Dodging The Toxic Bullet

We love the David Suzuki Foundation. Not only is DS the coolest Canadian born this side of 1936 but he and his team at DSF are singing a welcome and familiar tune. We’ve been saying ‘Chemicals Add Up. Natural Matters‘ and in perfect harmony DSF have now launched their own campaign against toxic chemicals in body care products called ‘What’s Inside That Counts‘. This campaign is a call out to Canadians to educate themselves about the toxic ingredients used in the body care industry and to participate in a survey that will help bring awareness to the issue.

David Suzuki recently interviewed author David Boyd who wrote ‘Dodging the Toxic Bullet’ which he wrote after a distressing visit to ‘Chemical Valley’ near Sarnia, Ont. You can read this excellent interview here.

Exerpt: Suzuki: Why would industry/government allow chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and birth defects as ingredients in the personal care products we use each day?

Boyd: As for industry, the essential fact to remember is that their over-riding purpose is to make as much money as quickly as possible. Over and over again, industries have disregarded and denied the detrimental health effects of their manufacturing processes and products—including tobacco, lead paint, gasoline, asbestos, benzene, vinyl chloride, beryllium, and chromium. When it comes to personal care products, what concerns me the most is the widespread use of ingredients that are known or suspected hormone disruptors, including triclosan (found in many anti-bacterial soaps) and phthalates (often disguised as ‘fragrance’ on labels). What we do to our environment, we do to ourselves.