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Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies

Thursday, August 07, 2008
Posted by Healthy Child
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Our friends at CHEJ have just published a great guide to help you send your kids off to school PVC-free! The guide lists the most common back-to-school supplies made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) plastic and safer PVC-free alternatives.

Why Shop for PVC-Free School Supplies?

Children’s school supplies, such as lunchboxes, backpacks and binders, are often made out of PVC – a plastic that is dangerous to our health and the environment. The production of PVC involves the use of cancer-causing chemicals that contaminate the air and water of surrounding communities. When PVC is manufactured or burned, numerous dioxins are formed and released, a highly toxic group of chemicals that can cause cancer, harm the immune and reproductive systems. Our bodies are contaminated with these and other chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle. This may pose irreversible life-long health threats.

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Congratulations to Shaklee Corporation

Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Posted by Healthy Child
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The American Business Awards, nicknamed The Stevie Awards, are lovingly known as “the Oscars of the business world”. They were created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations worldwide. This year, the first ever Best Corporate Environmental Responsibility Program was awarded to Shaklee Corporation.

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Green Moms Carnival

Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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In my wanderings through the blogosphere today I stumbled across an amazing new collaborative effort launched at Organic Mania - a Green Moms Carnival. This isn’t the kind of carnival where you go on rides and spend too much money on edibles that barely qualify as food.  It is, in fact, a cyber carnival of blogs. 

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Congress Takes On Chemicals

We are hopeful that last week’s sweeping Congressional vote to enact a federal ban against 6 phthalates in children’s toys is a promising first step toward tougher national standards for other chemicals used in consumer products. Thus far, chemicals are innocent until proven guilty, and there is no labeling system that lets consumers know if phthalates are present in products. This new legislation could potentially end the government’s regulation negligence and make our consumer marketplace safe.

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Bipartisan Support for our Children—It Has Happened!

Monday, August 04, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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The final day of July 2008 may go down in history as the moment the tides of democracy shifted away from corporate cronyism and back to the people. Even if it's only in my history book, it's a significant occasion nonetheless. A safe toys bill banning six suspect chemical phthalates was overwhelmingly passed by both the House and Senate. House vote: 424 to 1. Senate vote: 89 to 3. It is indeed momentous to have such bipartisan support for something so heavily lobbied against by some of the strongest corporations and corporate alliances around today.

Despite Exxon's intense lobbying and fierce resistent, (since they are the primary manufacturer of the main phthalate used in children's toys) the ban will go into law as soon as GW puts his John Hancock on the bill. It is a chemical that has been shown to disrupt hormone and reproductive systems causing early puberty among other things, and it has already been banned in the EU, fourteen other countries, and states such as California, Washington, and Vermont. How much does Exxon stand to lose? I don't know, but I'm sure it'll be a drop in the bucket compared to their profits from last year, which amounted to $40 billion -- more than any other US company.

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Healthy World Watch - August 1st, 2008

Friday, August 01, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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The biggest news this week is that the Safe Toy bill passed overwhelmingly in Congress! Hopefully, similar changes are in store regarding chemicals in food packaging, children’s fluoride exposure, BPA in bottles and cans, and children’s exposure to cell phone radiation – the topics of our other headlines this week.

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Safe Toy Bill is Law: Hooray!

The Safe Toy bill banning six phthalates passed in the Senate last night. The final tally: the House voted 424 to 1 and the Senate voted 89 to 3 to pass this historic piece of legislation. Not only does it set a precedent to act with precaution about chemicals children are exposed to in toys, this sweeping overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission also:

  • Virtually eliminates lead from products for children 12 and under (the toughest standards in the world);
  • Doubles the agencies budget by 2014 and gives it more authority to oversee testing and enforce penalties on companies that violate safety compliance;

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Spotlight on the Experts

Melinda Gray

Melinda Gray completed her Master of Architecture at UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning in 1982. A licensed architect in the state of California, she has more than 15 years experience with small and large scale projects in the Los Angeles area. Her experience includes the design of sound studios, stages, and offices, retail stores, a medical diagnostic clinic, UCLA hospital renovations, a preschool renovation, … Read More »