ban in effect

At least in California, effective on Jan 1st, phthalates are banned in children’s products.

Found mostly in children’s toys, phthalates is a colorless, oily chemical used in thousands of products to impart flexibility and durability. Due to leaching, children come in contact with the chemical with hand-to-mouth contact or by chewing on the toy. Most scientists believe, from verifiable data, that phthalates are hormone altering chemicals, that affect the reproductive systems of developing children. There is a greater impact on young boys where genital deformities and sterility are increasing problems.

With the ban in place, consumers can feel more confident that the products their children are exposed to are safe. The ban also applies to online retailers that sell to California consumers.

Specifically, the law bans the use of six types of phthalates found in some children’s toys containing plastic and in “child-care articles” intended “to facilitate sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children with sucking or teething.”

The law also requires that phthalate substitutes be less toxic. The San Francisco Department of the Environment throughout 2008 tested toys made with polyvinyl chloride — which often contains high phthalate levels — bought in city stores.

California is the first state to implement such a ban and it came after a long and arduous fight from chemical and plastic manufacturers. Many states are expected to not place similar bans due to the cost of battling these companies in court and in the law books.

However, this may be one case in which the science will create a natural progression of elimination of this product. You can go HERE for more information.

ahem….

About a week or so ago, I posted about cosmetics have increased the level of toxins in our teen girls, and these toxins are altering their hormone levels.

To be fair, and since the study was released, I decided I better give equal time to little boys.

It seems if moms have too high of an exposure to phthalates then their little boys have little penises. And not just little, but a list of abnormalities affecting their genital area.

You can read the full study HERE. And, the summary HERE.

Phlhalates can be found in most vinyl products from medical instruments to toys to nail polish

girls, girls, girls

In a way, I can’t even tell you how much this breaks my heart.

Young women already have so much to deal with… body image and beauty issues, getting a good education, being treated equally, pressure to have sex too soon, drugs, cigarettes, a false need to seem older than they are, boys… or girls, for the matter. I’m sure boys have just as much stress in their lives, but I would doubt that the pressures put on them silently kills them the way it does women.

A report from the Environmental Working Group has found that teenage girls have high levels of contaminating toxins that disrupt their hormone regulating system. All of this because of the large amount of beauty products they use.

Read the article HERE.

If you have any teen women (or men) in your life… talk to them. Ask them about the pressures they face. Be a parent or friend or mentor and give them advice, or just be a person they know is listening to them. And, if they really, really, REALLY are commited to wearing two tons of make-up, instead of letting their natural beauty shine through… take them on a shopping spree! To buy ORGANIC cosmetics.