Keeping Children Safe From Untested Chemicals Through the Kids-Safe Chemical Act
October 25, 2009 by Seventh Generation · 1 Comment
Emerging science increasingly links exposure to toxic chemicals to the incidence of serious health problems. A recent example is Bisphenol-A (BPA). Ten years ago there were very few studies on this chemical used to make baby bottles, plastic food containers and the linings of canned food. In the last few years, BPA has been linked to a variety of health problems, such as neural and behavioral defects, cancer and infertility.
This news was a frightening wake up call for many consumers about unknown chemicals in products they use every day.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TCSA), passed by Congress in 1976, mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conduct or review safety studies on new chemicals before allowing them to be used in consumer products. While the science has changed, there have been no changes in the TSCA. In the 33 years since the act has passed, the EPA has required testing on just 200 of the more than 80,000 new synthetic, human-made chemical compounds developed for products used in the home. Moreover, under federal law, the EPA does not have the authority to demand the information it needs to evaluate a chemical’s risk, and neither manufacturers nor the EPA are required to prove a chemical’s safety as a condition of use.
Seventh Generation, the trusted brand of authentic, safe and environmentally responsible products for the living home, has teamed up with Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, a coalition of nearly 30 leading non-governmental organizations including the Environmental Defense Fund and Healthy Child Healthy World, to influence Congress to overhaul our nation’s chemical regulatory law. Called the Kid-Safe Chemical Act, it requires that industrial chemicals be safe for infants and children and new chemicals be safety tested before they are put into products; it will also require chemical manufacturers to test and prove that the untested chemicals already on the market are safe in order for them to remain in commerce and that this information is publicly available.
In full disclosure: Mom It Forward, Inc. is not a member of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition and takes a neutral stand on this issue. All questions and comments on this topic should be directed to Seventh Generation or Million Baby Crawl.Giveaway! Win Healthy Home Cleaning Products From Seventh Generation (10 winners)!
October 25, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 211 Comments
This week, you can win several safe and environmentally responsible cleaning products from Seventh Generation!
Prize
Ten winners will each win a Health Home Kit, including:
Kitchen Cleaner—Wild Orange & Cedar Spice cleaner tackles even greasy cooking surfaces and smelly garbage cans with ease.- All-Purpose Cleaner—Cleans and degreases hard surfaces, indoors and out. Non toxic, it creates no harsh fumes. Safe for your family and the planet, great for wet mopping; not recommended on wood floors.
- Glass & Surface Cleaner—Effectively cleans glass, mirrors, chrome and other hard surfaces—without streaks, toxins, fumes or harsh chemicals.
- Shower Cleaner—Green Mandarin & Leaf daily-use shower spray prevents soap-scum buildup, mold and mildew without harsh fumes or toxic agents.
- Toilet Bowl Cleaner—Compare our Emerald Cypress & Fir Toilet Bowl Cleaner to your cleaner. You’ll love the change! Cleans and deodorizes without harsh fumes, harmful chemicals, aerosols or dyes.
- Tub & Tile Cleaner—You’ll love our Emerald Cypress & Fir Tub & Tile Cleaner. No harsh fumes. Refreshing spa scent makes bathroom cleaning a pleasure!
- Brown Paper Towels—These unbleached, 100%-recycled towels clean up spills fast! No dyes or fragrances; 120 two-ply sheets per roll.
- Eco Friendly Water Bottle—Courtesy of @thelittleseed.
- Eco Dough—A sample of eco dough from Eco Dough.
Entry Requirements
To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do the following:
- Visit the Million Baby Crawl website and tweet an interesting fact you learned there. Include your ‘virtual baby’s name’ and the #mbcrawl hashtag in your tweet. Then, leave a comment here, linking to your tweet.
- Retweet the following and leave a comment here, linking to that tweet as well:
GIVEAWAY! 10 winners will receive Healthy Home Kit w/@SeventhGen Cleaning Products http://bit.ly/4Bh9I #mbcrawl #gno PLS RT
Extra Entries
You can earn up to five extra entries for this week’s giveaway.
- Become a fan of the Seventh Generation Facebook Page.
- Post your “Soap Box Speech” from the Million Baby Crawl website on Seventh Generation’s Facebook page wall.
- Follow @SeventhGen on Twitter.
- Leave a comment on the Million Baby Crawl YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7b67Ul0YP0
- Retweet the following and leave a comment here, linking to that tweet as well:
Spread the http://millionbabycrawl.com word 2 encourage ppl 2 fight 4 stronger standards on toxic chemicals #mbcrawl PLS RT
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Seventh Generation and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, November 1 at midnight PT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older.
Full disclosure: Mom It Forward, Inc. offers brands sponsorship opportunities, which include giveaways.RSVP to Chat About Keeping Children Safe From Untested Chemicals
October 25, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 83 Comments
While Mom It Forward does not use #gno events to promote causes, it does offer brands and/or organizations the opportunity to present information in a spirit of education, awareness, and with respect for all opinions.
This Tuesday, regardless of where you stand on the issue, join us as we learn more about the Million Baby Crawl—an initiative promoting stronger standards on toxic chemicals. We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions—shared with candor yet respect for others’ view points, of course!
- What: Seventh Generation is sponsoring this week’s #gno Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
- When: Tuesday, October 27, 9-11 p.m. EST
- Where: Click here to party with us on our custom Tweetgrid. (Use hashtags #gno and #mbcrawl.)
- Topic: Keeping Children Safe From Untested Chemicals!
- Who: @astheygrowup @drgreene @getanna @myfourmonkeys @non_toxic_kids @saferchemicals @SeventhGen @thesoftlanding @erinbrockovich1
- Party Favors: A healthy home cleaning kit from Seventh Generation (10 winners!) Click here to enter.
- RSVP: Please leave your Twitter ID in the comments to follow and be followed (on Twitter, of course!) by other #gno gals. The best format is as follows: http://twitter.com/jylmomIF.
