"Man has sidetracked nature. He has put atoms together into molecules of types that nature has carefully avoided.  We invent to our delight immediately useful materials such as plastics, pesticides, detergents, and other chemicals, hitherto unavailable on planet earth. We rejoice because we can get our laundry whiter than the snow we pollute and because we can exterminate every trace of insect life. We spray bugs and bees and worms and butterflies. We wash and flush the detergents down the drain to the oysters and the fish. Most of our new chemical products are not only toxic; they are in fact designed to sterilize and kill. Through sewage and seepage they all head for the ocean. They do not evaporate, nor do they recycle, but they grow in number and quantity and threaten all marine life."       From "How to Kill an Ocean" by Thor Heyerdahl
 
 

1.  Toxics
     Did you know that common household chemicals may gradually be making you and your family sick?  Did you know that Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease are caused primarily by environmental influences such as exposure to toxins.  Did you know that the inside of a typical American home is ten times more toxic than outdoors?  The EPA found that airborne chemical levels in homes were as much as seventy times higher than outside.  Americans spend 80%-90% of their time indoors.  The typical home now contains over sixty-three hazardous products that together contain hundreds of different chemicals.  Since World War II there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people-made chemicals that we use in our homes, and an equally dramatic rise in the incidence of certain chronic health problems.  In the early 1900's the ration of people contracting cancer was one in fifty.  Today, one out of every three people get cancer, and the prediction in the near future is every other person will get cancer.  There has been a significant rise in birth defects, infertility, asthma, attention deficit disorder, and central nervous system disorders.  We breathe chemical vapors from the household products in our air (notice the off-gas smells as you walk down the cleaning product aisle in your grocery store).   We absorb chemicals into our skin while using household products to clean our homes or make our bodies clean and smell good.  We swallow small amounts of chemicals when we gargle, or when we eat food from dishes that have been cleaned with chemicals and still contain a thin residue.  The home is also where over 1.5 million young children are poisoned each year, and most of the time they are poisoned by a cleaning or personal care product!
    So what are the alternatives?  We  we can choose what we use with scrutiny and care, and we can become involved politically.  Cancer is a political issue.  The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the radiation we are exposed to, where we live, what kind of work we do and the stresses that we suffer -- these issues are responsible for at least 80% of all cancers.  For instance, under current EPA regulations, as many as 60 cancer-causing pesticides can legally be used in the most commonly eaten foods.  Some of these foods are allowed to contain 20 or more carcinogens, making it impossible to measure how much of which ingredient is doing the most damage.  Our society as a whole must take responsibility for the environmental contamination that is killing us.  The easiest way to take charge is by choosing what we purchase and the way we do things.

 Take a look at this next page for more detailed specific lists of toxic issues in our lives:  TOXIC CONCERNS
 

2.  Natural substitutes.
     There are simple natural substitutes if we think about it.  There are lists of common non-toxic ingredients we could use to make our own cleaning products, such as baking soda, vinegar and elbow grease, but not many people have the time or energy to research, gather, mix and scrub with 100% natural ingredients.  Most people just grab something off the shelf and hold their breath.
     Fortunately there are several companies that have done the research and mixing for us, and it is definitely worth switching brands.  Some companies have larger lines, more choices, better ingredients, and lower prices than others.  Look for companies  that manufacture all their own products, offer a wide selection of items, and maintain low prices.  Call me for suggestions.
    Of all the companies out there, there is one that surpasses the others in quality, selection, effectiveness and price.  If you truly are looking for non-toxic products that are convenient, pleasant, that work, and that are inexpensive, give me a call.  Everything is refundable, so you can't lose.