Like many color cosmetics, face paints can contain parabens, phthalates, synthetic colors, fragrances and other potential toxins or allergens — even lead — and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have the power to regulate them.

Earlier this year 43 Girl Scouts at an event in Ohio were left with red, bumpy rashes after using Shanghai Color Art Stationery Co. Ltd. face paint. This Halloween the FDA is cautioning parents. “Most of these products are completely safe, but there have been reports of adverse events and allergic reactions,” Linda Katz, director of the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Color told USA Today.

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Do you know about PhytoEstrogens?  PhytoEstrogens are called “dietary estrogens“, because they come from food sources, such as soybeans. They are often promoted for consumption in menopausal women for bone density, but there is concern that over exposure to PhytoEstrogens increases the risk of breast cancer and causes fertility issues.  Original Sprout explains:

Working as estrogen mimics, phytoestrogens may either have the same effects as estrogen or block estrogen’s effects. Which effect the phytoestrogen produces can depend on the dose of the phytoestrogen. The phytoestrogen can act like estrogen at low doses but block estrogen at high doses. Estrogen activates a family of proteins called estrogen receptors. Recent studies have shown that phytoestrogens interact more with some members of the estrogen receptor family, but more information is needed about how these receptors work, especially in breast cancer. Finally, phytoestrogens acting as estrogen mimics may affect the production and/or the breakdown of estrogen by the body, as well as the levels of estrogen carried in the bloodstream.

Phytoestrogens - acting differently from estrogen - may affect communication pathways between cells, prevent the formation of blood vessels to tumors or alter processes involved in the processing of DNA for cell multiplication. Which of these effects occur is unknown. It is very possible that more than one of them may be working. Also, the effects in various parts of the body may be different. from Phytoestrogens and Breast Cancer.

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The way the tests work today is we think that by testing at high doses we’re gonna see everything. So that once we get to a dose that’s intermediate and we don’t see anything, we’re golden.

But the science is telling us that at really low doses as contaminants mimic hormones. They can have effects that are totally unpredictable by what happens at high doses.

Pete Myers spoke to Living on Earth about the consequences of current testing.

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Born out of the movement to eliminate plastic water bottles, the SafeSporter’s limited plastic parts do not contain BPA or phthalates.

Why go with stainless steel bottles from Kid Basix when so many BPA-free plastic bottles are available now? We can give you 300 billion reasons. That’s the approximate number of plastic water bottles discarded around the world every year. Enough to power 12 million cars for an entire year. And that’s just the water bottles! It doesn’t include all the plastic bottles used for sodas, sports drinks, fruit juices and the like. All told, the plastic bottles we throw away each year would reach to the moon and back – 1500 times. So using reusable stainless steel bottles makes sense on every level: personal, local and global.

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So what’s the big deal? They’re endocrine disruptors, which means they interfere with the normal functions of hormones. Phthalates have been linked to early onset of puberty in girls, obesity, lower sperm count and testosterone level, under-virilized boys, and male genital deformities such as hypospadias (in which the urinary opening is located somewhere besides the head of the penis, like the underside). Whee!

And now they’ve been linked to preterm birth. Makes you wonder if we should kick the chemical out of all products, doesn’t it?

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There, while we discussed good resources for product ingredient lists and standards, an audience member dropped what sounded like a bomb to all of us in the natural parenting, green cleaning and organic living world:

On January 1, 2010, all household products will have full ingredient lists on their labeling.

How did this amazing change in chem-laden products come about? Blame Thank Canada.

Here are the deets on these requirements.

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Vaccines are often blamed, as the increase in the number of childhood inoculations seems to correspond with the increase in autism; however, a new theory is being proposed.  “Extreme Male Theory” blames endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) for autism.

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This study shows how a low-dose exposure to two types of commonly found phthalates has a profound effect on bone cells. Based on the results, long-term exposure to phthalates could have devastating effects on developing bones in young bodies and accelerate deterioration in aging bones. Estrogen deficiency is responsible for a number of bone diseases such as osteoporosis. For this reason, many are concerned about the effects of phthalate exposure on bone health.

Phthalates are plasticizers which are used to add flexibility to plastics. It has been the common ingredient in everyday items like food containers, baby bottles, and packaging for beauty products. Known as as a reproductive or endocrine disruptor; it is slowly being phased out by United States and European nations, but unfortunately, not quickly enough. Even more dangerous is the fact that Phthalates are used in a large variety of products including children’s toys. “Phthalate use is widespread. Phthalates are commonly found in household items made of plastics and in health and beauty products.  Some products with phthalates include toys, vinyl flooring, plastic medical tubing, shower curtains and personal care products such as shampoo, hair sprays and detergents.”

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Now, a long term study of girls living in Harlem has linked exposure to the chemicals in plastics to childhood obesity.

Yes, plastics make kids fat, well at least there is a correlation.

Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center discovered that when phthalates are absorbed into the body and act as endocrine disruptors, obesity levels rise in mice.  The East Harlem study is the first one to link endocrine disruptors ro human obesity.  Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai, explains:

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My kids were always wanting to play with whatever was attached to my body and sometimes we ran out of the house without stashing a toy or two in the bag, so wearing a safe toy would have been a great help in our world.

There are no small or movable parts on this bracelet… it is one piece of durable, flexible material.  The bands are designed to stand up to lots of bending and chomping.  It can be cleaned up simply by washing in warm, soapy water.  In addition to being free of nasty chemicals, this bracelet meets or exceeds all CPSIA regulations and it is made in the U.S.A.

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Infants and toddlers who had vinyl floors in their rooms were twice as likely to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than those with wood or aluminum floors.

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Phthalates are out of kiddie plastic now.  Don’t worry; you can still find the endocrine-disruptor in your makeup and shower curtains and pretty much anything that includes the term “fragrance.”

But have you thought about what they put into the new Barbie dolls instead of phthalates? It’s not like they’re making her ginormous bust size out of wood nowadays.  (Insert Ken jokes here.)

So…what exactly is in your kids’ toys now?

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Frankly, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Until I saw a post this weekend at ZRecommends which shares the results of their research into which brands of food processors and blenders contain BPA, PVC, and phthalates.

As a quick refresher: bisphenol-A, or BPA, and phthalates, plasticisers used to soften PVC, are components found in many common plastics.  Studies have linked exposure to BPA and phthalates to hormonal issues such as early puberty and changes in breast tissue, as well as to some cancers.

And while I was well aware of their presence in toys, sippy cups, bottles, food storage containers, and a myriad of other places in the home, it really had never occurred to me that they might also be lurking within the devices I use for food preparation.

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Fancy a new online store for eco-friendly children’s products?  Green product website Ambitious Green calls itself a “fun place to buy great products at the center of today’s environmental issues, concerns, and debates.”

Says Ambitious Green: “We think the environment and education are challenging debates worth having. Every time you make a buying decision you are telling manufacturers and the market what’s important to you.   We share the same frustrations you do - finding products that are natural, functional, friendly and fun. We believe that what’s good  for you can be good for the planet.”

Here are a few of the latest toys at Ambitious Green:

Dancing Alligator, $19.99 (shown above) “This award-winning, wooden alligator pull toy struts his stuff as he wiggles, bobs and click-clacks along.”  These toys are made in Thailand by Plan Toys, a green company that emphasizes socially responsible manufacturing.   It’s green because it’s made of organic rubberwood, non-formaldehyde E-Zero Glue, water-based dye, recycled and recyclable material and soy ink and water-based ink.

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“Imagine a nail polish that is designed especially for those precious little girls in your life. Piggy Paint was recently founded by Melanie Hurley, a Stay-at-Home Mom with two fancy little girls, who love to have their fingernails painted. This Mom always hated the thought of her children putting their hands in their mouths after she painted their nails with traditional kid polishes. Not only did the ingestion of chemicals worry her, but the smell left her light-headed after painting two sets of fingernails and toenails.” -Piggy Paint Website

The product line is free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and acetone. The ingredients are listed as: Water, water-miscible acrylic and polyurethane film formers and thickeners (well below 100 parts per million), glycol ethers. May contain mica, D&C red lake, ultramarine blue and chromium, iron and titanium oxide pigments.

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The study was conducted by researchers from Imperial College London, University College Cork (Ireland), and Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (Spain) and is the first to show a significant link between hairspray and hypospadias, which is one of the most common birth defects of the male genitalia.

The causes of hypospadias are poorly understood. Instead of opening at the tip of the penis, a hypospadic urethra opens elsewhere along a line running from the tip along the underside to the base, usually corrected with surgery in the first year of the boy’s life.

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While browsing some of my favorite blogs today, I came across a link to the Healthy Legacy Guide to Safer Children’s Products. Being a Mindful Momma, I clicked, read, printed (on recycled paper of course) and decided this needed to be shared.

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Shanna Swan, a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, authored a study recently, testing 106 expecting mothers’ urine for pthalates. They also looked at their babies at 12 months old, and found a correlation between the levels of pthalates in the mother’s body and certain physical traits, such as undescended testicles, smaller penis, and immature genital development.

Phthalates are an endocrine disruptor found in many everyday items, from PVC shower curtains to furniture to personal care products. Endocrine disruptors are seen by the body as hormones, and interfere with normal development, starting in the womb. If a male baby is exposed to something that lowers testosterone through interference, proper reproductive system growth doesn’t happen.

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Okay, folks it’s been 8 years of me apologizing. Really, I’m sorry about the whole W thing. We’ll do better next time. In the interim, our President has signed a really important bill into law.

Lead is now banned from children’s toys. Can we all do a happy dance?

Guess what?

The bill also bans a chemical called phthalates that is widely used to make plastic products softer and more flexible. I am positively swooning. Then I did a little research and stood still.

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