By Lisa Wojnovich •
August 31, 2009
Tired of the general confusion and hoping to provide both companies and consumers with a better understanding of “green” claims, the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute has a plan. Working with representatives from the from the ACS, major chemical and pharmaceutical companies, trade groups, nonprofit environmental organizations, and academia, they hope “to build a comprehensive, multiattribute, consensus-based standard with third-party verification that a company can certify against to say its product is green or that its manufacturing process or [...]
By Lisa Wojnovich •
June 19, 2009
In the constant push for ever newer and greener technology and energy, we sometimes forget that it is often both simpler and cheaper to revisit old techniques in new ways. And that’s exactly what a group of researchers in California has done.
By Andrew Williams •
February 2, 2009
In shocking news, the Canadian government has announced that two chemicals used in cosmetics are carcinogens that are severely harmful to human health. A further two chemicals found in lipstick and other personal care products have also been found to be highly toxic to the environment.
The two cancer-causing chemicals, isoprene and epichlorohydrin, have been added to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist to prevent their future use in cosmetics. Health Canada is also proposing that manufacturers use best-available technology to control releases of isoprene.
The cosmetics chemicals posing a danger to the environment are the siloxanes D4 and D5, which are used as emollients to soften the skin and are found in most personal care products on the market in Canada and the United States.
Don’t fall for the gold rush when scrutiny is required to honestly connect it to the green market.
Recent headlines have been telling us about a class of chemical detergents or surfactants (nonylphenol ethoxylates, NPE’s) found in many industrial and household cleaners that have been reported to cause male fish to develop female characteristics. This hormone instability is commonly due to foreign “hormone disruptors”. The hormone instability occurs when a foreign chemical is introduced to the body and imitates our natural hormones. The toxins bind to the same sites in our body where [...]
