8 Surprising Products That Harm the Environment

admin-TERUM

3 years ago

To protect the environment against pollution, climate change, and toxicity, it is important for us as consumers to be aware of habits or products that damage the environment. The more aware we are, the more we can make better decisions.

By now, we all know how detrimental plastics, hazardous wastes like oil, and other chemicals or products can be for wildlife and the environment. However, there are products that many of us use or buy regularly that may slip under the radar. Some of these products are ones many of us use daily or weekly.

We’re breaking down 8 of the top surprising products that are causing environmental harm. While governmental oversight is essential to long-term environmental protection, we can do our part to limit our individual impact.

1. Laundry Detergent

The average household washes 7.4 loads, or roughly 50 pounds, of laundry each week. That’s over 300 wash cycles per year, depending on household size. All of those cycles require a staggering amount of laundry detergent. The average household easily consumes 10 to 20 bottles of laundry detergent per year.

Most laundry detergent is packaged in durable plastic bottles, which are not typically reused, but may be recycled. However, many people discard empty detergent bottles in the garbage. While plastic laundry detergent bottles are incredibly wasteful, laundry detergent poses an even greater environmental concern than plastic pollution.

Standard laundry detergents that you find in your local supermarket or drug-store are often filled with chemicals and cleaning agents that have now been found to have a direct impact on the environment.

The water used during wash cycles is typically dispensed back into a city’s wastewater system where it can be sterilized and filtered. However, private landowners or those living apart from central water supplies often dispense their wastewater directly into groundwater or is allowed to flow out into the environment.

Chemicals found in laundry detergents that are of major concern include:

Phosphates
Bleaching Agents
Formaldehyde
Ammonium Sulfate
Dioxane
Synthetic Surfactant

These chemicals can alter water surface tension, making water bodies more susceptible to pollutants including pesticides and car exhaust from runoff. Laundry detergent has been linked to algal blooms, which starves water of oxygen, killing aquatic plants and replacing them with harmful algae.

Click here to learn more about laundry detergent alternatives for a more environmentally friendly laundry routine.

2. Skincare Products

Your skincare routine could be harming wildlife, waterways, and your health. Of top concern are skincare products that contain exfoliating ingredients. Most exfoliating skin cleansers are made with an ingredient called polyethylene. This ingredient is used to create small, exfoliating beads that you may notice in your cleanser, toner, or even body wash bottles.

These beads mimic natural exfoliation (like the results from sea salt, coffee, or husks), but are actually made from plastic, and have been found to create micro-tears in skin, as they are too abrasive.

So, not only are these additives not exfoliating in a beneficial way, they are creating a growing environmental concern for water bodies and waterways after they are rinsed down the sink. Due to their small size, they are able to slip past many water treatment systems and end up flowing into wastewater or runoff passageways.

Then, they are free to lodge themselves in lakes, rivers, ponds, and have been found in the ocean. These tiny beads are easily consumed by wildlife who may mistake them for food. Dead sea birds and other wildlife have been found with microplastics and microbeads lodged in their stomachs.

Just one bottle with this ingredient can contain over 300,000 microbeads. To avoid purchasing products with microbeads, do not purchase products with labels that list:

Contains microbeads
With micro abrasives
Polypropylene
Polyethylene

3. Aerosol Canned Products

Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC aerosols were banned in the 1970’s after a link was found between their use and the thinning of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a barrier that circles the entire Earth, protecting us from UV rays.

Since, all aerosol or pressurized canisters in the United State now use hydrocarbons and compressed gasses, like nitrous oxide. While these compounds are not necessarily ruining the ozone layer, they are still considered harmful to the environment, and pose human health risks.

These pressurized gasses are considered greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, they release VOCs or volatile organic compounds. VOCs are responsible for ground layer ozone, or smog, that is known to cause and irritate asthma.

4. Bleach

Bleach has been a favored household cleaner for decades. It whitens, disinfects, and cleans well. However, bleach is incredibly toxic for human and environmental health.

Industries emit bleach toxins into the air during ventilation and exhaust processes. As these toxins are expelled into the air, they pose harmful risks to air quality. They also will eventually reach the ozone layer, where these fumes are known to be corrosive and depleting. When you use bleach in your laundry or in your home, the fumes are not only risking your health, but are also damaging to the ozone layer.

Bleach that makes its way into waterways is corrosive, and can be damaging to the skin and internal organs of marine and terrestrial wildlife that come into contact with tainted water.

5. Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a standard skincare step to protect you and your family’s skin against UV rays and prevent sunburns. Sunscreen is also commonly used to prevent aging and wrinkles caused by sun exposure.

However, sunscreen is under fire from environmental organizations and scientists that have found correlations between sunscreen ingredients and deteriorating marine environments, including coral reefs.

Common ingredients in sunscreens, including, but not limited to:

Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-1, Benzophenone-8, OD-PABA, 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor, 3-Benzylidene camphor, nano-Titanium dioxide, nano-Zinc oxide, Octinoxate, and Octocrylene

Have all been shown to harm coral reefs, the growth of marine plants, sea urchins, fish, dolphins, and mussels. Marine flora and fauna are being studied to determine long-term effects of sunscreen exposure.

Sunscreen applied to the skin does not stay on the skin. Even a quick ocean dip is enough to deliver a dose of sunscreen to the surrounding environment that can have effects for years to come.

While more research is underway to discover more links between sunscreen and marine damage, you can do your part to limit your impact. Choose sunscreens that have a Reef Safe label, or those that do not contain the previously stated chemicals known to cause harm. It is also recommended to avoid direct sun exposure between 10AM and 2PM, and to wear clothing that covers your skin, to avoid overuse of sunscreen.

6. Scented Candles

Lighting candles might be your way to relax, enjoy your home, or set a mood. However, every time a candle is lit, the air quality in your home decreases. Candles are an incredibly successful niche, but they hide a dark truth.

Burning anything creates some type of harmful residue in the air. For example, burning wood releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Burning candles has been found to release a slew of chemicals into the air, including: benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and soot. The majority of these compounds have been found to be carcinogenic.

Meaning, each time you leave a lit candle burning in your home, you increase you and your families risk of health issues. But it doesn’t stop there, environmentally, candles have been compared to diesel fuel; comparing their harmful impact on global air quality.

Paraffin wax candles are the worst offenders, and are also the most popular option in the market. Candles are often infused with scented blends, and most scents have not been tested for safety. Typically, candle label ingredients will list “parfum” or “fragrance” but do not disclose details on how those fragrances were sourced.

If you don’t want to give up candles altogether, consider buying candles made from beeswax or soy, which emit less toxins into the air when burning. Try to find candles scented with natural fragrances, like essential oils.

A great alternative to your standard candles, are candles made by Fontana, or crafted by local artisans.

7. Makeup Wipes

Makeup wipes have been a staple in skincare routines due to their convenience, travel friendly packaging, and hassle-free use. However, despite their convenience, they are considered a single-use product; one of the worst types of products for the environment.

Single-use products are ones typically used only once and are then discarded; this includes makeup wipes, plastic water bottles, single use plastic utensils, etc.

Makeup wipes are not only bad for your skin, they’re bad for the environment. Makeup wipes are typically made from synthetic fibers, like polyester or rayon; i.e plastic fibers. These fibers are incredibly rough on the skin. To make matters worse, the ingredients used in makeup wipes can be abrasive and triggering to sensitive skin. If you have ever experienced dry skin, irritated skin, redness, or sore areas on your face, the culprit could be your makeup wipes.

Makeup wipes are not recyclable nor flush-able, and are designed to be thrown away in the garbage. However, some people may try to flush or recycle these products, which causes further problems. When flushes, makeup wipes can cause clogging in pipes, and may trigger flooding or damage to septic tanks or sewer systems.

Since they are made from durable synthetic fibers, when attempting to recycle wipes, they often become logged in recycling centers’ equipment and gears, causing damage and wear and tear.

Makeup wipes, at least, most of the common brands found in the drugstore, are not made to be biodegradable. Thus, they usually wind up in landfills, where they will remain for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Since makeup wipes are lightweight, they can easily be picked up by wind gusts and tossed into the environment, where they can present themselves as threats to wildlife and the biology of ecosystems.

A better alternative to makeup wipes are reusable 100% cotton rounds, hemp rounds, or bamboo rounds. These are designed to be reused, which will not only save you money, but will directly lower your environmental impact.

Reusable rounds made of natural fibers also biodegrade, and are unlikely to cause significant environmental harm. Reusable rounds can be found on most large online marketplaces.

8. Dryer Sheets

Dryer sheets are used as an additional laundry step that is frankly unnecessary. The sheets are woven from synthetic fabrics, usually polyester, and are covered with a thin layer of undisclosed fragrances.

They leave your clothes smelling excessively fragrant, and reduce static cling. However, new research has found that dryer sheets are likely emitting toxic chemicals into your home. A 2011 study found that dryer sheets can deliver a powerful dose of toxins into the air, which can cause:

irritation to the eyes and airways
allergic skin reactions
migraine attacks
asthma attacks

If you already suffer from these symptoms, dryer sheets may be causing them, or making them worse.

Not only are they a health concern, but their single-use nature makes them wasteful, expensive, and a hazard to the environment. Since they are lightweight, they are easily scooped up by the wind once they are thrown away, or during transfer to disposal facilities.

In the environment, especially in water bodies, any excess fragrances or additives in dryer sheets are free to leach into the surrounding ecosystem. While more research needs to be done on the environmental consequences, it is assumed that these chemicals can be environmentally disrupting.

For a better alternative, we recommend wool dryer balls. These are made entirely out of wool fibers, and have been shown to cut drying time, and reduce static, without chemicals. Essential oils can be added to dryer balls to give your clothes a fragrance.

Dyer balls can be found on any major online marketplace.