beans? So how did this obscure chemical become one of today’s most potent symbols for the perils of modern life?
Unhappy accidents

It all started with a series of lab accidents in the 1990s. Like the dirty work station that produced the unsightly fungus we now call penicillin, these accidents helped scientists realize that BPA in plastic objects does not stay put – it leaches out of its original container. And that changed everything. These lab accidents launched hundreds of studies into the effects of BPA, the ubiquitous chemical now linked to everything from cancer to infertility to obesity.

Here are a couple of examples:

* In 1993, a group of cancer researchers at Stanford University found that a mysterious estrogen was altering the breast-cancer cells they were studying. They were baffled, but eventually traced the reaction to the BPA-laden plastic flasks they were using to sterilize water. This discovery launched further research into how very low doses of BPA could disrupt hormones and lead to things like miscarriage, erectile dysfunction, breast cancer, and heart disease.
* In 1998, Patricia Hunt, a geneticist then working at Case Western Reserve University, noticed a confusing change in the eggs of the female mice she was studying. Why were 40% of the eggs abnormal—instead of the usual rate of 1% to 2%? Hunt’s team solved the mystery when they realized the plastic mouse cages were melting a little during the washing process, releasing BPA into the cages (and the bodies of the mice).

The dose makes the poison?

Just as researchers did not know the extent to which BPA could leach out of a plastic flask or mouse cage; they also did not understand how much havoc a tiny dose of BPA could cause. Starting in the mid-1990s, researchers realized that lower doses were potentially more dangerous than higher doses, disrupting hormone development in mice. In short, previous standards for measuring BPA safety were next to worthless.
Enter the baby bottle

Many of our coalition partners have been tracking the expanding body of research and growing concerned about BPA. Through a combination of old-fashioned grassroots organizing, media outreach, and getting in touch with online parenting sites and mom bloggers, people started paying attention.

Realizing their painstaking efforts to ‘shop smart’ were inadequate, parents started demanding change from their elected representatives.
BPA struck a nerve on parenting websites, where people gathered to discuss important decisions like, which car seat is safest? These careful parents were shocked when they discovered the baby bottles and sippy cups they had been handing their children were laced with a hormone-disrupting chemical. Realizing their painstaking efforts to ‘shop smart’ were inadequate, parents started demanding change from their elected representatives.
States take the lead

Last year I worked in Minnesota with a diverse coalition called Healthy Legacy, to pass the nation’s first restrictions on this nasty chemical. The bill, phasing out BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups, was the first nail in the coffin for the pervasively used chemical. Shortly after, Connecticut, Washington, Vermont and more passed restrictions on BPA. Here’s a complete listing of states that have put restrictions on BPA.

Baby bottle manufacturers quickly understood that BPA was the kiss of death, and changed their formulas.
Baby bottle manufacturers quickly understood that BPA was the kiss of death, and changed their formulas. Thanks to those early activists and angry parents, it’s hard to find a baby bottle or sippy cup in any state these days that doesn’t have a label saying ‘No BPA!’
Beyond the baby bottle

BPA is just one of thousands of toxic chemicals that our nation’s weak laws don’t protect us from, but its story illustrates our government’s failure to keep up with the times. It’s not just the FDA or the EPA — it’s the whole system.

BPA is found in hundreds of common products, like plastic water bottles, canned food, infant formula, wine bottles, beer cans, receipt paper and yes, toilet paper. There’s no simple route to routing BPA from our lives — the products listed above are actually regulated by different federal agencies; so if we regulate BPA canned food (FDA), we can still be exposed to it from a paper receipts (EPA).

People just want to be able to buy food, drinks, toilet paper and the like knowing they are free of BPA and other harmful chemicals.
I don’t know about you, but the majority of people I talk to don’t think or care about what products fall under what federal agency. People just want to be able to buy food, drinks, toilet paper and the like knowing they are free of BPA and other harmful chemicals.
Congress takes action

The state leadership on BPA had several good effects — most important, it set the stage for serious Congressional action.

Two important bills are working through Congress and we need you to contact your federal delegation today to support these measures.

1. On April 15, 2010, Congress unveiled strong legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. The long-awaited, landmark legislation would overhaul the way the federal government protects the public from toxic chemicals like BPA.
2. Senator Feinstein has introduced an amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would phase-out BPA from food and drink containers. Congress needs to know you support this important legislation.

Here’s the silver lining: because of the uproar over BPA, people from communities all over the nation have discovered that the products they use every day are made with chemicals that have not been tested for safety. And once people come to that realization, they are no longer willing to live with the status quo. How about you?

*******
Thank you Lindsay for the great information:
To get safer products in our home please visit
www.saferisbetter.com/freedon and see what we do to keep our families safe from harmful toxins.

Environmental Safe Products: Think Eco-Fashion Means

Environmental Safe Products: Think Eco-Fashion Means
http://www.saferisbetter.com/freedon

Think Eco-Fashion Means

Think Eco-Fashion Means Birkenstocks? Think Again.
Share
Today at 2:38am

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Mommy Greenest:

I’ve always been a bit insecure in the butt department. Not that my posterior is particularly gigantic, but in the words of the fashion magazines that I devoured as a teenager, this was my “problem area.” I’ve long outgrown those mind-warping glossies and accepted that not all of us are long, lanky and lean—no matter how many hours we spend on the treadmill. But when I find a pair of jeans that lengthens my legs and minimizes my rear in the miraculous way that only good denim can, I wear them. And wear them. And wear them, until the thighs are threadbare and the hems tattered. And then I start looking for a new pair to replace them, because by this time the manufacturer has certainly stopped making the style I love, and any remnant pairs have probably been chopped up and made into eco-friendly home insulation.

Which brings us to today. The thighs of my favorite Levi’s are so thin, I’m afraid they’ll split when I bend down to pick up the Barnacle (read: Baby). So I’m on the hunt for a new pair. And given what I now know about denim…

* Most denim is made of cotton, which is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world and accounts for 25% of all pesticides used in the U.S., according to the Sustainable Cotton Project.
* It takes about two-thirds of a pound of pesticides to make enough cotton for one pair of jeans. (Put a pound of flour in a bowl for a scary visual on that one.)
* Pesticides like diuron and acephate used in cotton production are considered carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency (not the most alarmist of organizations).
* Cotton production introduces these chemicals into the water table and food chain.
* 67 million birds die each year from pesticide poisoning; the chemicals have also been linked to mutant frogs found with extra legs and eyes.

...I’m going to want it organic. But all the sustainability in the world won’t make me squeeze into pants that make my butt look big. I tried on a pair of Linda Loudermilk’s ridiculously soft organic denim jeans last week, but they made my thighs look like sausages and gapped at the waist. Obviously destined for the long-and-lean category.

I’ve always been a Levi’s girl, but their organic cotton “green tab” line is so difficult to find. They seem to have phased them out online, and even at the Levi’s store, only a few styles are available at a time.

I’m heartened by the fact that oh-so-popular J Brand has introduced their eco-friendly Green Label and am heading off to the nearest haute boutique to try on a pair. After all, if I’m only buying one pair of $200 jeans every three years, that breaks down to just about twenty-two cents a day!

In the mean time, I’m just really, really careful when I bend down.

P.S. Some more eco-fashion facts to consider:

TRASHION

The average American throws out 68 pounds of clothes and textiles every year, only to have 2.5 billion pounds of the stuff diverted by the American textile industry for repurposing. Me? I’m recycling my denim into shorts, a skirt or, at the very least, patches. Because my new jeans are sure to wear thin someday. And I’ll definitely need something to shore them up while I search for a new pair.

COTTON-FREE ZONE

Most clothing is made of cotton, which is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world, accounting for 25 percent of all pesticides used in the U.S. according to the Sustainable Cotton Project. It takes an astounding one-third of a pound of pesticide to make one t-shirt and two-thirds to make a pair of jeans.

Dump a pound of flour into a bowl and keep that visual in mind the next time you go shopping—it’s easy to avoid conventional cotton when you’re searching for updates. Loyale Clothing makes amazing tops and dresses in organic cotton, plus the most perfect little black dress in environmentally friendly silk which will get you through a season’s worth of dinner parties. In the jeans department, Del Forte offers au courant styles in organic denim, manufactured under fair trade standards. Doucette Duvall’s little “green” dresses are made from rescued remnant fabrics and Viridis Luxe creates to-die-for hemp/ cashmere sweaters, perfect to layer up this Spring.

THE TRUTH ABOUT BAMBOO

Another cotton alternative is bamboo, which is a fantastic source for material because it’s totally sustainable–meaning it can be grown without chemicals and with a minimal impact on the earth. However, there are some downsides to bamboo productions. First, it’s currently grown primarily in China, and increasingly as a forest-clearing mono crop, which decreases biodiversity and can lead to an increase in pests—plus, the transit to production and sale in the U.S. is fossil fueled.

Bamboo can be mechanically processed without the use of chemicals into a soft, linen-like material. But chemical processing is less labor-intensive—and cheaper—which means most manufacturers working with the stuff use this method. Unfortunately, there has also been some question about the safety of the sodium hydroxide (or, lye) that’s predominantly used to “pulp” the bamboo from a fiber to a fluff that can be woven into textile.

Currently there is really no way to know exactly how bamboo fabric has been manufactured—unless it’s part of the designer’s marketing plan. However, the actual cultivation of the stuff is a clear environmental winner when compared to cotton. Conventional cotton is clear-cut at time of harvest, meaning the bare earth during that time is releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. In contrast, bamboo grows just like grass, sending up shoots continually, and is harvested in the same way–just like you mow your lawn. Plus, bamboo absorbs five times as much green house gases and produces 35% more oxygen than the equivalent amount of trees. No wonder the pandas are happy!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SHOES

Greening your closet doesn’t stop at your ankles—the next time you reach for a pair of leather boots, think about the impact of the estimated 225 toxic chemicals used its tanning process. Yet vintage can be a little more challenging in the footwear department. Because most shoes mold to their wearer’s feet, it can be difficult to find pre-worn that fit right.

With so many faux leathers and suedes out there, it’s easy to eliminate leather completely from your footwear repertoire. Look for shoes made from dioxin-free polyurethane (a slightly more environmentally-friendly option that PVC) or natural elements like hemp. Kailia and Charmone both manufacture completely vegan shoe lines in artisan factories in Italy, and the drool-worthy hemp Nadia Ankle Boot from Sui Generis by Beyond Skin made sweatshop-free in Spain.

If you do plan to buy new and still want to wear leather, look for shoes made from so-called “eco-leather,” which is basically leather tanned without heavy metals like chrome, from reputable companies such as El Naturalista, Coclico and PURE by Rickard Shah, which also utilize eco-elements like recycled elements and packaging.

Oh and about those Birkenstocks, the symbol of social consciousness since 1966: They’re eco-leather, and the company uses every ounce of its scraps, and recycles the cork from the soles. Plus, with the right outfit, today’s Birkies can look downright chic!

Mommy Greenest is the brainchild of Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, a mother of three who reduces, reuses and recycles with her family in Los Angeles, CA. The site puts a voice—and a face—to the idea of gently persuasive, living-by-example, never judgmental, eco-friendly parenting. Rachel also publishes EcoStiletto.com, which dishes out daily eco-friendly fashion, beauty, lifestyle and celebrity advice to help shrink your carbon footprint from a ginormous boot into an oh-so-slender stiletto.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

image courtesy of bsdfm / CC BY-SA 2.0