I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Seventh Generation. I received a promotional item and product samples as a thank you for participating.
I’m super glad to be bringing you today’s post. This is something near and dear to my heart, that I don’t talk about often enough on this blog. Today I’m keeping it real and talking about toxins and our children.
I know I mention here and there that I don’t use spray paint or I did this a different way to try to be more eco-friendly, but I don’t usually hit you over the head with my desire to be eco-friendly and the level of my desire to be natural and organic.
Let’s just say our house is as natural and organic as we can afford on our budget. So here is the thing, I think there are way too many chemicals in our society. I think that often we don’t even think about what we are using or what it is made of. Before I started really thinking about it, I assumed that the government had my back. As I see it now, they don’t. The only person who’s got your back is yourself…and now me! 🙂
I’ve tried to do a careful and deliberate job of teaching my kids to tread lightly on the earth. Above is Snowflake back when she was 6. She was doing a project for school on ways to conserve. She put together a whole project of ideas of ways we could help the earth and conserve. Simple things, from turning off the lights when you leave the room.
To turning off the water when you are not using it or when you are brushing your teeth.
She also had ideas that are larger, such as making sure we recycle.
The thing is, that no matter how much I teach her or Pumpkin about treading lightly…
We still live in a toxic world where, in our society, most people don’t even think about the chemicals they are using. Whether it is the chemicals that are in our laundry detergent, dish soap, household cleaner, or even in your makeup or deodorant. It is such a problem that there are studies that show that babies already exposed to over 300 toxins before they are even born. People, there is just something so wrong about that. #FightToxins
I’m totally passionate about making this world a better place for the next generation. Which is why I jumped at the chance to write this post and hopefully inform a few more people, who will inform a few more people, and so on until we make some lasting change.
Did you know that of the 80,000 synthetic chemicals brought to the market place since 1976, less than 10% of those have been tested by the EPA? Less than 10%!!! That is a staggering and scary number.
Look at these adorable girls. Those are my girls. I’m sure you have similar pictures of your loved ones. I can’t look at that picture and think that it is right to raise them in a world that has all these scary chemicals that the EPA hasn’t even tested. Those chemicals have been linked to health risks by scientists. Those risks are things like cancer, Alzheimer’s, learning disabilities, asthma, birth defects and various reproductive problems. I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed all of those things are on the rise. Maybe it is time we look at what is causing that rise and look at removing the problems.
Now we could easily play the blame game, but that isn’t going to get us anywhere. The Toxic Substances Control Act was passed in 1976 (that is the act that governs the chemicals being tested. The same one that is testing less than 10% of said chemicals.). It hasn’t been updated since 1976. I think it is time for that to change. How about you? Seventh Generation is working to collect 100,000 signatures demanding that congress reevaluate the Toxic Substances Control Act. If they get the signatures, they will deliver them to Congress on April 30, 2014.
Now it is your turn to become a Toxin Freedom Fighter! Just click that badge above and add your name to the list. As of the writing of this post (April 2nd), they had 83,519 signatures. Adding signatures will help strength the movement behind chemical reform, which I believe we badly need to do. It will start the conversation and encourage law makers to make a change.
Will you join me in trying to make the world a better place for ourselves and for the next generation? Please consider adding your signature and becoming a Toxin Freedom Fighter!
Oh and by the way, after you add your signature, you can start re-evaluating the products you have in your home. We personally use lots of Seventh Generation products. Their company has a mission for being more mindful in their way of doing business. Whether it is reducing environmental impact or increasing safety, they are looking at all those angles and starting a new trend of corporate responsibility. In my opinion, we need many, many more companies like that. So consider, greening up your home with a few Seventh Generation products as part of becoming a Toxin Freedom Fighter. I know I’ve gotten a little lazy and I ready to start acting more like a Toxin Freedom Fighter as well…so let’s do this together. For our kids. OK?
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