Is your bathroom green and free of toxins? Use this checklist to see how you score:
Do you use air fresheners? Don’t! Most contain a number of toxic chemicals that contaminate the air you breathe
Is there ‘fragrance’ listed as an ingredient in your personal-care products? We don’t know what’s in ‘fragrance,’ so it’s safer to choose fragrance-free products.
Always check the ingredient lists
What kind of toothpaste do you use? Choose fluoride-free for children as they are prone to swallowing quite a lot of it while brushing. Also, pick a paste without triclosan as there are concerns about how it reacts with the chlorine in water
Do you use liquid hand soap? If so, avoid anti-bacterials – the American Medical Association found that anti-bacterial soaps were no more effective in killing germs than normal soap and the anti-bacterial compounds used could contribute to the threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. It also recommends against using them at home
Do you have a stash of products? Less is more. Not using cosmetics such as hairspray, detangler, body sprays and powder is less toxic – and cheaper. Make your own and you will know exactly what ingredients are in them.
Take a look at Green goddess: Homemade soap here.
Image: bauersyndication.com.au
