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Back to School With Environmental Working Group

by freshfuzz August 13th, 2010 - No Comments »

What does back to school look like to a green household? Usually, a minefield of chemicals and consumption that most of us could do without. Our friends over at the Environmental Working Group have put together a handy list of back-to-school tips that you’ll want to follow in the run up to the “most wonderful time of the year”.  A couple of tips:

1. Lunch Box
Go with a BPA-free lunch box or lunch box set. Your child will be using this every day, so the cleaner it is, the cleaner they will be.

2. PVC Avoidance
Whether it is a backpack or a notebook, stay away from the material PVC. Not only is its manufacture harmful, the offgassing from PVC isn`t exactly vitamin air.

3. Cell Phones
Choose a cell phone with a low SAR rating, and encourage kids to turn off the phones and store them away from the body when they are done with them.

More on the special site EWG has set up on back-to-school.

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Sign the Petition to Make Companies Use Kid-Safe Chemicals

by freshfuzz July 25th, 2010 - No Comments »

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Unless you really play too much World of Warcraft, chances are good that if you are over the age of 25 you have at least one little one in your family that you don’t want to see hurt by toxic chemicals in the products that we use every day, even in products for kids. The Environmental Working Group is spearheading an effort to create kid-safe chemicals, an effort that has caught the eye of both Congress and the White House. Among some of the salient points of the new bill being put before legislators:

-industrial chemicals must be safe for kids
-any new chemicals must be tested before they go to market
-the EPA will be given clear authority to order more tests and recalls

To view the full act, check it out here. To sign the petition to get legislators to pass bills for kid-safe chemicals, check it out here.

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Cleaning Supplies Contaminate Our Classrooms

by freshfuzz November 6th, 2009 - No Comments »

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A study done for the Environmental Working Group shows that children are being exposed to hundreds of chemicals and contaminants in schools through use of cleaning products in the classroom.

“Laboratory tests done for EWG found that a typical assortment of cleaning products released 457 distinct chemicals into the air.” – EWG website

The EWG website goes on to say that schools often don’t know what they are purchasing and how harmful the cleaners that they use can really be. Check out the EWG’s full report on cleaning supplies in schools to find out more.

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Pick Your Favourite Environmental Game Changer: Huffington Post

by freshfuzz October 2nd, 2009 - No Comments »

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The Huffington Post has collected a fine list of ten green people that they are asking you to vot for the best Environmental Game Changer. Five of them are:

Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group
This whistle-blower group has blown the lid off of BPA, mercury in tuna, farm subsidies, and just about every dirty secret they can uncover.

Roger Doiron, Kitchen Gardeners International
Roger promotes the most local of local food; that which is grown in your garden.

Graham Hill, Treehugger
Hill used tech savvy to push the green movement forward into the 21st century with this groundbreaking site.

Gary Hirshberg, Climate Counts
While he’s on the list for his Climate Counts group, most may know Hirshberg through his iconic Stonyfield yogurt brand.

Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff
Leonard’s simple video about mass consumerism has been featured on our blog.

Visit Huffington Post to see more and cast your vote for your fave Environmental Game Changer

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The Polluted Bodies of Newborns

by freshfuzz June 25th, 2009 - No Comments »

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A study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group in 2005 discovered over 200 industrial compounds, pollutants and other chemicals in the blood of newborn babies. 180 of the chemicals found are carcinogenic and the rest have some form of adverse effect in the human body.

The study tested the umbilical cord blood from ten newborn babies for 413 known compounds and chemicals. 154 to 231 were found in each child. All babies shared a common 101 chemicals in their bloodstreams.

For more on the report visit the EWG website.

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